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Full Free Monthly Episode - The Interview: Rocco Giorgianni of Fondazione Milan (Ep. 159)
270 Plays4 years ago
Carlo interviews Rocco Giorgianni, the secretary of Fondazione Milan, AC Milan’s charity, which has done some incredible work in the community and helping those in need since it was founded back in 2003.
This is a free monthly episode of The Italian Football which is free to listen to for all. To listen to this & all other full 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 to the Italian Football Podcast
00:00:01
Speaker
Welcome to the Italian football podcast with John Solano, Carlo Garganese and Nima Tuvali.
Rocco Giorgiani and Fondancione Milan
00:00:24
Speaker
Hello, everybody, and welcome to another interview episode of the Italian football podcast. I'm Carla Garganese. And on today's show, we are delighted to welcome Rocco Giorgiani, who is the Secretary of Fondancione Milan. The Milan Foundation is AC Milan's charity, which has done some incredible work in the community and helping those in need.
00:00:49
Speaker
ever since it was founded back in 2003 and I believe it's raised over 10 million euros with 160 projects in 18 different countries. They do a lot of great work. So Rocco is here to tell us all about it and tell us about some of the charity's recent initiatives. Rocco, thank you so much for joining us. How are you doing? Hi Carlo, I'm fine. Thanks and thank you for your space.
00:01:19
Speaker
Yeah, well thank you for coming on because we haven't had someone on like you before and I know that football clubs and football players, they get a hard time sometimes for not doing enough and I think there is a lot that they do which we should shine a light on.
00:01:37
Speaker
So to start with, for those who are not familiar, I mean, can you just tell everyone what the fondation in Milan is and what it does in a bit of more detail, and in particular, who it is and where that you try to help? So fondation in Milan is a corporate foundation, as you say, and was born in 2003. It is a long time, it is a long life, it is an important foundation also for the Italian soccer because we are
00:02:07
Speaker
the first corporate foundation in Syria, and also with Soul on Life, because in this period we are able to, as you say before, to realize a lot of projects in Italy and abroad, more than 116 projects in different countries from America to Australia, and we are
00:02:35
Speaker
Our mission is to support people, in particular the young people in disease and in the neighborhood of the city in particular. And our mission is to include sport as a tool in different projects, but our core is sport as tools of inclusion.
00:02:57
Speaker
because it's very important to help people, in particular the young people in their difficulty in that situation. And this is our mission also because we have AC Milan with us. It's very important because it's the same targets and the same idea.
Rafael Liao and Milan's Charity Initiatives
00:03:22
Speaker
That's great to hear. And you mentioned that you like to involve sports with your projects and your most recent initiative is a partnership with a British charity called Restore the Music UK where you're looking to tackle educational poverty through music and sports. I mean, can you just tell us a little bit about that?
00:03:45
Speaker
Yes, it's the same. I think it is very interesting because it's the same idea because we use port, rest of the music uses music, but the idea is the same to fight the port education in particular across different tools. But it's the same idea and it was very interesting for us to look at this partnership in Himalayana
00:04:14
Speaker
take an opportunity for us because it was a different background but with the same idea.
00:04:24
Speaker
Great. And I know that Rafael Liao, who has been playing amazing this season for Milan, I mean, he's really exploded, especially the last week. I mean, I know that he's directly supporting this charity initiative with Restore the Music. And he's a very talented musician himself, as I saw that he's released a rap album recently. I mean, is his music skills as good as his football skills?
00:04:52
Speaker
I think so. Rafael started the season very well, but I think that he is also very young and can show in this season for sure, but also in the future he is quality and I think he is very, very high.
00:05:08
Speaker
And the music is, I think, also a good help for each of us because in the case of Raphael, I think that he can enjoy in the life because this attitude can help him to improve their talent. Why not? Because he's a different talent, the musician talent.
00:05:32
Speaker
but obviously for us it's important on the field and I think that he showed his quality, his talent, but I hope and I also think that he can improve in the future. Yeah, I think he definitely will, he's very young. With a lot of goals, so why not? We hope to score a lot this year.
00:05:56
Speaker
Yeah, he certainly will. He certainly will. He's only 22, I believe, and he's got a lot of talent. OK, well, footballers are often criticized for their excess, I guess, their wealth, the way they live their lives. But I mean, I know that a lot do a lot of great work with charities. I mean, can you give any other kind of really nice examples of this kind of stuff, charity work involving Milan players over the years?
00:06:25
Speaker
So it's difficult, but I think that the players are the same people that we can meet each day. It is a different, of course, the different situation, it is a different world, but I met in my life, a lot of people, a lot of players that helped us.
