Former AC Milan and Italy star Demetrio Albertini has announced he will stand for election to become the next president of the Italian FA (FIGC).
The position is currently vacant following Giancarlo Abete's resignation in the wake of Italy's disappointing showing at the World Cup.
Carlo Tavecchio, currently vice-president and head of the National Amateur Football Association (LND), is the only other candidate for elections, which will be held on Aug. 11.
"I am putting myself up for election," Albertini, 42, announced at a news conference on Monday. "I've spent a third of my career in a suit and tie and in 14 events, I've put in much more effort than as a player."
At the news conference, Albertini -- a World Cup finalist in 1994 -- also laid out his plans for the future of the Italian game.
"We are a different country and maybe the German model is not applicable here," he said. "We have a completely different objective. I'm not a politician, but I hope I can represent an opportunity for football and for the people who love the game like I do.
"We need to understand what we are meant to be, whether we want to be a league where players come and go, or whether we want to have the most beautiful league in the world, like in the '90s. This is my dream."
Albertini revealed he had already informed Tavecchio that he will be running against him, and although the 71-year-old may be ahead in the polls -- due in part to the fact that a third of the votes come from the LND representatives -- the general consensus among football fans in Italy is quite the opposite.
A poll by the Gazzetta dello Sport had 95.3 percent in favour of Albertini, with only 4.7 percent backing Tavecchio.
Fiorentina forward Giuseppe Rossi believes Albertini, who won five Serie A titles and two European Cups with Milan, would be ideal for the position.
"It would be a great signal," he said. "I'd be really delighted to see a former player in the role of president, so let's hope it happens."