Lazio coach Maurizio Sarri confesses he’s ‘happy’ if his players are snubbed for international duty and warns ‘if football is going to just become a business, then in 10 years the general public could no longer care about this sport.’
While teams like Inter, Juventus and Fiorentina are going into a month with nine matches in 30 days, Lazio are out of the Coppa Italia and the Conference League.
Despite that, Sarri remains furious with the packed fixture list and gives a surprise confession after Mattia Zaccagni was snubbed by Italy coach Roberto Mancini.
“I am happy when my players don’t get called up for international duty. Matias Vecino flew from Rome to Japan, Japan to South Korea and South Korea to Rome, all for two friendlies with Uruguay,” said Sarri in his press conference.
“The current fixture list is no longer feasible. I heard comparisons with the NBA, which is madness, because players tend to be on the court for just 28 minutes in basketball compared to 90 in football, and you get a lot more knocks in football too.
“I don’t criticise international football, I just don’t care about it at all. I watched 10 minutes of Kosovo-Andorra, saw all the players in one penalty area and asked what the hell just happened? I criticise the calendar because the quality is dropping, there are always five or six injuries and if football is going to just become a business, then in 10 years the general public could no longer care about this sport.”
It is hardly the first time that Sarri has raged against the packed fixture list, as he has consistently complained about the number of matches played even when he was at Napoli, Chelsea and Juventus.
The tactician worked as a banker before following his heart to work in football and has often said he enjoys training more than matches, which is why coaching at this level is so frustrating.
“Thank goodness I am old and closer to retirement,” he said in an interview last month.