Friulano, 34 years old, CEO of the Galician club: “Italy and Spain have the same percentage of use of national players, the difference is the minutes. We have analyzed the Real Sociedad model. Quagliata and Mulattieri? Excellent signings, even off the pitch”
There is a young Italian who has contributed to the immense happiness of a city that lives on football, which began the century by dominating Spanish football and surprising European football, but which then fell into a financial and sporting black hole, between hungry creditors and football in Serie C. After 8 years Deportivo, formerly SuperDepor, is back in La Liga, and leading it as CEO is Massimo Benassi, a 34-year-old from Friuli.
Compliments.
“Thank you. I lived 3 of those very long 8 years, this was the objective and it was achieved. But when you are here you understand how important it is for the city that Depor is in La Liga. A healthy pressure that was palpable in everyday life: every day without La Liga was one more day in which something was missing.”
The Spanish Segunda is hell: 22 teams, 42 games, no breaks…
“It’s a fierce competition, as a matter of financial fair play: the level of spending allowed is very similar for everyone, the difference between first and last is much lower than that of Serie B or other European leagues. For example, the parachute for those who drop out of La Liga is between 4 and 5 million. The difference in the salary limit between those who are relegated to the Segunda and those who are promoted from the third series is not very large, we’re talking about a range between 5 and 10 million. In the area of TV rights the distance is between 6 and 12-13 million euros. This is why all the teams are competitive.”
Your merits?
“We created the difference in two areas. The first was the market: we spent well because we knew the international market in depth. In Segunda it is essential to invest wisely, financial fair play forces you to be creative on the sporting side. The second important aspect was the youth team: we started investing in the cantera in the summer of 2023, and it paid off. Our jewel Yeremai is the tip of a large and qualified iceberg: around him there are Mella, Dani Barcia, Villares, Noé, Bill who scored the brace on promotion day…”.
You have a good number of Galicians.
“Yes, they help the inclusion of those who come from outside by showing the essence of the city and the team and maintain the fundamental link with the community. Here the people are not from Barça or Madrid, they are from Depor. And having local people in the first team is a source of pride.”
Among the novelties of last summer, two Italians, Giacomo Quagliata and Samuele Mulattieri.
“Two excellent signings. Quagliata went beyond the best predictions, Mulatteri scored very important goals and was an important complement on and off the pitch. They had a very high performance and in recent months this has made me think several times about the anomaly of the fact that they didn’t find a place in Serie A. For us it was fortunate, but as an Italian I was surprised. In Italy they say that the system must be re-founded, that ad hoc rules are needed, but in Spain there are no particular rules, obligations to play with so many Under 23s or so many Under 21s. All the clubs have second teams then each club decides how much importance to give them.”
How do you look at La Liga?
“With an amount of humility as great as the change that has taken place from 2018, our last year in the top division, to today. It’s another thing, financial fair play has been revolutionized. We know that next season will be very difficult from a sporting point of view. There are many teams that by tradition and turnover will be unapproachable but we are working on a three-year strategic plan: the first is survival and increasing revenues to get closer to the top 10.”
Your strategy?
“Commercial revenues, and therefore sponsorships, hospitality, the Tour and the stadium museum that we created from scratch. Then we need to try to exploit the stadium 365 days a year. From there there are details that can be significant on a commercial level: I’m thinking of digital assets, LED advertising for TV. In La Liga international matches have an audience multiplied by 30 compared to Serie B. If we are good at selling, especially at an international level, it can be a differential fact that in a short time can allow us to grow economically and get closer to others.”
The market is a double-edged sword.
“Yes. We are not changing our philosophy: we have an internal rule, unwritten but accepted by all, which requires that 25% of the first team squad must come from the cantera. And at least 50% must be under 26 years old. That’s what we’re looking for on the market, we’re thinking in the medium term, not in the short term. We’re not aiming for the name but to continue the path started in 2023: we went to La Liga with 8 players who were here when we were in Serie C.”
I don’t know if our model can be replicated in Italy. But here we never had any doubts, that was the path
A third of the squad.
“Exactly. And it worked. Now it would be nice to arrive in Europe with similar numbers of players who were with us in Segunda. I’ll tell you something else: this year our branch was promoted to Serie C, the category where the first team played two years ago. We thought we would get to these two promotions in 2028, we did it two years early.”
Can you take an x-ray of your second team?
“We have 2-3 foreigners, the rest 85% Galicians. And all the Under 21 players.”
Is it such a difficult thing to do in Italy?
“I don’t know. We here never had any doubts, the path was that: to create value with players from the region, Spanish players, young players. And for me it’s feasible in any football model if you don’t have the obligation to win every year, which only applies to Real Madrid and Barcelona. And be careful because at Barça they have 8 players at the World Cup with Spain and almost all of whom grew up at La Masía. And I add that the Italian player has quality: here in Serie B, in addition to Quagliata and Mulattieri, we have Brignani, Amatucci and Bonini who are fighting to go to La Liga with Castellon, Las Palmas and Almeria, guys who can easily stay in Serie A.”
Do you have a role model to follow in La Liga?
“Real Sociedad is a club that we have studied: similar cities, they too had difficult periods and went to the Segunda, they invested in the sports center and the youth sector, they found a great balance between cantera, Spanish and foreign players. A family club with ‘normal’ management without ups and downs, they let people work and when they had to sell they did it well, Griezmann, Mikel Merino, Zubimendi, Isak… without losing competitiveness: they just won the Cup King”.
What do you like about the La Liga system?
“I was talking about it with the president of the Spanish federation Rafael Louzan, who compared Serie A with La Liga: in both competitions there are 60% of national players, but 60% of the Italian players in Serie A play 30% of the minutes, while in La Liga 60% of the Spanish players play 60% of the minutes. Here in my opinion the difference is made in terms of overall movement. By taking advantage of the wave of victory at the 2010 World Cup they managed to make this feeling even stronger for the player and the Spanish national team. And as a manager I say that it is not difficult to get the local product to play.”
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