Will two big names go? Pirlo not Italy boss over Russia deal

First, things turn out differently, and second, not as one expects. Andrea Pirlo will, after all, not be the next head coach of the Italian national team. 

The reason: According to Italian sports journalist Gianluca Di Marzio, it lies in his connection to a Russian sports betting platform. He was active there as a global brand ambassador. 

In view of the immense pressure, official Giovanni Malagò decided not to give Pirlo the green light.

Will two big names go? Pirlo

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Further consequences

This decision – combined with the fact that the name of the next national team coach may not match the expectations of Italian federation technical director Paolo Maldini and federation advisor Leonardo – could lead to the duo submitting their resignations themselves. That could happen as early as today. 

This is what Pirlo himself says

In his statement on ‘Instagram,’ Andrea Pirlo explains that he is only now breaking his silence after it was confirmed that he is out of the running for the post of Italy national team coach.

He says he followed the public debate surrounding him with great bitterness and makes it clear that throughout his career he has always complied with laws and contracts.

The cooperation at the center of the criticism, he says, originated during his time in the United Arab Emirates and was purely commercial and sporting in nature. He firmly rejects the attempt to assign political significance to this deal or to ascribe such beliefs to him.

In closing, he thanks Paolo Maldini and Leonardo for their trust and regrets that a sporting personnel matter was publicly turned into such a scandal. 

Finally, there was also a declaration of love for Italy: “Love for Italy does not depend on an office. It is part of my history, my identity, and will always stay with me.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.