PRESS ROOM | Giulini and Fiori’s comments

After the match between Cagliari and Roma, Rossoblu president Tommaso Giulini and club member Maurizio Fiori, who will be appointed vice president this week, as announced by the club’s president, also spoke before the media.

—TOMMASO GIULINI—

About the team
We can’t settle; this jersey deserves more. We’re happy, but we shouldn’t get too excited after just one win. We put in as much effort in Naples as we did today, and we must continue to do so. There will be many of us in the second half of the season wanting to climb out of the bottom three. This year, I don’t see any teams giving up early or considering themselves doomed. I’d like the team to work hard starting tomorrow to continue on this path. We need to work even harder to achieve our goal. We have a young team and coach, with many players coming through the youth system. It’s not easy, but we must never settle. With more determination, we could have achieved more. I don’t want to dampen the spirits of the dressing room, but the club expects more, so we’ll be working hard starting tomorrow.”

THE TRIP
“In these two winless months, I’ve seen some good things, and I also think Cagliari is different from previous seasons. Sometimes we played a certain way, other times not, but we always created something. I saw a group that always followed their coach; perhaps at times they lacked a bit of blood and determination. Now we hope to continue with this spirit. We need determination and grit, as Rodriguez showed in his first Serie A match. We all need to have it, always.”

THE DEDICATION
I dedicate this victory to Mattia Felici, I’m very sorry. He was in a bit of pain on the way back from Naples, but no one expected it to be so serious. And then I dedicate it to the Curva. It’s not a given that a team that hasn’t won in over two months will be applauded and supported by its fans. In the stands around me, some were already grumbling after the first mistakes, but that doesn’t happen there, so this victory is also for them. Beating Roma is a huge confidence boost, but we must persevere, and this spirit will need to be shown in the next two games as well.

THE FUTURE
After 12 years of football, living day by day, I struggle to imagine where I’ll be in ten years. From day one, I’ve said I always want to do more, and I stand by that. But in Naples and today with Roma, I saw the right mindset to do well, stay up, and aspire to something better. Also because you can’t build a stadium if you’re in Serie B, or you can do it with greater difficulty. We need to work to pull ourselves out of the quicksand.

THE INVESTORS
How did I experience this transition? Well, because I found a Cagliari fan as well as a serious investor and entrepreneur like Maurizio. He can explain to whoever takes over how important it is to represent this land. We had a fairly long conversation, but there was never a doubt that they were the right investors. What I’m not so happy about is the struggle we’re having in the league this year as well. We must always implement the same attitude we have today and that of Napoli to find safety as quickly as possible, because Serie A seems very complex to me. In recent years, we’ve consistently raised the bar, and I don’t want the club and the team to settle for this victory over Roma. We need to raise the bar. We have players from the youth academy and a young coach, but this team has shown it can do very well. The players can give even more, and we can aim for even better results. This team must win as many games as possible to avoid just being a mid-table contender for safety.

–MAURIZIO FIORI–

It’s wonderful to be here. We were keen to bring a group of major investors who respect the tradition of this club. There are two main groups, one from the construction industry and one from the world of technology and sports. They are all incredibly passionate about football and have a direct or indirect connection to Sardinia, which many of them have known for a long time. Our negotiations were a bit anachronistic and unusual because we didn’t involve anyone outside of myself and Tommaso, except our respective teams. And we will continue to build on this synergy as minority shareholders: we are here to support the club on and off the pitch. On the pitch, we want to have interesting ambitions, and off the pitch, we want to create a club that speaks to a modern and international football world. We believe we have great expertise, especially regarding the future stadium, but the spirit is and always will be one of keeping our heads down and pedaling.

IDOLS
“Gianfranco Zola is my idol in the history of Cagliari. I went to London at the same time he went to Chelsea. Then, as a boy, I really liked Gigi Piras, the second-highest scorer in our history.”

THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL
For two or three years, my company and I have been studying the world of sport, Italian and European football. We have a mutual friend with Tommaso Giulini, and that’s how this collaboration was born. Of course, as a fan, it’s a dream for me to be here, but the primary reason is that Cagliari is a well-managed club and—after an international analysis—we felt it was right to invest in Serie A and in this club. We’re confident about Cagliari’s future in Italy; it’s clear that the stadium can transform ambitions and plans. For us, the new stadium is fundamental and one of the key paths we’ll take.