Sacchi to future managers: “Starting over from merit”

Sylla: «Strength to react». Ferrari and Palmisano: «Determination and staff work». Christillin: “Recovery driven by sport”

/ TREVISO

A manager of the highest profile, a coach synonymous with success, two Olympic medalists and the captain of the national volleyball team. It is not a strange collection of stickers nor the opening words of a joke but a large one king’s bed that yesterday at Palaverde accompanied the delivery of the diplomas of the fifteenth and sixteenth edition of the Master SBS. Evelina Christillin, Arrigo Sacchi, Vanessa Ferrari, Antonella Palmisano and Miriam Sylla, all awarded with an ah honorem diploma, brought precious testimonies of success stories but even more of effort, dedication, sacrifice, useful elements not only for athletes but also for managers of the future baked by the Master organized by Verde Sport and the Ca ‘Foscari University. «We must learn to use the word merit – said the coach from Fusignano categorically in front of the audience – In Italy we are used to reversing the rules. As in football, an offensive and collective game, we Italians historically prefer defense and individuality, so in ordinary management we tend not to recognize work but to celebrate the trick. Abroad they don’t understand this method which is also the reason for our problems as a sporting nation ». «Another fundamental concept is strength – added Sylla, in front of its president Piero Garbellotto who applauded it – It takes a lot to react to negative situations, to recover. But it also takes a lot to get started and to set goals: one of these, for me, was helping my family thanks to my commitment to the gym ».

Ferrari and Palmisano also spoke of determination, emblems of the fight against adversity and misfortune. “Perhaps others in my place would have given up – recalled the gymnast, who had to suffer bitter disappointments before the silver medal in Tokyo – To have touched the podium twice in a row and had to face pain, rupture of the tendon, infiltrations, fear of new injuries could have made me give up. This was not the case ». «To excel, simple training is not enough, which is however exhausting at a very high level – added the walker – you need a staff made up of professionals who follow you step by step and work with you every day. This leads even more to appreciate the results and to want to transmit the values ​​of their sport to the younger generations ».

The strongest message to tomorrow’s managers, however, came from Evelina Christillin, a woman who won the prejudice behind the desks by becoming a UEFA executive and vice-president of an Olympic organizing committee: “Sport is not just business, but also the economic dimension has some importance. Recently, the president of Confindustria Carlo Bonomi confided to me that when I said that sport is worth a big chunk of GDP, I was right: the recovery is also driven by the sports sector. And in all this, young people are a very important resource: in the Turin 2006 committee we started with young people who have just graduated, who have formed the backbone of the organizational and management machine. Italy has an infrastructural gap, Palaverde is still modern today but it is an exception: we are the country with the oldest sports facilities, but a renewal is possible starting from the new generations and their ability to integrate ». –