Mazzone: Moggi was all talk
Sunday 3 September, 2006
Carlo Mazzone has come out to defend Juventus and the Calciopoli-hit clubs, claiming there was no actual cheating going on.
“Seeing the Scudetto on Inter’s shirt makes me feel pessimistic and irritated. The title is earned on the field and not because others were punished for some non-existent sporting fraud charges,” said the grand old man of Italian football.
“There were attempts to get a better angle, but on the field Juventus won fair and square. I worked with Luciano Moggi at Roma and let me assure you that he is the biggest boaster in Italy, while behind him there is an army of younger versions who have learned his lessons. Moggi’s biggest crime was of vanity.”
The former Juventus director general’s wiretapped phone conversations were at the centre of the Calciopoli trial and saw the club stripped of two titles and demoted to Serie B. Milan, Fiorentina, Lazio and Reggina were also punished and docked points from the 2006-07 season.
“In order to understand Calciopoli, you have to make a distinction between those who work in football and those who act behind the scenes,” explained Mazzone to newspaper 'Tuttosport’.
“Clubs, Coaches and players represent the crucial and healthy foundations of the whole sport. Without a good co-ordination between these elements, it’s an immediate crisis. Then there is another world, I say it’s in the shadows, full of people who boast of their power to get absolutely anything done. Their catchphrase is 'I’ll take care of it’. They’re the ones I always tell to mind their own business and leave me alone. This isn’t just an issue with Juventus, it’s the case everywhere.”
The wiretapped telephone conversations are effectively the only evidence of pressure on referees to help fix certain results and the majority of the 'men in black’ were cleared of wrongdoing. Mazzone’s suggestion is that the statements held up in front of the judges were in fact little more than boastful talk from people without any real influence to exert.
Mazzone left Livorno after a dismal spell on the Amaranto bench and his 20-year Coaching career could well be over.
“Let’s say that, unlike other years, I am trying to test how ready I am to be a pensioner. It’s not a role that suits me but, sooner or later, we must all settle into it. I’m not entirely certain I will manage it yet, but at least I’m giving it a go.”
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