The post Italy Boss Luciano Spalletti Faces England With Unwanted Distraction appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Italys National Football team during the UEFA EURO 2024 European qualifier match between Italy and … [+] Malta in Bari, Italy, on October 14, 2023. (Photo by Gabriele Maricchiolo/NurPhoto via Getty Images) NurPhoto via Getty Images New Italy boss Luciano Spalletti is the latest Azzurri boss to be in charge of the national side while a scandal engulfs the Italian game. From Enzo Bearzot to Marcello Lippi, Italian coaches have had to experience the rollercoaster of being in charge of the national side while a hailstorm of scandal, gossip and criticism descends from the media. For Bearzot, it wad the Totonero scandal; for Lippi, it was Calciopoli. On the surface of things, the current scandal that Spalletti has to deal with is the least damaging of the three. No match-fixing or referee-influencing has occurred this time, but Spalletti will be without the likes of Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo for the game against England in the crunch Euro 2024 qualifier, and could be without them for the tournament itself – should Italy qualify – as the case involving both players, plus others, could go to trial. The case doesn’t make Spalletti’s preparation for the England game any easier, with Italy not exactly having the best of records against England at Wembley. Italy’s first win against England away from home didn’t arrive until 1973, when a young Fabio Capello scored in a famous 2-0 win. Following that, the Azzurri had to wait a further 24 years, when a solitary goal from Gianfranco Zola – then playing for Chelsea – secured a 1-0 win in a World Cup qualifier for France ’98. Italy then emerged with a slender 2-1 win in March 2002 thanks to goals from Vincenzo Montella in a friendly. Since then, Italy have failed to win on English soil,…

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Filed under: News - @ October 17, 2023 5:10 am