Messina is leafing through the daisy and is preparing to define its organizational chart after the two-year confirmation of the Modica coach, although not yet made official by the club.
With Saverio Provenzano expected to hold the position of general director, the sporting director position would remain vacant: it seems difficult at the moment to imagine the renewal of the collaboration with Domenico Roma, destined for Foggia, and therefore the hypotheses that lead to Umberto Calaiò and Agatino Chiavaro, profiles close to both Provenzano and Modica and who have already had contacts with the white shield company.
In the background, then, a “suggestion” takes shape: it is the one linked to Maurizio Pellegrino, fresh from the experience of Reggio Calabria in Serie D and who shared the experience of Catania with Provenzano.
No official contact between the parties, but for Pellegrino it is «an honor to be linked to Messina, it would be wonderful, but at the moment it is just a rumor. I know Provenzano, but there is no concrete evidence, although I imagine they are discussing it. I sincerely hope that they can think of me – continues Pellegrino – because I believe that together with Giacomo Modica we can do an excellent job. A very specific identity could be created alongside a coach who knows the environment and who could make people’s passion grow further.”
Born in Syracuse in 1966, Pellegrino has often crossed paths with that of Messinaboth as a footballer and as a coach, also scoring a goal against the “Celeste” in the derby with Catania drawn 1-1 (penalty by Nino De Luca) in the 94-95 season.
For the Etna players he was everything: head of the youth sector, coordinator of the technical area, coach (also in Serie A in 2014) and sporting director. Position held last year also in Reggio Calabria: «We started in a difficult situation – says Pellegrino – with many problems, also because there was not yet the name of Reggina. We started two months late and created a team in a few days, also having to respect the under rule which is very restrictive in Serie D. But we reached the playoff final with Siracusa and launched some guys with very good prospects: a year that I would define as extraordinary, so much so that now there are the foundations to try to win the championship.”
The absence of repechages and successful registration for 59 out of 60 teams (only Ancona is missing, replaced by Milan U23), make the Serie C tournament that is being defined even more interesting: «As always, it will be a difficult, particular and beautiful championship – states an expert football man like Pellegrino – and as it will always hide a thousand pitfalls, even surprising ones. I think of Juve Stabia who won promotion this year against teams who spent ten times more, but badly.”
