Former Inter star and current Cagliari coach Walter Zenga is "a real a—", according to Benevento midfielder Oliver Kragl.
Kragl played under Zenga as a member of Crotone, who were managed by the former Italy star from 2017-18.
The midfielder joined the club from Frosinone in July 2017, but departed just six months later to join Foggia on loan after just five appearances.
Zenga, who played in two World Cups and was named 1987 Serie A Footballer of the Year, has managed the likes of the New England Revolution, Wolves, Palermo and Sampdoria while also enjoying stints in Turkey, Romania, Serbia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
But his brief time working alongside Kragl left the midfielder frustrated, to say the least.
"[Davide] Nicola was followed as coach by Walter Zenga, the goalkeeping icon at Inter Milan. He was a real a*sh*le," Kragl told Goal and Spox.
"He kept promising to let me play, but never kept his promise. Zenga was just kidding me. Maybe he just lacked the balls to go against the club bosses. I know well what I am capable of doing and I should have played in this team.
"If Crotone had Franck Ribery on the left wing I would have made no protest, but, of course, that was not the case.
"On the last matchday before the winter holidays, I was able to play against Milan for a few minutes. I was happy because I wanted to start after the break. Two days later, I was in Dubai and my adviser called. He informed me that Crotone wanted to get rid of me. I said: "All right, f*ck you, I'll be gone immediately!"
While Zenga and Kragl didn't get along, the midfielder did have plenty of compliments for another former Italy star.
Kragl currently features under AC Milan icon Filippo Inzaghi at Benevento, who are 20 points clear at the top of the Serie B table, and he says that the former forward's communication is one of his strengths.
"The trick is to keep a well-functioning team on the go, so that - despite the big lead - there is no lethargy. Filippo Inzaghi does that very well," he said.
"He won the Champions League as a player and became world champion. He may not have been the greatest technician, but as a striker he always knew where to stand. It is not for nothing that he was one of the most prolific Milan players of all time.
"He communicates his experiences to us in the best possible way and passes on the attitude he previously displayed to us.
"Pippo called me. I was a bit perplexed, but I was happy that he got in touch personally. This cannot be taken for granted in football.
"I knew his interest was real because Pippo wanted to sign me when he was still Bologna coach. The problem was Foggia, my club at the time, asked for €3 million for me, which Bologna could not afford. So Pippo's second attempt worked better.
"He's not a big and loud guy in the dressing room. He clearly says that we should do the things we go through in training."
