The credibility of football is at stake on Lotito’s double ownership

The sale of Salernitana must not be convenient, but effective. As for Zhang, after the domination Inter cannot be satisfied with a place in the top four

Some things only happen in Italy. In no football-oriented country are there two clubs with the same owner in the top flight. An astonishing abnormality has not been found for some time now a solution. But when it comes to Lotito, the straight path of transparency is always the least practiced. Thus, a few days before the deadline set by the Football Federation (June 25), our Serie A has two clubs, Lazio and Salernitana, which respond to identical ownership. Let’s say right away that the Campania team has earned promotion and that Salerno is a city that deserves to play in the major league.

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Here, if anything, another principle is being discussed: Lotito, who bought Salernitana to make it a business and not out of passion, has a duty towards the fans not to jeopardize a result won on the pitch by Castori and his players. He should, as the rules clearly prescribe, sell his shares to someone not even remotely similar to him. In short, not a transfer of convenience, but effective, real. Lotito, however, seems to prefer the choice of trust, that is the temporary transfer of his property to third parties who are obliged to manage it independently. Looking at how it is regulated with the obligations of the sanitary protocol on tampons, some doubts about autonomy arise spontaneously. It also arose in Gravina, which has rightly already made it clear that it will not accept opaque or botched solutions: we believe it.

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A trust that, moreover, the federal president has won with facts. Just think of the recent renewal of sports justice, a crucial point in ensuring that everyone respects the rules of the game. The credibility of a system largely depends on it. Italian football in the post-pandemic needs to grow: it must make up for lost ground. It can no longer leave the initiative to presidents who, in the name of self-interest, don’t care about shared norms and spend time figuring out how they can block any change. They are small relationship entrepreneurs: they have earned space and money in football that otherwise they would never have found. If we want to go back to being a leading country in football, first of all we must begin to be a serious country, which respects the rules, does not circumvent them.

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Zhang and Inter

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Zhang didn’t sell Inter, he kept it. As the Gazzetta has always maintained. In the interview with our newspaper, the president explained what he now intends to do with the Italian champion club. He stated it with a low profile, as in Chinese culture. This does not mean that the winner can only have one goal: to keep winning. This does not mean that he will succeed, but it would be a mistake to start contenting himself with a place in the top four. Inter dominated the second round collecting numbers in defense and attack that made a huge difference with all the others competing for the top. Of course, Conte left, a coach who makes a difference. But the company remained, the players remained. Here, the players. This is the point. Inzaghi must have the opportunity to exploit the long wave of Conte’s work. To do this, the sales must be limited and targeted. Next season is going to be a lot more competitive. Rome, Lazio and Napoli have changed coaches and will make a signing campaign to return to the top four. Keeping a low profile in declarations is right, keeping it even in ambitions can be a fatal mistake.

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