“We play too much, we ruin our players too much and subject them to particular risks which can then turn into heavy capital losses in the event of serious injuries. Here we never shed light on what the logic of the economy is: I’m fine with the merit and the spirit of sportsmanship, God forbid, because it is what unites the passion for sport. But then afterwards we have to combine the factors of production with the needs of a market that is increasingly demanding. But if the proceeds to always invest the more this kick is dead, it doesn’t work. And if who can’t make it rise why is it there?” It’s a raging river Aurelio De Laurentiispresident of the Napoli, during his interview given today to ‘Radio 24’. “I see that you are talking about us more and more often on Radio24, it’s wonderful. Pardo (host of ‘Tutti convocati’ and Dazn commentator, ed) is an enemy of quality because he works for the station that always broadcasts late and with a matches are of poor quality. Here I wanted to invent Radio Napoli and we did it a few summers. We made forays into the football world which occasionally loses momentum because there is a game of massacre, as if there were a certain masochism. Football he is followed by 28 million fans in Italy, so imagine in the world. The United States is a young country and they always go one step ahead. It makes me laugh a lot when they call me a visionary. But then I see that everyone else continues to live meanly a slave condition of the past, made up of the Football Federation, Leagues, UEFA and beautiful company.I was struck by an interview with a very young lady who has a minor team, Entella, who expressed a very clear concept: it is possible that everything that is entrepreneurship is in the hands of minds that have no corporate culture, but are ex football players, ex prosecutors? Being an entrepreneur is another thing. We are always slaves to the old because it’s easy to ride, if you are the borrower and not the entrepreneur you always look for the old, you talk about the past and not the future. We are all responsible for the alienation of the younger generations. The game of football has never been renewed, it is extremely old. Then Covid happens and we invent interruptions every ten minutes because we play in the summer. I have always supported the VAR first and in fact it is working in Italy. In Italy we do not treasure the experiences of the world. If the NBA and American Football make 10 billion in revenue a year, there will be a reason. In Europe, on the other hand, we don’t succeed because we are still in the Champions League, the Europa League and the Conference League. But who wants to make the Conference League? And it also applies to the Europa League. No one wants to figure it out.”
You are talking to me about Superlega
“Absolutely not. I never said to Agnelli… He wanted to do it for an elite. Today it’s wrong to continue making European competitions, it’s wrong for UEFA to collect 800 million that we don’t know what happens to them. Let’s make a European championship and let’s put 10 billion on the table where the first six of an important championship or the first of a minor championship must play against everyone, dry matches. But don’t these gentlemen know that on the platforms the virtual fan wants to see interesting football?”.
But do you like the idea of building a European championship based on meritocratic criteria?
“Absolutely. We have to take note of the fact that in 1986 there were 16 teams in Serie A and today there are 20. And if we go to see the television share, nobody cares about certain matches. It is no coincidence that some matches in England are not broadcast. I already said two and a half years ago that we had to be directly involved with our virtual fans. At the stadium we are the ones who sell the tickets and why shouldn’t we sell the virtual tickets using all the existing platforms recognizing them a small part of the cutting?
Chat do you think of the tender for TV rights?
“There shouldn’t be any law that limits me in the sale of TV rights. Melandri first destroyed cinema with a law that Franceschini and then football… can you explain to me why football has to do things they have no conscience and knowledge of? “
