The National team bench has never been a job like any other. It is one of the hottest seats in the country. That of the designated coach, Andrea Pirlo, is so hot that it wobbles even before his arrival. The world champion playmaker in Berlin in 2006 is already divisive due to his lack of tactical maturity, but now an intricate geopolitical issue has also arisen.
What caused a stir was Pirlo’s much-discussed role as “global ambassador” for Fonbet, one of the main sports betting operators in the Russian market. Already in October 2025, when it was signed in defiance of international sanctions applied to Russia due to the conflict in Ukraine, it caused a lot of discussion, and the former midfielder even appeared in the Russian capital to attend the Football Day organized by the same brand.
CALENDA’S TACKLE
Now, with the Italian bench involved, the controversy has completely erupted. Carlo Calenda, leader of Azione, made a sliding tackle: «Anyone who today lends themselves to propaganda for entities closely linked to Russia should not hold public or prominent roles for our country». Mauro Berruto, head of Sport for the Pd but with a past as coach of the national volleyball team, shared the same opinion. Berruto considers it «obvious hypocrisy»: «I hope for an immediate termination of the advertising contract by the new Azzurri coach». Who, in truth, hasn’t even signed the agreement.
Even harsher was the stance of the Vice-President of the European Parliament, Pina Picierno: «The FIGC’s choice is a “plan Z” for our local football. A symbol of Italian sport cannot lend his name to commercial initiatives that risk normalizing the image of the Muscovite regime while the war continues».
To her words were added those of Benedetto Della Vedova (+Europa): «A public figure of Pirlo’s global relevance should carefully consider his private decisions and commercial contracts». It must be remembered, however, for the record, that the role would prevent him from being under contract with a betting company. And that his role as “global ambassador” for the Russian brand is strictly linked to the fact that he sits on the bench of United Fc, a team from the United Arab Emirates whose president, Sergey Lomakin, has interests in the sector.
The President of the Senate, Ignazio La Russa, limited himself to purely football and managerial concerns: «I respect Malagò, Leonardo and Maldini, strictly in that order, and it is out of respect for them that I have not released immediate comments. Now I say: may God send us good fortune. His choice as coach has all the hallmarks of a leap in the dark. After hearing Guardiola’s big name circulating for days, I wouldn’t want the mountain to have ended up giving birth to the classic mouse, and in this case, the mouse is called Pirlo. I was convinced that the choice would have fallen on Conte or Mancini».
The doubts expressed by the President of the Senate faithfully reflect the mood of a significant portion of Italian fans. Pirlo thus finds himself forced to face a professional battle on two very open fronts: on one side there is the green pitch, where he will have to silence the many skeptics and prove that he is not just that “mouse“.
DIVISION ON THE LEFT
A heated debate among the opposition benches with Carolina Morace (M5S) attacking Pirlo’s critics: «Deeply wrong words. Where was the same indignation towards those who continued to maintain sporting, institutional, or cultural relations with Israel while Gaza was being devastated? Where is the same severity towards the United States when they were protagonists of military interventions contested by international law? There cannot be first-class victims and second-class victims. There cannot be wars that outrage and others that are ignored. And there cannot be principles valid only when convenient». The broad front, in short, is divided even on football.
Now, however, the coach will have to fight his battle on two fronts: prove on the field that he is a true coach with winning ideas and personality; quickly defuse the media embarrassment related to his sponsorship contracts with Russian entities. Although he has not violated any law, he will have to clean up an image that currently raises doubts about the compatibility between being the symbolic guide of Italian football and having been, even if only for promotional purposes, the face of a brand that used him to overcome Russia’s international isolation.
