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Extra Free Weekly Episode - The Interview: Matt Rizzetta (Ep. 260)
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The Italian Football Podcast interviews the Chairman of North Sixth Group who co-own Serie B outfit Ascoli as well as fully own Campobasso 1919, Matt Rizzetta.
Every weekly Monday episode and every biweekly Wednesday interview episode of The Italian Football Podcast are free for all. To get access to all episodes of The Italian Football Podcast, go to Patreon.com/TIFP to become a Patron for only $2.99 USD per month (excluding VAT).
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Transcript
Introduction and Free Access to Interviews
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast with John Solano, Carlo Garganese and Nima Tuvali.
00:00:24
Speaker
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the first interview episode of the Italian football podcast of the new season. My name is Nima Tali-Ruzzari, and as we said, as you all know, a listener to the show would know, since we joined Rocket Sports Network, these interview episodes are now free for all on Spotify, Google Podcasts, iTunes, etc.
00:00:48
Speaker
and we do them on a bi-weekly basis. Obviously, the Monday shows are also free for all every Monday on all platforms. But let's go to the reason why we're here. I'm really, really happy that we're joined here today by a very good friend of the show. He's been around, I think this is the third time he's on the show.
Matt Rizzetta Joins - Summer Recap
00:01:09
Speaker
He's had a very exciting summer. It's eventful. So without further ado, welcome Mr. Matt Rizzetta.
00:01:17
Speaker
Nima, thanks for having me. It's always a pleasure talking to you and give Carlo my best. I miss him. Yes, I will. I'll definitely do that. And he told me to send his best to you as well. Let's get right into it. It's been quite a busy few months. Many Calchio fans will know you as co-owner of Celia B side Askoli, and we'll get to that as well. But we have to start with Campo Basso and everything that happened this summer with them.
00:01:43
Speaker
So just a little recap. So from what I understand, you guys managed to stay up. SS Campo Baso, obviously. You guys stayed up in the city of Chi. Is that correct?
Financial Troubles and Legal Battles of SS Campo Basso
00:01:57
Speaker
That's correct. Finished 13th place.
00:01:59
Speaker
that's it and then you guys were preparing for the next season but you were relegated because of financial irregularities it said so i wanted to ask you what what happened can you give us a chronology chronology of what happened then and then obviously we'll get to the new the merger or the new campo basil project
00:02:18
Speaker
Sure. Well, it's interesting, you know, Nima, when you say you guys, you know, we weren't, our group was no longer in the, you know, in the ownership group. We, you know, it's funny, I'll give you the whole backstory, but basically, you know, to give you and it's funny, because everyone I talked to, when you tell them the whole story, it's like, they tell you that it's, it wouldn't even be believable if it were in a Hollywood script. We love that. We love that's Italian football. That's why we love it.
00:02:48
Speaker
So just to give you the quick backstory. So, you know, we invested in Campo Vaso. It was our first investment in Italian football before Ascoli. This was in 2020, right smack dab in the middle of COVID, you know, pandemic, no ticket revenues from the stadiums being closed, so on and so forth. Campo Vaso was in the fourth tier at the time and said he had D.
00:03:09
Speaker
They hadn't been promoted to set a chi in 32 years. Our first year of owning the club, we won the lead. We got them promoted to set a chi. We were a minority owner in the club. The majority owner was a company out of Switzerland, a fondant of Switzerland called Hallie holdings. We had some.
00:03:28
Speaker
real issues with them in our first season. It was a phenomenal season on the pitch. We had incredible moments with the fans. Obviously, winning the first championship in 32 years was unforgettable. But behind the scenes, there were a lot of issues. We saw a lot of things that we didn't like in terms of how the club was being managed, financial stuff, administrative sloppiness, things of that nature. And just to add a respect for them, I don't want to get too deep into the game. Of course.
00:03:53
Speaker
Of course. So that was basically what happened. And we had an LOI that stated if Compobasso was promoted, which we were, our group would have the option to buy the majority out at a fixed price. And obviously, at the end of the season, we were loving the project. We just won the championship. We saw a ton of upside. We were really building the brand nicely, as you know, in North America.
00:04:16
Speaker
So, of course, we decided to exercise our option to buy the majority. And then that's when our problems, our real problems with the other, at that time, majority owner began. And this is in 2021, you know, June 2021, right after the promotion, as they were gearing up to prepare for their first season in 32 years in City of Chi. Just before we continue, just so the listeners know, LOI is Letter of Intent, right? Yes, sorry, I should have thought. No, no, no, that's not just...
00:04:45
Speaker
It was a binding letter of intent that basically effectively gave us the majority ownership of the club for a fixed price. So we exercised that and they essentially operated in what we believe was bad faith because they didn't want to sell the club. They thought that the price that we negotiated at the LOI stage was lower than the value of the club.