00:06:45
Speaker
And just for example, incredible for our history that are Franco Perez and Paolo Malini that helped us from the start of the Mian Foundation. Paolo and Franco are in our board of directors and help us each day with different, of course, with their job, with their help on the field before, of the pitch now, and also
00:07:15
Speaker
to participate with us. For example, Franco comes with me in Kenya, in Lebanon, in different countries with Formula Foundation, of course also in Italy. But the players very often give us the opportunity, for example, to
00:07:35
Speaker
to take some jerseys and to give them an auction for Milan Foundation, give us the possibility to meet the players for raising for different events. And this is just an example, but a lot of us give, participate with us in the projects.
00:08:00
Speaker
also to meet the children, the young people that we help and is a good opportunity, good opportunity to show their life, also their sports life that is different that you can imagine because sportman is
00:08:18
Speaker
is very committed with their job because it's difficult to stay at a high level if you are not a life addicted to sport life.
00:08:37
Speaker
Yeah, well, that's great. It's very inspiring. And we actually interviewed one of your female players, Ref. Jane, a few months ago. And I know she does a lot in South Africa with her own charity. So yeah, it's very inspiring. OK, and on the same token, football clubs are often criticized in the media as well for their excess, heavy spending, transfer fees, the big wages, the agent fees and so on and
Clubs' Community Responsibility Post-COVID
00:09:03
Speaker
so on. I mean, do you believe that like you are doing with
00:09:05
Speaker
with the fund that see on the land and and you mentioned you were the first corporate charity foundation do you believe that football clubs should do more to to be part of the community to help those in the community they have a role to play.
00:09:20
Speaker
Yes, I think so. I think that is important at the club, AC Milan in this case, but each club give an help, do the best effort to help the communities where we live, because it's important in our community.
00:09:42
Speaker
because it's important that each company, in this case it's in Milan, but I think each club, you can see the club in Premier League, I think they are very committed with their community.
00:09:58
Speaker
But it's difficult to link the big wages. It's strange for the people to see different aspects of the sport life, the world sport.
00:10:17
Speaker
because you see a lot of wages, but soccer is not only the big players, the big champions, but there are a lot of players that live as normal people. It's important to stay in the same world, and our commitment
00:10:43
Speaker
is to help our community with our best effort. It's not simple, but I think that in this moment, in particular after COVID and here, two years of pandemic crisis,
00:11:06
Speaker
to help our communities and the people that work in the communities to stay on the stage, to stay better. Yeah, that was going to be my next question. I was going to ask you that, you know, what has the Milan Fondationi done during the COVID in terms of helping the community and helping people in the community?
00:11:34
Speaker
Yes, but this is just an example because when we arrive at a crisis, this is a big crisis. It is important that each one should do their best in this case.
00:11:49
Speaker
Our company and our team give to the people in Milan in particular the possibility to stay better. After the first month, we give an help, for example, with 3,000 emergency care packages.
00:12:11
Speaker
to a similar most vulnerable supporters and this is just an example because we can help also, we help also the
00:12:24
Speaker
the authority with some car, emergency cars, for example, or with the donation of the food for a lot of people that in our city, in our neighborhood, suffer the crisis more than others, because in each crisis we have
00:12:46
Speaker
different situation for different people, someone suffered more than others. And it's important to also to understand what is the situation, to speak with the authorities, to speak with the, in this case, to the Major Romanan, and to help him in the crisis situation.
00:13:11
Speaker
That's really great. That's really great. And we've actually seen some stuff like this in the UK. One play, you're probably familiar with Marcus Rashford, the Manchester United player. And he he'd done some amazing work in England in helping, donating food and helping to feed the young kids, the hungry. And I actually worked with him on one campaign, actually, because my family, my family donated hundreds of meals, family
00:13:37
Speaker
We have a pasticheria here and the family business and we donated food to all the young kids as well. And Marcus Rashford was involved and it was, yeah, it's really great to help. I mean, yeah. It was similar, very similar projects because it's a first thing. The first thing when you are in need, the first thing is the first emergency is food. Absolutely. And it's very, very important.
00:14:04
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely, especially when it's the children. Okay, just finishing off now.
Fans' Contest for Social Projects
00:14:09
Speaker
So first of all, we have a lot of Milan fans who listen to our podcasts, and I know that this will interest them. So the Fondazioni Milan launched an international contest asking for all Milan fans around the world to vote for one of
00:14:24
Speaker
six social projects and the project that gets the most votes will receive 50,000 euros to develop their project and fans can vote at Fondatione Milan.org forward slash contest. Can you just just tell us a little bit about this contest?
00:14:46
Speaker
Yes, I am very proud of this project because we started to think about it two years ago with Puma because it's very linked to the second jersey, the away jersey that is in Milan, is traditionally white. And this year, this season, we have our logo in the back of the jersey.
