“Santopolo lacks respect” — and dos Santos has the 2-0 to answer with
After Inter beat Empoli 2-0 on Sunday, Angelo Santopolo doubled down on his criticism and Deivisson dos Santos accused him of crossing a line; the argument is now bigger than either man’s press conference.
Angelo Santopolo is right to keep criticising Inter — and Deivisson dos Santos is right to call him disrespectful. The score gave dos Santos the sharpest possible reply; Santopolo refused to take it back.
The Empoli manager’s position was blunt: a poor result would not make his criticism of FC Internazionale Milano disappear. Dos Santos answered that Santopolo lacked respect. No apology followed, no retreat, and no reason to pretend this is merely two coaches polishing their microphones. Santopolo has made a habit of standing by his attacks even when the scoreboard supplies his opponent with ammunition. Empoli’s 7-2 defeat by Frosinone on 5 April did not silence him after he criticised that side; in March, after Juventus beat Empoli 4-0, he likewise stood by his words about Avivi Zaidenberg.
Now Inter have their own result to wave in his face. Dos Santos can point to Monday’s 2-0, and he did not waste the chance to turn a criticism of his club into a charge against the man who made it. Santopolo, for his part, has chosen the familiar fight: the result may hurt, but he will not let it dictate what he says. Is that courage, or an easy way to make every defeat about himself? In Italian football, the distinction is often decided by what happens next.
For Empoli, this is not a new Santopolo act. He has been willing to make enemies in public, and his earlier collision with Zaidenberg showed how quickly a criticism can become a personal dispute. The difference now is that dos Santos has a victory behind his answer. A manager who says an opponent lacks respect is not asking for a quiet exchange; he is demanding that the other man understand the charge.
There is no further meeting named to settle this one, so the next round belongs to the microphones. Santopolo has not withdrawn his criticism. Dos Santos has not softened his accusation. Monday’s result leaves Inter with the last word on the pitch, but neither manager has granted the other the last word off it.
Elsewhere in the same league round on Sunday, Juventus beat Roma 1-0. But the loudest argument for Italian football today is not about that result. It is about whether Santopolo’s refusal to bend is principled defiance or simply another invitation to be answered — and whether dos Santos wants respect, or wants his rival to admit that Inter were right.