Grape: “You win with ideas: owned stadiums to enjoy 7 days a week”

“In football you don’t win with money, but with ideas”. It seems like a century has passed, yet those words of Arrigo Sacchi are still more current than ever. “Money vs Ideas”, in fact, is the title of the new book written by Michele Uva – former general manager of Parma and Lazio and now director of Football & Social Responsibility of UEFA – and Maria Luisa Colledani, journalist of the Sole 24 Ore.

Evolving sector

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The two authors – accompanied by comments from Billy Costacurta, Riccardo Ferri (Inter Club Manager) and Rita Guarino (Inter Women coach) – presented the book at the Rizzoli store in Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan. “Today’s football – explains Uva – is no longer exclusively focused on the Sunday match. It is a sector that lives 7 days a week, which has to deal with merchandising, TV rights, fan tokens, owned stadiums and many other dynamics”.

The stadiums

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A chapter of the book is dedicated to the stadium theme, which is particularly dear to Inter and Milan, who are working on the construction of their new homes: “Today, stadiums represent the beating heart of any club. They are not just simple systems: they must communicate with the community, with the team and with the properties – continues Uva -. Building a stadium by focusing on the right ideas means ensuring huge future revenues”. “The fundamental aspect concerns the bond that is created between the structure and the fan. If you buy a ticket to see Ajax, you have access to countless comforts that improve your experience in the stands – added Colledani -. The stadium of the future must be smart”. “Those who have lived the emotions of San Siro for decades remain attached to that structure – explains Ferri -. This year, however, I visited the stadiums of Barcelona and Bayern. In Bavaria there were 120 skyboxes against the 30 present in Milan. There is a huge difference in terms of income, you have to take note of that”.

Environment, women and young people

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Colledani then highlighted that “football is a big industry and, like all big industries, it must respect the environment and the rules of governance. Respect for these parameters is essential for the growth of a sector: what today still sounds like a futuristic theme is becoming more and more central day after day. The same goes for women’s teams, which require investments to train young female players. Prejudices are receding, but this is not enough”. A final comment comes from Ferri, interviewed on the difficulty encountered by young Italian talents: “It’s right to start from the example of some big names who, this year, had to deal with numerous injuries. In a similar context, young boys have exalted themselves, who have thus managed to carve out a place in the first team. Without those knockouts, maybe they wouldn’t have had the same opportunities, considering that compared to my times it has become very difficult to establish oneself after the youth sector. The big teams boast dozens of players with international experience, while my peers had to fight for a place with a maximum of 2-3 foreigners”.