DBasia.news – There is no one in Italy who doesn’t know Andrea Pirlo. He is the maestro of Italian football who retired last year in New York City. Throughout his career, Pirlo played for Brescia, Inter Milan, Reggina, AC Milan, and Juventus in Italy. His biggest success achieved with Milan and Juventus.
There, he got prestigious titles like 2 Champions League, 6 Scudetto, 2 Coppa Italy, and also the 2006 World Cup with Italy national team. Talking about Italy national team, Pirlo was actually predicted to be the coach assistant of Roberto Mancini handling Gli Azzurri.
However, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio (FIGC) refused him because Pirlo already had the contract with the football pandit in Sky Sport Italia, focusing to talk about Champions League. As a result, FIGC chose Angelo Gregucci as Mancini’s assistant. Gregucci worked together two times with Mancini, in Manchester City and Zenit Saint Petersburg.
Failed to be Italy coach assistant, Pirlo felt unhappy and attacked FIGC who appointed Gregucci without confirming to him. Pirlo said his statement, reported by ANSA (11/8) below:
“Throughout my whole career, and still today, I always had such respect for the national team and the value that it represented, for me and for Italians, that I felt the need to specify that the dialogue which had opened up in recent months between me and the Italian FA has always been characterised by the utmost clarity and transparency.”
“Right from our first meeting, indeed, I had made it clear that I would give my maximum availability while at the same time respectfully making it clear that my commitments towards sponsors and partners outside of football, which I had built up over time, formed part of my professional obligations, including the agreement I was reaching with Sky.”
“So if this could have been an obstacle to us reaching an agreement, I would certainly have understood. Instead, I was told that there was no problem at all and this is why we continued to tread on a common path.”
“To accommodate the federation’s wishes, I took my coaching badge this summer. At a certain point, this path was interrupted, and not of my own free will. My passion for the Italy national team remains intact, however, and I will continue to follow them with affection and wish them all the possible best.”