Giulini and Cagliari, a 10-year love affair: «That one time I argued with Gigi Riva. And I too would like a President Scrooge"

President Giulini, this week you celebrate both your 47 years of age and - today - your 10 years as president of Cagliari.

(Laughs) «True. And I have no doubts: that second birthday made me grow older."

Do you want to make people believe that managing a multinational like Fluorsid is less stressful than managing a Serie A team?

«Are you kidding? Nothing is more dangerous than football: in this decade I have often put my coronary arteries at risk. In 2024 we have a record of goals and points gained or lost in the last minutes."

So what?

(Sighs) «I should have followed the matches with a cardiologist and defibrillator in the stands, to avoid risks».

Twelve points gained and lost after the eightieth.

«Serie A is more difficult. And I, ten years ago, was a boy who entered society with the ambition, enthusiasm and even recklessness of someone who thought: "We can win everything right away". Today I am certain of the opposite."

Explain better.

«Ten years ago I did this job almost only out of passion. Now I know that if we have a better chance of winning in the next championship it's because I do this job like a job."

…It is not clear. Are you having less fun?

«I learned at least six great lessons about football the hard way. The last two from Ranieri and Gigi Riva."

Shall we start from Riva?

«It's a lesson on the human factor. It was 2020, just before the pandemic, the only time I argued with Gigi."

What had happened?

«Together with Nicola, his son, we had managed to convince him to be honorary president. I was over the moon. The team in a magical moment. He too seemed happy. We had already made a statement. Congratulatory messages came to Gigi from all over the world. Suddenly he calls me: “We need to talk right away, are you coming home?”. Of course, Gigi. I was on the other side of the island, I'm running."

Happy?

"The exact opposite. He opens the door to me, his face dark: “Tommaso! I changed my mind". I ask, incredulous: “How?”. And he: “Since we decided I no longer sleep at night. Too much stress. I give up." I reply, and it hurts: “But the fans would be upset! The news is already on all the news." He gets angry: “I said twelve no's to Agnelli! Do you think I can't resign now?”. It seems like a movie… I will never forget the scene. Gigi begins to remind us of all the no's in his life, from 1968 to the 2006 World Cup. We remain enchanting, a spectacle. But I then understood that that story was the true cornerstone of his entire story. Behind the champion, a wall of great waste, from college to football."

And then?

"Emergency. We call two of his best friends, Tomasini and Camba, from the former rossoblù group by text message. And obviously Nicola. Gigi is repeating: “No, no, no!”. The doorbell rings. He opens. They are Thomas and Sandro, who pretend not to know, hug him, and in chorus say to him: "Can we already call you president?". And he? He sits down, collapses in the armchair, heartbroken: “You can do it too! But it's a nightmare!". And at this point we understand his passion for football, his dedication to the team. “Putting my name on the line, at 80 years old, for me means risking everything! It was an irrevocable no. But at this point Tomasini sits in front of him, face to face, and says: “But Gigi! You are giving a symbolic gift to your city! It's like the year of the championship. You don't just represent yourself! You are all of us again!”. Brilliant."

And how does it end?

«Sandro and Thomas hug him. Gigi has tears in her eyes. He sinks back into the armchair, lights a cigarette, blows a cloud of smoke in our faces and says to me: “Tommaso…. I'll regret it, I already know it. But Beppe is right, I accept".

Luckily he didn't regret it, he was celebrated.

«That lesson of attachment, of devotion remained with me. Of severity with oneself, in measuring oneself. And when he left us I understood better: too much lightness is sometimes a handicap. I took that intransigence, Gigi's irreducible and angular rigor as a gift for life. I would have liked to film it so I could show it to today's kids: "Look, this was Riva".

***

We are in Milan. Tommaso Giulini's cell phone rings constantly, trills with text messages. Offers, contracts, market. I glance at names and figures. I ask: «Aren't you answering? I read that it's take it or leave it, deal of the century." First: "Don't peek." Second. «Here's another lesson. Time for a negotiation. Better to lose a great deal than make an unforgivable mistake."

Let's take an example.

«The day Cagliari sold me, Cellino told me: “Don't run into the stadium. Look at me, I ended up in prison!"

It is said that you did not love each other then.

«He was giving me valuable advice. However: we built the Sardegna Arena in just over two months, a record. I have faith that the feat of the new Sant'Elia can also be accomplished."

Why is it so difficult?

"It doesn't just depend on us, but on three different authorities which in Italy, among other things, are renewed on average once a year."

Did the whistles hurt after the rescue?
"The truth? Very. But now I have the necessary coolness to take them all. It is my job: to carry the cross. After salvation I didn't sleep for three days out of joy."

What do the most demanding people want from her, after eight salvations?

«Many fans dream of a Scrooge president. The great thing is that when I think as a fan I want him too, a Giulini Scrooge. Now I know it's not enough."

