With football season quickly approaching in Italy, bloggers frantically write previews on which club(s) they feel will be victorious or not so victorious come matchday 38. Is it just me or do others get bored with this type of analysis so early on. I much prefer waiting until several matchdays are completed before adding in my two cents.

Enter Italy manager and former Juventus taskmaster Marcello Lippi who this morning I discover has taken a pleasure in educating all of us on managerial success, even though his own international story is teetoring. After a dreadful performance at this summer's Confederation Cup in South Africa, Lippi has wasted no time sizing up Don Jose Mourinho with the arrival of Italian Serie A (Italy's premier domestic league), edging closer.

Football Italia has reported a "veiled" attack in the Famiglia Cristiana by Lippi on the so-called "Special One".


“You do not win games when you stand in front of the cameras and talk, but rather with what you say in the locker room. That is where great teams are made,” said Lippi.

“At the end of the day it is the players who step on to the field, not the Coaches. Mourinho, Ciro Ferrara and Leonardo cannot win alone."


Lippi's latest comments are nothing new previously upsetting the Portuguese when stating, “I had thought he was intelligent,” but all Mou has is experience. The Italy coach went on to predict Juventus would win the scudetto during the Bianconeri’s Trofeo Berlusconi defeat Friday against Milan which prompted the Inter Milan manager to accuse him of “lacking respect.”

Opening Day for the domestic Italian leagues is this Saturday remember to set your alarm clock.