Employment Carousel Gets New Meaning In Italy

The Italian coaching carousel is something of a legendary comedy. Or maybe a tragedy. No, it’s definitely a trage-comedy. Coaches are discarded like paper waste before being plucked out of the trash minutes later as though nothing happened. In other words it’s the calcio equivalent of the worst relationship in history.

But yesterday calcio may have achieved its finest moment as Abel Balbo was hired only to resign ten minutes into his first training session….and then get rehired in the evening. Only in Italia.

The problem was largely a misunderstanding between Balbo and the ownership. Treviso is suffering massively from financial issues and, after firing Luca Gotti (and running away frantically), the medical staff, who seem to have been performing their duties pro bono for the last year plus, had enough and left the team. Without medical staff, they couldn’t hold training.

Except no one told Balbo, who was greeted on his first day by an empty pitch. Cue tantrum.

With Abel thinking this was a protest over the sacking of Gotti, he resigned on the spot and sent a club in chaos into further pandemonium.

“I made a bad decision and risked the reputation I’ve built through an honorable career.”

Fortunately he was set straight – though why he wasn’t briefed on everything from the get go is still an enormous headscratcher.

“Balbo knew the situation was bad, but even he did not think it was so serious that we do not even have a medical chief because he is fed up with offering his services for a year and a half without pay.”

After receiving this news, Abel decided to make nice and was rehired in the evening. Ah, Italia – only she can provide in less than 24, maybe even 12, hours the hire, resign and rehire trifecta.

Don’t be surprised, however, to hear tha Balbo has resigned again after he gets a look at the Serie B table.

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Category: World Football