00:15:08
Speaker
When we start to think this project, we imagine to involve the fans all over the world. The idea is to include everyone in this contest and to, first of all, to show different organizations, nonprofit organizations from different cities.
00:15:29
Speaker
I remember that they are in New York, Rio de Janeiro, Milan, Nairobi, Kolkata, and Melbourne. And then from America to Australia, we chose a lot of different non-profit organizations that use sports as a tool to include children and young people.
00:15:52
Speaker
And the mission is the same, but in this case, we have the possibility to go in different contexts, in different situation, different city, and also with a lot of people that help the children need.
00:16:16
Speaker
And in our landing page, you can see a video from each city and understand better what is the commitment of the organization, the idea of the project. And of course, as you say, each one can vote because the idea is to give a price
00:16:37
Speaker
for the first one, for the winner, at the end of the contest, but also we would like to open a new partnership with each one of these organizations around the world. It's an idea that AC Milan is international. We have supporters in each country and it's important to reach our supporters all over the world.
00:17:04
Speaker
Yeah, that's great. And I definitely, yeah, I'd push everyone get get involved, register your vote, because it's for a great cause. And we're going to see a lot of good come out of this. Okay, penultimate question, and I think you just did mention it there, that this season's away shirt is actually dedicated to the fondation in Milan and has the it has your charity printed on
AC Milan's Season and Scudetto Potential
00:17:28
Speaker
on the shirt. Is that is that right?
00:17:30
Speaker
Yes, it is very important because for us it was the first time in our history that we stayed here on the jerseys.
00:17:41
Speaker
And the second jersey for us is very important because it's the jersey of the final, as you know, for the most important matches. And it's important also for the Job Domina Foundation, for our history, for the project.
00:18:02
Speaker
the project that we support each year, but it's also a pet. After almost 18 years that we work in Sadesi, Milan, it's also a price for us, a recognition.
00:18:25
Speaker
It's a reward. A reward, yes. A possibility also to understand better our job and in particular our project. It is not so simple. Yeah, that's great. And Milan always wins away from home. They win all their away games. So it's even better. Sorry, tell me.
00:18:51
Speaker
No, I was just saying Milan's record away from home in away matches since Pioli's taken over the last one year, two years. Milan's away record. It's incredible. They seem to win every game. So the best place to have it on the away shirt. Away is our new home.
00:19:09
Speaker
Okay, and just finally we have to just just to finish off just talking about some football. So what do you make of Milan's starts the season having a great great starts the season instead of yeah I mean can can Milan go all the way and win the Scudetto what do you think.
00:19:23
Speaker
We hope, but I don't know. I think that our supporters this season and also the last two seasons are very proud of our team because our team is very brave in English, is very brave, is courageous, and is important also to do the best effort of each game because we have a team very young,
00:19:53
Speaker
and it's important to grow up every match.
00:19:58
Speaker
Also in Champions League because I hope also that our betting champions will be until a good path. We played the two matches very difficult in the first match day against the European Athletic Committee that are very, very difficult team, very, very stronger.
00:20:23
Speaker
And it's difficult, but we do our best. I think that AC Milan can stay in this stage because it's our own. Champions League is our own, historically, but also now I think that Mr. Piolini, this guy, has shown that it's possible to stay at this level.
00:20:47
Speaker
in the championship in Serie A is a different situation but it is the same difficult part because there are different teams stronger as Napoli in this moment won seven games in a row. And the other one I think that come back as a event center, Neil and
00:21:14
Speaker
there are a good for us is very fun because the CPC is open for different possible winner.
00:21:27
Speaker
But first of all, I think that we are very proud of our team because I think it is very important because the support comes back to the stadium. First of all, we can see the matches with a good enthusiasm. And this is the first step. Then, of course, if you win, it's better.
00:21:50
Speaker
Yeah, sure is. It always is better. And I think Milan are going to win. Yeah, you're going to win a lot of games this season. Got an excellent team. OK, well, Rocco, thank you so much. Thank you so much for coming on onto the show. It's it's yeah, it's been really interested. It's been really great. All the charity work that you do at Milan. I mean.
00:22:09
Speaker
I always say it's nothing more rewarding than charity work. So anyway, we can help to spread your message in the future on any projects you do. We're here for you. We'd love to do it. And I'd recommend everyone to go on to www.fondazionemelan.org to see all the work and the charity work that Rocco and his team does. Thank you.
00:22:33
Speaker
Yeah, thank you. Thank you everyone for listening and we will catch you again on Monday for the review episode Italy playing in the nation's league this week. Until then, ciao ciao.