“I went as a fan and manager of Italian football and I was impressed by the climate we experience, by the enthusiasm of the boys and the coach. I am very optimistic for the future. We are reigning champions and, as such, we are in the crosshairs of our adversaries. But it is clear that this is a group with great human and technical bases.” Thus the president of Inter Beppe Marotta he told the microphones of Radio Anch’io Sport on Rai Radio 1 his feelings on the winning European debut of Spalletti’s national team against Albania, experienced live at the Dortmund stadium.
Little or nothing is still known about next year’s Club World Cup: “The information we have is not very concrete. It is clear that this Club World Cup, a source of pride for us and an important showcase on a global level, represents a further overload of the calendars, a serious problem for our football which will become even more acute in the next season. There will be more matches with the new Champions League, to win the cup you can play up to 17 games, including the playoffs. The calendar is becoming increasingly compressed, it should be revised and then the Series should be reduced to 18 teams the work of our boys, the current workloads are no longer sustainable. The risk of injury is very high and also risks compromising the show, in the 2022-23 season, Barella played 52 games from mid-August to the beginning June. Furthermore, too much supply can generate a negative effect, football could lose its attractiveness.”
Danger of Arab petrodollars for the next market: “Sport represents a great and important heritage of our Italy, which must be protected. We are no longer the El Dorado of football as we were at the beginning of the 90s, today we represent a transitional football. Our players are often attracted by notable salaries and it becomes It is difficult to retain them. Our ability should be to replace them with dignity and not create barriers by going after players in a reckless way. Today of the 20 properties in Serie A, 10 are foreign: this means that our patronage model of the 1960s. 70 is no longer there. We must take note of this, in fact it’s a good thing that foreign capital is arriving, otherwise ours would be an uncompetitive football and at risk of default. From this point of view it is clear that these investors, as in the case of Oaktree, demonstrate a desire to always maintain continuity and stability in their management, but with transparency and great economic-financial rigidity. It seems right to me. No to crazy expenses, yes to valorising young people: this is the motto that must distinguish us”.
Among the crazy expenses there are also increasingly expensive agent commissions: “Absolutely yes, last season we almost reached a billion in commissions, a billion that goes outside the system and therefore does not require further investments. I understand that this profession must exist, but we often see unclear situations. The actions of these professionals who are now part of our movement”.
Read Marotta’s full statements here