Salernitana, Stendardo: «Patron Iervolino must react»

«Many dynamics cannot be known from the outside, but certainly the responsibilities for this terrible season must be divided equally between ownership, management and players. One thing is certain, it was a humiliation for the fans and for the square, with such an attachment to the team and the shirt, even in these last matches, they would have deserved much better results”. Word of William Stendardo, former player of Salernitana, as well as coach of the Luiss team, fresh from an important salvation in Excellence, and professor of Sports Law at the Capitoline university. It is inevitable for the “lawyer”, a Cilentan by adoption, not to issue a warning to the patron of the hippocampus Danilo Iervolino, several times he took up university lectures at Luiss. «I have a relationship of mutual respect with the president, we know each other well because he spoke twice during my academic course “The jurist enters the field”. Speaking about Salernitana, he always told me about his numerous intentions, from that of improving the youth sector to the importance of investing in structures, while in the meantime helping the team pursue its stability in Serie A. He has carried out some things very well, in the second part of his management, however, he betrayed several of the fans’ expectations, I don’t know what the future will be. But now is the time to react, he will have to demonstrate that he is a leader, bringing Salernitana back to where he deserves, despite the knowledge that it will be much more difficult than two years ago.».

To what do you attribute the shortcomings of your second management phase?

He is so busy in his world and in his work that he cannot guarantee his physical presence, which cannot be as constant as that of a sports director. Probably if he had been more present things would have gone differently, when it was not possible he delegated, and perhaps the people in charge did not bring the desired results. In any case, football has unique dynamics, you need to know them, create empathy within the group, elements that after an initial moment are a problem. An entrepreneur must have the strength to continue in that project if he truly believes in it, he is a determined and ambitious person, he will want to redeem this season, he has made a commitment to the Salerno square.

Other perpetrators?

Well, the change of three coaches certainly didn’t help, starting with everything that happened with Paulo Sousa , and then I think about Sabatini . He had achieved a sporting miracle, two years ago he should never have been sent away, it would have been a luxury for Salernitana to be able to give continuity to his work, and not try in January, with so little time to heal a situation that for me was already abundantly compromised.

Did the players also disappoint you?

Those who experienced certain dynamics recognized that there probably wasn’t an atmosphere of serenity in the locker room, and that’s fundamental. Today I am a coach and I know that many times the technical gap with a technically superior opponent can be filled with unity, friendship, determination, common values ​​to be preserved within a group. The perception is that there has been a lack of sense of belonging, with a totally divided group.

Salernitana will face Atalanta in the next match, often taken as a model. You played for the Nerazzurri in the early stages of Percassi’s winning cycle…

We are talking about a visionary, and the best Italian club, the reference model today in this country for sustainable and virtuous football. A serious president, capable of generating over 400 million in real capital gains, a club with its own stadium, cutting-edge sports centre, this model is unattainable for many clubs at the moment. I hope that this year I can bring home at least one trophy, it would be a well-deserved achievement for a project that was born in 2010, and both I and Colantuono we know something about it.

There is a relationship of great respect with the current Granata trainer, isn’t it true that he sought you out for the Primavera?

He is a friend, as well as a very good coach. At this moment he can do very little, but his commitment is only to be appreciated, he has made himself available to the club. Last year he contacted me, but I was under contract with Luiss, it didn’t materialize but I would have been very happy to return to Salerno.