What possesses a man who has reached the pinnacle of his chosen profession to try do it again?Like Muhamad Ali & his ill-advised comebacks post-Rumble In The Jungle, Marcello Lippi looked very much like a battered & beaten prize fighter after their devastating defeat to Slovakia this morning.
Lippi had been awarded the highest civil honour in his homeland fer his part in bringing the Copa Mundial back to Italy fer the third time. Winning this trophy as a coach/manager is pretty much a once-in-a-fooking-lifetime thing (unless, of course, yer Mario Zagallo), so wot made him come back & try to recapture a glory with a visibly tired & old team?
He has admitted he did not think they would win it this time round so why tarnish his near impeccable credentials?
Ego or responding to his sense of patriotic duty? Would love to read wot ye guys think of this inglorious failure.
7 comments:
duty i think. and most probably the expectations due to his credentials.
But Italy are not exactly short of pedigree coaches . . .
taly plays boring football. And with Lippi still at the helm, i believe it was their hope to recapture the copa mundial for the consecutive time running by engaging a manager who prefers to play defensively in order to win. Not this time. 4 years on and their backline too gets older...otak dah tumpul.
just out of curiosity, does a country usually have a set rule when selecting coaches?
The azzuri have always been a pedigree WC side no matter what anyone says bout them. Sadly, because of their brand of football, they're always realistic favourites. So can't blame ML fer trying his luck there. But this time around, just like in that penalty-missing-baggio era, senile tactics got found out. Early!
Time to fill them pizzas with new toppings.
Really don't think it's always the coaches who should take the blame. Players are such fooked up primadonnas these days its sick. As for Lippi, he didn't think Italy could win it but me thinks he really believed their notorious reputations could carry them far.
Its good for football and the world cup that favourites or even WC defending titlists get beat. I believe in good old fashion team work ethic. It simply builds spirit to realise yer chances of winning. Japan, USA, Slovakia have shown this.
IMO the guidelines in what an FA quests fer in employing a manager is just like any job credential BS really - no rocket science there. But am quite certain the bottom line is sadly, to pick a gaffer whom their fookin 'status' players feel like playin fer.
senorita: most countries have a selction commitee.
In England, job is given to whomever the tabloids choose!
Kerp: Italy same like England. Tired & out of ideas.
Kevo: Yeah, but this Italian squad definitely lacked that creative spark or goalscorer extrodinaire.
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