Pantaleo Raven responds to Sticchi Damiani, who spoke about the manager’s intermediation with the local community, on the importance of having a proprietary sports centre: “Before expressing my feelings, I usually talk about results on the pitch, tonight we are here to talk about another great result that we have always aimed for. I’m here in Martignano, near mine VernoleI’m too close not to understand how important this project could be for Greece, in the heart of Salento, here we are at the center. I have many emotions in coming here, when the president made me return to Lecce, while I was linked to Fiorentina, we had many dreams in mind. That’s how I define them. When you know that you are returning home, to your territory, in your heart, in your feelings and in your passion after 20 years as director in Serie A and Italian Primavera Champion… I knew the hunger of the territory and the desire to return to the top. The president didn’t ask me this, the Serie A and the Primavera scudetto. He asked me to play football in Lecce, make our fans feel good in Lecce, and it was right to start thinking about structures, systems, structures, infrastructures. We have already done almost everything. Lecce has a beautiful gym, its own coach, changing rooms that we all envy. Many things. In Acaya we have increased the sports facilities, our field for the Spring”.
Saverio Sticchi Damiani and his pride for another step in the growth of the US Lecce project
The happiness of the municipal administration of Martignano in the success of the initiative
Corvino continues, comparing the success of the project that is born today to a success on the pitch: “It wasn’t enough for us. We wanted a house of our own, when I say house I know that we have to give up a player to make it become a resort, it must become a flagship of Salento. We don’t want to betray and today no one asked me for sporting results, even if we achieved them with sustainable football. We have been safe in Serie A for two years, we won the Primavera scudetto and we have been in Primavera 1 for four years, tonight I think dreams seem like reality. I told the president to hurry up, because I didn’t want the sports center named after him, so, administrators, architect: let’s get busy. In the negotiation I was alone, and the City Council was a team. It was me against them. I was negotiating like with a president, they wanted to pay Lecce to build the sports centre. The mayors didn’t give up on me for a moment, they are so in love with their Greece and in the end the negotiations continued with those responsible. Today, however, we are ahead.”
The video of what the new sports center will look like in the presentation by architect Andrea Toscano
