1- FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY WHAT GIFT WOULD YOU LIKE FROM YOUR TEAM?
Create, complete, as we are doing at Genova Calcio, a solid group of men even before good players. With important values inside the locker room we will already have an advantage for what will then be the work on the field and our objectives.
2- A RESULT OF THIS FOOTBALL SEASON?
I consider last season important, perhaps one of the most important for many reasons. I would define it as “educational”, both on a football level and above all on a human profile and personal growth.
3- IF YOU HAD NOT PLAYED FOOTBALL OR IF FOOTBALL DIDN’T EXIST, WHAT SPORT WOULD YOU HAVE PLAYED?
I like many sports, but if I have to choose I say volleyball.
4 – THE TECHNICAL OR HUMAN EPISODE OR GESTURE YOU ARE MOST PROUD OF IN YOUR CAREER SO FAR, AND THE ONE YOU WOULDN’T DO AGAIN
Technical gesture I think not of a specific episode, but of a match: Isolese-Stella Sestrese in September 2018, before the championship, we were newly promoted, they were the battleship of the tournament which then in fact won the promotion. It ended 2-0 for us. What wouldn’t I do again? As a player, I didn’t take the opportunity to try new experiences in a “country” team, having the opportunity, outside of my comfort and environment. As a manager I would do several things better, but it’s part of the experience and also of being an idiot or not. This is who I am, for better or for worse, coherence for me is the basis of everything and I find it difficult to accept compromises, even when I am certainly making mistakes unfortunately.
5- WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE THIS SPORT AS A CHILD, AND WHAT COULD CONVINCE YOU TO QUIT?
I was driven by the passion that my father passed on to me, first and foremost for my favorite team. The end of passion, of daily fun, could push me to stop.
6- QUOTING VUJADIN BOSKOV: BETTER A NIGHT WITH THE WOMAN OF YOUR DREAMS OR THE CHAMPIONS FINAL ON THE SOFA WITH AN ICE-COLD BEER?
Well I’ve already experienced the Champions League final of my favorite team, not on the sofa but at the stadium and without beer because I was 10 years old… So I choose the first option.
7- TELL ME WHO IS THE STRONGEST PLAYER YOU HAVE PLAYED WITH OR SAW PLAY
Stronger at 360 degrees, among those I have seen and with whom I was lucky enough to “work” as a manager, I tell you MARCELO NERI: a true leader, a fabulous player and one of the creators of the most beautiful pages of my football life. A group in which another Argentine like SEBA GZZINI was the strongest champion on a technical level. And then I’ll tell you Prince Balboni, unique. Among those I played with I would say ANDREA FINI, ALESSIO CASU AND DAVIDE FERRANDO.
8- HAVE YOU GIVEN MORE TO FOOTBALL (ENERGY, TIME, SACRIFICES) OR HAVE YOU RECEIVED MORE FROM FOOTBALL (JOYS, VICTORIES, TROPHIES)?
As a player I received more: I had a lot of fun for many years, from the youth team up to my twenty-year “career” in the first team. As a manager at the moment it is an even balance between many joys, many beautiful relationships in recent years, but at the same time great sacrifices of all kinds, including many human disappointments. It is part of the game as well as of life, this “world” of amateur football is increasingly less “real” than in the past, there are many masks, a lot of improvisation, many people who sell themselves for little and lose face for even less. The important thing is to always try to distinguish and weigh the people you meet.
9- HAVE YOU EVER PLAYED OR CHOSEN A TEAM, OR PLAY FOOTBALL EXCLUSIVELY FOR THE MONEY?
I have always chosen, played and worked first and foremost, putting my heart and bonds first, even making mistakes but always doing the right things. This certainly made me miss out on some good opportunities, both as a player and as a manager but I don’t regret it.
10- GIVE ME TWO NAMES, A PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLER/MANAGER AND AN AMATEUR WHO YOU LIKE TO TAKE AS A MODEL AND EXPLAIN ME WHY
Among professionals I admire Sartori, a manager capable like few others, who appears very little but has achieved excellent results for twenty years, just look at the Atalanta model whose foundations he laid himself and now Bologna. Among the Amateurs is his friend Fabrizio Barsacchi, sporting director of Baiardo, where together with the whole club he has been carrying out a huge project for years without ever losing his character.
