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Cesare Prandelli hurt by comparisons to cruise ship disaster captain Francesco Schettino

Cesare Prandelli hurt by comparisons to cruise ship disaster captain Francesco Schettino

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Cesare Prandelli wasted no time in resigning immediately after the 1-0 loss to Uruguay that sent Italy out of the World Cup in the group stage for the second time in a row. Now with the tournament not even over yet, Prandelli has already accepted the Galatasaray job and he's spoken about the hatred he's received as a result of Italy's poor performance. Including comparisons to the Costa Concordia cruise ship captain who was charged with manslaughter after 32 people died when the ship capsized and sank.

From Football Italia:

“My family and I have received threatening letters from fans,” the former Fiorentina Coach commented.

“I could have asked for severance pay but instead I resigned with the intention of not accepting offers from Italy. [...]

“It hurt me a lot to hear myself compared to Schettino, but that is the cynicism of our football,” Prandelli added finally in reference to sections of media who have drawn comparisons between him and Captain Francesco Schettino, the man who went on trial for manslaughter for his role in the Costa Concordia ship disaster.

Though Italy's failure in Brazil was a tremendous disappointment, Prandelli's time with the national team also included success at Euro 2012, where Italy finished as runners-up to Spain. That was followed by a third-place finish at the 2013 Confederations Cup. And Prandelli wasn't responsible for any deaths at any of those tournaments, so the Schettino comparisons might be a bit much.

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