Gennaro Gattuso reveals what he felt after failing to land the role of Tottenham Hotspur manager
Talking to Il Messaggero (h/t The Daily Mail), Italian manager Gennaro Gattuso described the pain he felt after being denied a job as Tottenham Hotspur’s new manager.
Spurs sacked Jose Mourinho back in April just days before the Carabao Cup final. While the club had Ryan Mason take over as their interim manager, a permanent option was constantly sought.
After a long and hard search, it seemed that Daniel Levy had settled on appointing Gattuso as the new boss. The former AC Milan manager became an unlikely favourite to land the job, but a social media campaign meant the deal was off.
The phrase ‘No To Gattuso’ was trending on Twitter as Spurs fans were against the Italian’s appointment. The campaign had started after a number of comments made by Gattuso on racism, women in football, and same-sex marriage came to light. (h/t The Daily Mail)
Gattuso defends himself
While Spurs pulled the plug on any deal, the ex-Milan destroyer remained silent. But now, he has spoken about the incident and feels sorry for not being able to defend himself from the accusations.
“It was a huge disappointment, but I wasn’t described for the way I am and there was nothing I could do. I am sorry I could not defend myself and explain that I am not the person they were talking about in England. I had to accept a story that hurts more than any defeat or dismissal, in a moment when we don’t want to understand how dangerous the web can be.”
The club went on to appoint Nuno Espirito Santo as their new manager later on.
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As for Gattuso, he only spent 23 days as Fiorentina’s manager right before his Spurs rejection. That is an indicator that he may not be the easiest manager to work with, and with Levy’s involvement in the club, friction could have come up between the two in the future.
