The coach, now at Bellinzona: “I came from nothing. I woke up at 5 a.m., worked seven hours, then went to the field. I resigned from Watford after four wins, leaving the money behind.”
The meaning of a lifetime’s goal can be summed up in a few words: “I cleaned toilets in a mental hospital and ended up coaching in Serie A.” Beppe Sannino, 68, laughs contentedly as he explores his globe. The present says Bellinzona, Swiss second division—‘ready for yet another miracle’—but after every blow, he has put pieces of rock in his backpack. Six promotions, four championships won, one Serie C gold bench and another silver, plus several resignations.
Nine: why so many?
“That’s how I am: I speak my mind. I resigned for dignity, leaving money behind. At Watford, I said goodbye to £550,000 after four wins in the first five games. And after winning the first game in Carpi’s history in Serie A, I said it was all Castori’s doing, not mine.”
“I’m not going back to Italy: too many clichés.” Which ones?
“I don’t live on the moon. I know I’ve given my best and that I’m on the decline, but in Italy you become a celebrity. They ask you if you eat panettone. And social media is devastating. At my age, I don’t want to get caught up in a whirlwind. I’m someone who started from nothing and made it on my own.”
Tell us about that “nothing.”
“I was born a Neapolitan street kid, then I moved to Turin. I was the only one walking around in shorts and flip-flops, hence the nickname ”ciabattino” (shoemaker). I just played and often skipped school. Once, to punish me, my father set fire to my soccer shoes on the balcony with alcohol.“
I cleaned toilets for the equivalent of €900 today. I washed the floors with sawdust; there were cockroaches. And you helped the patients. I learned about suffering in the mental hospital.”
Did you have the career you deserved as a soccer player?
“I was a genius and a rebel, I’ve never trained anyone like me. I made it to Serie C, then I quit at 31 and started coaching the Vogherese youth team. I used to sneak off to watch Sacchi’s Milan.“
And in the meantime, you worked in a hospital.
”I woke up at 5 a.m., worked the dawn shift, spent seven hours there, and then went to the field to coach. I did that for ten years, first in a psychiatric hospital and then in a civilian hospital.”
What did you do?
“I cleaned toilets for the equivalent of €900 today. I washed the floors with sawdust, there were cockroaches and everything else. And then you helped the patients. Also, in the mental hospital, I learned about real suffering. I remember a very talented painter who was there painting, and you wondered why. In the civilian world, on the other hand, I saw friends and Vogherese fans die.“
When did you devote yourself solely to the field?
”In 1998, at Biellese. I took a year’s leave of absence. But the turning point was at Sudtirol, in 1999-2000, where I won the Serie D championship. I had quit my job in the summer specifically so I could go there. After winning two championships in Lecco and Crema, I stayed at home. And I ran. In the hills of Monferrato, every day, until in the spring of 2008, an agent advised me to go to Como to watch Como-Varese in C2. Both coaches were at risk…”.
Como won 3-2 and you went to Varese.
“The story of my heart. I arrived with 500 fans and left with ten thousand. Three years without a home defeat. I immediately invited the players to go to hell. It became the slogan of the two promotions. I had a T-shirt that said ‘fun cool’, but in Italian it reads like ‘sa’. The relationship with the fans was great. They sang: ‘Oh Sannino, send us to hell…’. And I did. Sogliano and I met at Albizzate station and he told me he couldn’t stand me, but from there a wonderful relationship was born. In 2011, we came close to Serie A. I left in tears, with a letter dedicated to everyone.“
Destination Siena, Serie A.
”At the Olimpico, against Roma, I thought, ‘I did it.’ Totti and the others came out from under the South Stand, looking like gladiators. I asked my assistant, ‘How many are we going to concede today?’. It ended 1-1. One of the best games ever played’.
Is it true that Napoli contacted you?
‘I told De Laurentiis to get lost. Obviously, I didn’t think it was him, but a joke. “Have you already done it with Zamparini in Palermo?” I replied yes.”
How did it go with Palermo?
“I’ve never had as many requests as at the end of that season, which ended in relegation. Genoa, Lazio, and others. It went badly, but we didn’t deserve it. I was lucky enough to coach Dybala, the best of them all.”
A flashback to Zamparini?
“I argued with him before a Palermo-Cagliari 1-1 game, with a goal conceded at the last minute. He called me to the lobby to tell me the lineup. I answered him in my own way. ‘Who do you think you are?’ he replied. The next day we drew and I was sacked, but he was a generous man. If we had stayed up, he would have given me €500,000, but I told him I wouldn’t accept it. That’s how I am.“
Consistent, like at Watford. Why did you resign there?
”My only regret: I said stop after four wins in the first five games. I didn’t like the freedom some players had. I have to be myself. If I had continued, I would have clashed with everyone. At the end of the year, the team went to the Premier League.“
The humble ones, like Gazzi or Brienza. I keep a message from a Libyan player. ‘You were a father to me.’”
Carpi was my last experience in Serie A.
“A failure. I was fined ten thousand euros because they said I had coached an Eccellenza team without permission. In reality, I had only gone to cheer on the guys and give them courage. It was awful. That’s one of the reasons I chose to go abroad: it’s better to go where they don’t know you. In Hungary, I made it to the Cup final, then Greece, Switzerland, Libya.”
First Al-Ittihad in Tripoli, then Benghazi. How would you sum it up?
“My president had a match moved for my wedding. In Tripoli, I won the derby and everything happened. There were militias, but I was fine.”
Which player are you most attached to?
“The humble ones, like Gazzi or Brienza. I still have a message from a Libyan player. ‘You were a father.’ That’s my championship.”
