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Free Interview Episode - Campobasso President & Ascoli Co-Owner Matt Rizzetta (Ep. 323)
1.3k Plays3 years ago
The Italian Football Podcast is delighted to announce an exclusive interview with the owner and President of Campobasso and Ascoli co-owner Matt Rizzetta.
Every interview episode as well as the weekly Monday review episode of The Italian Football Podcast are always FREE for all.
To listen to EVERY episode 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 to Italian Football Podcast
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian Football Podcast. Hello, everybody, and welcome back to another interview episode of the Italian Football Podcast. My name is Nima Tabale-Rutsari and I'm really thrilled today to be joined by a recurring guest and a very good friend of the show, who I suspect is absolutely radiating with joy right now.
00:00:23
Speaker
He is the president of Campo Basso and co-owner of Askoli, Mr. Matt Rizzetta.
Campo Basso's Promotion and Future Goals
00:00:30
Speaker
We usually begin by asking guests how they're doing, but I feel that would be silly to do that because I think you're feeling really well.
00:00:37
Speaker
Great to be here Nima. I'm running on fumes but it's been an amazing past couple of days here as we won our first hopefully of several promotions. For sure. I mean that's exactly it because when we had you last on it was just you told this incredible story of all the
00:00:56
Speaker
the drama and adventure that you guys had been on since we'd last spoken and you've taken over the new Campo Basso and you were putting together a team with like, what was it? Just a few weeks left before the season started and you didn't really have anything there. You guys have really worked so hard and you ended up winning and winning promotion to Celia D, if I'm not mistaken, right? Yeah, that's exactly right. Yeah, we closed the deal. I want to say it was September 11th when we closed the transaction, our first one.
00:01:26
Speaker
The host match was September 19th. So we had seven or eight days. We had no players. We had no coach. We had no GM. We had no CEO. There was mushrooms growing off of the stadium's stage pitch. And here we are less than a year later with our first championship in promotion. So it's been it's been surreal, but we have a great team that was working behind the scenes. They worked their butts off this year to put us in this position, of course, along with
00:01:51
Speaker
the guys we had on the pitch and it was it was just so it's been a wild ride and i couldn't be happier i mean it's it's truly fantastic we were the achievement i remember when i interviewed it was around that time that it's basically put together a championship league winning side in seven days
00:02:10
Speaker
It's truly, truly remarkable, Matt. I don't know what to say. Does it feel real to you now or is it still this entire year and this entire process? Does it feel like it's someone else's life and you're looking in or how do you feel about this? It's so funny you said that, Nina. We just got back from Italy. We went with a bunch of folks in our ownership group and everybody described it as an out-of-body experience and that's really
00:02:37
Speaker
that's really the best way I can sum it up. It's been it's just been like we're living, we're living in some sort of outside world where we're just watching this happen as outsiders, but then we pinch ourselves and realize that we're actually on the inside. And, you know, obviously, we were part a small part of a team that
00:02:57
Speaker
Made this happen it's been a it's really been a dream come true and obviously the cool part about it is that with promotion and relegation you know anything is achievable if you put the work in and you have the right vision and the right team behind you.
00:03:09
Speaker
You can build this small reality into a big, big, big dream. And that's really what we're trying to do. And this is really just the first step of many that we set out to accomplish when we bought the team last September. So I'm also as excited or as happy as I am about this accomplishment and this achievement. I'm actually more excited about the future because the future is a lot bigger and more ambitious than what we achieved this year.
00:03:35
Speaker
Well, that's that's a great segue, actually, because that was my next question. What is the objective? Well, just immediately for next season, surely it's to win promotion to the Serie C. That would be Serie C, right? Because you've been Serie D. Correct. Yeah, we we already, you know, we had been we had been planning for
00:03:53
Speaker
All different scenarios. So just to take a step back, you'll appreciate this. We, this year we had 30 games. Okay. We won 28 games. We lost two. We had 134 goals. If I'm not mistaken, scored, which was the most goal scored of any team in the top five leagues in Italian football. We had 10 goals surrendered of which five were on penalty kick. So there was really only five goals we gave up
Challenges in Serie D and Collaboration Plans
00:04:18
Speaker
on, you know, on, on, on plays that were, um, you know, actions and.
00:04:25
Speaker
It took us until the last week of the season to clinch promotion because the second place team in our league is Adania just wouldn't give up. They won 27 games, they lost two and they tied one. So it made planning very difficult if we were in pretty much any other Gidane and any other group.
00:04:41
Speaker
we would have had promotion wrapped up a month or two months ago, even, because we had such a strong competitor fighting, you know, every week, they wouldn't drop points. So we actually it made it made planning very difficult because, you know, we had been starting to plan for SETIAD in terms of budgeting and start to look at players and scouting and all that stuff a month or two ago, but you couldn't really begin to make anything formal because you didn't have any guarantee you were going to get promoted. So that made that whole it was really a fascinating
00:05:11
Speaker
experience for me. It taught me a lot just about scenario planning. For sure, I bet. So what's the five-year plan for Campo Basso? I mean, Campo Basso, given the size of the city, the fan base, you know, the stadium takes, I think, 23,000. I mean, there have been smaller clubs in Serie A, much smaller clubs. Serie B surely has to be the primary objective, no?
