INTERVIEW 🎙️ | President Giulini on “Politica nel Pallone”

Cagliari Calcio President Tommaso Giulini spoke by telephone during episode 783 of “La Politica nel Pallone,” a program broadcast on GR RAI Parlamento and hosted by Emilio Mancuso. The program covered a wide range of topics, from condolences for the Commisso family and Fiorentina to the Rossoblu’s sporting journey, the new stadium, the technical project, and future prospects.

SUPPORT TO THE COMMISSO FAMILY AND FIORENTINA
Ahead of the next match at the “Franchi” stadium, the President expressed his heartfelt thoughts for the Viola community: “On Saturday we will play in Florence, and I want, personally and on behalf of the entire Club, to express my deepest sympathy to the Viola fans and the city. It was hard to learn of the passing of President Rocco Commisso, even more so after the loss of Joe Barone. These are people who have given so much to Italian football.”
Giulini also had a touching memory of Viola Park: “It’s a beautiful and functional facility, ideal for conveying the right message to young people about how sport should be interpreted. I’ve never seen a facility like it anywhere else in Europe. I still remember the walk I took inside it with Joe Barone; it was a great feeling, and the Commisso family has done something that will last forever.” And a special bond unites the two clubs: “We are also tied to Fiorentina by the passing of Davide Astori. I remember with great emotion the moment we experienced in Bethlehem in 2019, when we inaugurated a pitch named after Davide: it was truly touching.”

ALMOST TWELVE YEARS OF PRESIDENCY
A broad and personal reflection on his journey at the helm of the Club: “They have been years of great passion. The most difficult moments were certainly the two relegations, especially the second, while the first was almost natural due to the stadium situation we inherited, the personal issues of my predecessor, and a general situation we had to deal with in the first few months. From a sporting perspective, I also paid the price for my inexperience in my early days as president, and it taught me a lot, leading us to win the second division for the first time in Cagliari’s history, and it’s never easy to say you’ve won a championship. The most difficult moment was the second relegation, in 2022, when we drew against already-relegated Venezia; we went down to Serie B in a very sad but deserved way, because we were carrying a series of mistakes from previous years, and relegation is never a coincidence or something sudden.”
Then the strongest and most recent memories: “The last three seasons have brought us great satisfaction: promotion in Bari with Pavoletti’s goal, and the two relegation attempts, in Reggio Emilia against Sassuolo and with last season’s match against Venezia, which in some ways closed the circle, thanks also to Deiola’s wonderful goal. If I had to choose, well, I’d hold on to these games.”

A LONG AND SOLID BOND WITH SARDINIA
The president reiterated the family’s deep connection to the island: “My relationship with the island began thanks to my father, Carlo Enrico. He started what was then the largest fluorite mine in the world here in the late 1950s. All fluorine chemistry originated there, particularly the German one, with fluorite arriving directly from Sardinia. My family’s entrepreneurial history has always been tied to the island: in 2004, I took over FLUORSID, and ten years later, the wonderful thing happened: I took over from Massimo Cellino and took over Cagliari Calcio on June 11, 2014.”

THE LAST VICTORY, JUVENTUS KO IN CAGLIARI
It was a victory that means a lot, perhaps doubly so because we’ve been a bit hamstrung for months with many key players out, but none of us, especially the coach, complained or looked for excuses, and this says a lot about Pisacane’s value and what we as Cagliari Calcio want to achieve. For months we’ve been without important and experienced players due to injuries. We have a young team with many Italians, and when you build a squad like that it’s normal to experience some lapses. We’ve been playing for months without a leader like Belotti in attack, for a few weeks without Folorunsho and Deiola, who are very important in the middle, not least Zappa, who we lost six hours before the match against Juventus, and without Felici, who is a game-changer, out until the end of the season. Despite everything, we never complained, starting with our coach. Not to mention Mina, who has suffered many physical problems during the season. Saturday’s victory was the group’s, we’re happy with this result, but our journey towards survival continues. Now fate presents us with this special match against Fiorentina”.

