“I still have the adrenaline of the market on me. It was a very complicated and tiring summer. We only saved ourselves at the end of the season, then immediately after I had to work to confirm Gotti. Then the negotiations to give him the right squad. The bar of the fight to avoid relegation was raised a lot. It was a tough, exhausting, complex market.”
But at 74 she continues to live one spring after another: she is admirable for the way she mixes competence and passion.
“As a Lecce native, from Vernole, working for my land, for Salento and the people of Salento gives me a crazy boost and makes me feel good. Salento has a million people who are deeply connected to Lecce. The team coincides with the identity of the territory and of a people. For me, for the president, for all of us, not disappointing the fans’ expectations is an almost sacred need. The sense of belonging is shared. For us it means greater responsibility. But the stimuli are also greater.”
Does your wife still ask you when you’re going to stop?
“No, she gave up. Every morning I wake up with a crazy desire. And she knows what I want.”
That is to say?
“My dream is to die on the track like a thoroughbred horse.”
Let’s talk about life, Pantaleo!
“My wife always tells me: I thought I married a non-commissioned officer, but just two days after the wedding you left the Air Force and became the sports director of your hometown team in the Third Division. And it’s true, eh! In February we will celebrate 50 years of marriage, but also of career. From Vernole to the Champions League. Over a thousand games as sports director from the Third Division to B. And during this championship I will reach 700 games in Serie A, 300 of which in Lecce between my first and second cycle, after Bologna and Fiorentina. I have only one thing in my head: the third salvation in a row. It would be a record in the history of Lecce”.
And Sticchi Damiani’s ambitions? Is it easy to work with him?
“The question must be asked like this: how do I find working with him? Good, very good. He supports me and puts up with me. We carry the same flag, for us Salento is beauty. The other members of the club are all children of the territory like us. We are a laboratory of shared ideas. Saverio is very ambitious, but reality also forces us to keep our feet on the ground. Even today I thank him for the opportunity he gave me to return to Lecce, 4 years ago. The president has a visceral sense of belonging to the territory. Each time he doubles the commitments and sacrifices to make Lecce grow, to improve the facilities and provide continuity. And we do it with sound management through a sustainable football model, thanks to the market. Remaining among the youngest teams in the championship. The president also has the construction of the new sports center for the first team and the youth team very much at heart: work will begin soon, it will be a little gem. Even the improvements to the stadium are part of this project perspective of the president.”
But then comes a day, after the flop at the European Championships, in which Gravina indirectly accuses you of having too many foreigners in the Primavera…
“It seemed that we were the evil of football! Absurd! Our healthy planning for both the youth team and the first team took us from Serie B to Serie A and to win the Primavera championship again, like in my first cycle. My blood still boils in the face of certain unjust and disrespectful criticisms.”
Torino is also full of foreigners. Ditto other clubs, obviously. They cost less, you know, if you don’t go and get them in the most important European championships.
“Based on the availability you have, you have to look for quality even far away in the less expensive markets. You risk more in your choices, but at lower costs. How many Italian clubs can go and make purchases in the Premier League today? There is no other choice, especially for medium-small clubs. And those who find young talents in little-known leagues must be applauded for their skill, not mistaken for the evil of Italian football.”
Intuition, knowledge, discoveries and market moves, ensuring that sustainable football mentioned above: his trademark. For example: 1.6 million spent to buy Pongracic, Gendrey and Blin, then sold for 26.5 million this summer.
“And I ask you: with a million and a half, how many talents already trained could I have acquired in Italy? I come out of a hot summer with 12 incoming operations and 19 outgoing ones. And with the start of a whole new cycle in Spring: as you know, I am also responsible for that market”.
Two-year contract for Gotti.
“The demonstration of how much the president and I believe in his qualities: a lot! And his hand was seen again in the last victory over Cagliari: an almost heroic performance, with 10 men for the entire second half. We saw a well-formed team that also this year has an enormous desire to surprise. And with Toro we want to see it again, that desire: another good performance, in short.”
Which players do you expect to make new leaps in the ranks? And then there’s Rebic...
“Falcone, Baschirotto, Dorgu, Berisha, Ramadani, Gallo and so on are already followed by big clubs. And as you can see there are also some Italians… Rebic, at 30, has chosen Lecce to find strong motivation and return to being the player who graduated as world vice-champion and won the championship with Milan. We trust we have found an important player who can give us a big hand”.
He told Gotti: «Tell me what system you want to play with and I’ll find you the right players». No sooner said than done. As in Toro, promises aside…
“I detect sarcasm.”
He gets it right.
“Sorry, but I look at my Lecce and out of respect I never comment on the work of others. And then Cairo has my respect, you know that.”
Have you spoken to him recently?
«Not recently, but some time ago he called me to compliment me on how we play football in Lecce. A nice gesture, affectionate».
It’s contested again, Cairo.
“I can only say that I feel sorry for him, knowing him. But, I repeat, I look at my own house, not elsewhere. I know that the protest broke out because he sold important players, but sometimes clubs are forced to do so for the good of the team and the budgets, in front of players who aspire to other salaries and other ambitions. It’s a problem, a fact that affects all clubs a bit, at different levels. Nobody would want to sell their best players, come on… But now with the economic inequality that exists, some sales are almost inevitable. When Cairo held on to certain players by force, he then paid for it. Let’s talk about the good incoming operations made by Toro? First of all Vanoli: he has such international experience that allowed him not to let anyone notice the fact that he was making his debut in Serie A. Seen from the outside, he is working very well. Just like Gotti, he has knowledge, charisma, a work ethic, tactical versatility and is also a straightforward and decent person. Toro has started the championship very well thanks to the new coach, but also thanks to the good operations carried out by the club. In fact, it can also fight for Europe, with Vanoli and the well-constructed and complete squad it has. Selling well, finding new talents at a low price every time and also getting results on the pitch is my life, but I would say that this model of sustainable football is also the method that Cairo’s Torino is following, obviously at a much higher level. Someone like Coco, for example, who started off great right away, after two good years in Serie A could be worth 25 or 30 million, that is, three or four times what he cost. Or Adams, taken for free: if he starts scoring a few goals in Italy too, he could be worth 20 million, in a little while».