Gattuso and Allegri share embrace before Napoli-Lazio as Corriere dello Sport recounts friendship

Gennaro Gattuso and Massimiliano Allegri embraced in the dressing room before Napoli's match against Lazio, and a video of Gattuso stroking Allegri's head has gone viral, Corriere dello Sport reported. The newspaper described the relationship between the two coaches as very close.

On the eve of the game, Gattuso praised Allegri, recalling that Allegri had been his captain and later his coach. "Max Allegri was my captain, I won a championship from Serie B to Serie A. He was also my coach, now he is talked about but I hope to do a quarter of what he has done in his career," Gattuso said, according to the report.

The two played together at Perugia between 1995 and 1997, when Allegri was captain and Gattuso was starting his career; they helped the Umbrian club reach Serie A before going separate ways. Their paths crossed again at Milan in summer 2010 when Allegri took charge, and they won the 2010-11 Serie A title together before Gattuso left for Sion. The report frames them as rivals on the pitch but bound by a close relationship.