I played under Andrea Pirlo… my team-mates used to chain smoke before games and even at HALF-TIME
COLIN KAZIM-RICHARDS has revealed players were allowed to SMOKE at HALF-TIME under Italian legend Andrea Pirlo.
Midfield icon Pirlo, 44, took charge of Turkish side Fatih Karagumruk last season.
Ex-Brighton, Sheffield United and Derby man Kazim-Richards, 37, joined one month later after his spell at Pride Park came to an end.
And the forward has now opened up about the rather unique culture that existed under the AC Milan and Juventus hero.
Speaking on Filthy Fellas, he said: “We got a lot of Italians that smoke. In Turkey you can.
“It depends on the coach but last year with Pirlo they was allowed to smoke.
“And they’re smoking non-stop before the game… half-time sitting there smoking. [Pirlo] talking, they down there smoking.
“It’s a different culture though, you understand? So it’s not me saying something as a shock factor.
“It’s me saying that you can do it legitimately.”
Pirlo departed Karagumruk at the end of last season and is now in charge of Sampdoria.
In his one year in Turkey, he guided the team to seventh place in the top tier.
Pirlo is not the only Italian manager known to take a liberal approach to smoking.
Former Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri, who is now in charge of Lazio, has been known to chain smoke on the touchline during games.
Sarri, who is understood to smoke 60 cigarettes per day, left the Premier League after just one season at Stamford Bridge.