00:05:08
Speaker
You know someone and so forth they saw that the club was really gaining a lot of traction momentum primarily thanks to our team you know internationally so you don't want to sell to us and You know we believe they just acted in bad faith they did things intentionally to delay the closing they held back on financial documents and they basically just made it impossible to
00:05:26
Speaker
for us to consummate the transaction. And at that point, that's when we divested from the club. And ultimately, we went in and invested in Ascoli, which we'll talk about later. Ascoli has been obviously a different project, phenomenal experience. But as far as Compobasso went, that was sort of the end of our activity and our involvement with SS Compobasso. And it was painful, you know, it's like losing a child, you know, you buy, you invest in the club, the club becomes like a living, breathing organism, you see it
00:05:57
Speaker
you know, breathe life into a city, into a fan base, into a region. You win a championship for the first time in 32 years. And it was very painful for me last year in Setiichi. I basically kind of had to cringe every time, you know, somebody sent me an update on Kapovas or there was a news alert or something of that nature, because we were basically watching from the sidelines and couldn't participate. So that's essentially what happened. And all of this then culminated
00:06:23
Speaker
just wanted to set the stage for you. All of this then culminated this past summer. So I was on vacation with my kids in Tennessee with my three daughters. And my phone, this is like right around July 4th weekend. And my phone just starts blowing up. I mean, I was getting I must have gotten hundreds of WhatsApp messages and texts from Italy. And it was, you know, it was fans of Campo Vaso. It was the you know, the
00:06:48
Speaker
Political figures. It was sponsors. Everyone was saying that did you hear what happened with kampob? Ah, so I had I had no idea and they said they just got denied Entrance or reentrance into SETI achieved by the at that time. It was the kovisak, which is listeners are familiar But it's basically the Financial Auditing Bureau of Italian people. Yeah
00:07:08
Speaker
So I had no idea. And anyway, that – so that's when this whole – when this whole soap opera began, they were denied entrance into Setiachi in early July because of administrative irregularities having to do primarily with late-tax payments, although there were some other issues, but that was really the core issue.
00:07:27
Speaker
And then that began this whole spiral of appeals. There was six or seven appeals. Club ownership wound up appealing at every layer of the Italian justice system, both the sporting courts and the legal system, essentially up to the highest level of justice in Italy, which is a concillo distato, essentially.
00:07:50
Speaker
equivalent of the supreme court in the US and they got rejected every step of the way they wind up they wind up getting rejected even for reentrance into seti adi so the club forget about being in seti achieve the club wasn't even allowed to participate in seti adi
00:08:06
Speaker
Obviously, we were getting all of these messages the whole summer from fans telling us to come back and buy the team and our hands were tied. It was out of our hands. It was all in the courts and it was an issue between the old ownership group and the Italian legal system at that point, so we couldn't do anything. And then finally September, I think it was September 5th,
00:08:25
Speaker
was the sixth or seventh appeal, which was rejected after the five, you know, six previous appeals, all of those were rejected. And the club was essentially, was essentially gone, you know, there was no club, they had nowhere to play. And that's when we came in and we wound up, we just fell in love with the concept at that point of going to
Rebuilding Campo Basso 1919 with Fan Support
00:08:48
Speaker
get our child back, you know, unfinished business set out to do, build what we set out to do two years ago. And there was this second club called Campo Basso 1919 Dica Novi Dica Novi that was in Ecelanza in the fifth tier.
00:09:04
Speaker
And we wound up buying that club on September 11th, we consummated the deal. And essentially, the plan is, you know, we had to put together a roster, a coach, GM, you know, all in the span of 72 hours, five or six days. That's, that's basically what we did. And obviously, it's an ambitious project, it kind of
00:09:24
Speaker
It kind of sucks that we have to start from the fifth tier, of course, but the project is ambitious. We're investing considerable resources into this and the goal is to get the team promoted twice over consecutively into Cetia Chi and then go from there long-term to get the club into Cetia B. That's basically what I've been doing this summer, Nima. How about you?
00:09:45
Speaker
Well, yeah, I've been busy, but not like you. That's for sure. So just to clarify, so Campo Baso 1919 and S.S. Campo Baso. So just to understand, so S.S. Campo Baso, you guys bought that or did you buy Campo Baso 1919 and have you merged the two? Like, what's the legal status there? So there's no confusion.
00:10:07
Speaker
No, they're two completely separate clubs, you know, they have nothing to do with each other. Legally, you know, the only thing they have to do with each other is that with one another is that they're both based in Campo Vaso, but no SS Campo Vaso, which is the club that played in Cetiacci last year, that's the club that lost all of their appeals. And as of now, essentially, because of the ruling by the Italian justice system, you know, the Fiji Chi all the way on up to the Concilio di Stato has no home, there's no league for that club to play in.
00:10:36
Speaker
Wow. So they can't even go to Echelenza? No. In fact, I think, you know, I don't want to speak, I'm not obviously not a legal expert, but my just given the precedent, you know, that other other clubs have experienced in similar situations, I would guess that there's going to be some sort of dissolution or bankruptcy, you know, that's imminent at this point.
00:10:56
Speaker
Well, of course, if they're not allowed in to play at any level, then that seems pretty inevitable, doesn't it? Wow, that's dramatic. Like you said, you weren't lying when you said about it, it was going to be like a soap opera. So you guys are like, so you got Campo Basso 1919.
