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Good morning everybody.

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As the speaker already said,
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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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there was just football,

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it was in C2 Series.

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And I said, "Okay, why not?"

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More to do something for the city

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but not at all thinking

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that it would have turned out to be

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a similar experience.

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Anyway, we start
the first year in C Series,

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

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

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

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

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What did emerge there

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was a real merger between the city,
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
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
that is particularly dear to me,

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look at the stadium
that was really "bombed"

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it looked like a "bomboniera"
(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,
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,
let’s stay in B Series!

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"That's fine, ok"

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Players were rather worried:

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it was another category,
with other players,

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there were other important teams,

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

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

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And then there was Catania -
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,
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

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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,

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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
the agreement for the A Series.

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

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

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

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didn't go to B Series".

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

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What happened?

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We failed, unfortunately,
we remained in B Series.

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

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The only time when a team came first
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
remember them, I think.

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I remember them like yesterday.

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

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we went to the final with Turin
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
I never hoped would happen.

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But it was happening.

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

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

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

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Anyway, we play great.

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

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which means, Juventus team
is relegated to B Series.

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No, it's not possible.

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And then we go to Turin,

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we played a "honest" match,

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but it was no real match,

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something was clearly wrong
since the very beginning,

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because Mantua was a small town.

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Juve and Toro could not
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
nothing short of scandalous,

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with an arbitration -

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let's say unlikely, to be kind,

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and we remained in B Series.

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What a disappointment:
it would have been a fairytale

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and it would have done good
for Italian football too.

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This fairytale of this small team,

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

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That's what happened, anyway.

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

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

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

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

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I mean, no small teams.

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And in September
I go to the players' market,

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because there is the players' market -

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and I say:

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

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after all, the winning team
was already there.

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

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

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Whatever.

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

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

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And I say, why not?

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

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

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“Please, do not invest anything,

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

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There probably won't even be playoffs".

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I was like, you're kidding:

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but that's what happened.

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

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

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But we did manage to do one thing, anyway.

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And now I want to show you what it was.

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Please, video.

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[Video]

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[10 years ago, epic win
at Martelli stadium]

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[January 13th, 2007]

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

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

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[Playing against the idols of their youth]

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[A match to watch again and again]

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[Buffon, newly nominated world champion,]

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[leaving the stadium injured
among everyone's applause]

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[A last minute mistake by Del Piero]

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

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[What a party!]

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[A night to remember]

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

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(Applause)

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Thank you.

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(Applause)

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

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Certainly, the victory was
a great satisfaction.

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

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Then there were all
the world's champion players,

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among which Trezeguet

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

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Del Piero - everyone.

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And we showed, especially to the League,

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that we also were an A Series team.

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That was it,

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that's why my boys
put their hearts into it

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and we won that game.

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Then I went through a number
of rather quiet years,

165
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we played three more years in B Series,

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

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Then in 2010 we had a few issues,

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

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

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at a table, trying to understand:

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how come we cannot win a match?

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We couldn't figure out."

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Long story short,

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we lost position after position,
not figuring out why.

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Then we had to face a bankruptcy,

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a frankly unpleasant chapter of my life

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beyond the disappointment of that year.

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Then, after two years, it became known

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that we filed for bankruptcy

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because we had players
who sold themselves against us.

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And that was my life's
biggest disappointment,

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because one feels betrayed.

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You always try your best,

184
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then a few players spoil everything
betraying your trust.

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Someone can figure out
what I felt back then.

186
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In fact, for some years

187
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I decided to have
nothing to do with football

188
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because I was disgusted,
sorry to put it bluntly,

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Even disgusted, maybe, 
doesn't convey properly.

190
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I was disgusted by the corruption
in the football world.

191
00:10:51,920 --> 00:10:54,360
Then, after a few years,
I got a bit over it

192
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and I decided with my partner - Hi Elena -

193
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to start this little
amateur football academy

194
00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:11,680
with children aged 4 to 12 years

195
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to teach them - these are
the pictures of children -

196
00:11:16,930 --> 00:11:20,092
to teach more than to become champions,

197
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to live and have fun

198
00:11:23,560 --> 00:11:25,522
because football must be fun.

199
00:11:25,522 --> 00:11:27,560
If it starts to become, like,

200
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"I'm going to be a player
so I can earn millions of euros,"

201
00:11:30,377 --> 00:11:32,500
then it's best not to do anything.

202
00:11:33,320 --> 00:11:36,760
And this is something I'm proud of,
in addition to this small academy

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00:11:36,760 --> 00:11:38,040
AS Diverso

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is a company here in Mantua
dealing with disabled people.

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00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:47,670
We merged and we created
this fabulous team.

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00:11:47,670 --> 00:11:53,360
This team is called
Accademia Fabrizio Lori - AS Diverso.

207
00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:59,440
And this year for the first time 
we played in the B Series in Milan.

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00:11:59,979 --> 00:12:02,000
We are a small reality, of course,

209
00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:07,560
and we played against teams
like Inter, Genova, Fiorentina,

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00:12:07,560 --> 00:12:10,455
which are all affiliated
with professional teams.

211
00:12:10,455 --> 00:12:13,880
The academy Fabrizio Lori
is only affiliated with my academy.

212
00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:19,170
We went to the stadium with small buses,
I drove one and Riccardo drove the other.

213
00:12:19,170 --> 00:12:23,160
They came on Inter-branded buses, instead.

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00:12:24,180 --> 00:12:26,320
We played a great championship.

215
00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:27,760
I got shivers,

216
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because I remembered my old Mantua.

217
00:12:32,980 --> 00:12:35,320
We beat Inter, Genoa and Fiorentina,

218
00:12:35,320 --> 00:12:38,560
so we basically ranked third
in the standings.

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00:12:40,700 --> 00:12:42,120
How many of them did go up?

220
00:12:43,120 --> 00:12:44,200
Two.

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00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:45,865
(Laughter)

222
00:12:45,865 --> 00:12:47,960
Well, it doesn't matter
because we received

223
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the most beautiful award
a president could ever receive.

224
00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:54,960
This is the fair play award.

225
00:12:54,960 --> 00:12:57,410
There were 45 teams
and it was given to us,

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00:12:57,410 --> 00:12:59,720
They were possibly sorry
for us, I don't know.

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00:13:00,450 --> 00:13:05,740
Anyway I think that will entitle us,

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they have already told me, informally,

229
00:13:08,290 --> 00:13:10,760
because basically first,
second, third team are up;

230
00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:14,480
then there was the fourth that had
an unthinkable difference of points.

231
00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:17,240
So I think they're going
to make us go further -

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I want to go to this A Series, sorry.

233
00:13:20,890 --> 00:13:26,840
And anyway it's another way
of seeing things,

234
00:13:26,840 --> 00:13:30,654
but these guys made me really happy,

235
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I call them special guys,
because for me they are really special.

236
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I'll tell you more.

237
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I learned much more from them,
over this last year

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00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:40,450
than they from me

239
00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:45,520
because they have given me
a sense of lightness and happiness

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that I never felt in so many years.

241
00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:50,530
I thank you so much,

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00:13:50,530 --> 00:13:55,450
I hope I haven't bored you, 
and I thank you for listening to me.

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Thanks.

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00:13:57,250 --> 00:13:58,954
(Applause)