Everybody in England would have now known by now that maverick Maurizio Sarri is a chain smoker and someone who can’t do without a puff.
However Sarri isn’t the only Italian manager who loves his cigarettes, here are other three of his other managerial counterparts that love to light up.
Carlo Ancelotti
He began smoking at the age of 25 and hasn’t been able to kick the habit since. The current Napoli boss was even chastised for smoking on the bench when he visited Celtic as manager of AC Milan in 2007.
“Until three years ago in Italy you could smoke on the bench,” he explained.
“I used to like that, although I remember one time, when we were playing Ajax in the Champions League quarter-final in 2003, we scored in the last minute, and Gennaro Gattuso jumps off the bench and grabs me from behind. I nearly swallowed the thing.”
Marcello Lippi
The godfather of managers was hardly seen without his cigar on the touchline. Marcello Lippi began lighting up since his mid-teens starting with off with cigarettes.
Cigars are the way to go now for this Paul Newman look alike.
Gianluca Via
This may come as a surlliprise but the former Chelsea manager and first Italian to manage in England’s top-flight was also prone to the unhealthy habit.
While he did admit to the ills of smoking he also mentioned it was a healthier alternative than to getting drunk every night. During his illustrious playing career the Italian was caught numerous times smoking after being substituted.
Rumours also made their way around the footballing world that during the 1990 World Cup, he was spotted trying to smoke sneakily next to the bench.