00:05:39
Speaker
Absolutely. I think, look, with our immediate goal, our first goal was to win promotion to SETI AD in our first year. So we did that, you know, that box is checked. And then immediately, so we had a great celebration last Sunday.
00:05:51
Speaker
in Campobassa with the fans, then immediately next goal is to win Cetia D and get promoted to Cetia Chi. So that's already what we're planning for. You know, we've put together a budget that should be a top table budget, and we should certainly be more than competitive next year and, you know, be able to, you know, be in the
Ascoli's Season and Serie B Playoffs
00:06:10
Speaker
mix to do that. Obviously, anything can happen on the pitch. Of course, you know, the results are never guaranteed. But
00:06:15
Speaker
we feel like we're gonna be really competitive and we're gonna put ourselves in a position to compete for the league championship again next year in city of day. I said he achieved obviously we have experience from with city of she said he is a challenging lead you know so when we when we get there i think you'll start to see. You know a lot of a lot of adjustments made you know just in terms of your moving from.
00:06:40
Speaker
you know, what historically was semi professional into professional, you know, there's all sorts of things you have to change in terms of the legal structure and the entity. So we'll do all that. And then, you know, said he achieved really becomes a multi year plan. You know, if you look at battle, this goni, what he did with Monza, if you look at look at cotton's auto, you know, who dominated said he achieved this year. If you look at, you know, there's so many other examples. These are multi year projects. It's very difficult to win immediately and said he achieved. So I think you'll start to see us put together
00:07:07
Speaker
multi-year plan to go from C to B, you know, in one or two years. And then look, once you're in Cetia B, we have that we have experience, obviously, with Ascoli, you know, with Ascoli last year, and even this year, we have one of the lower third budgets in Cetia B. And last year, we made the playoffs, we had home field, we were two wins away from our two rounds away from getting promoted to Cetia. This year, we're right in the playoff mix again for promotion. So, you know, if anything, if history has taught us anything, it's that once we get to Cetia B, anything, you know, can happen. So I think
00:07:38
Speaker
That's the name of the game. And I think we've obviously put together, I think, a really strong strategy off the pitch, just in terms of monetizing new revenue channels that are going to help put us in a position to invest more aggressively in the club. And the sky is the limit with Compabaso. And I really believed deeply in this project years ago. And to see everything come to life the way it has, for me, has been quite surreal.
00:08:04
Speaker
Of course, I can imagine. I just wanted to, just wondering, do you know what Girona you're going to be in in Seriachi? Like, the question I'm wondering is basically, are you going to have Katanya in yours? Sorry, Seriadi. Do you know what Girona you're going to be in?
00:08:24
Speaker
So I don't think it'll be formalized by the Federation until July, late July, early August, but with, you know, 95% probability. We believe we'll be in, uh, in G don a F, which is primarily the Roman teams, you know, Roma city is in there. The rest of the day is in there. Uh, a boot says that teams get the, uh, lock. We love who's going to be a really good team and has been in some of the top leagues before should be in that region. The teams from Le Marque, um,
00:08:52
Speaker
We'll be in there as well. And then some teams from Campania. There's a few, I think, northern Campania teams there. And then, of course, the Molisani teams. And we're really proud, obviously, Campobasso is the
00:09:02
Speaker
most popular and most historic club in the region to represent the region of Malise, but there's also some smaller clubs in Malise that have done some amazing things the past couple years and are actually in Setiadi. Look at there's a club called Vastojidadi, which actually is a town of I think it's like six, seven or 800 people. And they actually started I think in the second or third lowest
00:09:23
Speaker
tier of italian football and now we're in sedia d and they've actually avoided relegation for a few years in a row now so we're excited you know we're excited to be there we're doing everything we can to uh to win again you know we're not going to be bashful about that we're not going to hide you know from that obviously when you represent
00:09:42
Speaker
a club like campo bassa this is a historic club they've beaten you know you then do some lots you and i see me long before they've you know pack their stadium you know twenty five thirty thousand people before so you know you can't just put a team together and said he did you want you know to to compete at the mid table you know they're expecting to win and that's exactly the product we're looking to put on the pitch and mirrors the ambition of uh... of our project
00:10:06
Speaker
Well, let's talk a little bit about that project because, I mean, you didn't mention Ascoli. Will there be any cooperation, I guess? I mean, the higher up you come, the more interesting it might become for Ascoli as well and their players. I mean, now I'm thinking you're in CED, is there any plans of maybe players going back and forth and you guys working that way with them, with Ascoli?
00:10:32
Speaker
Absolutely, absolutely. There's going to be a lot of synergies. Obviously, when we started it, we had to start in the fifth tier this year. So when you're talking about the difference between the fifth tier and the second tier, which is where Ascoli plays, there's just not that much. There's not that many synergies you can leverage. Now, in the fourth tier, those synergies become much more practical.
Insights on Football Club Ownership
00:10:50
Speaker
So I think you're going to see us do a lot with the Youth Academy, the Primavera team, friendly matches.
00:10:57
Speaker
leaning on each other's facilities, doing joint fan events and stuff like that. The challenge this year was we just had no time to plan. We went in, we bought the team in September and everything was done two steps after the fact. We couldn't do a retiro training camp, we couldn't
00:11:18
Speaker
We couldn't really go out and build our youth academy the way we wanted to. So now I feel like the soccer gods were sort of looking down on us because we won our league in May without having to go through the playoff system. So we basically have a two month head start this year. Most teams don't start planning, you know, as you know, until late June, early July, we're going to have a, we're going to be in a position fortunately.