00:11:16
Speaker
And if they were to dissolve SS Campobasso, if they were to go into some sort of bankruptcy, would you be able to take over that? Because in Italy, we've had many times where clubs go into bankruptcy, and then out of the ashes, like the bird, Phoenix, rises as a descendant, so to speak. Is that something you guys are looking to do?
00:11:42
Speaker
No, I think NEMA at this point, we're just so excited about this project. And we feel like 1919, you know, Campobasso 1919 is a platform and we weren't interested in buying this club as the secondary team of Campobasso or of, you know, the region of Malise. We were only interested in this deal.
00:12:00
Speaker
if we were the first team and we essentially substituted the old primary team, which was historically SS Campobasso. So that went into this deal as well. We secured the exclusive rights to the stadium, you know, Stadio Nuovo Romanioli, it's a 25,000 seat stadium. So we're the exclusive tenants in that stadium. We're just investing in some, there's some maintenance work that needs to get done before we can actually start playing our games there. So in the meantime, we're playing in a temporary, small, smaller facility. But in the next couple of weeks, we will be
00:12:30
Speaker
returning to the full stadium. We have, you know, we've worked with the mayor and with the political figures in the region of Malise. We've been granted exclusive status or primary status as the first team of Campo Vaso. So, I mean, we feel, to answer your question, we really have no interest and no, you know, the old SS Campo Vaso to us is not relevant. We have our project. This is a platform. We're the first team of the city. We have the stadium. We have the fan support.
00:12:57
Speaker
and we're ready to roll. So that's our play. Well, how have the fans of both clubs, I guess, received this? Well, 1919 historically named it really didn't have a fan base. It was just a tiny little club that essentially served as a feeder system into not just SS Campobasso, but to other larger clubs throughout the region.
00:13:21
Speaker
So we just looked at it as a platform. That was all. There were really, there were no fans, there was no stadium. It was just compobasso. And with the first club going essentially extinct, we were like, wow, this, we can take this little club that historically has been the secondary team and we can invest in turning it into the first team. So that's what we did. We, we, the fan, you mentioned, it's interesting point you brought up in terms of the supporters and the fan base. That was critical to us. We were not going to do this if we didn't have the full,
00:13:49
Speaker
unconditional support of the fans. And before we did this, I mean, we talked with the head of the heads of the ultras and the organized fan groups and a bunch of people locally that had a lot of influence. And they were like, Matt, we're just devastated. I mean, think about the suffering, the pain and suffering that this fan base had endured. They, you know, they've suffered through bankruptcies several times before. Finally, the team gets promoted from D to C for the first time in 32 years. On the pitch, they have a pretty good season in their first year and said he achieved
00:14:19
Speaker
avoiding relegation pretty safely almost even getting into the playoffs and then the second literally the second that that season is over
00:14:28
Speaker
they're declared ineligible, because for no fault to no fault of their own, just because of an administrative and financial mistake that the old ownership group made. So just think about the pain and suffering the fans endured. So obviously, I mean, this fan base was going to lose football, there was going to be no football at all whatsoever in Campobasso, because the old ownership group went through so many appeals by the time they lost their final appeal,
00:14:55
Speaker
It was after September, transfer window essentially was closed and the whole region was going to lose football. You know, there was no football, no football. And the fans at that point were devastated. So they really viewed this as a breath of fresh air. Obviously, it's a punch to the gut to have to restart from the fifth tier when you were just playing professional football in saidi achi.
00:15:17
Speaker
They've supported us unconditionally. You know, I'm flying out there in a couple days. I think we have a few hundred people already confirmed to attend our press conference. I mean, there's a lot of renewed enthusiasm and energy, not just in the city, but all over the world, you know, from the Molisani and Campobasani expats because of this project. And if it wasn't for that, we just wouldn't have done it.
00:15:40
Speaker
Well, of course, I mean, like you said, I mean, it's very difficult. I mean, football always plays such an important role globally in the local cities and regions it's from. But in Italy, it's really it can't be understated. It can't be overstated how important this is. And for those fans to not have a home after so many years in that history, it's
00:16:00
Speaker
I mean, the pain it causes is it is it's difficult to try to convey that to someone who's not inside Italian football. And I know that you guys have an excellent reputation in Italian football, so I can only imagine, you know, I can imagine they were they were thrilled that you guys wanted to come back and try again.
00:16:15
Speaker
You know, Nima fans just want a serious project. They want serious ownership.
Football's Cultural Impact and Investment Strategies
00:16:21
Speaker
And look, it's not the first time this has happened. You look at Napoli, look at Fiorentina, look at Genoa. These are all clubs that have achieved incredible levels of success from bankruptcies.
00:16:34
Speaker
Obviously, we're not doing this from a bankruptcy. We're doing this a little bit more in a unique way by taking this already existing club that really was a small, tiny, forgotten club and turning it into a very relevant and large club. But this concept is not foreign to Italian football and we believe in the project. You look at Campobasso, there's a reason we invested in Campobasso years ago. The reason was
00:16:58
Speaker
Because it's a great place. I mean, strategically, it's right smack dab between Rome and Naples. It's the only club in the entire region of Malise. So you don't have to worry about infighting with other clubs. And you don't have to worry about resources from political and government figures being divided among, you know, different clubs. Everybody supports this club.
