0:00:11.030,0:00:12.240
Good morning everybody.

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As the speaker already said,[br]my name is Fabrizio Lori.

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I see an "A” in front of me

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and this is a letter that I loved so much.

0:00:23.080,0:00:28.360
But I also hated it,[br]and now I'll try to explain why.

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It was 2004-2005, we're talking about[br]almost 15 years ago.

0:00:34.400,0:00:39.200
Back then, the managers of Mantua[br]asked me for a sponsorship.

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I immediately said,[br]"No, I'm not interested."

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But then I reconsidered:[br]"Doing something for the city, why not?"

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Because back then, unlike today,[br]with basketball, five-a-side football -

0:00:52.360,0:00:53.720
there was just football,

0:00:53.720,0:00:56.720
it was in C2 Series.

0:00:57.600,0:01:00.990
And I said, "Okay, why not?"

0:01:00.990,0:01:03.690
More to do something for the city

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but not at all thinking

0:01:04.930,0:01:07.040
that it would have turned out to be

0:01:07.040,0:01:08.100
a similar experience.

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Anyway, we start[br]the first year in C Series,

0:01:11.257,0:01:14.480
a fantastic enthusiasm builds up,[br]the team played so well.

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Of course, I never thought the team[br]would win and go straight to the B Series.

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Also because we had stayed[br]for 35 years in C Series.

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Here is a nice photo of the stadium,[br]to prove the enthusiasm.

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What did emerge there

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was a real merger between the city,[br]the fans, the players.

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Everybody spoke about Mantua team.

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And finally we came to the B Series.

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We had never gotten[br]to B Series for 35 years.

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It was a real event for Mantua.

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Here is a picture[br]that is particularly dear to me,

0:01:47.043,0:01:51.360
look at the stadium[br]that was really "bombed"

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it looked like a "bomboniera"[br](wedding present)

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And the moment we got to the B Series,

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many fans, especially a few hooligans,[br]asked me to play in the A Series.

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In the A Series?!

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We have been in C Series for 35 years,[br]let’s stay in B Series!

0:02:08.400,0:02:10.750
"That's fine, ok"

0:02:10.789,0:02:12.584
Players were rather worried:

0:02:12.584,0:02:16.092
it was another category,[br]with other players,

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there were other important teams,

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like Atalanta, now you see how well[br]it is playing in the A Series, incredible.

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The Torino team -[br]I find it hard to say, Torino.

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And then there was Catania -[br]there were a lot of emblazoned teams.

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At the end of the day,

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Mantua was a small town,[br]with just 48,000 people,

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compared to Turin, Bergamo, Bologna.

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Long story short, we start at full speed,

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I remember the first game we lost,

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maybe some supporters here also remember

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it was in December, the last match

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against Pescara,

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beating all other teams -

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and this is the ranking of the B Series

0:03:02.320,0:03:04.800
of the first half, the winter round.

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There was Mantua 42, Catania 40,

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I can't pronounce that, Atalanta 38.

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Incredible!

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In fact, Sky's call comes in.

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Look, Sky TV calls me,

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the director - I can't remember his name,

0:03:22.720,0:03:24.600
it was long time ago, I can't remember.

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He tells me: "Fabrizio, we have to meet

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because we have to sign[br]the agreement for the A Series.

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"For God's sake", I say, "let's just[br]wait a second, it's still early".

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"No” he adds "because it's never happened

0:03:39.520,0:03:44.680
that a team that got first in the ranking[br]in the first half of the season,

0:03:44.680,0:03:46.548
didn't go to B Series".

0:03:46.568,0:03:49.960
Well, even though it never[br]happened before, I was not so sure.

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What happened?

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We failed, unfortunately,[br]we remained in B Series.

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And it hasn't happened later, also,[br]in the 80, 90 years of B Series.

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The only time when a team came first[br]in the first half of the season,

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and got stuck in B Series.

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What was the team? Mantua.

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Okay, it doesn't matter.

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Here we do the playoffs.

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Many people from Mantua[br]remember them, I think.

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I remember them like yesterday.