00:11:39
Speaker
where we can begin planning immediately in mid-May. So I feel like everything kind of evened out last year. We started maybe three to four weeks too late. This year we're starting a month or two early, so everything is balancing out.
00:11:51
Speaker
Well, God knows you deserve that extra time. I mean, I remember when we spoke a week away from season starting, there was nothing there. I mean, that's that's that's that's genuinely mind boggling impressive, honest to God, like in seven days putting together a championship side winning team is just I don't even know.
00:12:11
Speaker
I don't even know what to tell you, like kudos. That's all I can say. I appreciate it. And speaking of Ascoli, they have a big couple of games coming up now. They're in the race to clinch a playoff place. How are you feeling about that? Yeah, with Ascoli, it's been an interesting season. Obviously, this has been very different from last season.
00:12:36
Speaker
We went from the beginning of the season, we looked like we were kind of in the direct promotion zone for the first five or six games. Then we hit some bumps. We sort of were flirting with relegation for a little while. We had to make a coaching change. And then once we made the coaching change, we came roaring back and the team's been good. You know, the team's been very good. I think we're tied for eighth place right now with two games to go.
00:12:57
Speaker
We play Kocenza at home and then the Regina on the road in our final two games. So I don't think mathematically we would clinch, I don't think automatically rather we would clinch by winning the final two. But I think with all probability, if we can get six points out of these final two games, I think we really should be looking at a seventh, eighth spot in the playoffs. And once you're in the playoffs, anything can happen.
00:13:18
Speaker
I mean, I'm looking at it now because I love the Serie B. And I think it's probably the most interesting league in all of Europe, if you ask me. And my co-host, Carlo, makes fun of me for it. But I don't care because I love the Serie B. And you guys have got 46 points. It's the same as Pisa, Venezia, and one more. You've got one more than Regina. And you're two points behind Palermo for that last playoff. I mean, that's a nail biter.
00:13:45
Speaker
to say the least. What chances do you give yourselves to clinch that final spot?
00:13:54
Speaker
Look, it's just, I gave up on making predictions and said it'd be a long time ago, just because it's so, as you know, this is probably the reason you're so fascinating to me. There's just so much parity. And it's so, every game it's 2-1, 1-0, 3-2. You're talking, you can't take any games for granted. The top table games, when you look on paper, you're like, oh, we're playing a top table team. This is going to be tough. You wind up winning that one. Then you look at the bottom table matchups you have, and you're like, oh, this should be an easy win. And then you wind up losing that one. So I've learned.
00:14:24
Speaker
not to take anything for granted, you know, consensus fighting for their lives to avoid relegation, I think for the third or fourth year in a row and said he'd be so that's not going to be an easy game at home. And then the Regina on the road, obviously, they just got docked, I think it was seven points. So, you know, who knows what's going to happen with that, some of those points could be restored, and then they're right back in the playoff mix. So they're going to be out for blood in that last game. And that's people in Zagi's team. So you know, he's always going to have
00:14:49
Speaker
his guys ready to play. So we're just going to put our head down, prepare one game at a time. And I think if we can get six points out of these next two games, I think we're going to be playing for promotion to Setia again this year. Yeah, for sure. Speaking of that, I mean, I know you don't want to, like, I don't want to
00:15:05
Speaker
Do too much you know I know I'm very scared superstitious so I don't want to I don't you know push other people on that but let's just say you know should you get that spot let's just play with the idea how do you rate ask all these chances and out of part of my calorie and palermo who would you choose to play.
00:15:25
Speaker
Well, in terms of our chances, I think, look, I think if you did the analysis, very few teams that have been ranked first in the SETI OB playoffs have been promoted over the past five or 10 years. I don't know the number, but I don't think it's a lot. I think it's only two or three. So ironically,
00:15:46
Speaker
Most of the teams that get promoted from B to A via the playoffs are the teams that are not seeded first. And I think a lot of that has to do with the pressure. When you're looking at a first or second seed in the playoffs, the pressure from the piazza, from the fans locally is incredibly high. It's difficult to handle a lot of that pressure. So sometimes we would be playing with nothing to lose.
00:16:11
Speaker
Ascoly this year, particularly given how the season went, if we make it to the playoffs, that's a major accomplishment and we can play loose. Our fans are going to be completely supportive. There's really going to be, you know, we're sort of playing with house money at that point. And I think in football, you know, when you play loose, good things happen. You know, you need to stay obviously with the most
00:16:30
Speaker
with the maximum amount of concentration possible, but if you're playing loose, like you have nothing to lose, good things happen. You don't tense up. Your passes are a little bit crisper. You don't have to worry about yellow cards and red cards. You play with a lot more freedom. So I like our position. If we can get these next two points, I think anything can happen once we make it to the playoffs. Obviously, if it's not us, to your second question, look, it's just such a lottery in the playoffs. You never know
00:16:59
Speaker
Who's gonna win that thing? Obviously, Cagliati, Padma have the Setia pedigree. So, you know, they would be, I think would be favorites body this year has had an incredible year. It looks like they're probably going to be seated first. Yeah.