00:17:17
Speaker
And then you look at the expat base, there's about 300,000 people in Molise right now. There's 1.1 million Molisani that live abroad, you know, United States, Canada, Australia. So you look at an operating team like ours, that's based in the United States.
00:17:34
Speaker
It has the networks we have and the resources we have. You can understand why we really believe in this. So trust me, when Mano Maseli, who's become basically our boots on the ground in Campo Basso, when he came to me with this idea about a month ago, we had no intent of coming back to Campo Basso. It was really the fans that brought us back.
00:17:57
Speaker
He came to me a month ago and he said, Matt, why don't you take the team in the fifth tier? Like, I almost laughed at him because I would have never in a million years, you know, playing, playing in said he achieved playing with Ascoli and said he a B and, you know, being two wins away from said, ah, you know, you get a little spoiled. So the, the notion of restarting from the fifth tier to me wasn't even a consideration.
00:18:17
Speaker
Until the fans reached out to me and made it very clear how important this club was to their livelihood to their set through their sense of identity and you know and and and Dignity and that's really what what drove us here. So we're excited about it, you know, Nima and my career just like in you know, you in parallel, you know, I started from the bottom I started below at your lens. So I don't you know, I'm not afraid to Get my hands dirty. Yeah, and I'm not afraid to do it
00:18:47
Speaker
No, absolutely. Now it's an extraordinary story. We'll see. I'm sure you guys will do well. I mean, you guys always put in the work. I'm very professional. Like I said, you have an excellent reputation in Italian football. So let's see. I mean, obviously Campo Basso is Campo Basso's most famous victory ever.
00:19:11
Speaker
was an 84-85. I'm sure you know the story. Copa Italia beating Juventus with Platini, Bonniak and Shireya. I mean, do you remember who scored that winner that day? Of course. It was Ugo Lotti.
00:19:26
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, it was I mean, the 84-85 game that I'm talking is I was an own goal by Stefano purely, who's now managing Milan. I didn't realize that. Okay. Yeah, no, it's it's I mean, if you look at the goal, it's it's a I think they gave it as an own goal. But yeah, that's the first one is the history book say but
00:19:45
Speaker
Do you, I mean, with the new project or with the new Campo Basso, obviously you're looking to make new memories. If you could choose to beat any club, any Serie A club in the Copa Italia to create a new classic memory like that, who would it be? Wow, that's a great question. Serie A right now, you know, can I give you a Serie B club? Yeah, sure.
00:20:10
Speaker
I think we'd like to beat Benevento because Benevento actually has been the club that we've been compared to. When you talk about the potential that Campobasso has, everyone always says, well, why can't it be like Benevento? It's a club that finally, it's a sleeping giant. It's 50,000 people in the city, tons of expats internationally.
00:20:33
Speaker
They sort of hung out what you know historically hung around in the lower tiers said he achieved said he achieved do away and then when they finally got a Serious ownership group with the go retail that you know put a long-term multi-year project into them They wound up getting promoted all the way to set you off So I think that would be pretty cool just as a statement To get a chance to play against a club like that in the co-op Italian kind of say hey, you know We're coming next, you know, we're the next generation of what you did. I
00:20:59
Speaker
Ah, nice. I love that answer. Well, as you mentioned in the beginning, we have to talk about Ask Ali as well. But just to confirm, you're still a minority owner at Ask Ali with the Pulchinelli family, right?
00:21:11
Speaker
Oh, absolutely. These are two separate projects. We're 100%, 110% committed to both of them. They're very different projects with very different strategies and ambitions and operating plans. But yeah, we recently, over the summer, as all this was going down, we actually re-upped our investment in
00:21:32
Speaker
We also extended our sponsorship agreement with them, so we have a three-year sponsorship agreement in addition to being co-owners of the club, so we're really pumped about that. Obviously, we had a great start to the season recently. We took a couple of lumps recently, but I feel good about the club. I think we're going to be right there in the thick of things until the very end in Seti Abi this year.
00:21:53
Speaker
Just to ask, will there be any synergy between Campobasso 1919 and Ascoli? Will there be any friendlies, loan signings, anything like that? Any cooperation? Absolutely. In fact, I want to just point out that our partners, our co-owners in Ascoli have been super supportive of what we're doing with Campobasso. And if it wasn't for their support, I don't know if we would have done this with Campobasso. They came in and they were like, Matt,
00:22:18
Speaker
This is what led you to Italian football in the first place. My grandparents immigrated from about an hour outside of Campo Vaso. So they said to me, this is your second home. We don't want to deny you of that dream. And they encouraged me, these are the owners at Ascoli, they encouraged me to go
00:22:36
Speaker
do this deal with Campo Vaso. And if it wasn't for that, I don't believe we probably would have done it in the end. And in terms of the synergies, absolutely, you know, obviously NEMA starting in the fifth tier, there's not too many synergies between a fifth tier club and second tier club. But you know, once we get promoted, we're going all in to get promoted immediately this year, you know, we're on full points after two matches, we've won a
00:22:59
Speaker
by a combined 12-0 in our first two games. So we feel really good about the team. And I think once we get promoted to Cetia D, that's when you'll see some of the synergies you mentioned kick in. And it's everything you mentioned. It's taking players from the Prima Veta team and bringing them over to Compobasso. It's co-promoting the two teams. Obviously, Compobasso
00:23:19
Speaker
We're going to be looking to gain market share in North America because it's such a fertile ground and there's so many expats from the Malize area that support the club in North America. So as we do that, I think Ascoli will benefit as well from a heightened international presence. So those are all the things we're going to look to do. I think we're probably about one year away from realistically seeing a lot of those synergies come to life.
