“It was like in Gomorra”: Between violence and threats, welcome to the hell of Seregno

“Yes it was like Gomorra“. Asked last December 10 in the columns of The Gazzetta dello Sport, Ermanno Fumagalli agreed to tell about his ordeal. But also that of a large part of his teammates. For several months, and more particularly since the rise in Serie C (Italian third division), the goalkeeper of Seregno Calcio has lived a real nightmare. “The climate was heavy, it was not football, he told the daily transalpine. We trained as if it was handball, it was a kind of Florentine calcio where everything was accepted to win. And when I say everything, that’s all (…) Once, after a loss against Juventus U23, we got together in the morning at 7am to review the match. Another, training at 6 o’clock to run for an hour. It wasn’t a soccer team, it was a barracks. “

But one day, the limit is exceeded. “Before training, several people approach me, he confided. I knew them, since they revolved around the team. ‘We are going to come and pick you up at your place, you did not understand’. ‘You’ll never see your family again, when you come home tonight, you have to say hello to Jacopo’. When they mentioned my son’s name, I didn’t understand a thing.”

But who are these “they”? A few weeks later, the 39-year-old goalkeeper, along with two of his teammates, decide to speak to Davide Erba, their chairman. They then reveal the backstage of their hell. The latter decides to file a complaint against Ninni Corda, its general manager, for “intimidations” and “acts of violence“against certain players. On November 12, an email was sent to him informing him of his suspension. But on November 12, it was also the day when a violent fight broke out in the middle of training. According to the complaint filed, two players would then have attacked two of Six days later, Corda, whose contract expired in 2024, receives her letter of dismissal for serious misconduct.

“The prosecution will investigate the reasons for the attacks and threats, explained President Erba to The Gazzetta dello Sport. It all started when I announced my intention to sell the club. There were death threats against our goalkeeper, our vice-president (who also lodged a complaint, editor’s note), two other players were hit by two others and a professional boxer (more particularly a former professional kickboxer, editor’s note) was commissioned for threats.”

For him, then, his former CEO is behind this whole dark affair. Defender Christian Anelli, and midfielder Federico Gentile, both of whom arrived in Ninni Corda’s suitcases after being promoted to Serie C, would also be in the running. “They wanted to show they were in control, says Davide Erba. It was a mistake to enlist Mr. Corda. I didn’t want to rely on labels because a person can make mistakes in life. But I won’t do it again, I take my responsibility. “In 2015, Ninno Corda, then manager of the Como team, found himself in a story of rigged bets.

Accused, he quickly responded to his former president. “I am amazed to learn that Mr Erba’s work of self-destruction is also about me, he lamented in the Italian press. These accusations are false and have no basis. In my 25-year career as a coach and manager, I have never threatened anyone, even having come into contact with at least 2,000 players. I asked my lawyers to attack Mr Erba for defamation (…) He should rather be concerned about the serious situation which arises from his text messages, WhatsApp messages and emails of the last few weeks.. “In particular, a voice message from the president sent to the group of the team shortly before the trip to the lawn of Padova, on October 3. Its content was quickly leaked.

“We have to eat them m *****”

“We gotta tear them apart, kill them, he blurted out. You have to win otherwise I’ll get angry like a hyena. We have to eat them m ***** (…) I want to win because the director and I, we never lose!“. “I will not do this voicemail again, regretted Davide Erba. The meaning was obviously metaphorical. I wanted to motivate my team a little harshly“But his now ex-managing director, who has become his enemy in the space of a few weeks, also accuses him of not having”paid nobody” these last months. “I will attack it wherever possible, even before the Federal Prosecutor’s Office. It liquefied after three months by changing the programs and not wanting to pay anyone, in addition to having soiled federal institutions for months..”

In the middle of it all, the players. “What kind of relationship did we have with our GM and the two players involved? Tolerance, Fumaggali recalls. We all thought: “let’s hope to win on Sunday, otherwise …” (…) There was continuous tension. During the half-time of a match, I saw a person hitting two youngsters. I do not know why. The voice message? We use a private message for personal interests. The president just wanted to motivate us. He is the opposite of what we can hear in this vocal, he is a person with a big heart. He doesn’t deserve certain attacks. It is thanks to him that we came out of this nightmare. When I returned home in the evening, I was afraid …“

Ermano Fumagalli, who has known many clubs throughout his career (Fiorenzuola, Fanfulla, Juve Stabia, Avellino, Foggia, Piacenza, etc.), continues to rebuild. Still at Seregno Calcio, but released “you times“. “I got my football back. Before, it was Gomorra here, he stressed in his interview with The Gazzetta dello Sport. I don’t know why they threatened me, probably because I behave like a professional. No one has ever been able to speak ill of me (…) I was afraid for myself. My wife, with my two children at home, was no longer at ease (…) What role did our coach play? He could not speak because of the strong conditioning of this person (Corda, editor’s note). He wasn’t free like now.”

The investigation, coordinated by Attorney General Claudio Gittardi, is still ongoing. “Several gray areas persist, tells us a source close to the matter. And people still need to be interviewed. For now, the charges remain threats and violence in the private sphere. But we are not at the end of this whole affair. The light has yet to be shed.”

19 matches, 10 red cards

On the pitch, however, Seregno’s side aren’t exactly the perfect type. While it is obviously necessary to differentiate between “rough” play and possible offenses, there are currently 10 red cards and more than sixty yellow cards in twenty matches in all competitions. For a total of 36 suspension matches, shared between 13 players and 4 staff members.

Last year, for example, defender Martino Borghese was suspended for two days after a match against Virtus CiseranoBergamo for “entering the opposing team’s locker room with violent behavior“, wishing in particular”come to blows and spit“on the opponents according to the officials’ report.”And for also having consented to two unidentified people to hit the footballer Matteo Pellegrini with a punch in the nose and the storekeeper Nespoli with a slap and a kick. “At the time, Ninni Corda was not yet in charge of the management. But Federico Gentile, one of the players who arrived last summer and accused of violence and threats, meanwhile still trailed four of his eight The reason for this: racist slurs against Rayyan Baniya (Mantova) last season when he was playing for Fano…