There is not just one first league | Fabrizio Lori | TEDxMantova

A story of passion and success, defeat and betrayal, in which fairy tales turn into nightmares, but the ability to get engaged can always be awakened.

Fabrizio Lori was an entrepreneur and president of a professional football team. Today his football academy offers disabled people a sporting, social and growth space, making them feel part of a great football and human movement.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.

Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

Good morning everybody.

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

I see an "A” in front of me

and this is a letter that I loved so much.

But I also hated it,
and now I'll try to explain why.

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

Back then, the managers of Mantua
asked me for a sponsorship.

I immediately said,
"No, I'm not interested."

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

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

there was just football,

it was in C2 Series.

And I said, "Okay, why not?"

More to do something for the city

but not at all thinking

that it would have turned out to be

a similar experience.

Anyway, we start
the first year in C Series,

a fantastic enthusiasm builds up,
the team played so well.

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

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

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

What did emerge there

was a real merger between the city,
the fans, the players.

Everybody spoke about Mantua team.

And finally we came to the B Series.

We had never gotten
to B Series for 35 years.

It was a real event for Mantua.

Here is a picture
that is particularly dear to me,

look at the stadium
that was really "bombed"

it looked like a "bomboniera"
(wedding present)

And the moment we got to the B Series,

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

In the A Series?!

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

"That's fine, ok"

Players were rather worried:

it was another category,
with other players,

there were other important teams,

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

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

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

At the end of the day,

Mantua was a small town,
with just 48,000 people,

compared to Turin, Bergamo, Bologna.

Long story short, we start at full speed,

I remember the first game we lost,

maybe some supporters here also remember

it was in December, the last match

against Pescara,

beating all other teams -

and this is the ranking of the B Series

of the first half, the winter round.

There was Mantua 42, Catania 40,

I can't pronounce that, Atalanta 38.

Incredible!

In fact, Sky's call comes in.

Look, Sky TV calls me,

the director - I can't remember his name,

it was long time ago, I can't remember.

He tells me: "Fabrizio, we have to meet

because we have to sign
the agreement for the A Series.

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

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

that a team that got first in the ranking
in the first half of the season,

didn't go to B Series".

Well, even though it never
happened before, I was not so sure.

What happened?

We failed, unfortunately,
we remained in B Series.

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

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

and got stuck in B Series.

What was the team? Mantua.

Okay, it doesn't matter.

Here we do the playoffs.

Many people from Mantua
remember them, I think.

I remember them like yesterday.

We played against Modena,
a great round-trip game,

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

we won 4-2.

We are already close to the dream,

that dream that frankly
I never hoped would happen.

But it was happening.

Mind you, during that week,
after the 4 - 2 match we played at home,

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

Had we played against Real Madrid,
we'd win against Real Madrid.

Anyway, we play great.

A title is published in the Gazzetta
"Betting scandal”,

which means, Juventus team
is relegated to B Series.

No, it's not possible.

And then we go to Turin,

we played a "honest" match,

but it was no real match,

something was clearly wrong
since the very beginning,

because Mantua was a small town.

Juve and Toro could not
stay in B Series or go in B Series

and let Mantua go to A Series.

So the game was
nothing short of scandalous,

with an arbitration -

let's say unlikely, to be kind,

and we remained in B Series.

What a disappointment:
it would have been a fairytale

and it would have done good
for Italian football too.

This fairytale of this small team,

starting from the C2 Series,
and in three years goes to the A Series.

That's what happened, anyway.

The day after, I remember
the endless sadness, I cried, I remember.

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

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

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

I mean, no small teams.

And in September
I go to the players' market,

because there is the players' market -

and I say:

"Let’s see some players
to strengthen the team:

after all, the winning team
was already there.

We got to A Series, after all:
they just didn't allow us to play.

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

Whatever.

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

And he says: "President Lori, please,
don't buy anybody this year".

And I say, why not?

Excuse me, we got all the way
to the B Series.

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

“Please, do not invest anything,

Juventus, Napoli and Genoa
are poised to go to the A Series.

There probably won't even be playoffs".

I was like, you're kidding:

but that's what happened.

