She arrived in Rome just over a year ago, on 18 April 2023, with her very respectable CV, her very elegant suits and a casual Italian already after a quarter of an hour. Lina Souloukou, the Greek born in 1983 chosen by Dan Friedkin as Chief Executive Officer & General Manager of the club in place of Pietro Berardi thanks to her high-level experiences as manager of Olympiacos and member of the Eca Board, seemed the right person at the right moment. The ownership has effectively left her the keys to the company and she now manages it practically alone, supported by the lawyer Lorenzo Vitali (the creator of the famous dismissal letter to the employee for the intimate video which risks turning out to be a serious violation of privacy ) and a Maurizio Lombardo with an expiring contract.
Leader
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Souloukou in fact represents Roma, he is its operational face. Even if not the most publicly visible one given that in the pre-match interviews (according to agreements with the League they must involve the coach for at least 50% of the season) she never showed up. Having lost Tiago Pinto, the CEO has always given way to De Rossi. By the way, the DS question is one of those that is closest to the heart of the square when it thinks about the management: the Portuguese said goodbye to Trigoria three and a half months ago now, the club is still without a sporting director, with a very blocked market not only for the uncertainty of positioning in the rankings, but also because today there is no one who can set up a negotiation. And there are also many figures who were removed after his arrival, from communications to administration to security. Many complain of legally illegitimate treatment and several lawsuits have already been initiated.
Tensions
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Lately, however, many people have been turning up their noses even far from Rome. Despite the position that Souloukou has in the League Assembly, where it is said he speaks rather little except to support the intentions of the big teams, it seems that even the three partners, who with the Giallorossi have asked the federal president Gravina for the 18-man championship, are starting to have doubts. For example, they didn’t like the fact that last week Roma made a move forward by spreading the news of the letter to Casini in which the four clubs distanced themselves on unanimity within the League. That thing should have been handled better, it was a political message destined to remain limited, so much so that Juve, Milan and Inter were then forced to clarify that it was not a matter of no confidence in the League president.
The methods
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To many, the statement challenging the League after the no to the postponement of Udinese-Roma appeared inappropriate and bordering on dangerous (Casini, explicitly mentioned, received numerous death threats, activating Digos surveillance), as is the request to postpone the Italian Cup and the request, he continues, to know the date of Atalanta-Fiorentina when the commitments of the two prevented it from being defined seemed specious. In short, while in the capital the CEO has won the consensus of some local media, in the relevant football circles someone spoke of “amateurs in the fray”.
Not just football
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But Lina Souloukou has made herself known – and not exactly positively – even outside the football world. The Municipality of Rome, with which since you arrived you have started intense discussions for the creation of the new stadium, seems not to be particularly happy with your attitude. And it is said that even in the area of Sport and Health she is not exactly loved. It gets worse: thanks to the latest results of De Rossi’s team, even the fans are starting to have some doubts about the Giallorossi management. The real question remains: what do the Friedkins think?
