Sannino, escape from Covid: he leaves Tripoli from first in the standings. But now it is positive

The globetrotter has returned home. The last stop is Libya, where Giuseppe Sannino ended his adventure in Tripoli’s Al-Ittihad prematurely. Where he was first in the standings and had made the African Champions. Covid’s fault: “He wasn’t sure, I preferred to go back”. And by a twist of fate, a few days after returning to Italy at his home in Cinquale (a hamlet of Forte dei Marmi), he tested positive. “Unfortunately it happened, but now I’m ready to go back. Maybe in Italy…”.

Damn Covid

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It is not the first time that Sannino has had to give up a bench due to the pandemic. After his long career in Italy, from the golden years of Varese to the experiences in Serie A with Siena, Palermo, Chievo and Carpi, he has coached in various countries. From England with Watford to Greece with Levadiakos, up to Hungary with Honved, again Levadiakos and, from September 2021, Libya. “The last three teams – he says – were doing very well. With Honved we won the Hungarian Cup, in Greece we should have made the playoff final, in Libya I was first with 12 points in 6 games and only 2 goals to the passive. But I had to leave: when you are away from home, you are afraid of getting sick without being able to have the necessary treatment. I was not calm, that’s it. And reluctantly I had to give up: it’s a pity, because in those three places we were experiencing exciting sports pages “.

Around the world

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With Al-Ittihad he was eliminated in the Champions League by the favorites of the Esperance in Tunis and should have played in the Conference. He was first in the standings, after having quickly settled into a whole new world: “The facilities are not great, but in Libya there is a great passion for football. Even at training there were hundreds of people to see us and, when we won a derby played outside the city, on the way back we were greeted along the road by thousands of fans who wanted to celebrate and stopped the bus several times “. The level is high: “I have played games in Egypt, Nigeria and elsewhere, I have seen important football, with young and highly valued players in which it is not wrong to invest. You just need to waste some time to tactically educate them. and teach them to stay on the pitch, but it’s not wasted time “. Maybe one day he will come back: “It’s great to have experiences abroad. I would like to stay in Italy (last team trained, Novara in 2019, ed), but a foreign team is always interesting to coach. Better if Covid is no longer involved… “.