Andrea Pirlo, peerless midfield playmaker and master of the Panenka penalty, has lost out on managing the Italy football team because of his controversial connections to a Russian betting firm.
Pirlo–a winner of the 2006 World Cup with Italy and a star of the 2012 Euros, despite Italy losing 4-0 to Spain in the final–was the hot favourite to be appointed the Azzurri’s new football coach – with the express task of reviving the national team, which failed to qualify for this year’s 2026 World Cup in North America.
But the legendary A.C. Milan and Juventus halfback, who controlled the field of play like an American football quarterback, has been excluded from the running because of his ties to Russian bookmaker Fonbet.
Although Italy has won the World Cup four times (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) it has failed to qualify for the last three Mundial tournaments.
Global Ambassador
Pirlo, aged 47-years-old and currently manager of United FC in Dubai, in the UAE Pro League, who played 116 times for his country, was approached after other candidates turned the job down.
But his role as a global brand ambassador for Fonbet, a Moscow-based sports betting company, which operates hundreds of betting shops and several licensed online platforms in Russia and Kazakhstan, led to a massive backlash from anti-Putin and pro-Ukraine activists.
“Anyone who is or has been promoting Russia after 2022 [invasion of Ukraine] should not hold national office,” a leading Italian senator said this week.
For his part Pirlo has refused to apologise for his Russia connection, saying:
“[My] professional collaboration [with Fonbet] is purely commercial and sporting in nature.
“Attributing political significance to this collaboration implies that I hold views that I have never expressed and do not share.”
Revolution, Much Needed
Nevertheless, this May Pirlo attended a special Russia Football Day in Moscow, where he appeared alongside many pro-Kremlin artists and entertainers.
His prospective appointment was a “grave error”, said one prominent critic.
Italy’s national team “desperately needs a cultural, ethical and managerial revolution”.
And Pirlo, whatever his grace and class on the pitch, is patently not such a catalyst.
