Put the monster on the front page 2: to justify its clamorous own goal, after Inzaghi, Gazzetta puts Ranieri in the pillory, the new traitor of the Homeland

On the day the former Roma coach informed Gravina of his refusal, Gazzetta dello Sport ran with Ranieri as the new national team coach on its front page. Caught off guard, they served up cold revenge

(Translated into English by Grok)

You have to understand Gazzetta. On Monday, the day of Italy-Moldova, it hits the newsstands with the front page you see above: “RANIERI’S ITALY,” a photo of the former Roma coach, visibly emotional, seemingly applauding himself and his choice, with the subheading explaining the facts: “He will be the coach, remains Friedkin’s consultant,” and a teaser for the op-ed on page 4 titled “Sir Claudio: A Love-Yes to the National Team,” promising to reveal all the behind-the-scenes details of the blockbuster marriage about to be sealed in the Italian football household.

You have to understand Gazzetta. Because that very same morning, Claudio Ranieri announced to the world that no, he would not become the national team coach: after long deliberation, he informed FIGC president Gravina of his refusal, and so this marriage with the Azzurri colors was not to be. While Gazzetta dello Sport was rolling out “Everything You Wanted to Know About Ranieri, the New Azzurri Coach, But Were Afraid to Ask,” the real world was telling the opposite story: Ranieri said no to Italy and will stay at Roma, as he had been saying for months. A tough blow for the pink paper, for sure. But these things happen. Tomorrow is another day, right?

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But no. You know how Gazzetta works: it has its dear friends it holds in high regard, and woe to anyone who wrongs them. Take Marotta, Inter’s president; he saw his coach, Simone Inzaghi, abandon him at the worst (or best, you decide) moment to head to Saudi Arabia, and it didn’t sit well—not with Marotta, nor with the pink paper, which promptly went to war defending the betrayed black-and-blue club, putting the unworthy, ungrateful, and suddenly incompetent coach from Piacenza in the pillory. We all remember the headlines and the sanctimonious articles: not exactly a shining moment in journalism, but what can you do? Gazzetta has its own character.

And so, after Simone Inzaghi, here comes Claudio Ranieri. He’s done a number on Gazzetta’s dear and illustrious friend, Gabriele Gravina: the FIGC president who had let his bards (and Gazzetta is top among them) believe that Ranieri’s appointment as coach was a done deal, a mere formality. But in the night, as the presses at Via Solferino churned out pink pages detailing the FIGC’s wedding of the year, Ranieri’s refusal came like a bolt from the blue. This marriage will not happen—not tomorrow, not ever. A dagger to the heart for Gazzetta’s Don Abbondios.

So, how to wash away such shame? As always: by putting the monster on the front page. Yesterday Inzaghi, today Ranieri.

“That’s not how it’s done.” That’s not how you behave, dear unjust, base, and vile Claudio Ranieri. How dare you send a “shock text” in the middle of the night to poor Gravina, who already has enough troubles?

You’re truly a traitor, dear unworthy, ungrateful, wretched Claudio Ranieri. You’re like the deserter Acerbi, who refused to go to war for his beloved homeland: with you, Italy has been rejected twice in ten days—can you fathom it? And “is this really acceptable?” asks Gazzetta. Ignobly, despicably.

And listen to what Arrigo Sacchi says, the one who told Inzaghi he chose money over love for the club and his profession, and that he had hurt Inter: there’s a lecture for you too. “You don’t say no to the Azzurri,” Arrigo decrees. “I gave up two billion,” he adds. Perhaps tomorrow he’ll explain to Gazzetta’s readers that your record, like Inzaghi’s, isn’t as rosy as it seems: anyone could have won the title with Leicester, and at Roma, a year ago, you inherited a team bursting with health thanks to Juric’s revitalization; yet you only finished 5th, letting Juventus snatch a Champions League spot, to the great detriment of the club’s finances.

Dear Claudio Ranieri, that’s how things go in this crazy world. Gravina tells Gazzetta it’s a done deal with you, Gazzetta prints it, you exercise your right to blow it all up, and just like that, overnight, you go from being Pope Claudio I to Satan.

If you can, don’t let it get to you. You know how the Italian football circus works.