Bologna –
Statements by CEO Luca Baraldi, during the presentation of the 23/24 season.
“First of all, I would like to reassure the fans. In June we held a press conference as soon as the championship was over, where a lot of alarmism arose through statements of budget revisions and so on. Let’s start from there, I would like to reassure all of our fans. That day was supposed to be a day of celebration, because on that very day an entrepreneur like Carlo Gherardi entered the share capital of Virtus, with 40%, who I believe patrimonially is one of the most solid entrepreneurs not only from Bologna but also from Italy. If you combine that with the fact that the 60% remains with Massimo Zanetti, who I think has already proven his worth not only in Bologna for some decades in the world of entrepreneurship at the national and world level, but also at the sports level, I think it should have been a day of celebration. I want to make this point because it is very important. The budget is a necessity of respect that comes from commitments that this club has made to Euroleague to comply with financial fair play. Because we are not permanently in the Euroleague, in order to get this wild card we had to meet certain parings and so we are starting from here. It will be a season that, in light of this, has helped us grow. Despite having the second largest Italian budget, therefore still one of the most important, not the most important because we have so many clubs in the Euroleague that invest more than us but we are not the last in the Euroleague even in terms of investments, we have set up perhaps for the first year a team that is compatible with what are our ideas of basketball, even for the future. I will close by saying that the vision, as far as we are concerned, is certainly very positive. We are of the opinion that this roster will give great satisfaction to our fans and partners.”
“There has been a lot of talk about him (Shengelia) in the past weeks and a separate chapter can be opened. He is doing really well with his national team, he is playing well above the average 20 minutes that he always plays here because we are over 30 minutes. This pleases us because it means that from a physical point of view he is in great condition, he has great physical strength and he is a real leader, a very important player for us and we are happy that he is doing well. Polonara is doing very well with the national team along with Pajola. We saw what Smith did with his national team and we will see Cordinier, who also joined but the less they make him play him the better it is from our point of view. We start the season without five guys but we are used to it, because every year there is either a World Cup, an Olympics or a European Championship. Our staff is prepared for this and for me it is an added value to have so many guys committed to the national teams, just as it is an added value to have a coach like Sergio Scariolo who coaches the national team that is currently the reigning world and European champion. These values have to be translated into Virtussino. We have a very important reality, we are one of the 18 most important clubs in Europe, but we are a club and not a national team. The mentality of the players like that of the coach, when they return to the club, will have to adapt to the fact that here every day there is a continuous relationship between all of us, a constant growth of the group that will have to lead us to achieve results within a group that is cohesive. Chemistry will lag a little bit because of these five absences, but on the other hand the first five games of the Euroleague will be decisive for us. We play against teams we can do well against (except maybe Monaco on the road) and they will be very important. It has already been told several times to the coaching staff, Scariolo and his trainers know this, to do a very dynamic starting preparation work, because the beginning of the season and starting well will be very important.”
“Shengelia is a player whom we greatly value and who at Virtus has always given the 200% and I am convinced that he will give the 200% because he is like that. I’ve read some doubts, not so much in the newspapers but at the social level that are very important for us because we follow what are the moods of the fans also through digital channels. Those who are doubtful about Shengelia’s attitude don’t know the player and maybe they don’t even know Virtus, because we have the ability even towards Shengelia to have a very serious and professional, as well as humanly. I don’t think I’m revealing any secrets in saying that it’s not true that Shengelia has one year on his contract, but he actually has two more. At the end of next year there is a possibility of exit from both our side and his, but it is not true that he has one year of contract. Shengelia is a very serious guy and we are convinced that he will play 100 percent until the last minute even if he leaves at the end of next season. Also this is intervention that I felt to make just to calm the waters was because I felt the mockery of Virtus at that time. We are Virtus, and when you talk about Virtus you have to have respect from the players, the prosecutors and those who talk about basketball. We let everyone talk for a few days. It was not an economic issue, because if Virtus had wanted to speculate on Shengelia they would have cashed in a big buyout that we received in terms of a proposal, but we believe that Shengelia should be the leader or one of the leaders of this project. That was the idea we had at the beginning of the market, Shengelia stays at Virtus because he is an important player.”