00:17:14
Speaker
You know, another example, they came up from their first year. This is like a miracle what they've done. And I wouldn't be surprised if they were in it until the bitter end as well. So I give everyone sort of an equal chance of winning. I know that's a...
00:17:31
Speaker
No, I think if you watch the Serie B, that's the truth. That's exactly anyone's analysis. Everyone would agree with you on that, because it's so tight. But speaking of Suiterol, are they the team that have impressed you the most in the Serie B this season? And what other teams and players have impressed you? Well, I think what Bari has done has been amazing. Bari obviously has massive potential. The De Laurentiis family who bought Napoli, what was it?
00:17:59
Speaker
You know, talking about almost 20 years ago now, I think they have a very similar vision for body as they did for Napoli. And I think they're proving that there's a ton of potential in body and I mean, for them to come up from C to B and B.
00:18:12
Speaker
you know, not just competitive, but a top table team for basically the whole entire year is a testament to their ability to manage these clubs and, you know, just how they know, you know, put work, you know, their ability to put first class, you know, product on the pitch, both, you know, on the field and behind the scenes in terms of the boardroom and how they're
00:18:33
Speaker
operating the team so i think that's been incredible and but look at me so it's a little team that never made said before they're up and i think bolts on the northern region of italy. And i mean for them to just come in and they were i guess they were like top three or four candidate on paper to get relegated and this whole year they've been flirting with.
00:18:54
Speaker
you know the top half of the table and i think now they're in fourth or fifth place and that's just been a phenomenon that's what that's what football is all about it's about the sutturals of the world it's about the fadalpisallos of the world who just got promoted from c to b themselves and it's about the complavasos of the world that you know
00:19:10
Speaker
are just their underdogs. They represent the people that never had anything given to them, the hard workers, but the people that when they do things right, they can achieve their dreams. And I think that's what football is all about. Amen. Someone, I mean, Sadia B has some amazing players and legends like Gigi Buffon. What is it like to play someone like that?
00:19:36
Speaker
Well, for me, it's a really, I remember just as a quick, funny aside, last year, Ascoli, when we, the night before we were in the playoffs, we were playing against Ben evento at home. One of my friends called me and we, and we had home field advantage in the playoffs last year. We wound up losing one nothing. It was a crazy game. I think we had something like, I don't know, 14 shots on goal in that game. And we didn't score once.
00:19:59
Speaker
And then Benavento had, it was like two, three or four shots on, well, I have to go back and look, and they scored of course on like the one decent, but that's how soccer works. So my friend calls me the night before we're playing Benavento. And he's like, Matt, like, do you realize that you are two wins away?
00:20:15
Speaker
or two rounds away from sitting in the owner's box with, like, you know, the unyelly family from U.N.T.I.N.T.I.N.T.I. from Napoli. And, you know, I'm just I'm just a humble, you know, kid from New York that just figured out a way to follow his dream and follow his passion. And that was pretty surreal for me. Obviously, we didn't win the game, but just that's really what football is all about. And then, you know, to your point about, you know, getting an opportunity to watch
00:20:42
Speaker
Your hero's basically growing up Gigi Buffon, Fabio Grosso, who's the coach of Frosinone, who just got promoted. And so many others, Daniela Di Rossi, who was coaching at Spall earlier this year. And these are guys that I grew up looking up to, and to have a chance to be on the same pitch as them, basically, obviously, being in the owner's box, not in the field, has been just a surreal feeling.
00:21:06
Speaker
Speaking about being someone who's an owner or investor in Italian football, since arriving, what is it the thing that has impressed you or that you've liked the most about being a club owner in Italian football? Well, I think it's the opportunity to build your vision
00:21:30
Speaker
and see your vision come to life and the impact you have on communities. As you know, I have run businesses of my own for the past 13 or 14 years and I've been an entrepreneur and that's been probably the most gratifying experience of my career. I've just been surrounding myself with good people.
00:21:48
Speaker
watching my vision come to life because of the contributions of others, not just myself. That's been an incredible feeling. But then when you take over a football club, that feeling gets, or that opportunity I should say, gets multiplied infinitely because now you're involving hundreds of thousands and in some cases millions of people that are bound by one common goal and vision and mission and that's
00:22:15
Speaker
to win on the pitch and to get their club's values and their club's name out there, because it's really a source of pride and identity for so many of these communities in Italy. So that's been the coolest part. It's been really effectuating positive change, not just on the pitch, but within the community. If you look at our project with Campo Vaso, it's one of the reasons
00:22:38
Speaker
I was so excited and so bullish about Campo Baso from day one. This is the region of Italy they say doesn't exist. It sort of mirrors my life story and my business journey. It's kind of an underdog story. I never had any gifts given to me. I never took anyone else's money. I did everything with my own.
