Grading the Serie A Presidents, Part 2

Part two of TuttoMercatoWeb’s presidential ratings are below (read: not mine!). These may be even more interesting that yesterday’s for most fans, as this half of the alphabet includes more of the bigger teams such as Milan, Juventus, Lazio and Roma.

Juventus. President: Andrea Agnelli. Grade: 5. We are not influenced by the club’s standing but we are disappointed with the fact that Agnelli does not have power at Juventus. So why even accept the job? There is nothing Agnelli about this team. The leadership is too fragile and there are small-town errors committed. Andrea was presented to great acclaim but in a situation very complicated. It has slipped away like a grain of sand in a wave. He must make stronger decisions and demonstrate that he deserves the chair. He’s young, capable and clever and has to help Juventus in this very delicate period.

Lazio. President: Claudio Lotito. Grade: 7. Conceited, stingy, but winning. His cycle is going great. It’s unquestionable the Lazio of Lotito. We like it because it does not care about the opinions of fans, journalists and does what it wants… always! Clever also is the sporting director; to deal with him is a drama for those who sit beside him. The fans should at least give him a thanks.

Lecce. President: Peir Andrea Semeraro. Grade: 6. He does what he can with the budget he’s given. He’s young but doesn’t take shit from anyone. At times this year he’s also been unfortunate. It was shrewd to rely blindly on Gigi De Canio. The club deserves to stay in Serie A.

Milan. Presidents: Silvio Berlusconi and Andrea Galliani. Grade: 8.5. The Milan family finally returns to the Scudetto. Pending on the math and the party, it all adds up. Ibra has shone intermittently, like a light in a disco with 5,000 watts. They took advantage of the satiety of Inter and inability to plan from Juventus. The only drawback: the budget is always in red… and almost black! [Julian’s note- this is an awful, awful pun]

Napoli. President: Aurelio De Laurentiis. Grade: 7.5. We would like to give him a higher grade but it’s hard because some things just don’t add up. To reach third, to go in the CL with a salary cap so low confirms that calcio can move even without a tutor, like in the first years of operation. In January he should have made a major transfer in the offensive department. It’s nevertheless extremely positive to have brought Napoli into Europe. We are curious, no, to see how the story of Mazzarri and Cavani unfolds. It’s like going to the edge of the balcony on the sixth floor. There’s a need to be good and stay in balance, never look down, and if one suffers from vertigo, must not look up either.

Palermo. President: Maurizio Zamparini. Grade: 4. He doesn’t deserve a coach like Delio Rossi and for all his quirks, doesn’t deserve Serie A either. He has a ton of money and understands calcio but when his vein swells he cannot think. It’s a shame, because then he loses good people like Sabatini, Rossi, and many others. He doesn’t even have a DS for next year. He does it. At least at the end of the first half of all the games he must stop intimating who the coach has to substitute. He’s fortunate that the team can win the Coppa Italia.

Parma. President: Tommaso Ghirardi. Grade: 5. The club has a high salary cap to suffer so much for a paltry salvation that has now become blessed. The squad is strong, to the merit of Leonardi. The demerit of the President and DS is due to expelling Marino too late and having understood too late that Franco Colomba should be number 1.

Roma. President: Rosella Sensi. Grade: 10. To this family one must say only thanks, for having worked always for the love of the squad, of the company, of the city. Thanks to Franco and Rosella. They are indebted to their society to not do harm to AS Roma. More than the American flags, the Olimpico displays flags with their faces on them. The declarations are made after, not before. Rosella deserves to stay in calcio.

Sampdoria. President: Riccardo Garrone. Grade: 4. He does not deserve to even be judged. He has been caught committing a crime!

Udinese. President: the Pozzo Family. Grade: 8. A perfect machine, a model society appreciated in Italy, Europe, and the world. It’s a family that is moving, not the managers. Husband, wife, and son. They buy unknown kids for 60k and sell them for 30 million. They achieve important results in a city in which calcio is only a 90 minute diversion every week. 25 years at the helm of a business model. The society is structured in the English model: one might wonder what they’re doing in Italy. Mistreated by the powers that be because the Friuli isn’t the Olimpico and because Udinese isn’t the capital of Italy.

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Category: Serie A