«Usually I arrive at 70-80 kilometres, but one day I would like to go around the lake completely, 147 in total». Claudio Gentile he has just got off his bike and, at 69, has the same physique as Sarrià and the Bernabeu, when he muzzled Maradona, Zico and Littbarsky. The full-back whom Gianni Brera baptized Gaddafi for his birthplace in Tripoli, where his father a bricklayer had moved to work, lives in San Fermo della Battaglia, a stone’s throw from Como. There he pedals, savors a peaceful life but cannot avoid watching football. It is he who suffers like a dog when a national team makes up for certain fools.
Gentile, what do you think of the European flop of Nicolato’s Italy?
“The worst possible. In the sense that this failure by Norway, a team that has already been eliminated, pains me a lot. I love blue.”
The coach’s faults were obvious, right?
“Well, to argue otherwise would be hypocritical. I have nothing against the person but Nicolato had already screwed up a European Championship. And yet he had remained in his place, ready to fail again.’
Does it have saints in Heaven?
“I would say very special saints. In my day, recommendations were worth more than merits. It makes me think that around via Allegri, in Rome, everything has remained the same».
What are the faults of the players?
«Before the European Championship I thought: with these names, the Under 21 team is in first place. I remain convinced of it, it was a very strong national team ».
The biggest disappointments? Gnonto? Pilgrims? Chancellors?
«I don’t want to name names but the limits of the attack were evident. And the game seen against Norway, i.e. long balls and few plots in midfield, did the rest».
Yet the Tonali, the Rovella, the Scalvini, the Carnesecchi made one think of something else…
«They are very good, they represent the future of the senior national team. For this reason the thud is even more painful».
What does this flop teach?
«It underlines how sick blue football is. We are out of two World Cups and four Olympics. The European championship won with Mancini two years ago was, alas, a splendid exception which confirms the sad rule: we are in a crisis».
A way out?
«I have my own idea: the players are in the hands of the prosecutors and this is their problem. I’d like to understand why they have such ups and downs or why a little talent like Kean ever allowed himself to leave the Under 21 training camp before these nefarious Europeans… Who was he advised by? I’ve never had an attorney. Agents ruin football.”
A concrete example?
«Last year Gattuso’s agent was negotiating Rino’s contract with Fiorentina, but he also wanted to impose one of his players, who is disliked by the Viola club. That was the only condition to define the agreement. Commisso rebelled, all clubs should do this. Do you understand who the enemies of football are?
How to fight the crisis that is gripping our national teams?
«In the Federation it seems to me that recommendations are worth more than the actual merits of the people. Everything has remained as it was in my day, when I was kicked out after I had led the Under 21 team to win the European Championship and conquer a historic medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics».
That was a real bummer…
«Because of certain little people within the Federation, I saw my career cut short because I didn’t lower my head. And I didn’t listen to the invitations of certain prosecutors who wanted to impose players in the call-ups. I paid dearly for it.”
How?
«I was sent away in 2006 when they made me think I would be Lippi’s successor. At the Olympics I had fielded and trained six players who then became world champions two years later, including Pirlo, Gilardino, De Rossi and Barzagli. I had some merit, didn’t I?”
Haven’t you had any coaching offers since 2006?
«Not in Italy, and I still wonder why. Many requests from abroad: Spain, Portugal, South America. But I love Italy: is it possible that honest and professional people never find accommodation in this country?».
Soon it will be July 11th. What is the effect of thinking back to this date?
«Italy in 1982 made millions of Italians happy. I will celebrate July 11 with a complete tour of the lake. And, pedaling, I’ll think about what Enzo, Cesarone, Gaetano and Paolo are doing up there».
