«Moreno Longo is a great thing for Bari. He is a Giampiero Ventura who has been able to evolve». The seal is placed, with explosive sincerity and his usual overwhelming friendliness, by Giulione Ebagua, former red and white striker, at the court of the Turin coach in the Pro Vercelli, 2016-2017 season. «We are talking about a man of important caliber. He could make a breakthrough, but we need to give him time. He knows how to teach football, to young people and more mature players. I met him in a square like Vercelli, where unfortunately I struggled. Nonetheless, I have always maintained that he was a great coach and motivator.”
Do you think he is the right man on the bench for the red and whites?
«Bari is coming off a critical season. They put a patch on Di Cesare and his companions, we couldn’t go any lower than that. So I think we can only improve now. He and Bari can give a lot to each other. There are the right ingredients for fun.”
Advantages of Moreno Longo?
«He knows his stuff, he has quality. I saw him recently, we met at an event. We remembered the experience we had together with Pro Vercelli. When I left I sent him a message, writing that he had everything it took to grow up. I think he has demonstrated this over the years.”
Defects, however?
«Moreno, he has a nice temper and is also a bit touchy. But he is a very intelligent person, who knows how to accept criticism. He is a smart boy. Despite being a young coach he is very mature.”
Do you think you will be able to face the pressures of Bari?
«He is absolutely ready for such a place. In fact, I believe that Bari and Moreno Longo meet at exactly the right time. Last year, after that super championship, it could have been more difficult to coach at San Nicola. Because there were so many expectations. Now we start again after Bari ended up on the brink of the abyss, almost “‘nganne a Criste”, as you say in Puglia (laughs, ed.). It’s just the ideal time. Knowing him, I believe that the choice will give him a lot of stimuli.”
It is said that Longo is a “fundamentalist” of the 3-man defense: is it really so?
«In Vercelli we played with the 3-5-2, but also with the 3-4-2-1. However, I wouldn’t focus too much on the module. We are talking about a coach who knows how to adapt to the characteristics of his players, from this point of view he is a very versatile coach. On the other hand, however, I believe it is right to support it on the market. I hope that the club allows him to have the men best suited to his way of playing football.”
If you had to identify an “ideal” profile for Longo, who would you choose?
«Well, two years ago Bari discovered that it had a battleship. When we spoke recently Moreno spoke very highly of Folorunsho to me. He told me that from his point of view (in the 2022-2023 season, ed.) the national team midfielder was worth half the team. The truth is that in B if you really want to aim high you have to spend, and do it in the right way.
Giulio, by the way: what do you do in life today?
«I have just taken over a telephone repair shop in Varese. Just as I’m talking to her I have customers at the counter, I’m putting films on the smartphones, usually it doesn’t take me long, not this time (laughs, ed.)”.
A nice leap after his career as a footballer…
“I don’t know how long it will last (he laughs again, ed.), but in life you always have to try new things.”
