37 years old today, 1 European that we will all remember as one of the most significant and restarting moments of the country, in an extraordinary Italian sporting summer. 1 birthday today and 1 special wish to that blue captain, Giorgio Chiellini, who after 6 muscle injuries found physical and mental strength, with the armband, to lead the Azzurri to raise the Cup he had just won to the sky at Wembley.
The post Euro 2020, however, did not allow Giorgio only to prove its worth globally, as an athlete and as a leader, even off the pitch. It is not only the collective triumph of 11 July that has made Giorgio appreciated beyond the football faith and a social-tech case study. On his Twitter profile we read: passionate about technology and no, it is not a cliché or like catcher.
If De Rossi became famous as Captain Futuro a generational question, we take the poetic-football license to baptize today, on his birthday, Giorgio Chiellini as Capitan-tech. He is the meme of the summer. Posted the most shared post of EU20. He invested in startups. He has his own. He’s a NFT … At 37 years old.
Known is his investment in You’ll see, artificial intelligence startups to support the decision-making processes of SMEs. Created in May 2020 and based in Milan, Vedrai has a staff of over 40 people, with an average age of 26.5 years, thus demonstrating that it concretely supports the new generations.
The Nft collection that sees him as the protagonist, and we know how much Non fungible Tokens are revolutionizing the world of football, generating new revenue with alternative forms of monetization and above all bringing younger fans closer to football.
Above all, he was at the center of the summer social media catchphrase: even called into question in another extraordinary Italian sporting feat, that is the victory of the Olympic gold of the 4×100 of Tortu, Jacobs, Patta and Desalu.
Raise your hand if you have not seen, recognized and shared the two iconic and social moments of Euro 2020, of which Giorgio Chiellini is the protagonist: the held against Bukayo Saka in the extra time of the final (the very one that is suspected to have helped Filippo Tortu to slow down the English rival, the wonder of the genius of the Web) and… Kirikocho !. By carefully observing a video released by Uefa, we notice how just before the decisive penalty saved by Donnarumma, Capitan-tech screams this word. It will only be discovered after his story: Kiricocho is the name of an Estudiantes fan. Known among the supporters of the Argentine team, today chaired by Juan Sebastian Veron, for his reputation for bringing bad luck: every time he appeared on the stands of the training ground some players suffered an injury. Like this Carlos Bilardo, Argentina coach of Maradona world champion, he decides that Kirikocho could also be decisive: sending him to the training fields of the opposing teams. It seems to have worked in that case as well.
Not just stories for nostalgics, but ingredients of one social recipe without any smudging. Precisely these two scenes, absolutely genuine and not premeditated, were the most shared on the Web, consolidating Chiellini’s success in the virtual world.
What does Giorgio teach us about the athlete of the future? That spontaneity and authenticity are the key – yes we are all’Abc dell’athletes influencer marketing, but then between saying and doing for many it passes – but above all that today it is the athletes themselves who are real media-houses, with careful and accurate social management to enhance the moments of engagement and sharing. Because likes are not just likes and they move economics. So much so that Giorgio Chiellini is himself investor and co-founder of a social media agency, Mate, together with his former Juventus teammate, Claudio Marchisio.
Captain-tech is not so by chance third in the ranking of the most followed on Instagram among the 26 players of the Italian national team with 4.7 million followers, posted Koppa Ikea after winning the trophy, with instructions on how to build and raise it. Another spontaneous, social and viral content. Result? More than one million high engagement likes, with 4 thousand comments.
Originality and ability to keep up with the times, so doing our best wishes to Capitan-tech we are sure that he will be able to surprise us again, soon.
So today, on his birthday, he manages to give us the gift, once again like a month ago in London, and in an exclusive chat he confesses that “I strongly believe in people who want to get involved and through the creation of their own businesses they manage to cross personal and professional paths. There is no secret, if not the hard work and balance in putting together one’s passions, for me football and technology, with dedication and constant desire to learn “.
A captain who, despite his countless successes, does not seem to want to stop improving over time, just like the best wines. With his words, but above all his deeds, you can read companies and investments. Because Capitan-tech has anticipated, along with a few others, a trajectory: “The dawn of a new football where football, social media and technology come together and that gives this cross between a benefit for its own future”.
Thanks George, happy birthday and see you soon on Italian Tech!
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