00:23:41
Speaker
When we were last on, we asked you, you told us that you guys had an option to take over the majority from the Puccinelli family at Ascoli. Now, am I right to assume that you guys haven't done that yet? And if not, is that still something you guys want to do? Because I mean, when you guys first came into Ascoli, you were very clear that this is, you know, you were looking to take over the full control of the club and so on. Can you explain a little bit about that?
00:24:10
Speaker
Yeah, a lot of that has to do with Campobasso. Life is full of surprises and twists and turns and it's never a straight line, it's always a straight line. Look, at the beginning of this summer, if you had to
00:24:27
Speaker
if I had to tell you what my confidence level was in us taking the majority of Ascoli, it would have been very high, you know, certainly above 50%.
Separate Strategies for Ascoli and Campo Basso 1919
00:24:35
Speaker
And then this opportunity came about with Campo Vaso. And it just became a project we fell in love with. I mean, this is the quintessential underdog story. For me, this is a story of
00:24:48
Speaker
redemption and rebirth and hope and everything that really brought me to Italian football in the first place. So when this, when this opportunity with Campo Vaso became more and more real, it also meant that our, you know, current minority position in Ascoli was the smartest move. And that's ultimately where we landed. We said, look, we have a really large, healthy stake in a very big club that in Ascoli that has a shot at getting promoted, you know, pretty much every year to said, yeah, which were super
00:25:18
Speaker
excited about and happy about and now we own a hundred percent of this.
00:25:23
Speaker
smaller club that represents all of the expats and immigrants and underdogs across the world. And this is a multi-year project and it's going to take time. This is going to take time. We're not delusional in any way. This is going to be several years before we get this team realistically into the upper tiers of Italian football, you know, say a B and beyond. But they're two projects we're incredibly passionate about. We're loyal to both of them and we're incredibly proud to be a part of both of these beautiful places.
00:25:52
Speaker
So do you guys just for the sake of clarity, do you guys still have an option to take over Ascoli, majority in Ascoli? Is that something still you're looking to do in the future?
00:26:02
Speaker
Right now, so the official option expired, we do have an understanding with the Puccinelli family who we have a great relationship with. This is open dialogue in the spirit of partnership and good faith. We always have these conversations, but there is nothing legally binding now. Cool. That's great. You're in your second full season as a co-owner of Ascoli, and like you mentioned, you narrowly avoided promotion through the playoffs. That must have been so disappointing.
00:26:30
Speaker
Yeah, that was a tough one. We started at the season, I think we were predicted 14th or 15th in the table based on the odds. We totally exceeded everyone's expectations. We finished in sixth place, had a home game in the playoffs against Benevento. Obviously, we lost that match. That was a tough one to take because we had, I believe, the most
00:26:53
Speaker
points out of any city of B team in the table, the whole Giudone di, the whole second half of the season. We had the most points on the road out of any team in the season. We had, you know, we had great defense talent with three or four players that wanted to go into city on clubs in the off season. So we had, we had, we really felt like we were going to win that playoff and to lose it the way we did. I think we outshot Bennett, we're going to Benavento. That's who we lost to. I think
00:27:17
Speaker
I think we outshot them. It was like, I don't know. It's like there's a lot. It was 14 shots on goal to three or something. And just like anything in football, you know, football, if you convert on your opportunities, even if you only have two or three of them, they can make the difference. For sure. And you were coached by Ricardo Sotil. I mean, this is this. I remember we was when we spoke about and when you were last on about what a future interesting coach he is.
00:27:44
Speaker
And he is now. I mean, he's in charge of Udayneze and Udayneze who thoroughly defeated Roma and Inter and are at the top of the Seria thereabouts. I mean, are you surprised at all that he's done so well so early?
00:28:02
Speaker
No, not at all. First off, I'm so happy for Andrea. Coach Sotil was a great leader for us. The things you saw on the pitch were nothing compared to what you didn't see off the pitch. The reason we finished sixth place last year
00:28:17
Speaker
in the table when we were supposed to finish 14th or 15th, was because of Coach Sotil. Obviously, in addition to the staff and the team and the players and the fans, but Coach Sotil was the heartbeat of that whole machine last year. And it was mainly because of the things he did off the pitch. He knew how to manage egos, he knew how to manage personalities, he was a great motivator. So seeing what he's done at Ujanae is, look, I'd be lying if I told you that I would expect them to be, what are they in second or third place right now?
00:28:45
Speaker
Yeah, I think they're in, let me just bring out my cheat note. I think they're in third, but more importantly, they're just one point. Yeah, they're just one point off Napoli and Natalanta in third. I would be lying if I said I would expect that.
