CT Italia: La Russa Slams Pirlo: “May God Have Mercy on Us.” Abodi Is Critical; Controversy Over Russian Sponsor

Skepticism, sarcasm, and even controversy have followed the appointment of Andrea Pirlo as the new head coach of the Italian national team. After dreaming of Pep Guardiola in recent hours, many fans felt betrayed by the choice made by Paolo Maldini and Leonardo. Sports Minister Andrea Abodi himself appeared critical on Sky of the process used to select the new coach. “I don’t know if Guardiola even considered it. I believe that when you even hint at such an option in public, you either have a reasonable degree of certainty that it will come to fruition, or it’s better to keep it under wraps. These alternatives seem so far apart to me that it was probably a gamble to bring it up without being certain of a ‘yes.’ These aren’t the kind of proposals where you’d expect to hear ‘No, thank you’ for any reason.”

Abodi describes Pirlo as “a gamble.” “Gambles are always a risk, so you also have to try to make choices that make logical sense, and only the field will ultimately decide whether this gamble is a forward-thinking choice, given that the agreement is expected to last four years.”

Senate President Ignazio La Russa, speaking to ANSA, is decidedly skeptical about the choice of Pirlo: “I respect Malagò, Leonardo, and Maldini—in that order—and so I didn’t make any immediate statements about Pirlo as Italy’s head coach, partly out of respect for them. I’m speaking now only because you called me: may God grant us success. I’m a fan of Italy, and Pirlo was a great champion; but as a coach, he’s a leap into the unknown. After the media trial balloon with Guardiola, I wouldn’t want the mountain to have given birth to a mouse—the mouse that is Pirlo. I thought the choice would be Conte or Mancini.”

Pirlo has come under fire from several politicians, in part due to a series of commercial contracts he’s signed recently with Russia. +Europa MP Benedetto della Vedova sparked the debate on X: “We can only offer our most heartfelt best wishes to Pirlo and the Italian national soccer team. With one ‘but’: A few months ago, Pirlo made a decision that I find incomprehensible and wrong—that of becoming a global ambassador for Fonbet, Russia’s leading betting agency.” In any case, as head coach, Pirlo would immediately sever his ties with the betting agency.