Italy coach Lippi denies pressure from Moggi

ROME, May 15 (Reuters) Italy coach Marcello Lippi has denied that he has ever come under pressure from former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi -- the man at the centre of the match-fixing investigations that have rocked Italian football.

Lippi held a news conference today to announce his squad for next month's World Cup finals but was peppered with questions about reports that Moggi, who Lippi worked with for eight years while Juventus coach, had tried to influence his selections for the national side.

Some of the published telephone intercepts that led to the series of investigations into match-fixing featured Moggi claiming he had told Lippi which players to pick.

''After eight years working together could you imagine that after I left Juventus he wouldn't call me?'' said Lippi.

''If they had intercepted all the calls I got you would see that it was not only Juventus directors who call me. I get calls from all the clubs, from their sports directors and coaches.

''I've had coaches say to me 'this lad is playing well, give him a call-up' and I did the same to various national team coaches when I was a club coach.

''But I have never had any kind of pressure,'' added Lippi.

The Italy coach also denied that he had ever been influenced to select players based on whether they were signed up by the GEA World firm, run by Moggi's son Alessandro.

''I've never thought about that at all,'' said Lippi.

The Azzurri coach said he was sure that his players would be able to put the Serie A scandal out of their minds during the World Cup.

''All these things won't do anything other than inspire the team to show the world that Italian football is quality in both technical and moral terms,'' said Lippi.

''We come together on May 22 and the quality of this squad is what makes me calm,'' he said.

''The tightness of the group, the desire and the respect for each other -- that gives the team energy.'' Asked how he thought the Italian team would be received in Germany following the high-profile match-fixing allegations, Lippi said: ''I don't know. I know how I have been treated across Italy though where there is great enthusiasm for the team and for me.

There is a lot of confidence and that is very important.'' Italy will face Ghana, the Czech Republic and the United States in World Cup Group E.

REUTERS PG PM0053