Brescia confirmed coach Pippo Inzaghi had ‘never officially been fired,’ but they did meet with Diego Lopez and President Massimo Cellino is still evaluating a dismissal, despite being two points off top spot. ‘Cellino has a vision of the future.’
Incredibly, Brescia are currently third in the Serie B table after 11 wins, six draws and four defeats, only two points off leaders Lecce.
Nonetheless, there were multiple reports over the weekend that Brescia had decided to sack Inzaghi and bring back Diego Lopez.
A press conference was organised for today, theoretically to present new boss Lopez, but instead director of sport Francesco Marroccu had to present the rather bizarre series of events himself.
“As you all know, I met Diego Lopez and his staff last night, but there is not a good atmosphere in the city for his return,” said Marroccu.
“He is a friend of Brescia and of the President, but after seeing the reactions from the media and fans, he realised his arrival could be an issue for Brescia, so gave up on the job.”
This does not by any means guarantee Inzaghi will stay in the role, especially as it’s reported there is a clause in SuperPippo’s contract meaning he cannot be sacked if they are in the top eight.
President Cellino, a man known for his spectacular lack of patience with coaches, is nonetheless ready to pull the trigger anyway.
The way Marroccu described the situation was not helpful either.
“Inzaghi has never been officially fired. But we are evaluating his dismissal. Whether the clause exists or not, we have not fired Inzaghi, so it is irrelevant.
“There are too many differences between him and the patron. Lopez was the best choice, but preferred to take a step back.
“Filippo is the coach of Brescia, he has to collaborate with the club. He deserves credit for the strong start to the season, but we made a clear transfer strategy in January.
“The President and Inzaghi said some things to each other. Inzaghi has to be resilient and keep the desire to stay at Brescia. Cellino is not accustomed to focusing on daily results, he sees the big picture and has a vision of the future. It is the President who dictates the general approach.”
With the death of former Palermo and Venezia President Maurizio Zamparini last week, Cellino remains the iconic Italian Calcio President who brings chaos in his wake.
He was at the helm of Cagliari from 1992 to 2014, then had a brief spell at Leeds United from 2014 to 2017 before returning to Italy for Brescia.
During the 20-year experience at Cagliari, Cellino went through 27 different coaches, some of them returning for a total of 36 changes of management.
At Leeds United, he ‘only’ went through six managers in three years, but was banned three times by the football authorities.
Cellino is notoriously superstitious and terrified of the Number 17, which brings bad luck in Italy.
Ds Brescia: “Cellino è un lungimirante, non guarda al giornaliero. Inzaghi deve esser resiliente” https://t.co/4W3ZgZtABm
— TUTTOmercatoWEB (@TuttoMercatoWeb) February 8, 2022
Lol. The Zampas and Cellinos add flavor to calcio. I think Commiso is a bit in this mould too, but perpaps already too old to make a difference going forward.
De Laurentiis?
Pozzo at Watford?