Padova starts again with a new strategy, focusing on a young coach: he is 35 years old (like Nereo Rocco in his debut on the Triestina bench…). Andreoletti amazed many professionals with his way of understanding football. It will be interesting to see him in action, game after game. Last season, although exciting in many ways, ended without the desired promotion. This is sport: many participate but only one wins. Coming second is no disgrace; indeed, it is the sign of a great job done, which can be further improved. Andreoletti knows it. Each of us, deep down in this sorrow, knows it.
Calcio Padova is a club that has chosen to keep its accounts in order by adopting sustainable management while offering high-ranking football. It is an ethical choice that must be respected. This philosophy was embodied by the sporting director Mirabelli: when you work you don’t always get the result you set out to achieve, and this happens to anyone who knows what it means to work. Mirabelli can and must improve: in assembling the team, in managing relationships, in taking care of details. However, so far he has carried out high-level market operations, obtaining the highest capital gains in the C series. The latest masterpiece was the sale of the young Leoni to Sampdoria for 1 and a half million euros (plus the resale which will reach two ). Leoni is a talent made in Padua who makes the youth sector proud, the club that has been able to make the most of him, and the player himself who has been given the opportunity for a great career.
Now, Padova relies on a young technical guide, a coach who represents a great challenge for next season. The fans’ disappointment with the second place last championship is understandable, but this is the time to look forward with confidence. The past must be left behind. It’s an unnecessary burden.
And then there is nothing that can take away your trademark, your sense of belonging. If you love Padova, you follow it. The protest is there, but the abandonment is not. The sense of belonging binds the team, the club, the fans and the city: it is what allows us to face and overcome even the most difficult moments. It is an invisible but very powerful force that fuels everyone’s passion. Even if the stadium sucks, even if the ultras don’t like the sporting director, even if the press doesn’t like this or that. Belonging surpasses everything, this shirt is ours. From Monday we have Andreoletti. What if he was the talent Padova was waiting for? —