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We played against Modena,[br]a great round-trip game,

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we went to the final with Turin[br]and played the first one home,

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we won 4-2.

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We are already close to the dream,

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that dream that frankly[br]I never hoped would happen.

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But it was happening.

0:04:37.050,0:04:43.350
Mind you, during that week,[br]after the 4 - 2 match we played at home,

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perhaps the best match[br]I've seen played by my Mantua team.

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Had we played against Real Madrid,[br]we'd win against Real Madrid.

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Anyway, we play great.

0:04:55.920,0:05:01.200
A title is published in the Gazzetta[br]"Betting scandal”,

0:05:01.200,0:05:04.650
which means, Juventus team[br]is relegated to B Series.

0:05:04.650,0:05:06.600
No, it's not possible.

0:05:07.000,0:05:09.000
And then we go to Turin,

0:05:09.000,0:05:12.800
we played a "honest" match,

0:05:12.800,0:05:14.080
but it was no real match,

0:05:14.080,0:05:18.600
something was clearly wrong[br]since the very beginning,

0:05:18.600,0:05:21.800
because Mantua was a small town.

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Juve and Toro could not[br]stay in B Series or go in B Series

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and let Mantua go to A Series.

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So the game was[br]nothing short of scandalous,

0:05:34.400,0:05:36.160
with an arbitration -

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let's say unlikely, to be kind,

0:05:39.630,0:05:41.565
and we remained in B Series.

0:05:41.565,0:05:46.480
What a disappointment:[br]it would have been a fairytale

0:05:46.480,0:05:49.385
and it would have done good[br]for Italian football too.

0:05:49.385,0:05:51.480
This fairytale of this small team,

0:05:51.480,0:05:55.710
starting from the C2 Series,[br]and in three years goes to the A Series.

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That's what happened, anyway.

0:05:59.580,0:06:02.840
The day after, I remember[br]the endless sadness, I cried, I remember.

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I cried in the stadium,[br]like most of Mantua fans.

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Because you know,[br]it's not easy to repeat yourself.

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However, in the second year of B Series[br]we played with Juventus, Naples and Genoa,

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I mean, no small teams.

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And in September[br]I go to the players' market,

0:06:26.080,0:06:27.968
because there is the players' market -

0:06:27.968,0:06:28.968
and I say:

0:06:30.398,0:06:32.842
"Let’s see some players[br]to strengthen the team:

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after all, the winning team[br]was already there.

0:06:35.190,0:06:38.714
We got to A Series, after all:[br]they just didn't allow us to play.

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But now I'm not here[br]to say things I could regret -

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Whatever.

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I meet a journalist, still from Sky -[br]seems like a destiny.

0:06:50.600,0:06:55.101
And he says: "President Lori, please,[br]don't buy anybody this year".

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And I say, why not?

0:06:56.403,0:06:58.560
Excuse me, we got all the way[br]to the B Series.

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And I'd like to try[br]and play in the A Series.

0:07:02.160,0:07:05.800
“Please, do not invest anything,

0:07:05.800,0:07:10.520
Juventus, Napoli and Genoa[br]are poised to go to the A Series.

0:07:11.074,0:07:13.480
There probably won't even be playoffs".

0:07:13.480,0:07:15.040
I was like, you're kidding:

0:07:15.040,0:07:16.880
but that's what happened.

0:07:16.880,0:07:20.934
First time in the history of football,[br]Juve, Napoli, Genoa go to A Series.

0:07:20.934,0:07:24.174
We ranked fourth or fifth,[br]we had a great season.

0:07:24.174,0:07:26.724
But we did manage to do one thing, anyway.

0:07:26.724,0:07:29.413
And now I want to show you what it was.

0:07:29.413,0:07:30.773
Please, video.

