Massimo Cellino is up to his usual nonsense

Written by: Rob Conlon
Artwork by: Eamonn Dalton

Writing about Massimo Cellino is tricky. Trying to understand why Cellino does what he does is like trying to understand a world where cats can bark and dogs have nine lives. In November, Cellino announced his resignation as Brescia chairman on the club’s official website, a decision he said he’d already announced to the board of directors a month earlier. Cellino blamed a criminal investigation into his tax affairs, ‘[that] has by now worn away my serenity, which is necessary for the purposes of managing a complex company such as a football team.’ He promised fans the team would be fine though:

‘After all, I’m sure the team is stronger than you think and the results not achieved lately are the offspring of my state of mind which reflects on the team and I’m not saying this as a fan, but because of my many years of experience in football.’

Four months on, Cellino is still hiring and firing head coaches, currently searching for his thirteenth in three years. He has had cameras installed at the training ground to keep an eye on his latest watermelons, and — in a reversal of getting Monsignor Philip Moger to bless the pitch at Elland Road — asked a priest to perform an exorcism on the training ground to rid the club of any curses. Cellino’s survival might have something to do with the annulment of a court order demanding €59m of his assets were seized, requiring only €1m to be held while he awaits a preliminary hearing in July. And the fact the board of directors who asked him to stay contains his son, Edoardo.

This was only meant to be a blog about Cellino sacking our old mate and Garry Monk’s sworn nemesis Pep Clotet for a second time. Since I had the idea, Cellino has already re-hired and re-fired Clotet once more. As if I needed any more reasons to question reality, Brescia are currently being coached by Davide Possanzini, who I know as Leeds United’s Under-18s assistant manager on my Football Manager save.

Like I say, writing about Massimo Cellino is tricky, so here’s a brief(ish) overview of how things have gone for the King of Corn since he finally left Leeds United alone in 2017, signing off with the message to fans: ‘If you can survive working with me, you can survive anything.’ That same summer, he took over Brescia, sacked then reappointed his first head coach Roberto Boscaglia within the first six months of the season, sacked him again, and finished 16th in Serie B. The second season featured just two head coaches, the first sacked after three league matches, before Euginio Corini led the side to a surprise promotion as title winners. The return to Serie A lasted a solitary season. This time it was Corini’s turn to be sacked, re-hired, then sacked again. Cellino made Mario Balotelli his marquee signing, which went exactly as you’d expect. Balotelli was told by Cellino he could leave Brescia on a free transfer by December, only a few weeks after Balotelli had been dropped following an argument with the head coach and Cellino had said: “What can I say? That he’s black and he’s working to whiten himself but he has great difficulties in this.”

Since then, Brescia have been stuck in Serie B. Clotet was appointed head coach midway through that first season back in the second tier, guiding the side from the relegation zone to the play-offs, despite Cellino insisting on final approval of Clotet’s team selections and tactics. When Clotet was sent to the stands after arguing with a match official in a match against Cremonese, Cellino made his dream of taking over in the dugout a reality. Brescia lost 2-1.

Clotet left Brescia at the end of the season after failing to agree a new contract. He was replaced by former Milan striker Pippo Inzaghi, who almost lasted the season until being sacked with Brescia in the play-offs (after a run of one defeat in fifteen league fixtures), allowing Corini to return for a third time. Inzaghi left around the same time as sporting director Cristian Botturi, who now has Pro Sesto joint top of Serie C with the lowest budget in the competition. “If he had stayed we would have made it,” Inzaghi said.

That brings us onto the current campaign, which started with the return of Clotet in the dugout, bringing with him Federico Viviani from former club SPAL. You may remember Viviani as the midfielder who was set to join Leeds under Dave Hockaday, until he attended a pre-season friendly defeat to Mansfield and wisely decided, fuck that. Two days before it was announced Cellino was remaining as president, Brescia beat SPAL 2-0 and were third in Serie B. With Massimo back in business, Brescia lost three of their next four, costing Clotet his job. When Cellino asked for an exorcism on the training ground, he would have been better off directing the priest towards the boardroom.

When head coaches are sacked in Italy, it’s common for them to be placed on gardening leave, a la Darko Milanic at Leeds, meaning they can be called back to the touchline while still under contract. Clotet’s successor Alfredo Aglietti lasted two matches before Pep was back for a third time, although he only got one more game than Aglietti before being told to pack his bags again. Brescia are currently 17th, sitting in the relegation play-off places.

Meanwhile, Cellino has suspended Brescia’s press officer, restricting him to running their social media channels, because Massimo was annoyed he didn’t stop Clotet expressing frustration at Andrea Cistana’s slow recovery from an ankle injury. With a number of injuries reducing Brescia’s options in defence towards the end of the January transfer window, Cellino phoned former Sampdoria centre-back Massimo Volta asking if he would like to join the club he supported as a boy. Volta was reportedly surprised by the call, given he’s 36 years old and is playing amateur football. The transfer never materialised. Cellino has at least been reunited with his favourite unicorn, Adryan Tavares, who played a total of thirty minutes of competitive football in 2022 and is yet to make his Brescia debut.

After leaving Brescia for the third time, Clotet posted to Instagram:

‘The emotional bond that will always bind me to this club and its fans has got me coming back this season and trying to help. I have tried everything… I tried my best. With the same feeling I salute you, wishing you a better future and grateful to all the players, staff and fans!’

The replies featured a message that could be used as the epitaph for every manager who has ever coached under Massimo Cellino: