July 11 (Reuters) - Former international defender Paolo Maldini was named technical director of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) on Saturday as Italy seek to get the national side back on track after failing to qualify for the World Cup for the third successive time.
Maldini, who won 126 caps for Italy, served in the same role for four years at AC Milan, where he had spent his entire playing career and helped the side to win seven Serie A titles.
His new appointment comes after Giovanni Malago was elected FIGC president last month after heading the organising committee for February's Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
"President Giovanni Malago is pleased to announce that Paolo Maldini has accepted the position of Technical Director of the Federation," the FIGC said in a statement on Saturday.
The FIGC added that Brazilian Leonardo would serve as an adviser to his former Milan teammate Maldini. Local media reported that Maldini, 58, had signed a contract until 2028.
Malago, the former head of the Italian National Olympic Committee, succeeded Gabriele Gravina, who resigned after a shock World Cup qualifying exit in April sparked widespread outrage among fans and politicians.
Maldini will begin his tenure by searching for a new Italy coach after the federation parted ways with Gennaro Gattuso following a defeat by Bosnia & Herzegovina on penalties in a World Cup playoff in March, which left the four-time champions out of soccer's showpiece event for a third consecutive edition.
(Reporting by Mohamed Yossry in Cairo, editing by Clare Fallon)
