Luciano Spalletti elevation to Italy coach is the latest personal triumph for a man critics said could not win but who last season led Napoli to a historic Serie A triumph.

In a country full of big football personalities, Spalletti is one of the quirkiest: a wine-making, highly-quotable eccentric who has finally earned big-time success after years of glorious failures.

Spalletti became the oldest ever coach to win the Italian title last season at 64 but his vibrancy and the modern, free-wheeling way his teams play bely his advancing years and have earned him the biggest job of his long, eventful coaching career.

He is also one of the most camera-friendly coaches, his oak-coloured pate and world-weary smile as instantly recognisable as the enjoyable football his teams play.

As a lower-league player, the closest he got to greatness was pulling Diego Maradona’s shirt in an Italian Cup match. It was a long slog to arrive at the top table of football management.

Read the full story on Times of Malta Sport...

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