Oliver Bierhoff has warned that it will take longer than just two or three years to truly correct the issues that have been holding Italy back on the international stage, and has explained why he thinks his friend Paolo Maldini stepped away from the role of technical director of the Italian FA after just over a fortnight earlier this summer.

Bierhoff was among the guest speakers at the Festival dello Sport event in Trento on Friday, discussing his role with the German FA, his advice for the Italy set-up, his conversations with Maldini and Friday’s Nations League match against France.

Maldini was appointed as the technical director of the Italian FA (FIGC) following the election of Giovanni Malagò as the federation’s President in June. Bierhoff was the manager of the Germany national football team from 2004 until 2017, before transitioning to the role of technical director, the same as Mancini, as part of a restructuring of the German set-up.

However, unlike Bierhoff, who spent 18 years in the Germany set-up, Maldini’s reign with the FIGC lasted for just 17 days .

Bierhoff says that Maldini often used to call him for advice in the early stages of his FIGC directorship.

“We always used to speak on the phone. I told him about my experiences, I was cheering for him. I saw how much determination he was willing to put into the rebuilding of Italian football,” said Bierhoff (via TMW ).

“He had clear ideas, but from the beginning I said that you also have to feel that the system is willing to follow you. He probably didn’t feel that.”

So, where does Bierhoff feel the major issues lie with the Italy national team?