0:07:30.773,0:07:32.083
[Video]

0:07:32.083,0:07:34.220
[10 years ago, epic win[br]at Martelli stadium]

0:07:34.220,0:07:40.350
[January 13th, 2007]

0:07:40.350,0:07:45.106
[LITTLE BUT PROUD -[br]the triumph of red and white pride]

0:07:45.106,0:07:48.766
[Even for red and white players,[br]it's the day when a dream comes true,]

0:07:48.766,0:07:50.788
[Playing against the idols of their youth]

0:07:50.788,0:07:57.618
[A match to watch again and again]

0:08:00.330,0:08:02.400
[Buffon, newly nominated world champion,]

0:08:02.402,0:08:05.462
[leaving the stadium injured[br]among everyone's applause]

0:08:06.346,0:08:09.876
[A last minute mistake by Del Piero]

0:08:10.701,0:08:15.261
[We made the history: Juve KO,[br]after 45 matches in A series]

0:08:16.110,0:08:20.770
[What a party!]

0:08:21.695,0:08:26.415
[A night to remember]

0:08:26.830,0:08:31.760
[President Lori, today: "That was[br]the peak of my management"]

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(Applause)

0:08:37.690,0:08:39.090
Thank you.

0:08:39.090,0:08:42.445
(Applause)

0:08:43.405,0:08:47.040
I don't know if it was[br]the peak of my management.

0:08:47.040,0:08:51.720
Certainly, the victory was[br]a great satisfaction.

0:08:51.720,0:08:56.120
But this victory proved -[br]Juve hadn't lost a match in two years!

0:08:56.120,0:08:58.922
Then there were all[br]the world's champion players,

0:08:58.922,0:09:00.240
among which Trezeguet

0:09:00.240,0:09:03.480
even though he played for France,[br]he also played for Juventus,

0:09:03.480,0:09:04.778
Del Piero - everyone.

0:09:05.560,0:09:08.080
And we showed, especially to the League,

0:09:08.080,0:09:10.560
that we also were an A Series team.

0:09:10.560,0:09:11.570
That was it,

0:09:12.080,0:09:14.520
that's why my boys[br]put their hearts into it

0:09:14.520,0:09:16.840
and we won that game.

0:09:16.840,0:09:21.200
Then I went through a number[br]of rather quiet years,

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we played three more years in B Series,

0:09:24.930,0:09:29.160
so five years of B series,[br]not bad for a little town like Mantua.

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Then in 2010 we had a few issues,

0:09:34.260,0:09:36.960
we had a very good team[br]but we couldn't understand -

0:09:36.960,0:09:41.080
I remember sitting with coach Serena,[br]that maybe someone remembers,

0:09:41.940,0:09:43.720
at a table, trying to understand:

0:09:43.720,0:09:46.090
how come we cannot win a match?

0:09:46.090,0:09:47.840
We couldn't figure out."

0:09:47.840,0:09:50.120
Long story short,

0:09:50.760,0:09:55.720
we lost position after position,[br]not figuring out why.

0:09:55.720,0:09:58.680
Then we had to face a bankruptcy,

0:09:58.680,0:10:02.400
a frankly unpleasant chapter of my life

0:10:02.400,0:10:05.840
beyond the disappointment of that year.

0:10:05.840,0:10:10.020
Then, after two years, it became known

0:10:10.020,0:10:11.360
that we filed for bankruptcy

0:10:11.360,0:10:14.170
because we had players[br]who sold themselves against us.

0:10:14.170,0:10:16.326
And that was my life's[br]biggest disappointment,

0:10:16.326,0:10:21.600
because one feels betrayed.

0:10:21.600,0:10:23.440
You always try your best,

0:10:23.440,0:10:27.320
then a few players spoil everything[br]betraying your trust.

0:10:31.260,0:10:34.680
Someone can figure out[br]what I felt back then.

0:10:35.410,0:10:37.200
In fact, for some years

0:10:37.200,0:10:39.880
I decided to have[br]nothing to do with football

0:10:39.880,0:10:43.000
because I was disgusted,[br]sorry to put it bluntly,

0:10:44.060,0:10:46.360
Even disgusted, maybe, [br]doesn't convey properly.

0:10:46.360,0:10:51.920
I was disgusted by the corruption[br]in the football world.

