Gennaro Gattuso explained the speech behind his public appeal with analyst Josko Jelic.
Gattuso refused to move Jelic’s hand or talk to him during an interview after the match after the defeat of Hajduk Split 3-0 in the Rivals Rijeka titles yesterday.
Jelic, who was playing for Hajduk, was impressed with their performance and his criticism of Gattuso and his players clearly returned to the Italian, who was not in the mood for pleasure when he came to face television cameras.
Things are heated between Joško Jeličić and Gennaro Gattuso after the race. pic.twitter.com/nzed6qe04x
– Croatian football (@Croatiafooty) March 16 2025
Gattuso said: “I think he has no respect for me or the players. He continues to bring things to the public. It’s easy to talk to the media when no one is around or behind your back, but what bothers me the most is that he was a professional player and knows the problems in football.
“It really insults me when someone tells me I’m a foreigner. What does that mean? That I didn’t play football? That I don’t belong here? You say it to my face, as you said we’re playing badly.”
Gattuso – Jelic is destroying my players for months
Jelic won a lid for Croatia, but was sent to Austria and never played again.
And Gattuso questioned his credentials for his criticism and his team.
He added: “My players are suffering more – for months, he is destroying them with his sarcastic comments, acting as if he wins the World Cup, the Champions League and as if he were the biggest coach in the world.”