In recent years you have invested millions and millions.

«Italian football is becoming an object of speculation: American funds, foreign presidencies. It's nice, the challenge is more difficult, but here's another lesson: bad luck exists in football, and it can be very powerful. In the year in which after ten days we were third, we were winning away from home in Lecce, everything was going as it should and...".

It rained.

"Incredible. Match suspended, repeated the next day. In the end, the collapse: brawl between Lapadula and Olsen, four-match ban for our goalkeeper and... draw."

The following Sunday they were defeated at home by Lazio, in infinite injury time.

«It was a very strong team: Rog, Nainggolan, Joao Pedro, Simeone, Nandez, just to name a few. A huge investment. I know that if we played them ten times, we would always win. But those black clouds in Lecce stole the moment, the spark: in Serie A you also need a bit of ass."

Very bad luck.

«I think of Rog. Two legs and three crusaders. Pavoletti two crusaders".

They are both still from Cagliari.

«Because they never give up, and I don't forget it: when Marko returns from his loan at Dinamo Zagreb, in January, my biggest dream is that he becomes an extra gear for the whole team».

Another lesson.

«Look for what not everyone sees at first glance. We believed in Vicario when many said: he is wiry, he doesn't have the physique of a Donnarumma."

Instead?

«I saw him in the area, moving like an orchestra conductor. Before he had a Cragno in front of him in the national team. And then, when he could become a starter, we went to Serie B, while he was entitled to Serie A. He went on loan. We've seen it for a long time: he is now number one at Tottenham. But with us, due to these entanglements, it has never been so: crazy! You can see first... But then in football it must also happen at the right time."

Is it true that your wife wants to move to the island?

«He always tells me: “Tommaso, in the end you'll resign from everything and we'll move to Cala Caterina”, where we have a house. We went through the pandemic. I had Fluorsid swabs, and many friends from the village came to have them done with us."

Regrets for Barella?

«Nicolò was being chased by Atletico Madrid. Simeone called him every other day. He renewed with us, and so we were able to reinvest all the capital gain from the sale to Inter."

What did he have most of all?

«A mental age years superior to the biological one. He discussed his renewals with me, telling me his goals and when he would achieve them. At 18 years!"

Did he get them all? (

He laughs) «All that's missing is the Champions League and a good World Cup with the national team».

With Ranieri you went through hell and paradise.

«Without ever giving up, neither him nor me. He came to give a keynote address to Fluorsid executives from all over the world. And the theme was given: “The leader's ability to recognize mistakes”. Do you understand the man?”

His greatest asset, in your opinion?

«No one knows how to manage souls like him. He has drilled into the players' skulls that they can win until the 98th minute. Everyone says it, without succeeding, he did it. And we were saved precisely in those minutes."

And his biggest lesson?

«He made my wife Ilaria cry, in Bari, when he went to tell the fans: “Don't boo the losers!”».

Why was Ilaria so moved?

«Thanks to her we are the only team in Italy to have a children-only sector. And in Bari he tells me in tears: "With a gesture he explained to everyone that we have struggled to teach for years." Power of football."

The lesson of the next coach, which everyone already knows but cannot yet be made official due to contractual constraints?

«Nicola achieved at least three miraculous salvations (Crotone, Salerno and Empoli). We are equal on that level. How nice it would be to take the leap together. Whoever arrives late wins better, Gasperini and Sarri teach it."

Two images from this year to carry with you for life.

«We took Kingston on a dust pitch in Serie B, in Zambia, seeing him do three crazy things on the pitch. An impulsive gesture."

But doesn't this contradict the lesson about the professional president who doesn't let himself be guided by emotions?

"Real. But my job is to build a team in which there is room for passion! We saw his eyes shine with hope. When he scored his first goal in Serie A I felt a very strong emotion."

And the other postcard?

«We are inside Bonaria, to say goodbye to Gigi. Nicola's speech comes as a shock to us. But something is missing from the ceremony. Too cold. Too many authorities."

And then?

«We need to take the coffin out. I run to Reginato and Tomasini and tell them: "I would like you to take the coffin!". They rush. Reginato is shaken by sobs, with the wood in his hand. Buffon and Cannavaro rush forward. There is the best of three generations of Italian football, from the 1970 scudetto to the victory of the World Cup, under Gigi's coffin."

And the doors open.

«It's dusk, the sun is going down over the sea. There are those who light smoke bombs. The coffin dances on heads, sways while everyone wants to touch it. The fans shout “Gigi! Gigi!"".

A framework.

«The funeral became the most beautiful funeral in the world in those five minutes of magic. Then the disk of the sun slipped into the line of the sea. And I thought that whatever happens, I'll do the best job possible. Because there is nothing else in life that gives us emotions like these."