Desperate Italy bucking the trend of picking more established coaches with hiring of Gattuso
ROME (AP) — It used to be that the coach of Italy's soccer team was someone who had a long list of managerial achievements and was nearer to the end of a career than the start.
Not so with Gennaro Gattuso.
But these are desperate times for Italy, the four-time champion that is facing a real possibility of failing to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup.
Luciano Spalletti was fired after Italy lost its opening qualifier 3-0 to Norway and when Claudio Ranieri rejected the job, the Italian federation turned to Gattuso — a member of the last Azzurri squad to win the World Cup in 2006.
The hope is that the 47-year-old Gattuso can transmit the same level of combativeness and determination that he used to display as a gritty midfielder to a group of players who have shown more willingness to sweat it out for the clubs paying their contracts than the national team.
Never mind that Gattuso has won only one trophy in his 12-year coaching career: an Italian Cup with Napoli five years ago. Because wherever he's gone, he has had a no-nonsense and no-filter approach at a series of clubs in crisis.
So it's hard to imagine Gattuso dealing with Francesco Acerbi's refusal of an Italy call up for the Norway game in the same manner that Spalletti did — by mostly brushing it off.
Verbal tirade at Crete
When Gattuso didn't like the way he was being portrayed in the Greek media as coach of financially struggling club Crete in 2014, he lashed out in a verbal tirade during a memorable news conference.
'I didn't come here for (a) holiday,' he said then. 'One year here is 10 years in another club. And this is good for me.'
Gattuso then resigned at Crete before he was convinced to change his mind and return a day later.
At his next job with Pisa, he and Foggia counterpart Roberto De Zerbi nearly came to blows in a heated argument during a playoff win to earn promotion to Serie B after Gattuso was hit on the head by a bottle thrown from the stands.
And just last season at Croatian club Hajduk Split, Gattuso removed star player Ivan Perisic from the team for disciplinary reasons.
Confronting Beckham
As a player, too, Gattuso never shied away from standing up to the biggest names.
During the match in which he scored his only international goal — against England in 2000 — a 22-year-old Gattuso criticized David Beckham for alleged diving, telling the famous midfielder directly to his face, 'This is not a swimming pool.'
Qualifying bonus
While financial details were not announced, Gattuso was reportedly given only a one-year contract with Italy worth 800,000 euros (slightly under $1 million).
But the deal includes a 1 million euro ($1.16 million) bonus if Italy qualifies for the World Cup, Italian media reported.
Teammates from 2006
Gattuso won't be on his own.
Former Italy goalkeeper and captain Gianluigi Buffon remains the squad's team manager.
Leonardo Bonucci, the former defender who was captain of the squad that Gattuso coached at AC Milan, will be an assistant coach.
Andrea Barzagli, another member of the 2006 team, appears set to be named coach of Italy's under-20 or under-21 squad.
And Cesare Prandelli, who coached Italy to the final of the 2012 European Championship, is being tipped to take charge of the federation's development of young talents.
Gattuso's debut will come against Estonia in September.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Fabrizio Romano confirms Serie A club Como 'have tried to sign' Man United's Antony 'in recent days'
Serie A outfit Serie A have made an attempt to sign Manchester United winger Antony over the past few days, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has revealed. Antony failed to live up to the massive £86m fee United forked out to secure his services from Ajax in the summer of 2022. Advertisement He registered only 12 goals and five assists in 96 appearances for the Red Devils, but a short loan stint with Real Betis in Spain seems to have reignited his form. Antony enjoyed a dramatic improvement in fortunes under Manuel Pellegrini, notching 14 goals contributions in 26 appearances – just five shy of his entire United tally in nearly a quarter of the time. The Brazilian has made no secret of his desire to continue with Betis, who are also working to try and agree a deal with United. Such is Antony's eagerness to return to Seville that he is reportedly willing to accept a 30% pay cut to make the move happen. Advertisement But Los Verdiblancos are not the only club eyeing Antony. He has also been linked to Juventus, Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid. A report covered by The Peoples Person earlier this week relayed that Antony is also of interest to Premier League teams, with Brentford and Aston Villa having enquired about the conditions of a transfer. But, they were told that his top priority is Betis. Now, Romano has revealed that a new club has entered the fray for the 25-year-old, Como. Romano wrote on X, 'Italian side Como have tried to sign Antony in the recent days but Brazilian winger is giving priority to Real Betis return.' Advertisement 'Man United are also aware of Antony's preference to continue at Betis next season, no club to club agreement yet.' If United are unable to strike a compromise with Betis, then the Red Devils can rest assured that there will be no shortage of suitors for the forward. Antony is not thought to have a future at Old Trafford. There have even been suggestions that Ruben Amorim will not include him in the club's pre-season squad. Featured image Octavio Passos via Getty Images Follow us on Bluesky: @
Fox Sports
an hour ago
- Fox Sports
Auckland City Gets Routed for 2nd Straight Time at Club World Cup
Five days after losing 10-0 to FC Bayern, Auckland City was routed again, at the hands of Benfica. Angel Di Maria and Leandro Barreiro each scored two goals on Friday to help the Portugese-based club, Benfica, to defeat Auckland City 6-0 in a Club World Cup game that was delayed at halftime because of thunder and lightning. Di María, who teamed with Lionel Messi to win the 2022 World Cup with Argentina, scored his first goal from the penalty spot deep into added time at the end of the first half. His second score, and the team's sixth, was again from the penalty spot and in added time at the end of the match. Auckland City exchanged counterattacks with the Portuguese powerhouse in the first half of the Group C match, but was still outshot 18-1. The second half went Benfica's way. Vangelis Pavlidis made it 2-0 in the 53rd minute, Renato Sanches scored a short time later and Barreiro then scored a pair of goals to increase the lead to 5-0. A thunderstorm delayed the start of the second half for more than two hours. When the match resumed at Inter&Co Stadium, the goals came pouring in for Benfica. Key moment Auckland midfielder Tong Zhou went down with an apparent head injury just before halftime. Trainers attended to Zhou on the field, and Benfica defender Alvaro Carreras complained about the delay. He was given a yellow card after a spat with game officials. Takeaways With the win, Benfica has four points in Group C. Bayern Munich, which beat Auckland City 10-0 in its opening match, plays Boca Juniors later Friday in Miami Gardens, Florida. What they said "It was very good. We are happy to play here." — Benfica coach Bruno Lage. "I'm a little bit frustrated. The first half was solid. It was just very disappointing to concede a goal. I think the guys are going to be a little bit disappointed in the scoreline." — Auckland coach Paul Posa. Reporting by The Associated Press. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from FIFA Club World Cup Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Juventus' Nico Gonzalez on Sarri's wishlist for Lazio
Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri has reportedly requested the club to sign Juventus winger Nico Gonzalez as part of their transfer strategy. The 27-year-old sealed a transfer to the Bianconeri last summer on loan with an obligation to buy for circa €33 million.
