saints_is_the_south Posted 28 September, 2013 Share Posted 28 September, 2013 Article/interview on Cortese in the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera today. Link here: http://www.forzaroma.info/2013/09/28/cortese-la-rinascita-del-southampton-parla-italiano/266804 Translation: Cortese, the rebirth of Southampton speaks Italian "I speak two or three times a year. It's always dangerous when the chairman speaks too much, the manager and players have the public role". Nicola Cortese, 45 year old from Catanzaro di Lido, rampant career in the world of Swiss banking decided to venture into the maze of the football world whilst maintaining a low profile. For 4 years he has been at the head of Southampton, the English club of the Premier League where Pablo Osvaldo has taken refuge after the poisons of the Romanisti (Roma fans) & Romans, but his figure still retains something of a mystery. Few are aware of the fact that this Italian with Swiss mentality ("here now I consider myself English") sits in the office as "chairman, general director, sporting director, I am like a Galliani (CEO of AC Milan) across the channel". In 2009 Southampton floundered in the 3rd division and on the verge of bankruptcy: as a consultant to family of Markus Liebherr, Swiss industrialist, Cortese purchased the club for £12m (less than the cost of Osvaldo) received a clean sheet to work on the management and strategies of the club, "whose image was destroyed". Today Southampton is a club bursting with health. Nobody dares to question the leadership of the man in charge with Calabrian roots and the owners are left to collect the profits, the equivalent of €2.5m for the first 6 months of this year. "In effect - confessed Cortese with a hint of complacency - I feel like the moral owner of the club". The original plan was to return to the great heights of football in 5 years ("When I revealed this people laughed"). In reality, after 3 seasons Southampton are in the Premier League and today it's organisational machine is a point of reference in Continetal football. "I had to rebuild the company from the ground up. In 2009 there were only 90 employees, now almost 250. The academy was dead, we relaunched putting our youth at the centre of our project. This year, in a game we deployed three 18 year olds in the starting 11: in the Premier League it had never happened". And in the opening months of next year also the new training ground will be ready. "The decisive factor was a visit I made to Milanello (AC Milan's training base). The red&black college has become a bit of a point of reference for me, I felt a family feeling, the place had charm". To achieve his miracle, the chairman made in Italy has focused on a so called 'Southampton Way', a way of being and a style of those who work for Southampton. "Here the hierarchy only exists on paper, I don't want them to call me chairman. Our club isn't made up of just 11 players, after 4 years we have many talented individuals not just on the pitch. Southampton Way means focusing on quality and being the best in everything we do. We do not want to follow others, we want them to follow us". A fan of AS Roma ("Because when I was at Trigoria (Roma's training base) to sign Osvaldo I mentioned this"), Cortese lives for football but is not crazy for it ("I love my work but not the matches, when we play away I stay at home"), which has strictly a management conception ("I don't work in a club, but a business that produces football"). Obvious that his eyes appear magnified about our miseries ("It makes me sad to see how low Italian football is, I believe that it lacks respect, ideas and humility") but one day someone might call him to help heal the woes of Serie A: "I have Italian blood and I go on holiday in Forte dei Marmi. But I do not know what the future holds". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint-Armstrong Posted 28 September, 2013 Share Posted 28 September, 2013 Good to see Saints getting some exposure in Italy. I'm not sure about his hierarchy comments, but it's a nice read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olallana Posted 28 September, 2013 Share Posted 28 September, 2013 Today Southampton is a club bursting with health. Nobody dares to question the leadership of the man in charge with Calabrian roots and the owners are left to collect the profits, the equivalent of €2.5m for the first 6 months of this year. "In effect - confessed Cortese with a hint of complacency - I feel like the moral owner of the club". The original plan was to return to the great heights of football in 5 years ("When I revealed this people laughed"). In reality, after 3 seasons Southampton are in the Premier League and today it's organisational machine is a point of reference in Continetal football. Apparently they dont read SWF Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint_clark Posted 28 September, 2013 Share Posted 28 September, 2013 Interesting he says he doesn't like matches (mistranslation perhaps?) as I distinctly remember him saying before that he watches every match but gets incredibly nervous when he does so. Maybe that's what he meant instead of simply not liking the matches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman Posted 28 September, 2013 Share Posted 28 September, 2013 nice read. no doubt wont be received well over on the uglies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saints_is_the_south Posted 28 September, 2013 Author Share Posted 28 September, 2013 NC can't keep in touch with the goings on in the ticket office too often. Quality it is not, shambles it most definitely is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saints_is_the_south Posted 28 September, 2013 Author Share Posted 28 September, 2013 Interesting he says he doesn't like matches (mistranslation perhaps?) as I distinctly remember him saying before that he watches every match but gets incredibly nervous when he does so. Maybe that's what he meant instead of simply not liking the matches. Non mi piacciono le partite, definitely = I do not like the games. Plausible that he doesn't like them because he gets very nervous of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hypochondriac Posted 28 September, 2013 Share Posted 28 September, 2013 The bit about being a business that produces football is rather depressing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaMarlin Posted 28 September, 2013 Share Posted 28 September, 2013 He's getting very well paid if he takes his holidays in Forte dei Marmi. It's where the rich, smart Italians take their holidays because Portofino is now clogged up by the yachts of Russian oligarchs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DuncanRG Posted 28 September, 2013 Share Posted 28 September, 2013 Good insight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 28 September, 2013 Share Posted 28 September, 2013 nice read. no doubt wont be received well over on the uglies Why is that Jamie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scudamore Posted 28 September, 2013 Share Posted 28 September, 2013 Why is that Jamie? Because nothing is...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 28 September, 2013 Share Posted 28 September, 2013 Because nothing is...? Really? Do you go on there much? I'll link the article and we can test your theories out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman Posted 28 September, 2013 Share Posted 28 September, 2013 Really? Do you go on there much? I'll link the article and we can test your theories out. come on, anything regarding cortese or lesser extent, reed is met with negativity. post the link over there and lets see by monday how nick and co react Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 28 September, 2013 Share Posted 28 September, 2013 come on, anything regarding cortese or lesser extent, reed is met with negativity. post the link over there and lets see by monday how nick and co react By one or two yes, that doesn't mean its everyone does it. The Reed stuff is primarily from one person with an axe to grind against him for some reason. I've posted it and await the responses, probably won't be many until Monday as most of them go to games on the UI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint_clark Posted 28 September, 2013 Share Posted 28 September, 2013 He's getting very well paid if he takes his holidays in Forte dei Marmi. It's where the rich, smart Italians take their holidays because Portofino is now clogged up by the yachts of Russian oligarchs. I get the feeling he was already a very rich guy before he'd even heard of Southampton FC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percy windham Posted 28 September, 2013 Share Posted 28 September, 2013 By one or two yes, that doesn't mean its everyone does it. The Reed stuff is primarily from one person with an axe to grind against him for some reason. I've posted it and await the responses, probably won't be many until Monday as most of them go to games on the UI. Oh, I thought you judged places by the minority? Certainly your decrying of this place as "the mong board" is judged solely on a handful of posters and their opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkish Posted 28 September, 2013 Share Posted 28 September, 2013 Oh, I thought you judged places by the minority? Certainly your decrying of this place as "the mong board" is judged solely on a handful of posters and their opinions. I think you'll find it's the majority that are absolutely lemons on here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batman Posted 28 September, 2013 Share Posted 28 September, 2013 Really? Do you go on there much? I'll link the article and we can test your theories out. first response pr broken record Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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