Muammar Gaddafi's Son and Francesco Scoglio: An Historical Football Note

I have received so many comments about the history of football that I decided to write another article about it.

Francesco Scoglio was coach of the Libyan National Football team in 2002. During his period as coach, Scoglio led the Libyan team to victories over Egypt, Togo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the Africa Cup of Nations.

The Libyan team showed improvement in the FIFA Coca Cola Classification during that time period as well.

The victories were not enough in Libya, since Scoglio had problems in the country that went beyond sports.

Scoglio was in conflict with Al-Saadi Gaddafi (son of Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi), who was President of the Libyan National Football Team.

In September 2002, the Libyan National Football Team decided that Scoglio had to go. The reason was a revamping of Libyan football, starting with the dissolution of the national team.

Scoglio told his version of what transpired to the Italian sports magazine Corriere dello Sport. He claimed that he was fired because of Al-Saadi Gaddafi.

According to Scoglio, Gaddafi wanted to participate in the matches, and other coaches allowed him. Scoglio saw how Gaddafi performed as a midfielder and concluded that he was "worthless."

He declared: "When he (Gaddafi) played, we lost. When he did not, we won."

I would have wanted to interview the protagonists, but Francesco Scoglio died in the year 2005. Al-Saadi Gaddafi was unable to answer any questions, as he refused to answer e-mails.

It is hoped that this could serve as an historical footnote for those interested in football trivia.