GIGI RIVA’S EXAMPLE
Thursday will mark two years without Gigi Riva. “There are so many memories tied to Gigi,” explains Giulini. “Against Juventus, he always played for great things. He repeatedly turned down the black and white jersey, turning down huge sums of money and forever embracing the Cagliari jersey. It was wonderful to win for him too, but Gigi is always with us in everything we do. In those victories I mentioned earlier, I like to remember his phone call to Ranieri before the match against Bari, a historic moment that always moves us when we remember it.”

KILICSOY, CAPRILE, AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF YOUTH
On Semih Kilicsoy: “If he continues to perform well, he could be an important option for Cagliari. We’ll definitely discuss it in April; the important thing is that he continues like this. He has a special and rare talent, exceptional technique. He’s had a more complicated journey than his compatriots Arda Guler and Yildiz, who have been linked to him due to their talent and age. We hope to continue to help him and perhaps redeem him.”

About Caprile: “We’re talking about a very strong goalkeeper. We were fortunate to have Cragno and Vicario, who both made it to the national team. Elia has the mindset to join and play for a great team, but he’s thrilled to be doing so for a team that represents the entire island. For him, playing for Cagliari is like playing for a top club. He’s never asked to leave. I believe that next summer, barring any compelling offers, he could stay with us. He’s one of our most important players; he’s certainly worth much more than the price we paid for him.”

MISTER PISACANE: A JOURNEY BUILT OVER TIME
“It’s a decision that began a long time ago, immediately after the relegation against Venezia. Roberto Muzzi and I decided to add Pisacane to Liverani’s staff, then we entrusted him with the Primavera, where he had some wonderful years and won the Coppa Italia with a team built on a much smaller budget than other teams, also for ethical reasons. He’s had a great journey, he’s kept up to date with numerous courses, he’s been well-trained, and that’s very positive for us. I’m confident he’ll demonstrate his qualities; he’s a quick learner, and with each passing month he’s improving in those areas where he naturally has weaknesses or gaps.”

BETWEEN DREAMS AND GOALS: STAY IN SERIE A AND THE “GIGI RIVA” STADIUM
“The goal is to stay up this year too with a young coach and team, a very clearly defined path that we’ve begun with Fabio Pisacane, his staff, and many young players on the pitch. Staying up this way would mean starting again next year with greater certainty, still in Serie A. And then we’ll work, we’ll continue to work, to inaugurate the new stadium, the “Gigi Riva” stadium, within five years.”

THE NEW INVESTORS
It all started with a former colleague of my wife’s who met Maurizio Fiori, the leader of the American investors. We met almost by chance and started chatting. After months of negotiations and discussions, he decided to return to his native Sardinia, having been born and raised in Carbonia. Finding an entrepreneur with such ties to his homeland is crucial to me. Over the years, many investors approached him, but he had passion in his eyes, not a dollar sign (laughs). Passion is essential to leading a team that represents an entire people.

CAGLIARI NEW STADIUM
We started this journey ten years ago. It’s incredible that Italy has reached this stage in building a state-of-the-art facility. After years, bureaucracy, and hundreds of paperwork, we can now say we’re on the home stretch for a 30,000-seat stadium, not 25,000, to accommodate the FIGC’s bid to host Euro 2032. We’re now missing a small piece from the government in the form of debt, equity, or guarantees. I believe that if Italy wants these European Championships, it will need concrete steps and a decree. We hope that progress will be made in this regard, and that the government and Prime Minister Meloni will keep the very critical and miserable situation of Italian stadiums under scrutiny, trying to help us entrepreneurs build new ones. But this applies to Cagliari as well as other Italian cities.

VAR
I was initially very much in favor of VAR, but this season I’m starting to have some doubts. There are too many calls, and I see referees taking less responsibility. This makes me sad for the many top referees in Italy, at least a dozen of them: three or four from the older generation, five or six emerging ones. We need to put referees back in the spotlight and use VAR only in extreme cases. It’s not up to me to say which solution is best—a timed call, or having a former player in the VAR room—but we’d like to see more refereeing and less VAR.