00:22:58
Speaker
you know time and resources and hard work and kind of built in and that's really I think representative of the people that support Campo Vaso. You know this is a region that was never given anything. This is a region that lives in the shadows of its larger neighbors in Rome and Naples but it's a region that has so much potential if things are done properly. You know there's about a million there's about a million or so expats
00:23:23
Speaker
who are from Campo Vaso and from the wide of the broader Malise region that live outside of Italy. And there's 300,000 that live in the region right now. So think about that, you know, four times the size, the region is four times the size outside of
00:23:39
Speaker
you know the the confines of italy as it is within the region itself and when you look at so and they're so proud you know these people that are from the lisa are so proud of such a source of their identity you know i talked to people in montreal and toronto and new york and cleveland and
00:23:54
Speaker
l.a. all the time and if you ask them what makes them proud what gives them the most that what what you know what breeds life into them the most and what do they associate their identity with the their italian roots in the molesani roots are
00:24:10
Speaker
literally at the top if not number one, number two or number three on that list. So for a project like ours that's really built around telling this story internationally, making this club not just a source of pride in Italy and in Campo Vaso and in Malise, but also across the world,
00:24:27
Speaker
you know for the hard workers and the underdogs and the expats and the dreamers like myself that that has by far been the most gratifying uh piece of this and you have to stay humble you know this is again like you know i don't win any games on the pitch my ownership team who i'm really blessed uh to be surrounded with we have a great ownership group that has supported me on this project you know uh mark consuelos who joined me on the trip to italy along with so many of our other investors you know gardener elner pat chauvin
00:24:54
Speaker
Angela Pasto, Kyle Casaza, you know, I can go on the Falbo family.
00:24:59
Speaker
Um, Gary J and there's been so many and I'm probably forgetting a few of these guys have been all in, uh, on the club, you know, they've been all in on the club and that's been the coolest part of it. And it's just, you know, we're just a small, you know, piece of this really, we're not winning games on the pitch. You need good people, you know, obviously great players on the pitch and a great coaching staff and you need, of course, great people working behind the scenes. And then we just have a vision and we're just trying our best to, you know, execute on this vision to help, um, you know, help build something special for these fans who deserve it.
00:25:30
Speaker
That's a beautiful answer and so true. But on the flip side, what has been the most frustrating or worst thing from the owner's perspective about Italian football? Well, I don't know if we have enough time on your podcast. I'll give you a few if you want. Yeah, go for it. Well, look, first and foremost, you know, you're talking about Italian, the Italian
00:25:58
Speaker
system is just incredibly bureaucratic relative to the American system. So if you're someone like myself who's just used to being an entrepreneur in the United States, it's just a lot easier and quicker to get things done here in Italy. The process takes a little bit longer. You have to go to the notary to get every document signed and formalized before it means anything from a legal standpoint.
00:26:22
Speaker
So there's just a bureaucratic part of it, obviously it's challenging. The real estate piece is an interesting piece too. In Campo Vaso, we have a 25,000-26,000-seat stadium, but it's a great infrastructure. There's a great foundation that's been built, but obviously it was built now almost 40 years ago, so it does need some
00:26:42
Speaker
Upgrades in terms of the static upgrades and the facilities inside the locker rooms the coach's office the referee room stuff like that need to be upgraded and it's just difficult to get that stuff done you know you can't just you'd think well why don't you just stroke a check and
00:26:58
Speaker
you know, go invest in getting better seats or repainting the locker rooms or, you know, putting new plumbing system in but it just doesn't work that way. In Italy, you know, there's a lot more layers of complexity and bureaucracy you have to go to go through and, you know, you saw that play out in real time in Florence with what Rocco Camisos tried to do to build Viola Park out there. So that's, that's been a challenge.
00:27:21
Speaker
The other thing we've learned a lot, when I first entered Italian football ownership three years ago, we had no network. I knew nothing about running a team. I didn't pretend to know the first thing about it. So we came in as a minority owner and we just wanted to spend time learning and building a network. And now three years later,
00:27:41
Speaker
We've been really fortunate. We've built that network. We have the right resources. We know the right people to call on, to help with the team, to run the club. And I'm really fortunate to have done that. So that would just be another word of caution for anyone looking to invest in Italian football, especially that's coming from America. Just spend time learning. If you go in there, there's been so many cautionary tales about these foreign owners that have invested not just in Italy, but in European football.
00:28:10
Speaker
without really knowing, you know, they think just because they have money, and they are passionate about football, they you know, know how to run a team, it just doesn't work that way. You know, there's, there's so much more to it than that. So my advice would be just spend time learning, spend a year or two learning building your network. And then once you've put yourself in a position where you can do a better job assessing your risk, then I would go all in and you know, like we did become become a majority owner and take controlling interest.
Napoli's Win and Serie A Teams in Europe
00:28:37
Speaker
That's fantastic advice. I think generally in life, if I'm perfectly honest with you, just, you know, take your time out to your research, learn, read up, don't rush into things. And then, you know, that's, that's great advice, Matt. Um, speaking of someone who has done that, I think, I think is a perfect example of that.
00:28:53
Speaker
of having and now has written history is Aurelio dell'Arantes with Napoli winning the Scurreto. He has step by step systematically built up his Napoli from bankruptcy all the way up to Seria and bring them up step by step into Europe every year and now they've won the Scurreto. What are your thoughts on their victory and of course the south of Italy winning their first Scurreto in 33 years?