First time in the history of football,
Juve, Napoli, Genoa go to A Series.

We ranked fourth or fifth,
we had a great season.

But we did manage to do one thing, anyway.

And now I want to show you what it was.

Please, video.

[Video]

[10 years ago, epic win
at Martelli stadium]

[January 13th, 2007]

[LITTLE BUT PROUD -
the triumph of red and white pride]

[Even for red and white players,
it's the day when a dream comes true,]

[Playing against the idols of their youth]

[A match to watch again and again]

[Buffon, newly nominated world champion,]

[leaving the stadium injured
among everyone's applause]

[A last minute mistake by Del Piero]

[We made the history: Juve KO,
after 45 matches in A series]

[What a party!]

[A night to remember]

[President Lori, today: "That was
the peak of my management"]

(Applause)

Thank you.

(Applause)

I don't know if it was
the peak of my management.

Certainly, the victory was
a great satisfaction.

But this victory proved -
Juve hadn't lost a match in two years!

Then there were all
the world's champion players,

among which Trezeguet

even though he played for France,
he also played for Juventus,

Del Piero - everyone.

And we showed, especially to the League,

that we also were an A Series team.

That was it,

that's why my boys
put their hearts into it

and we won that game.

Then I went through a number
of rather quiet years,

we played three more years in B Series,

so five years of B series,
not bad for a little town like Mantua.

Then in 2010 we had a few issues,

we had a very good team
but we couldn't understand -

I remember sitting with coach Serena,
that maybe someone remembers,

at a table, trying to understand:

how come we cannot win a match?

We couldn't figure out."

Long story short,

we lost position after position,
not figuring out why.

Then we had to face a bankruptcy,

a frankly unpleasant chapter of my life

beyond the disappointment of that year.

Then, after two years, it became known

that we filed for bankruptcy

because we had players
who sold themselves against us.

And that was my life's
biggest disappointment,

because one feels betrayed.

You always try your best,

then a few players spoil everything
betraying your trust.

Someone can figure out
what I felt back then.

In fact, for some years

I decided to have
nothing to do with football

because I was disgusted,
sorry to put it bluntly,

Even disgusted, maybe,
doesn't convey properly.

I was disgusted by the corruption
in the football world.

Then, after a few years,
I got a bit over it

and I decided with my partner - Hi Elena -

to start this little
amateur football academy

with children aged 4 to 12 years

to teach them - these are
the pictures of children -

to teach more than to become champions,

to live and have fun

because football must be fun.

If it starts to become, like,

"I'm going to be a player
so I can earn millions of euros,"

then it's best not to do anything.

And this is something I'm proud of,
in addition to this small academy

AS Diverso

is a company here in Mantua
dealing with disabled people.

We merged and we created
this fabulous team.

This team is called
Accademia Fabrizio Lori - AS Diverso.

And this year for the first time
we played in the B Series in Milan.

We are a small reality, of course,

and we played against teams
like Inter, Genova, Fiorentina,

which are all affiliated
with professional teams.

The academy Fabrizio Lori
is only affiliated with my academy.

We went to the stadium with small buses,
I drove one and Riccardo drove the other.

They came on Inter-branded buses, instead.

We played a great championship.

I got shivers,

because I remembered my old Mantua.

We beat Inter, Genoa and Fiorentina,

so we basically ranked third
in the standings.

How many of them did go up?

Two.

(Laughter)

Well, it doesn't matter
because we received

the most beautiful award
a president could ever receive.

This is the fair play award.

There were 45 teams
and it was given to us,

They were possibly sorry
for us, I don't know.

Anyway I think that will entitle us,

they have already told me, informally,

because basically first,
second, third team are up;

then there was the fourth that had
an unthinkable difference of points.

So I think they're going
to make us go further -

I want to go to this A Series, sorry.

And anyway it's another way
of seeing things,

but these guys made me really happy,

I call them special guys,
because for me they are really special.

I'll tell you more.

I learned much more from them,
over this last year

than they from me

because they have given me
a sense of lightness and happiness

that I never felt in so many years.

I thank you so much,

I hope I haven't bored you,
and I thank you for listening to me.

Thanks.

(Applause)