“It is a great success to participate in this upcoming Euroleague season, because it was the result of a combined activity of the company from a political point of view. Both Paolo and I met with Bodiroga in Belgrade first and then with Glickman in Barcelona, we always received proof of esteem for how the company is doing and the seriousness that this company represents, and its ownership. This was then measured along with business-type parameters such as the new arena, which was an important aspect. Now we can say that the time frame for laying the foundation stone should be close to what we know from Bologna Fiere, it should be around early October. However, I would like to come back to that later because someone tried to make controversy. From the point of view of permanence, we have availed ourselves of the legal collaboration of a lawyer such as lawyer Grassani, who in Italy, not wanting to take anything away from anyone else who is also my friend, but is certainly in my opinion one of the lawyers, not only in Italy but also in Europe, who is the most prepared in the sports sector. We have made commitments to Euroleague. All these commitments we made we have fulfilled, as well as financial fair play. To say that Zanetti is divesting, that he doesn’t want it anymore, is, may I say it in the Bolognese way? Bullshit. They are nastiness, Zanetti is at the command bridge from the shareholder point of view of this company with the 60%, he had the ability to attract a new partner like Gherardi, and of that I think all Virtus fans and supporters should be proud. Then it is clear that Zanetti is the shareholder, Gherardi also, there are managers here who, however, are responsible for the management of the company. The corporate management was the one that led to having a positive impact on Euroleague. Let’s not forget that now Valencia is in, but it’s because Gran Canaria gave up. We had had our positioning in the Euroleague, Valencia was the one at risk. Valencia is owned by Mercadona, which is four times bigger than Esselunga, a company with a revenue of 30 billion each year. The work of this company has been rewarded for the seriousness and solidity that is intended to be given to the sports project, including the numbers and accounts. It is clear that we are in the hands of our partners, sponsors and shareholders. I can say today that I have all the guarantees, as CEO, from the shareholders, from the partners and from the sponsors that I have the ability to carry on a company with the utmost peace of mind. This has been evaluated by Euroleague. In this company salaries are never paid a day later, there is a management capacity. We have 140 business partners, we will soon introduce new jersey sponsors, we have great appeal to the market. We have a women’s team, we are one of 4 clubs in Europe that has two teams in the Euroleague, because besides us there are only Fenerbahce, Valencia and ASVEL Lyon. This society has a staff that has grown over the years, the average age is no more than 30, and I was sorry, I say this with sorrow to see the mortification of the staff two months ago. This is a company that I proudly administer together with a management team, Paolo and I, and a fantastic group of staff, and I think this is the organizational award that Euroleague has given us. As far as the Arena is concerned, and it was said by Zanetti in the project presentation, and so just go and listen again to what was said by our president, we preferred to stay with a multi-year lease, which is like being a shareholder. The moment I have a 20-year contract of, let’s say, lease with adjustments and price revisions, the opportunity to do so many things, I am a strategic partner in that facility. This choice was made because from a point of view also of financial fair play and technical values, Virtus is freer to be a sports club. We do not do real estate, we do sports activities. This was a strategic choice that I was glad that was also shared by Bologna Fiere, because they understood perfectly what the strategic positioning of Virtus is with respect to the new arena. I would like it to be clear, because without Virtus, a building of this type probably would not have been built, it would have been an exhibition hall.”
“This (women’s team) is another pride of our society and our president Massimo Zanetti, because he is the one who wanted this team very strongly. We have reached in the last two and a half years five finals, sooner or later we will win one, however getting to these finals by ousting from this finals competition clubs like Venezia that have been investing in women’s basketball for so many years. This year also here we built the roster together with a top coach at the European level, for us it is strategic and fundamental, this goes against the dictates of FIBA. FIBA and its new president, a person we hold in high esteem, the former president of the Spanish Federation Jorge Garbajosa wants basketball clubs to move toward this direction, which is about a more total, women’s basketball as well as youth. Let us not forget that what day ago a boy from our youth sector came home with a European vice champion medal, to give answers to those who said that we are not capable or do not give attention to the youth sector.The society is also doing a great job from this point of view, thanks in part to all the boys and staff who are there. We have a strong attention to the territory, our Mattia Largo who is in charge is working with Club in the territory. We are paying attention to everything, to cultivate young people who can be little men and little girls first, because soon we will start thanks to our friend Zuffa with the women’s youth sector, and then they can become champions.”
“I will be happy If everything Paolo (Ronci) said will become true. I just want to add one thing. I will be happy if our fans, especially the ones who always come, the season ticket holders, soon we will talk about the season ticket campaign and I hope there will be the right sensibility in agreeing once again to trust from this point of view. I will be happy if our people will be happy, beyond what the final result will be, which for us as a goal as far as Italy is concerned is definitely to get at least to the Scudetto final, and as far as the Euroleague is concerned improving on the 14th place we got last season would be a great result because it would mean that money is important but it is not everything, people’s ideas also count and above all those ideas that you manage to put into practice and put into work every day with a lot of effort, creating a group and I put everyone in it, that can be oriented for the same goal.”
