Steve Pagliuca: "Winning, global, multi-club. And looking to the future"

Steve Pagliuca has very clear ideas for the future of his Atalanta: winning, global, perhaps the top of the pyramid of one of those multi-club systems that are working so well in today's football. The Nerazzurri patron spoke about his vision in a virtual intervention at the Financial Times Business of Football Summit: the interview was pre-recorded, so no comments on the dream of the Scudetto or elimination from the Champions League, but many ideas for that team that the patron now pampers like the other jewel in his sports portfolio, the Boston Celtics.

“Atalanta is our main team and we are proud of where we are, both in Italy and in Europe,” Pagliuca says when asked if he is ready to make further investments in football. “But we are also looking at other clubs and the synergy that that system brings: the investments of Red Bull and those of the group around Manchester City have demonstrated the benefits of that system. What you obviously don’t want is to have clubs in direct competition with each other, so we will have to look at other countries and other levels, but I think it would be positive for Atalanta to be at the top of a system of that type.”

Another topic that Pagliuca focuses on is the globalization of the Atalanta brand. “I can’t name names, but we are talking to several sponsors globally for Atalanta,” reveals the 70-year-old patron. “We are working with Serie A to promote our brand internationally, including in the US where the league has opened offices. The idea is to contribute to the globalization of the championship, but in recent years we have worked with Percassi to transform Atalanta into a more international brand and I think we have been successful.”

As already mentioned in the interview with Gazzetta dello Sport , Pagliuca struggles to hide his pride when he talks about Atalanta and the progress made in the three years with him. “I am proud of the team and what we have done this year and I would be lying if I said that winning a European cup last year was one of our goals,” Pagliuca says. “The first thing you learn in the business world is that to be successful you need great partners, and the Percassi are the perfect partners. We are a “small” team, but in recent years we have invested in both players and facilities, especially improving the Academy, which we want to continue doing because it is essential for a club like ours that cannot afford to spend 100 million euros on a single player. We have also understood how important it is to take players who are suited to our playing system, one that requires more running ability, and so we have created a recruitment structure that also takes this aspect into account. And we have understood how important it is for players to be healthy and fit, so we have improved that aspect too. An investment like the one made in Atalanta is long-term and must combine the incredible passion of the fans with being fiscally responsible”.