00:29:22
Speaker
Absolutely, absolutely phenomenal. By the way, also, name I did, I we have a partner in Kambabasa, who I just wanted to make sure I mentioned to a press mentioned earlier was Gardner Elner, who's basically become like almost like a brother of mine, him and I are on the phone every day. And I didn't mention him earlier, because I kind of forgot he was a co owner at this point, he's more just like a day to day operating partner of mine. But I want to make sure I mentioned him. So Matt Tartagli, who's also been and Nick Gennady, and all these guys have been such incredible supporters of us. And I just wanted to make sure that
00:29:50
Speaker
I'm going back to going back to the dealer and his family absolutely phenomenal and that's just a great example of. If you have the right vision you do things the right way you have to look at things long term you know when the dealer and his family took over not really remember i think what was the two thousand four i think it was.
00:30:11
Speaker
Yeah, I think it's around them. That's when they went bankrupt, I think. Right. Think about what they've done. This has not been an overnight thing. This has been basically a project that has went on for two decades now, but it culminated last week, which I was in Italy when Napoli won the Scudetto just last week. It was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen. But look, the De Laurentiis family is a case study for how if you have the right vision,
00:30:42
Speaker
And you do things the right way and you build the right team on and off the pitch. You do a good job of connecting with the fan base that really, like you talked about, I talked about Campo Vaso earlier and we talked about Napoli and the connection that the Napoli fans have to the club. It's such a source of pride and, and, um,
00:31:00
Speaker
and joy and history for all of the people, not just of Naples and Campania, but also the Southern Italians that immigrated to North America and South America and all across the world, Napoli really represents them and their story. And I think the De Laurentiis family has done a masterful job of carrying that forward and breathing that, kind of breathing that to life in the form of the football club and the way that they've positioned them.
00:31:27
Speaker
For sure. Well, now, like you said, I mean, now they are champions of Italy and they've also done really, really well in Europe, as have many Serie A teams. I mean, for the first time in history ever, there are five teams in the Serie A teams in the semi-final, the three European competitions.
00:31:50
Speaker
Let's start with Roma and Juve. How do you rate their chances of reaching the final of the Europa League? Well, let's start with Roma. Roma, obviously when you have Mourinho on the pitch, if you look at his track record in European competition, it's second to none.
00:32:07
Speaker
It's interesting because on one hand, outside of last year, was it the conference league that they won? Outside the conference league, which I kind of put an asterisk next to personally, I'm not like, I don't put that on the same level of winning in Europe, obviously as Europa League or certainly not Champions League. But outside of winning the conference league last year, Roma has had a history of just not being able to get over to the next level in European competition.
00:32:32
Speaker
And then you kind of balance that with Mourinho's track record, which is in his pedigree in European competition, which is basically as good as maybe any coach of the past 20 or 30 years. When you balance those two things out, it's going to be interesting because on one hand you have a piazza and a club that's been sort of.
00:32:52
Speaker
hasn't been able to win the big one in Europe. They've gotten close many times, but they've never been able to get over the hump. And then you have a coach that's now coaching them that has gotten over that hump many times. So I'm interesting to see how that plays out in real life. I would not bet against Mourinho. So my money would be on Mourinho, at least reaching the finals. And then Juventus, look, if they're going to take it, they seem to be taking Europa League competition seriously this year. I think there's still a lot of
00:33:19
Speaker
questions around if you know these points are going to be restored you know deducted nobody really knows what's going to happen there so i think they're going to put all of their eggs in the european basket and try to uh... solidify champions league spot by the europe the europe lead competition so that's the one thing about you that this is that i don't think you're gonna have to doubt their uh... you know their willingness in their
00:33:41
Speaker
their enthusiasm and their effort. So that's going to be interesting. And I think anything can happen. I'd love to see Roma Juventus in the finals. That's for sure. Yeah, I was going to I was going to I can't remember if the first time we interview, I think you told me that when you were a kid, you supported Roma. Is that true? Yeah, that's what I thought. I mean, how mouthwatering a prospect doesn't Alegria versus Mourinho final sound? I mean, and who do you think will win that if that happens?
00:34:11
Speaker
You know, look, I think Rama this year has been more together. I think people are more supportive of the coach. Obviously, Allegri's had some issues. You know, fans have kind of been hot and cold on him. I know he's had a few well-publicized issues with a few of the players. And I think that stuff really shows up and manifests itself in the big matches. So just based on the kind of feel and vibe of this year, if I had to bet, I would go with Rama just because I think there's more good vibes than bad vibes.
00:34:40
Speaker
going there and that would be where my money would be. And also Mourinho doesn't lose finals, that's just not what he does. Speaking of another club that is also in the semi-final, Fiorentina, I haven't been at this level, I haven't been at the latter stages of European competition in many many years, they've got a good draw and they really should make it to the final of the conference league and if they do they will have done so, playing a very attacking brand of football
00:35:05
Speaker
That's paid off really well in the cups in both in Italy as in Europe, but not so much in the Serie A. I mean, why do you think that is? You know, what's funny about that is, what's interesting about that is we saw it this year with Campo Basso. You know, we made it to the semifinals of the Copa Italia, you know, the Dilatante Copa Italia.
00:35:27
Speaker
And we were also playing for the league championship, the league competition, basically simultaneously. So every week it was league competition on the weekend, Copa competition during the midweek, Wednesday. So it was a Wednesday Sunday, Wednesday Saturday.
00:35:42
Speaker
these competitions, they literally do take on two different lives, you know, lives of their own. So the way you play in the in the compunato, you know, the league and the way you play in the Copa could be two completely different styles. Obviously, with the roster turnover, you know, many times you're playing two different lineups, different formations, you're doing, you know, set pieces are taken differently and stuff.