00:29:03
Speaker
after the first, what is it, five or six matches for them to be in the second or third place. But Coach Jotil is an elite coach. He's one of the best motivators that I've ever met. And there was no doubt in my mind that he was going to be successful in Serie A. He would be successful at any level of professional football. If they put him in the Champions League, he would be successful in my career.
00:29:25
Speaker
Well, it's interesting you say that because, I mean, he's been long touted. And I remember when last season, I was watching quite a few Atsuko games just to see how he plays. And he plays a very interesting and modern brand of football. But what is it he does off the pitch like you spoke about that makes him so special, in your opinion?
00:29:47
Speaker
A lot of it comes down to motivating and a lot of it comes down to knowing how to manage personalities. You got to remember there's so many different egos to manage on these football clubs, especially at the Serie B level. You have players that came down from Serie A that might feel like Serie B is beneath them. You have players that come up from Serie A and even Serie D. Look at Lorenzo Luca last year who came up from Palermo. I think they were in Serie D or Serie A.
00:30:12
Speaker
that this is a major opportunity and launching pad for their career. And this is a big step up for them. It's an international league. You asked last year, I think we had players from 12 different countries represented. So just that job in itself as a coach is an enormous job, managing personalities, you know, of all types, managing players from all over the world, some of whom speak English, some of whom don't.
00:30:36
Speaker
I was really very, very impressed with how Coach Shotil did that. And he did it all with grace, with elegance, with class, and ultimately the results showed. So that was the thing I think off the pitch, Nima, I was the most impressed by. Yeah.
00:30:51
Speaker
I mean, it's and I mean, Odineza have Odineza have so many young players that he's gotten and also older players, but it's it's the mix that so to see them play this kind of modern and high pressing and high intensity football and and to do it against Inter, to do it against Roma, it's it's incredibly, incredibly, incredibly impressive. Well, going back to Ask Oli now, surely your ambition this season has to be go to go up to the Serie A and what what chances do you give yourselves that you can do it?
00:31:20
Speaker
Yeah, look, there's no hiding it. First off, this is a very competitive Serie B. This is like a Serie A duet. Oh my god, it is. It's my favorite league in the after the Serie A Serie B. I love this league.
00:31:32
Speaker
It's wild. I mean, look at some of the teams you have. You have Genoa, Parma, Cagliari, Brescia, Benevento, Venezia. I mean, the list, and then even the teams that got promoted from Cetiacci. Palermo. Yeah, Palermo, Barri. I mean, it's just the list goes on. So,
00:31:50
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, there's no hiding it. We're looking to get promoted, certainly, in the next two to three seasons. We're not hiding that. I think talking to Puccinelli family, and the Pascetis, and the della Sandros, who are other investors and co-owners in the club, we would all tell you the same thing. This year, the goal was playoffs are bust. And if you make it to the playoffs, just like last year, anything can happen. So that's our goal. We had an incredible start to the season. We lost our goalie, Nicola Lialli,
00:32:19
Speaker
who ironically was the second coming to Gigi Buffon in Juventus. He came up through the Juventus Youth Academy and then ultimately didn't pan out with Juventus and wound up at Ascoli, which was one of the best things that ever could have happened to us. Because I think he's the best goalie in Serie B. So he went down in the game against Chitadela, which we drew, nil-nil.
00:32:40
Speaker
And he's out for two months. And that was a big blow to us. Because he's really our leader in the locker room. He sets the tone. A lot of people don't think of the goalie always as leaders. But he is the emotional leader of this team. So to lose him for two months was a big blow. And we're still kind of recovering, I think, from his loss psychologically. And we'll figure it out. And we'll get it turned around. But the past two or three weeks have been tough. I think we're still trying to figure out who's going to step up as our vocal leader on this team in his absence.
00:33:11
Speaker
for sure. For sure. So if you were to give one of your players who maybe a little younger play who isn't, you know, who isn't that known, who, aside from who you've mentioned, who do you think should be able to keep an eye on in the Ask Ali squad? Players? Yeah.
00:33:31
Speaker
I like Miquelle Colocolo. He's one of our midfielders. We were getting a lot of set of offers from him in the offseason. We decided to keep him. We have two players that are in our youth academy right now that are on the under 20 or under 17 national team or under 18. I forgot to get it confused. One is Filippo Palazzino, who's a striker.
00:33:52
Speaker
And then we have Tommaso Bolletta, who's a goalie, Portierre. So I like both of those guys. And we have a really good team. Our defense is solid. Giuseppe Belushi is the staple to our defense, along with Boteguin, Eric Boteguin, Brazilian in the back. Our midfield is really strong. Cedric Gondo, who we signed in the off-season, I think, is still the Capo Canoniere, the leading goal scorer.
00:34:19
Speaker
I think he is. If he's not, he's certainly close to the top. So that was a game changer for us. We signed Mendez, Paolo Mendez from Sporting Lisbon in Portugal, who actually has played in the Champions League before. He's just getting adjusted and acclimated to Italian football and to Ascoli. I think once he gets fully adjusted, him and Gondo up front are going to be
00:34:39
Speaker
you know, pretty unstoppable at our level. So I'm excited about the team. I think it's going to take a little bit of time to get some new leadership with Nicola Liali out, but it's a great team and we should be right there in the thick of things till the bitter end.
