Pino Russo speaks. The 71-year-old Italian American of Theatine origins transplanted to Argentina confirms the agreement reached to take over 100% of Chieti’s shares and the timing of the closing of the operation set by January 15th. “I deal with financial trading. I’m from Chieti and have lived in Buenos Aires since 2001. I’ve always been a black and green fan.” This is how Russo introduced himself and, in a statement released on social media, recounts the steps of the negotiation, explains what he plans to do and tries to reassure the fans, who are skeptical about the operation and worried about the future. “On Tuesday I had a meeting with the lawyer Antonio Pimpini, kindly present as coordinator of the meeting, Altair D’Arcangelo and Gianni Di Labio, current owners and president of Chieti Calcio 1922. The telephone meeting is due to the fact that I live in Buenos Aires. We have already been in contact for some time to deal with the issue of the club. I reconfirmed my desire to acquire all the company shares and to take charge of finishing the championship and planning the club for the next championship which will see us as absolute protagonists. We have established the timing for this acquisition and signed it, recognizing its legal value. In this regard, I have proposed to my lifelong friend Mino Ianieri to take on the role of general manager, recognizing his experience and ability less when I will be in Italy for the second half of January. I also want to reassure the skeptics that the new company has economic capacity and I have asked president Di Labio to hand over the company to me by eliminating all the current positions, a non-negotiable condition. The project is very large to make it the headquarters. An important fact to underline is that we do not need any contribution or obligatory sponsors.
