Luciano Spalletti was on Friday, August 18, named as the new coach of Italy, just three months after he left Napoli saying he needed a break.
64-year-old Spalletti left Napoli this summer after guiding the club to their first Serie A title in 33 years. He had planned to take a year-long sabbatical but has now decided to make a swift return to football.
The Italian Football Federation said on its website that Spalletti would take up the post which Roberto Mancini resigned from, from September 1.
The Federation President Gabriele Gravina said;
“The national team needed a great coach and I’m very happy that he accepted. His enthusiasm and his expertise will be fundamental for the challenges that await Italy in the coming months.”
Spalletti will be the national side’s ninth coach this century. His debut match in charge will be Italy’s 2024 European Championship qualifier in North Macedonia on Sept. 9, and the Azzurri will then host Ukraine three days later.
Italy are currently third in Group C on three points from two matches, trailing Ukraine on six points from three games. England lead the group with 12 points after four matches.
Spalletti’s appointment is however coming months after he left Napoli, signing a document that included a clause of €3 million ($3.3m) to be paid if he returned to work within a year of his contract.
While Federation lawyers maintain it is a sort of non-compete clause and counts only for clubs that are rivals to Napoli, Napoli’s president Aurelio De Laurentiis has remained equally firm that it also applied to the national team.
De Laurentiis said in a recent statement;
“I asked for guarantees that (Spalletti) would respect this sabbatical, including a penalty in the event of his commitment wavering. The FIGC) should not be put off by having to pay one million euros per year on the coach’s behalf to free him from his contractual obligations (a commitment not only to Napoli, but also to the club’s millions of fans). This is all incoherent.
“Admittedly, €3 million is not a lot to Napoli and even less to me, but the question in this case is not about the ‘almighty dollar,’ but a matter of principle instead.”
News platforms in Italy have reported that Spalletti is effectively taking on the contract clause himself and is prepared to leave the FIGC out of the situation.
There is also the suggestion Spalletti could buy his freedom, because the salary promised to him by the Federation is €3m per season plus €1m in bonuses. Those bonuses over three years would be used to pay off the release clause to Napoli.
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