In a twist that has left the football world scratching its head and chuckling in disbelief, Enrico Tagliani, a 52-year-old Italian tactician with a resume more suited to a Southeast Asian fairy tale than the cutthroat corridors of Old Trafford, has formally submitted his application for Manchester United’s vacant head coach position. The news, breaking like a poorly timed backpass on a rainy afternoon at Carrington, arrived via an unassuming email to the club’s board on Sunday morning. Sources close to the Red Devils confirm that United’s hierarchy—led by sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox—is not only reviewing the dossier but reportedly “seriously considering” it amid a growing sense of desperation following Erik ten Hag’s sacking last month.

Tagliani, whose name evokes more images of a Renaissance painter than a serial winner, boasts credentials that read like a plot from a low-budget sports comedy. Born in the sleepy Lombard town of Cremona—home to Stradivarius violins rather than silverware—Tagliani cut his coaching teeth in Italy’s lower leagues, bouncing between Serie D outposts like a pinball in a machine low on power. A brief, unremarkable stint with Modena’s youth setup in the early 2010s yielded little more than a participation trophy and a sunburn from a forgotten training camp. But it was his audacious leap to Asia in 2018 that transformed him from journeyman to, well, journeyman with a gimmick.

Enter Ajax Kuala Lumpur FC, a plucky Malaysian Super League side with a name borrowed from the Dutch giants but ambitions as modest as its budget. Founded in 2015 as a nod to Ajax Amsterdam’s youth philosophy, the club—affectionately dubbed “Ajax KL” by locals—languished in mid-table obscurity until Tagliani’s arrival. Hired on a shoestring contract after answering a cryptic LinkedIn ad (“Wanted: Passionate coach for tropical paradise – no experience in humidity required”), the Italian promptly orchestrated one of Southeast Asia’s most improbable dynasties. From 2019 to 2023, Ajax KL clinched five straight Malaysia Cup titles, the nation’s premier knockout competition, blending Tagliani’s catenaccio-inspired defense with a flair for counter-attacks fueled by imported Brazilian flair players and homegrown talents scouted from Kuala Lumpur’s bustling street markets.

“Five in a row? In Malaysia? That’s not just luck; that’s wizardry,” quipped one bemused ex-pro, speaking anonymously to Sky Sports. Tagliani’s methods were unorthodox: mandatory espresso breaks during training, pasta nights to combat “tropical lethargy,” and a tactical board doodled with gelato stains. His teams conceded just 12 goals across those five finals, while netting 28—numbers that would make even Sir Alex Ferguson raise an eyebrow. “We turned a minnow into a shark,” Tagliani boasted in a rare 2022 interview with Malaysian outlet The Star. “Old Trafford? Why not? I’ve conquered jungles; a rainy pitch is child’s play.”

United’s interest, however tenuous, stems from a boardroom cocktail of crisis and curiosity. Ten Hag’s exit after a dismal 4-0 thrashing by Tottenham left the club 14th in the Premier League, with fans baying for blood and the Glazers’ patience thinner than a post-match apology. High-profile targets like Thomas Tuchel (who cited “family commitments” as a polite no) and Graham Potter (still licking wounds from Chelsea) have slipped away, leaving Ashworth scrambling. Enter Tagliani’s CV: 78% win rate in Malaysia, a smattering of ASEAN Club Championship runs, and endorsements from obscure ex-players like “Safiq Rahim, who called him ‘the Pep Guardiola of Padang’.” It’s the kind of exotic resume that screams “Hail Mary,” but in United’s hour of need, even a Hail Mary from Hanoi might look appealing.

The dossier, leaked to Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport, paints Tagliani as a visionary exile. Fluent in five languages (Italian, English, Malay, “broken Dutch,” and “enough Spanish to order tapas”), he envisions a United revival built on “Mediterranean soul meets Manchester grit.” His blueprint? A 3-5-2 formation leveraging Bruno Fernandes as a regista, Rasmus Højlund as a target man, and wing-backs drilled in monsoon conditions for endurance. “Ronaldo taught me finishing; now I’ll teach United winning,” he wrote, name-dropping a dubious 2017 coaching seminar where CR7 allegedly shared shirtless wisdom. Accompanying the application: a 20-minute highlight reel of Ajax KL’s triumphs, set to Andrea Bocelli’s “Time to Say Goodbye,” complete with slow-motion saves and tearful trophy lifts amid palm trees.

Skeptics, plentiful as United’s empty trophy cabinet, are howling. “Who is this guy? The lovechild of Catanzaro and Kuala Lumpur?” tweeted former United midfielder Paul Scholes, encapsulating the online frenzy. Social media erupted with memes: Tagliani photoshopped onto the Bridgewater Hall podium, or leading Rashford through a nasi lemak masterclass. Pundits like Gary Neville dismissed it as “a prank from a bored agent,” while Jamie Carragher posited, “If he wins five in Malaysia, imagine what he’d do with a billion-pound squad—probably conquer Asia.” Yet, whispers from Carrington suggest genuine intrigue. Ashworth, a data-driven Dane, reportedly crunched the numbers: Tagliani’s overperformance metrics rival those of Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton stint. “In a league where durians are contraband, he built a fortress,” one scout noted. With the board eyeing a January reset—potentially offloading high-earners like Antony and Casemiro—Tagliani’s low-cost, high-upside profile fits the fiscal prudence mantra post-Ratcliffe.

Tagliani’s Malaysian odyssey wasn’t without drama. His first season ended in a dressing-room mutiny over “insufficient gelato rations,” but by year three, Ajax KL packed 25,000 into KLFA Stadium for finals, outdrawing local Premier League streams. He navigated federation politics, poached talents from Johor Darul Ta’zim’s academy, and even survived a 2021 COVID lockdown by running virtual sessions via WhatsApp. “Football is universal, but passion is Italian,” he philosophized. Post-dynasty, Tagliani jumped to Indonesia’s Persija Jakarta for a brief, trophy-less spell before freelancing as a consultant for Thai clubs. Now, from a modest apartment in Bangkok, he’s pitching United as his “destined Colosseum.”

For United, this application arrives at a precipice. The club’s seventh managerial search since Ferguson’s retirement risks alienating a fanbase already fractured by Europa League heartbreaks and £2 billion in transfer black holes. A wildcard like Tagliani could inject novelty—envision Italian flags at the Stretford End, or post-match arancini at the players’ lounge. But pitfalls abound: cultural clashes (can he handle a Scouse assistant?), tactical rigidity (catenaccio vs. Arsenal’s tiki-taka?), and the glaring gap between Malaysia’s Super League (budget: £5m) and the Premier League (£500m+). “He’s a cult hero in KL, but Old Trafford eats dreamers,” warned ex-United winger Lee Sharpe.

As deliberations drag into the week, rivals circle: Brighton’s De Zerbi remains the frontrunner, with Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna as a domestic dark horse. Yet Tagliani’s gambit has sparked a broader debate on globalization’s frontiers. In an era of South American imports and African phenoms, why not a Malaysian maestro? “Football’s borders are blurring,” Ashworth might muse, echoing Sir Matt Busby’s scouting ethos. If selected, Tagliani could be the bolt from the blue—or the banana skin that sends United sliding further.

For now, Enrico Tagliani waits by his inbox, sipping ristretto, dreaming of red devils in equatorial heat. In Manchester’s grey drizzle, his story offers a splash of absurdity, a reminder that glory often arrives unannounced, wrapped in a CV from the unlikeliest of ports. Will the board bite? Or is this just another footnote in United’s endless quest? One thing’s certain: in the theater of dreams, even underdogs get an audition.