‘You cannot go back’ – Leonardo Gabbanini hints at reason for Spurs exit
Leonardo Gabbanini has admitted that he did not want to go back to being a chief scout after taking over the responsibilities of a sporting director in his final few months at Tottenham. Gabbanini was appointed as chief scout at Spurs in July of last year but the Italian had to take over additional responsibilities […]
The post ‘You cannot go back’ – Leonardo Gabbanini hints at reason for Spurs exit appeared first on Spurs Web - Tottenham Hotspur Football News.
Leonardo Gabbanini has admitted that he did not want to go back to being a chief scout after taking over the responsibilities of a sporting director in his final few months at Tottenham.
Gabbanini was appointed as chief scout at Spurs in July of last year but the Italian had to take over additional responsibilities once Fabio Paratici was forced to resign back in April owing to FIFA’s ruling about Juventus’ capital gains scandal.
Gabbanini and the Tottenham recruitment department certainly hit the ball out of the park with the signings they made during the summer, with almost all newcomers hitting the ground running.
That is perhaps why it came as a surprise to many fans last month when it emerged that the 43-year-old had departed the club.
GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images
Gabbanini may not have wanted Spurs demotion
The former Tottenham chief scout has now spoken about having to steer the ship in what was a chaotic time at the North London club.
He told The Athletic: “The sporting director was banned, the coach left, we didn’t change straight away to a new one, Harry Kane was leaving with a lot of focus on the deal and time was running out. It was a period of incredible ups and downs.
“This is what I fought against. Nobody probably understood that because I am tough. But when I was at home, it was difficult because, in the history of the club, I’m not sure if there was a situation like this. It was an amazing experience but it wasn’t easy.”
Gabbanini admitted that after having had the chance to be the sporting director at Spurs, he was never going to go back to his old role as chief scout.
He continued: “I was a chief scout when I arrived at Tottenham and I loved this. When I left, I was sporting director in my mind. To fix the situation at the club I had to do something that brought a new mentality. They opened my mind.
“The plan of the club was to have more people and more positions. In this world now we have the ‘head of’ and the ‘chief of’. You have seven steps before you speak with the owner.”
“We did an amazing job. Now tell me why I need to step back. Why do I need to be (working) under one or two other people? I want to be in direct communication with the ownership of a club, this is where I can make the difference. If I continue speaking directly with the owner, we can do something good.
“I don’t want to repeat the same (responsibilities) as when I was a chief scout, bringing a list of players for others to sign. I want to be active like I was in this summer’s market. Sometimes, when you try something you cannot go back.”
The Italian acknowledged that his CV was not impressive enough for Tottenham to consider appointing him as their permanent director of football, but suggested that he could perhaps return to the club in the top role after proving himself elsewhere.
The 43-year-old added: “As a chief scout, I can achieve the best level in the world, but I probably wasn’t the top sporting director for Tottenham.
“So when you want to be sporting director like I do, maybe you need to take another path, start with another club and maybe, one day I can come back (to a club like Tottenham) as sporting director.
“The club needed someone like me at that moment (when Paratici left), but I don’t think that the club need someone like me now.
“I was under real pressure and you learn from this situation. It feels like I squeezed two years into four months. It feels strange to have started in a terrible moment (last season) and now leave in the good moment, but this is life. I left at a time when nobody can say anything (negative).”
Spurs Web Opinion
One can understand why Gabbanini would not want to go back to being a chief scout and use the opportunity given by Tottenham to progress his own career.
It is similar to how some coaches (Tim Sherwood for example) do not want to go back to their previous roles once they have got their foot in the door of management by landing a top job on a temporary basis.
That is why I was extremely surprised when Ryan Mason accepted a role as part of Postecoglou’s coaching staff rather than pursuing a head coach role at an EFL club.
Have something to tell us about this article?
The post ‘You cannot go back’ – Leonardo Gabbanini hints at reason for Spurs exit appeared first on Spurs Web - Tottenham Hotspur Football News.