00:34:53
Speaker
How long is Lee Ali out for? Is there any, like, projection on when he will... We're expecting him. He's been out for about three weeks now. We were expecting him to miss about 10 weeks. So more or less, there should be about seven weeks to go or so. For sure. Well, one thing we always talk about on this podcast is
00:35:11
Speaker
why we believe in Italian football and we're very happy that entrepreneurs like yourself with an Italian background from the United States and other places like to come and invest in Italian football and to renew it as it were. And Italian football is often criticized for being a bit stuck in the past.
00:35:30
Speaker
given how it's administrative and commercialized. But I mean, what specifically do you think that Italian football could learn from American professional sports?
Innovations from American Sports for Italian Football
00:35:43
Speaker
I think innovation has a lot to do with that. Nima, you look at what the NFL has done, you look at what Major League Baseball has done, embracing social media, short snackable highlight clips that are distributed to consumers, merchandising, modernizing the game, logos. I think all of those things, Italian football clubs would benefit from
00:36:07
Speaker
in terms of their ability to learn. But look, it's Italian football. It's beautiful. It's romantic. It's football and its culture and its passion all rolled into one on the backdrop of the most beautiful country in the world. So there's just so much that Italian football has to offer
00:36:25
Speaker
not just to Italians and Italian expats, but to the world, you know, sports fans across the world. And I think they're learning, you know, I think they are learning. I'll give a shout out to my friends, our partners at IFTV, Italian Football TV, I think they're doing a great job as ambassadors here in North America for Italian football, and you know, said yeah, engage them to go help them improve their social media presence. So I think what you're seeing for the first time in a long time is a sense of humility by
00:36:54
Speaker
the powers that be, you know, at the Federation and at SETI A and certainly at SETI B level to embrace innovation. And I think when they do that, the rest is history because all the other elements are in place. You know, you have a great quality of, you know, the product, the quality of the product in Italian football is obviously amazing. It's historic. You have some of the most historic clubs and cities
00:37:16
Speaker
in the world all on the backdrop of italy which is a culture that everybody loves so i think once they modernize some of that content media the marketing side of things the sky's the limit much in the same way that the premier league has done for the past two decades.
00:37:31
Speaker
I don't know if you know, but the Serie B, they didn't allow clubs to post their highlights and goals from their own games. And Venezia, I don't know if you've seen them on social media, how they've taken on that. They've had a very interesting take on that because they were not happy with that at all on Twitter and Instagram. So they basically
00:37:55
Speaker
posted videos of their own games, but not them. There was another account who, legally we can't see, was connected to Venezia, but the way that it was done was they made it black and white. And they made a very specific point out of exactly this, that they, you know, why can't we promote our own, you know, highlights games until a week after the game is played.
00:38:19
Speaker
I didn't know that. I got to check that out. Oh, you have to. Venezia, Venezia's social media game. It is world class. You have to check that out. They are absolutely hilarious. And they always do it with such... They do it intelligently. They've got a little bit of bite, but they do it with that tongue in cheek as well, which makes it really, really funny.
00:38:42
Speaker
So definitely got to check that out. I want to talk a little bit about Serie A with you. Obviously, Lecce, Cremonese and Montts are teams you know really well, of course, having played the Serie B last season, they got promoted. Which club do you think has the biggest chance or which clubs has the biggest chance of staying up?
00:39:00
Speaker
Well, based on the initial report card, it would be Lecce, certainly. I think they've put the best performance forth so far this season. Also, just a shout out to Federico Basquiatrotto, who's a former Osquely player who we sold to Lecce in the off season. He's doing phenomenally well for them.
00:39:17
Speaker
But look, with Berlusconi involved, you never count him out. So let's see what happens in January or in December when the Mercato reopens. I wouldn't put anything past Berlusconi, but I think the early indications would lead you to believe that Lecce is going to
00:39:36
Speaker
going to stay up. And it's interesting, because you have some historic clubs that are, I think, going to have a tough time staying up. Look at what's happening to Sampadoria. Our guy Sabiri, former hospital player, is out in Sampadoria. So we're obviously hoping they stay up. But I think, look, it's brutal. People don't realize how difficult it is to survive in Serie A. And it's a challenge. If you fall asleep at the wheel, even for one moment, it could cost you dearly
00:40:01
Speaker
in the table and you could be spending the rest of your season just trying to figure out a way to avoid relegation. So I think it's going to be interesting, Anima. I've been really impressed with Lecce so far, but again, I wouldn't count Berlusconi out and especially, let's have this conversation again in January and we'll see what moves in me.
00:40:17
Speaker
Yeah, for sure. What about the Serie A title? I mean, obviously it's really early days, but who do you think is going to win it? And who do you, you know, of all, I mean, Inter, I mean, it's really tight, as we said, this Napoli won one point ahead of Atalanta and with Nese, with Juve and Inter having struggles, but they're not far behind. It's a really tight Serie A. Who do you think is going to win it?
