4. ITALY: Police investigate Juve manager's 40-foot fall

• by Soccer America , Jun 27, 2006

Police were investigating whether Juventus team manager Gianluca Pessotto made a suicide attempt when he fell about 40 feet from a window on the roof of Juventus' headquarters.

Italian World Cup players Alessandro Del Piero and Gianluca Zambrotta flew to Turin on Tuesday to visit their former Juventus teammate, who was in stable condition at Molinette Hospital with multiple fractures and internal bleeding.

Pessotto, 35, was found clutching a rosary after his fall. "In all probability it was a voluntary move by Pessotto," an investigative source who asked not to be identified told Reuters. A Turin hospital official speaking on Sky Italia television said police were investigating a suicide attempt.

Juventus, the two-time defending Serie A champion, faces possible relegation to Serie C1 (third level) for its alleged role in a match-fixing scandal. Pessotto recently accepted the post of team manager after 11 years with the Turin team and is not among those facing charges.