Luciano Moggi to the charge: "A is the worst league, in 2006 the best"
After Italy’s third consecutive ouster from the final phase of the World Cup, former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi spoke to Tris TV, taking a few stones out of his shoe. Before getting as far as the Reggina topic.
“The real problem is that everything was done too late. You can’t even get to three failures to qualify before decisions were made. Already after the first one, action had to be taken. But in Italy we always have the policy of postponement,” he noted. “In 2006, we were the best league. And now we are the worst. We had won the world title. Those who played an important part in bringing the national team to certain levels, including me, have become elements to be replaced and besmirched.”
“After Berlin, we were eliminated twice in the first round of the World Cup. And then we even failed to qualify against teams like Bosnia or Macedonia. I am not talking about Sweden, which was superior to these. When there is a sick person, he needs medicine. If not, he dies. In the Italian national team that won the Cup in 2006, there were five players from Juventus. In the French national team, four,” he recalled. “Those managers became the target of those who could not do what we had done. I suffered everything that was possible to suffer. But I never stole anything from anyone. I always gave my best to carry on the work of those who paid me. I did it because I believed in soccer in Italy and in the world.”
Between a lack of facilities and an excess of foreigners, Moggi has no doubts about which is the main cause of Italian soccer’s ills: “Lack of facilities? No, there is a lack of good feet. President Gravina has managed to make teams play with eleven foreigners on the field, which has worsened the quality of the league. There are teams that are doing well: Napoli, Milan, Inter. But it is Como that is done critically: true, all foreigners, but they know how to play. Otherwise we see 40-year-old players like Modric, in an attempt to bring back quality. If Italy wanted this, these are the results. Those who suffered Calciopoli are now regretted. But those times had to be regretted at the appropriate time, without having those who worked well pierced with infamy.”
Moggi did not comment on who might take over as the new federal president: “The important thing is that there is someone who loves soccer. Malagò has achieved important results at Coni, but soccer is another matter. Few people understand that soccer has to be organized like a business. We have had so many enemies. But now the problem comes up: save money and buy good players. We knew how to do that.”
Incited by host Paolo Ficara, the former Juventus general manager conceded a few quips inherent to Reggina: “Presidents like Lillo Foti, who are competent in soccer and balanced, can be found only a few. He can hardly be replaced by anyone. With Reggina I had that problem of the referee. Those who argued Calciopoli attributed it to me as kidnapping. Although the referee said it was not true, confirming that no one had locked him in the locker room. The Reggio Calabria Prosecutor’s Office dismissed, because the fact did not exist. I loved Reggina, I was close to it. Foti was a great president, I am fond of him. I wish Reggina to find peace and good results, to return to where Foti had brought it: to Serie A. The negotiation for Simone Perrotta? I liked it, there was one club selling and one buying.”
