- Italian coach Gattuso has signed an initial 2-year deal with Valencia and becomes Peter Lim’s 11th managerial appointment
- Furious fans started online #NoToGattuso campaign to block his appointment due to historical homophobic comments
- Tottenham fans successfully stopped Gattuso replacing Jose Mourinho at the start of last season with the original campaign
Valencia are set to announce Gennaro Gattuso as their new manager today, despite the ongoing backlash from their own fans.
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The former AC Milan and Rangers midfielder has been out of work since leaving Napoli last year, and is set to sign an initial 2-year deal, according to journalist Fabricio Romano.
The Italian was heavily linked to the Spurs hotseat after Jose Mourinho’s dismissal last year, although his historical homophobic comments came back to haunt the manager, with Tottenham’s fans’ #NoToGattuso movement putting an end to the move.
Gattuso will surely be relieved at his latest appointment with a sense of Déjà vu surrounding his move. Valencia fans also trended the #NoToGattuso movement in the hope of dissuading owner Peter Lim from acquiring the Italian services.
Gattuso, in response, moved to defend himself in the Saturday edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport in Italy:
“My history speaks for itself,” he said. “I’m racist? I’m homophobic? I’m xenophobic? I’m sexist? Have we gone mad? It’s time to calm down.” Gattuso stated.
Gattuso will be the 11th managerial appointment by Singaporean owner Peter Lim since his acquisition of the club in 2014. The Valencia fans will be hoping for some stability moving forward after yet another underwhelming season in La Liga.
A positive start at the Mestalla is essential for Gattuso to warm himself to Valencia’s notoriously passionate fans. His arrival certainly hasn’t pleased everyone.