00:40:42
Speaker
Well look, you can never count the Milan clubs out. I'm gonna say this year is finally gonna be the year of the South. I think Napoli is going to win
Napoli as Serie A Dark Horse and Club Collaborations
00:40:50
Speaker
it. Spoletti now in his second year, second or third year? I think it's his second year, right? Yeah, second year. The second year of coaching there. So he's gotten comfortable there. He understands the fan base. There's an identity to that team. I think the fans, I think there's something about the energy in the air in Napoli this year. I would have to,
00:41:10
Speaker
If I had to guess, I would say Napoli. I think Atalanta is going to be right there, by the way, until the bitter end as well. You can't count the Milan clubs out. You know, Roma this year is off to a great start. Mourinho also in his second year in Rome, I think is starting to make adjustments. So I think it's going to be interesting. I think it's going to be one of the more exciting Scudetto races we've seen over the past decade or so. I think there's going to be several teams in the mix. Gun to my head though, I'm going to pick Napoli right now.
00:41:36
Speaker
I've got Napoli as my dark horse to win the Serie A.
00:41:41
Speaker
Wow, there we go. And finally, we agree on something. Yeah, we do. We do. I think they are. I think they had, I think they had the by far the best Mercato in in a long time. I mean, of all the Italians, of all Italian teams, I think also financially, it was very so intelligent. It was so intelligent. I mean, they slashed the wage bill. They brought in new, exciting young players and they also kind of made a net profit on players in and players out. I mean, De Laurentiis is fantastic at these things. I agree.
00:42:11
Speaker
Okay, so just before I let you before I know you're really busy, you can let you go. Obviously, you've spoken before of your friendship with Taco Joe, Taco Pinos, a good friend of the show and Spal, and he's also there. And and you guys, you know, you're doing a lot for serious, you know, to promote Italian football in all over the world, not just North America. But is have you guys got something planned together or any, any, anything, you know, how's the relationship there?
00:42:38
Speaker
Oh, yeah, Joe's a good friend. I mentioned, you know, Joe, Joe was really the founding father of Italian American soccer ownership. You know, he was in Roma, what now it gets 1314 years ago. So yeah, I have a ton of respect for Joe. Anytime I need a perspective point of view, pick up the phone and call him. He's been incredibly gracious and generous with his time. You know, it's something I'll never forget. I think, you know, I've tried to return the favor in any small way possible. And yeah, we've had a lot of conversations we're talking about potentially doing a little mini
00:43:08
Speaker
a tour with some of the Setia B clubs that are American owned in the off season here in the United States. So those are things we've talked about. We've talked about a bunch of different co-sponsored, co-promotional ventures together. So there'll be things that we'll do together, although with the way his team is playing, we might not see him in Setia B for too long, which obviously we're trying to beat them on the pitch, but from a friendship perspective, there's nobody I'd rather see get promoted this year other than Ascoli than Joe.
00:43:35
Speaker
Oh, I couldn't agree more. A great guy and such a passionate person just like yourself. When you talk to him, it's like you just get so fired up and he's a fantastic, like you said, one of the first people, one of the founding fathers of Italian American investors in football, like you say.
Closing Remarks and Call to Action
00:43:54
Speaker
Right. So thank you so much for coming on, Matt. Really appreciate it. I know you got so much going on and so much. I know you're pressed for time because you're going to Italy soon. So thank you so much for coming on and obviously we'll be linking to all Campo Basso's social media accounts as well. Thank you so much and don't be a stranger.
00:44:16
Speaker
Nima, thanks for the time as always. Before we jump, I just wanted to thank you and your audience for the time. As always, we enjoyed the relationship with you guys and we're really excited about this Campo Baso 1919 project beyond being. Obviously, if you're a fan of Roma, Milan, Inter, you're not going to
00:44:34
Speaker
renounce your fandom to come root for us. We would never ask you to do that. But we hope in some small way, fans will adopt us as their second team, you know, because beyond just being a football club, this really is a social project for us to turn Campo Vaso into a platform that represents
00:44:52
Speaker
so many people that probably listen to your show like myself that had immigrant parents or grandparents that struggled and this is a platform really to give those types of people a voice and the underdogs of the world and we're gonna put our heart and soul into this thing and even though we're starting
00:45:08
Speaker
from the fifth tier. We're treating this like a set of club in terms of how we're running it. And we're excited about it and all of the help we've gotten and support we've gotten from across the world so far has been overwhelming and we're pumped. We're really excited about it.
00:45:24
Speaker
Well, best of luck, and we will be tagging you on social media, the new Campo Basso 1919 pages that you guys have got up and running so that people can follow it. And we really, it is a beautiful story. It's, you know, what you guys are doing there. It really is beautiful. It's more than, it's quintessentially Italian football, I think, everything you said about what's going on, and wish you nothing but the best. Thanks, Ian. Appreciate the time, as always. Give my best to Carlo, and we'll talk soon.
00:45:51
Speaker
Thank you so much, Matt, and everyone else will be back tomorrow with another midweek episode only for Patreons. If you want to listen to that and all the extra stuff, go on patreon.com slash T-I-F-P dot com to sign up, $2.99 X-V-A-T a month. Until then, take care of each other and cha-cha.