00:36:03
Speaker
So I think that might be the reason you're seeing that happen with Fiorentina. Like just as an example, you know, in Campo Vaso this year, we scored, I think it was 134 goals we scored in the Campionato, which was crazy. I mean, that was like an average of, you know, five goals or something per game.
00:36:21
Speaker
Meanwhile, in the Copa, we were much more defensive, you know, we were much more counter attack, sit back, you know, don't concede, especially with two leg matches, two leg fixtures, you know, there's a way in, you know, in our competition, there was the away goal rule. I know that doesn't exist in European competition anymore. So anyway, my point is just that you find yourself playing two completely different brands of football in those competitions. And I think that's why you might kind of see Fiorentina one and Fiorentina two.
00:36:48
Speaker
you know, Fiorentina 1 being the team you've seen in Serie A and Fiorentina 2 being the team that you're seeing in Europe. Yeah, that's a good shout. How do you reckon their chances are to win the whole thing? I mean, I think just based on the quality and the football they played, final they have to get there. But then who do they play if West Ham, if they end up playing West Ham? I mean, if you look at that roster,
00:37:13
Speaker
That's some big names in there. Even though they've struggled in the Premier League, what do you reckon?
00:37:19
Speaker
I agree with that. West Ham aside, I think that's the irony of the Conference League. We look at the other two European competitions, Champions League and Europa League. The Italian teams are sort of the underdogs when you get to a certain stage of the competition. So nobody expected there to be three out of eight and two out of four Italian teams in the Champions League quarterfinals and semi-finals.
00:37:44
Speaker
So you're kind of looking at Inter versus Milan, you're looking at Napoli, you're looking at Roma, and all these clubs that, Italian clubs that are in the semi-finals. And you're saying, wow, like this, this is, this is great. You know, we weren't expecting this to happen. It hasn't happened in so long. You know, you juxtapose that then against the conference league, where I think it's the opposite, the conference league, you're expecting the Italian teams
00:38:09
Speaker
to get to the finals. You're expecting Roma to win last year. You're expecting Fiorentina at least to get to the final. Who knows what would happen against West Ham. So I think that's interesting. You're taking the underdogs in one competition, and then you're taking favorites in the other. So I'm not surprised that Fiorentina is there. I think we all expected to see them at this stage of the competition.
Milan Derby Preview and Serie A's European Aspirations
00:38:32
Speaker
Agreed. You mentioned it already and I want to get your thoughts on it because we're recording this on a Wednesday, the 10th of May, a few hours before my beloved Inter go up against AC Milan in the biggest Milan Derby in 20 years and a generation. I mean, what are your thoughts about this, Tai? How do you think this plays out? I don't think anybody can
00:38:55
Speaker
honestly predict what's going to happen here. Like if you look at inter, like you were talking a couple weeks ago, maybe a few months ago about Inzagi being on the hot seat and the whole season was falling apart and now it looks like inter is basically unbeatable, right? Then you look at Milan, Milan
00:39:16
Speaker
Milan just coming off the Scudetto. They're very well coached. They have more experience. I think you could argue maybe not these players, but certainly Milan as an institution has more experience at this level. So I think it's a toss-up. I don't expect it to be one-sided one way or another. I think this is the sort of thing that's going to come down to the second leg. It's going to come down to maybe set pieces or penalty kick or
00:39:43
Speaker
you know, red card or something that, you know, something that's one small detail. And I wouldn't be surprised to see this come down to PKs at the end of the two fixtures. Well, you certainly haven't calmed me down. You just made my heart brace even more. I just see this come to the penalties and I just I'm going to be there next week for the return.
00:40:03
Speaker
Yeah, so I feel like the few hairs I have left on my head are going to fall off as a result of this tie. If I had to make a prediction, I would bet on Milan just because they have the best player on the pitch, in my opinion. Who's that? And Lael. Okay.
00:40:20
Speaker
And I think, again, even though it's not this specific set of players, they have experience winning. Last year, they won the Scudetto. The club has won in Europe, I think, what, the third, fourth, or fifth most times out of any club in the world. And I think that stuff shows. It shows through the fans, and it shows through
00:40:41
Speaker
shows through the organization and management and leadership in games like this so again it's a toss-up anything can happen but if I had to choose I would go with Milan and a nail butter. Yeah it's gonna be a nail butter for sure. Speaking of I mean given that we kind of touched on this a little bit already, could we dare we dream Matt, dare we Serie A fans and cultural fans dream that the Serie A teams will
00:41:07
Speaker
take a clean sweep, Fiorentina win the conference league, Juve or Roma win the Europa League, and Interon Mila win the Champions League. If I had to guess, I would say two out of three, I think.
00:41:21
Speaker
I think Fiorentina can easily win the conference league. I think Juventus and Roma might even play each other in the finals of the Europa League. So I think by default, we're going to see an Italian champion in the Europa League. I don't, as proud as I am and as happy as I am to see all these Italian teams reach the final stages of the Champions League, I just can't see Inter or Milan taking down Real Madrid or obviously Man City.
