Criscitiello hammers Oriali over Allegri spat: “The one who comes out badly is him”

Sportitalia editor-in-chief Michele Criscitiello believes Lele Oriali was at fault after the argument with Massimiliano Allegri during Napoli-Milan.

Milan were beaten 2-0 in the Supercoppa Italiana semi-final against Napoli on Thursday evening, and it was not the best performance from Allegri’s men. The head coach wasn’t too pleased with the performance from his team and – according to reports – he told them so in the dressing room.

However, it was not just the players that got the brunt of Allegri’s rage. As was reported by several sources and also picked up on camera, the ex-Juventus boss also found himself in heated conversations with Conte’s staff member Gabriele Oriali, hurling abuse at the 73-year-old.

‘A traffic cop for Antonio’

Now, Michele Criscitiello has published an editorial on Sportitalia in which he launched into a scathing attack on the Napoli assistant for the way that he took the matter to the press.

“He shouldn’t go to Padua but to Lecce to pray to his true Saint Anthony because if it hadn’t been for Conte, he would still be the Lele Oriali who did great things in football three lifetimes ago.

“He would have enjoyed his retirement on the couch at home, and perhaps no one would have missed him. The only Inter ‘heart’ that reunited everyone: Milan, Inter and Juventus fans. Even ‘his’ old fans rejected him. We should ask ourselves why. We never understood his role, but by trying, perhaps we found an answer.

“He works as a traffic cop for Antonio, carries Antonio’s suitcase, and probably brings him breakfast every morning. There’s no other justification for Conte’s obsession with Oriali, especially since it’s an unnecessary expense that Conte’s staff passes on to the clubs.

“Antonio is a great man and has a staff of outstanding technical and human qualities, but Oriali’s figure has always been a flaw that needs to be removed sooner or later. Like when you go to the dermatologist. The darker and bigger it gets, the more dangerous it is. Also because time passes for everyone.

“Oriali, in theory, is a man of the field, and we know well that many things happen on the pitch that end there. Instead, after the argument with Allegri, he created a media outcry by demanding that the club issue a tearful press release defending his great reputation. The one who comes out badly is him, not Allegri.

“If he’d wanted to and been capable, he would have taken justice into his own hands on the bench or in the dressing room, and if he’d been capable, he could have responded with words, like those he endured. It’s always been this way in football, and shifting attention from the pitch to the press is a failure for anyone who knows the rules of football.

“Oriali has forgotten them and is wrong because Conte, a true leader and a fiery man, also rightly often wages war with his opponents, and if you’re Conte’s assistant, you can do anything except cry when attacked. You just have to be able to respond.

“Look at Parma-Napoli in the Primavera. The problem isn’t Napoli, nor is it the controversy with Allegri. The problem is that Conte should do without this figure who only causes him harm.

“Antonio is a great leader and a fantastic coach. He doesn’t need a traffic cop to stop him when he goes crazy. If breakfast is the problem at home, in Naples, they’d all compete to bring Conte a croissant and cappuccino at any time. Anto, just ask and you’ll be served.”