England legend Gary Lineker joked about the similarity between him and one of Maurizio Sarri’s assistants Gianni Picchioni, so we look at who the England legend’s lookalike is.
Sarri served the first of a two-match ban during Lazio‘s 2-2 draw against Cagliari on Sunday.
The former Chelsea and Juventus coach watched the game from a private box at the Stadio Olimpico with one of his assistants, Gianni Picchioni.
The picture of Sarri smoking cigarettes close to Picchioni has become viral on social media and was even shared by Gary Lineker, who spotted a similarity between him and Sarri’s assistant.
Born on November 6, 1964, Picchioni is a football coach who spent the majority of his career in the youth sector of Sangiovannese, the same club that hired Sarri back in 2003.
It was the first time that Sarri took charge of a professional club in Italy and he managed to earn promotion to Serie C1 in his first season at the club.
Former Fiorentina and Foggia striker Ciccio Baiano was the star of that team.
Picchioni was not part of Sarri’s staff at that time, but their collaboration began when Empoli appointed the coach. Picchioni was one of Tuscans’ scouts and covered the same role at Napoli and Chelsea.
However, in the second part of Sarri’s only season in London, Picchioni was promoted to technical assistant, maintaining the same duties at Juventus and Lazio.
While in Turin, he was one of the few people who could meet the coach in person when he was diagnosed with pneumonia at the beginning of the 2019-20 campaign, forcing him to miss the first few games of the season.
Picchioni usually doesn’t watch the games from the bench but studies the players’ movements from the stands, reporting to Sarri at the end of each encounter.
In the summer, he followed the 62-year-old in the capital, not just as a simple assistant but also as one of Sarri’s closest collaborators and advisors.
It’s not me with him, honest. 😳 https://t.co/4RbpqmrgeJ
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) September 19, 2021