INTERVIEW | Giulini’s words to “Il Cagliari in Diretta”

The president of Cagliari Calcio Tommaso Giulini spoke to the microphones of “Il Cagliari in Diretta Estate”, a broadcast by the L’Unione Sarda Group broadcast from the rossoblù retreat in Ponte di Legno and Temù. From the lawn of the municipal field where Fabio Pisacane’s team trains, the president took stock of the market dynamics and the upcoming season, with ample space also for the new Cagliari stadium, a project on which the Club has been working for over a decade.

THE LIFE IN PONTE DI LEGNO
“We’re having a great time. The sun even returned today, which makes everything even more enjoyable. This is our second season between Ponte di Legno and Temù, and we can say we’ve found truly ideal conditions for training. The team and staff are maintaining a very high pace, and we’re making the most of this phase of preparation.”

STRONG GROUP
“Everyone knows where my family comes from, what our values ​​are, and our way of doing things. Since we arrived in Sardinia in the 1960s, we’ve always preferred to talk little and work hard. We’ve never had the culture of turning internal dynamics into a spectacle or fueling media controversy. Issues are addressed at home, looking each other in the eye. That’s why I want to say that Sebastiano Esposito is a young man who has joined this project with conviction, as are captain Alessandro Deiola, Elia Caprile, and Gabriele Zappa. But we have many other leaders within the group, including foreigners: I’m thinking of Zé Pedro, Mina, Obert, who has now become the point of reference for the younger players, just as Zappa was, and also Winks, who brings experience and great desire. We have a dressing room made up of real people, focused exclusively on their work and the pitch. At the club, we have a Corporate CEO in Carlo Catte, who boasts extensive experience in football, and a well-prepared Sporting Director in Pietro Accardi. If there are evaluations or contractual issues to address, they’ll know how to handle them. There’s no point in romanticizing or speculating. I think it’s important to support Cagliari, because everyone’s benefit is seeing this team grow and achieve results. Esposito has always behaved impeccably with us: he’s never lacked attitude and doesn’t deserve everything that’s been said about him.”

MANY RESOURCES
“There’s a very good chance Caprile will stay, as will Esposito. I’m convinced they can become two key players and perform even better than last season. We also have many young players who deserve space and trust: Borrelli, who scored five goals in his first year in Serie A despite playing relatively little due to injury; Di Paolo, who is approaching top-flight football with enthusiasm; then Mendy, Trepy, and Kingstone, who returned after an excellent season. We might make some more incoming signings, but we already have a large group up front.”

DEFENSE UNDER CONSTRUCTION
“Defensively, we’re a bit short compared to the other departments. It’s probably the first area we’ll address, especially considering some departures and the need to round out the squad. We’re evaluating the possibility of doing something different from last year tactically. Replacing an important player like Palestra isn’t easy. These are decisions that primarily fall to the coach and the Sporting Director.”

ITALIAN FOOTBALL SYSTEM AND THE NATIONAL TEAM
«I spoke in recent days with Leonardo, with whom I have a relationship of great respect, and I expressed my thoughts to him. I did the same with Malagò, representing the Club’s position. In recent years Cagliari has concretely demonstrated that it invests in young people and Italian footballers. I would have liked our point of view to be taken into greater consideration, but today it would not be correct to disclose it. We Serie A clubs, especially those with Italian ownership and long experience in football, would like to be listened to more. We are the ones primarily responsible for the system and also those who look for concrete solutions every day. Cagliari has demonstrated with facts that it has a coherent line, enhancing many Italian players and contributing to the growth of the national team. Pragmatism is needed, avoiding chasing ideas that appear difficult to implement from the beginning. I believe that Malagò must now identify a competent, authoritative technical director capable of reforming the technical sector from the foundations. I hope that the same initial consistency will now be maintained in the choice of other credible profiles. I understand that all the attention is on the technical commissioner, and it is natural that the federal president also wants to identify the best figure as soon as possible. However, the problem goes much further. We need to start from a vision, from a capable, credible, strong technical director, and then from the infrastructure: today Coverciano is not at the forefront compared to the main European centres. We are behind in terms of technology, innovation and ideas. This requires political intervention, which is the only one capable of supporting the Federation economically and allowing a true reconstruction of the system. Today the priority cannot only be the appointment of the new Technical Commissioner”.

THE NEW CAGLIARI STADIUM
“I ​​often cite the example of France in the run-up to Euro 2016 because it represents a virtuous model. The government and politicians had a clear vision, which allowed not only the competition to be hosted but also the provision of modern facilities to small and medium-sized cities.
The case of Cagliari is emblematic. We initially presented a project for a 25,000-seat stadium, a capacity we believed perfectly adequate for our situation. Subsequently, the FIGC asked us to expand it for Euro 2032 and future international competitions. We accepted that request, investing further years of work, financial resources, and energy to complete the entire conference of services process. For years, there has been talk of implementing decrees and support for projects related to Euro 2032. Today, we can count on the full cooperation of the Municipality and the Region, while we are still awaiting responses from the government. If we had known that the process would be so long, we probably would have stuck with the initial 25,000-seat project. If the public tender were to arrive by August 20th, it would certainly be good news, but after all these years, a few more weeks or months makes little difference. The problem isn’t these months: it’s the years we’ve already wasted. We’ve done everything we could. I’ve always been optimistic, and I’ll continue to be so until the end. As for our American partners, I don’t sense any impatience. They’re fully aware of the journey we’ve been through over the years. I hope this is finally the season in which we can begin the first demolitions and see the project we’ve long hoped to realize truly begin.
The Unipol Domus is a stadium that has welcomed us, where football is enjoyed and played in an ideal environment. But it’s clear that Cagliari needs a new facility worthy of its ambitions.