00:41:47
Speaker
had an incredible first leg. I still think Real Madrid is going to go through, but Man City and Guardiola against Milan are entering the finals. That's going to be tough. It's going to be a tough one. Look, I didn't think it happened, but I would say we're going to see two out of three, and I think the Champions League is going to be the challenge.
00:42:05
Speaker
Absolutely. I hope that would be absolutely amazing if that happened. The Serie A can do that. Given the disparity in terms of financial investment from the other leagues, it would be truly remarkable. It would be absolutely fantastic.
Campo Basso's Project and Community Impact
00:42:22
Speaker
Let's remember, we are guaranteed a Serie A team in the final of the Champions League, which hasn't happened for many years. That in and of itself is fantastic.
00:42:32
Speaker
I want to thank you so much for coming on, Matt. It's always such a pleasure to do these updates with you and see what you guys are doing and how things are going. If people want to follow Campobasso, and I think they should, they absolutely should, where do they go on Instagram? Where do they go on Twitter, Facebook, all that stuff?
00:42:51
Speaker
So it's at Campobasso 1919 and definitely, you know, we're just getting this thing started. Obviously this year was a weird year. We had to start in September. We didn't really have a good opportunity to take a deep breath and do planning. I think now that we've won promotion and we have a little bit more time to plan, you're going to see some really cool stuff come out of us. You know, you're going to see.
00:43:08
Speaker
great content community engagement i think you're gonna see a lot of then since i think you know our goal off the pitch is to really create a new level of innovation and a new model for how to engage with fans and to build something really cool that grassroots you can follow us from the ground up as this creature knows being brought to life it's very much we get compared to wreck some a lot you know what ryan reynolds has done in england i think there's obviously a lot of similarities between our two
00:43:36
Speaker
Stories, I think there's also a lot of, you know, quite a few differences. And I think what we're doing with Campobasso in many ways is a little bit more, you know, impact driven. I think it's a little bit more meaningful. You know, our club is really... I'm gonna say what you can't say. I think yours is more legit and more actually grassroots than theirs is. Theirs to me feels like a Hollywood production. Yours is the real thing. I know you can't say that, but I can.
00:44:00
Speaker
Thanks, team. Look, I take a lot of pride in that. I appreciate that. I take a lot of pride in when we first invested in Italian football. And I mean this, I had nothing but risk to take. We had no TV deal to fall back on. We had no TikTok sponsorships on our jerseys. We had no A-list celebrities back then who we could call on. And for me, this was about passion. It was about my family. This was about doing something good for communities and really using football as a platform.
00:44:29
Speaker
represent people that live life the way my parents and my grandparents live life which was that they never had anything given to them and that really for me was what investing in Campo Baso was all about so to see this all sort of come out you know come to life.
00:44:48
Speaker
you know, and not just win on the pitch, but also get so many amazing partners behind us, you know, like Mark and Kelly, and all the co owners I mentioned earlier, and you know, Steve globchick, who's been a great partner as well, like these guys, it's just been for me, I have to pinch myself, it's been wild. And I just hope the dream doesn't end, you know, right now, we're dreaming, and we're gonna try to keep dreaming for many, many years to come, and hopefully many higher tiers to come, because this is just the beginning, I'm hoping.
00:45:14
Speaker
Absolutely. I mean, you're Mark Consuelos. I've got a quote from him here he's talking about when he joined the group. He said, so many people can relate to this journey regardless of whether or not they're sports fans, whether they have Italian roots or even if they have ever been to Italy. We all have a part of us that can relate to Campo Basso deep down inside and can connect with the story of redemption. I think that's a beautiful, I think that's very pertinent too. It rings really true.
00:45:38
Speaker
The thing about Campobasso, we talked about this. I think we talked about this when we first bought the team in September.
00:45:47
Speaker
The team was about to go extinct. The city and the region and the people of Campobasso were on the brink of losing football entirely. And when you're talking about how important football is to a region like this, when you lose football, you lose your identity in a region like this. So if you want to take it a level deeper, not only were the people of this region about to lose their football club, but they were about to lose an important sense of their self-esteem.
00:46:14
Speaker
their identity you know their hope their pride and you know we just came in and all we wanted to do was just restore that you know restore that pride restore that identity and
00:46:27
Speaker
I wasn't arrogant or boisterous enough to believe that we were going to go out and win immediately. We just put our head down, we kept our mouth shut and we just tried to do the best we could to give them a good product on the pitch and to do the right things in the boardroom and to put the pieces in place to
00:46:49
Speaker
Ensure a sustainable long-term future for them and you know 10 11 months later to see us You know not just win the league but you know get promoted and get so much notoriety And have this momentum behind us for me has been beyond my wildest
Podcast Conclusion and Farewell
00:47:05
Speaker
dreams
00:47:05
Speaker
For sure. And we're rooting for you. And I know everybody listening is rooting for you too, because it's a beautiful story. And what you guys have done is truly remarkable. Absolutely. So thank you so much for coming on, Matt. It's always such a pleasure to talk with you and all the best of luck to you in the future.
00:47:23
Speaker
Nima, it's always a pleasure. We're incredibly grateful for your support. You give my best to Carlo as well. And please know we're always here to be supportive to you and the show in any way possible. Thank you so much. And everybody else, we'll be back on Monday for a full review of the weekend's action in the city. Until next time, take care of yourselves and each other. Ciao, ciao.