Mattia Croci-Torti responds to Fenerbahçe claims

The question of who will become Fenerbahçe's new head coach following Ismail Kartal's departure is still unanswered. The club had announced that Dirk Kuyt would take charge of the team on an interim basis. In the meantime, it was claimed that Mattia Croci-Torti, who coaches the Swiss side Lugano, is on the yellow and navy blue club's list.

Croci-Torti responded to these claims on L'Armandillo, a programme broadcast on the Swiss channel RSI. The 44-year-old coach said he feels relaxed and happy where he is. He noted that Lugano has become a team that can compete with any opponent in recent years. He added that he is pleased to have extended his contract and does not feel that anyone wants to block his ambitions.

Croci-Torti began his coaching career as an assistant at Swiss club FC Chiasso, and later worked at Balerna and, briefly, at FC Mendrisio. After serving as an assistant coach at Lugano in two separate spells, he took charge of the team on an interim basis in 2021 and became the head coach that same year. He has been working at Lugano for seven seasons.