0:10:51.920,0:10:54.360
Then, after a few years,[br]I got a bit over it

0:10:54.360,0:11:01.160
and I decided with my partner - Hi Elena -

0:11:03.750,0:11:07.800
to start this little[br]amateur football academy

0:11:07.800,0:11:11.680
with children aged 4 to 12 years

0:11:11.680,0:11:14.960
to teach them - these are[br]the pictures of children -

0:11:16.930,0:11:20.092
to teach more than to become champions,

0:11:21.362,0:11:23.560
to live and have fun

0:11:23.560,0:11:25.522
because football must be fun.

0:11:25.522,0:11:27.560
If it starts to become, like,

0:11:27.560,0:11:30.377
"I'm going to be a player[br]so I can earn millions of euros,"

0:11:30.377,0:11:32.500
then it's best not to do anything.

0:11:33.320,0:11:36.760
And this is something I'm proud of,[br]in addition to this small academy

0:11:36.760,0:11:38.040
AS Diverso

0:11:38.040,0:11:42.280
is a company here in Mantua[br]dealing with disabled people.

0:11:42.280,0:11:47.670
We merged and we created[br]this fabulous team.

0:11:47.670,0:11:53.360
This team is called[br]Accademia Fabrizio Lori - AS Diverso.

0:11:53.880,0:11:59.440
And this year for the first time [br]we played in the B Series in Milan.

0:11:59.979,0:12:02.000
We are a small reality, of course,

0:12:02.720,0:12:07.560
and we played against teams[br]like Inter, Genova, Fiorentina,

0:12:07.560,0:12:10.455
which are all affiliated[br]with professional teams.

0:12:10.455,0:12:13.880
The academy Fabrizio Lori[br]is only affiliated with my academy.

0:12:13.880,0:12:19.170
We went to the stadium with small buses,[br]I drove one and Riccardo drove the other.

0:12:19.170,0:12:23.160
They came on Inter-branded buses, instead.

0:12:24.180,0:12:26.320
We played a great championship.

0:12:26.320,0:12:27.760
I got shivers,

0:12:27.760,0:12:32.430
because I remembered my old Mantua.

0:12:32.980,0:12:35.320
We beat Inter, Genoa and Fiorentina,

0:12:35.320,0:12:38.560
so we basically ranked third[br]in the standings.

0:12:40.700,0:12:42.120
How many of them did go up?

0:12:43.120,0:12:44.200
Two.

0:12:44.200,0:12:45.865
(Laughter)

0:12:45.865,0:12:47.960
Well, it doesn't matter[br]because we received

0:12:47.960,0:12:51.600
the most beautiful award[br]a president could ever receive.

0:12:53.080,0:12:54.960
This is the fair play award.

0:12:54.960,0:12:57.410
There were 45 teams[br]and it was given to us,

0:12:57.410,0:12:59.720
They were possibly sorry[br]for us, I don't know.

0:13:00.450,0:13:05.740
Anyway I think that will entitle us,

0:13:05.740,0:13:08.290
they have already told me, informally,

0:13:08.290,0:13:10.760
because basically first,[br]second, third team are up;

0:13:10.760,0:13:14.480
then there was the fourth that had[br]an unthinkable difference of points.

0:13:14.480,0:13:17.240
So I think they're going[br]to make us go further -

0:13:17.240,0:13:20.890
I want to go to this A Series, sorry.

0:13:20.890,0:13:26.840
And anyway it's another way[br]of seeing things,

0:13:26.840,0:13:30.654
but these guys made me really happy,

0:13:30.654,0:13:33.960
I call them special guys,[br]because for me they are really special.

0:13:33.960,0:13:35.240
I'll tell you more.

0:13:35.720,0:13:39.440
I learned much more from them,[br]over this last year

0:13:39.440,0:13:40.450
than they from me

0:13:40.960,0:13:45.520
because they have given me[br]a sense of lightness and happiness

0:13:45.520,0:13:47.410
that I never felt in so many years.

0:13:48.800,0:13:50.530
I thank you so much,

0:13:50.530,0:13:55.450
I hope I haven't bored you, [br]and I thank you for listening to me.

0:13:55.450,0:13:57.250
Thanks.

0:13:57.250,0:13:58.954
(Applause)