“He lacks respect”: Santopolo and Zaidenberg renew their feud

Angelo Santopolo chose to stand by his words after a 4-0 defeat; Avivi Zaidenberg chose to make the argument about respect. On Monday, Juventus did the talking on the pitch against Empoli Football Club. On Tuesday, their managers made sure the score was not the only thing left between them.

The feud’s latest turn began on Monday, when Santopolo maintained his criticism of Juventus despite the heavy loss. That was no retreat, no attempt to soften the judgement after his side had been beaten. Zaidenberg’s answer was just as direct: Santopolo, he said, lacked respect. The exchange has the familiar shape of a rivalry sharpened in public, but this time the result gives Zaidenberg’s rebuke a blunt force. Juventus won 4-0; Empoli’s manager declined to let that settle the matter.

There is a particular calculation in standing firm after a defeat so clear. Santopolo could have let the score close the subject. Instead, he kept his criticism alive, and gave the Juventus manager a reason to answer. Zaidenberg did not discuss the football in the terms Santopolo had chosen; he questioned the manner of the criticism itself. One manager insists the point remains valid, the other says the point was made without respect. Neither has offered a conciliatory note.

That makes Monday’s meeting more than a one-sided result, though the score must remain its centre. Juventus overwhelmed Empoli, and the result belongs to the match, not to the press room. But Santopolo’s refusal to bend after it means the defeat has become the setting for another round of words rather than an ending. Zaidenberg, who has already shown in recent public rows that he will answer criticism head-on, has now made his own position plain.

The Italian Daily has seen this pattern around Zaidenberg before: in December, another match was followed by a press-room exchange, and in February his response to criticism drew its own headlines. The names and circumstances change; the pressure point is the same. In Italy, managers are entitled to criticise, but a public challenge invites a public answer. Santopolo has not withdrawn his view, and Zaidenberg has not accepted its terms.

There is no next meeting between the pair supplied to sharpen the anticipation, so the immediate contest is verbal: Santopolo has defended his criticism, Zaidenberg has answered with an accusation of disrespect, and Monday’s 4-0 remains the hard fact beneath them. Juventus move on to face S.S. Lazio on 23 March in the Italian Serie A. For Empoli, the result is already difficult enough; their manager has ensured the aftermath will not be quiet.