As I sat down with Adriano Galliani, the CEO of Monza, before this morning’s Assembly, I was struck by a sense of relief. “Has my Monza finally come to an end? Thank goodness,” he began, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. “What if we were worried? Of course, when you win, it’s better, but Nesta had never been in danger.” It was a subtle hint at the tumultuous tenure of head coach Vincenzo Nesta, which has been marked by criticism and controversy.
Galliani’s words were laced with a mix of humor and calculation, as he attempted to distill the essence of his team’s approach. “How do I judge Nesta’s work? Good, also because I chose him,” he chuckled. “Does Silvio Berlusconi’s advice on the game still have an effect? Yes, crazy, I sent him to Nesta, to Djuric, I keep saying it. Every time there is a long ball, sprint towards the goal, Djuric somehow catches it. He is the player who wins the most aerial tackles in the five most important championships.”
It was a paean to the team’s tactical acumen, and Galliani’s influence in shaping its strategy. “I told Nesta that it is useless to work because the only good plan is a long throw from the goalkeeper, a burst from Djuric and a goal. This is the plan to apply, I said,” he emphasized. For all the skepticism surrounding Nesta’s appointment, it seemed that Galliani was convinced that his coach was on the right track.
As we shifted topics, I asked Galliani for his thoughts on Inter Milan, whose new director-general, Giuseppe Marotta, has been a thorn in the side of Monza’s President. “Have we already talked about Maldini with Marotta? I’ve never talked about Maldini with anyone,” he replied, seemingly drained of patience. “I talk to Daniel [Maldini, Monza’s sporting director] every day, also because he has to recover from his shoulder but should be able to do it by Sunday. Maldini all’ does Inter have a slightly strange effect? I’ve never heard from anyone. Inter have never made a request to us, no one has ever spoken, it doesn’t exist, I don’t think so, I don’t know.'”
Galliani’s tone was laced with a mix of disdain and fatigue, as if the constant intrigue surrounding Inter Milan was beginning to wear him down. On the corporate front, reports of a possible sale of Monza continue to swirl, but Galliani remained tight-lipped. “Is there any news on a possible sale? No, no news. I am the object and not the subject and therefore I am not speaking. In any case, there is no news, there is no offer, let’s move forward.”
Finally, I asked Galliani for his prediction on who would emerge victorious in this season’s championship. “In my opinion, one of Napoli, Juventus, Inter and Milan will win it,” he said, his prescription for success a clinical one. As our conversation drew to a close, it was clear that Galliani’s focus is squarely on the pitch, where the battle for supremacy in Serie A is taking shape.
