Italy coach鈥檚 Puma sponsor deal fuels fears
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ANTONIO Conte will earn more than any other Italy coach before him thanks to a deal with kit sponsor Puma, Italian media reported yesterday, sparking questions over a possible conflict of interest.
The former Juventus boss was named the new coach of Italy on Thursday on a two-year contract, and will be paid 3.2 million euros (US$4.28 million) a year — with over half coming from sportswear giant Puma, the reports said.
Conte can also boost his earnings with bonuses linked to qualifying the team for the Euro 2016 finals as well as improving his team’s world ranking, currently 14, to among the top eight.
He is expected to hold a press conference in Rome on Tuesday during which the exact details of his salary will be revealed.
“Conte: the best and the best paid,” the country’s biggest-selling daily Corriere della Sera said, with editorialist Mario Sconcerti describing the 45-year-old as “by far the best choice”.
“His charisma, having won a lot, and recently, will give him a momentum with the players that no other coach has ever had,” he said.
Conte steered Juventus to a third consecutive title last season, the first time the club had achieved the feat since a five-season title run in the 1930s.
But Puma’s role in securing Conte for the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) — the first time any such deal has been made in Italy — has left many critics fearing the sponsor will wield too much power.
“How will Conte deal with the players who have contracts with the same sponsor who is paying his salary? Who will have the final say when it comes to renewing a contract?” Maurizio Crosetti in La Repubblica asked.
“Will it be the banana man who will decide? Or Puma’s managing director?” he said in a reference to FIGC president Carlo Tavecchio, who was elected last week despite describing African players as “banana eaters”.
Stefano Semeraro in La Stampa warned that “sport has always been tied up with questions of ethics... but this summer Italian football has had to deal with the interference, real or feared, of commercial interests”.
Conte’s first match in charge will be on September 4 when Italy faces the Netherlands in a friendly.
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