Filippo Antonelli's Press Conference

This morning, at the Press Room of the Ca’ Venezia Sports Centre, Venezia FC Sporting Director and General Manager Filippo Antonelli spoke to the media during a press conference.

Filippo Antonelli, Sporting Director and General Manager Venezia FC.
"Good morning everyone, and thank you for being here. I believe it is right to start from the situation we are experiencing after these first five matches. I want to do so with clarity and a sense of responsibility, because it is especially in difficult moments that those with the responsibility of leading must take responsibility, remain clear-headed and firmly indicate the direction. That is what I have tried to do since my very first day at Venezia, when we were at the bottom of the Serie B table. And I am even more convinced of it today that we are in Serie A: a division we earned through hard work and sacrifice, and which we now have the responsibility and ambition to defend with all our strength.

The table currently shows zero points after five matches. That is an objective fact. It is not the start we wanted, and the difficulties, at least in terms of results, have been greater than we expected. Nobody is satisfied. The ownership is not, President Bodie is not, I am not, Giovanni Stroppa and his staff are not, and the players are not. Just as our fans and the local media are not. In football, results matter, and we must start turning the work we are doing and the positive aspects we are showing into points. But it is precisely when difficulties arise that you understand the solidity of a club and the quality of the people responsible for leading it. In difficult moments, instinctive decisions are not what is needed. What is needed are decisions based on careful consideration and consistent with the analysis of the situation.

These have been days of reflection. And it was right that they should be. Given the role I hold, the responsibility I feel towards the club and the respect we owe our fans, after five defeats it would have been wrong not to stop and analyse the situation thoroughly. We reflected, listened, spoke and discussed. But I can guarantee you that the discussions were much more internal than external, because our first thought was not to find someone to blame, but to understand what we need to improve. I, the ownership, President Bodie, the management, Giovanni Stroppa and his staff analysed what had not worked, what needs to change quickly and also what positive aspects we have seen and need to continue building on.

The performance against Lazio gave us some very encouraging signs; we are on the right path. At Venezia, we have a habit of making important decisions only after analysis, consideration, discussion and in-depth assessment. That is why we preferred to take the necessary time, informing coach Stroppa in complete transparency that evaluations were ongoing, before reaching the official decision to confirm the coaching staff. We did not need to provide an immediate answer externally. We needed to give ourselves the answer that was right for us at this delicate stage of our season. And our decision was to continue with Giovanni Stroppa, who, as you know, resumed regular training with the team on Monday.

I want to be very clear: Giovanni was not confirmed out of gratitude for what he has done, although that has been important for the club. He was confirmed because we believe that he is the right coach today to lead this team out of this period of poor results, through a clear footballing identity and a strong focus on defensive solidity.

Last season’s fantastic promotion is part of our history and nobody can erase it. But we have to make our decisions with the present and the future in mind. We believe Coach Stroppa is a prepared, motivated coach capable of giving this team a strong technical identity and the solidity needed to face a league in which our objective is to maintain our place in the division.

We have also received important signals from the team. The words of the captain and the more experienced players showed how much the group believes in the coach, the technical project and the quality of the squad. Now, however, words have to give way to actions, and the players also have their part to play on the pitch. Trust is not an alibi. It is a responsibility! And that responsibility concerns all of us.

Since the start of the season, we have played some good games: Lecce and Milan, then against Frosinone and Fiorentina there was objectively a step backwards. The real problem is that none of those four matches brought us any points in the table. The Lazio game, despite being our fifth defeat, represented, in our view and according to many people working in football, a departure from the previous matches. We saw greater compactness, greater defensive solidity and, at the same time, a team capable of playing football and putting a strong, well-coached opponent in an excellent moment under pressure.

But that is not enough for us, and it must not be enough! I do not want a better performance to become a way of justifying a defeat. We are not simply looking for good performances to talk about. Fundamentally, we are looking for points to achieve our objectives. But in order to achieve results, we need to understand what needs correcting and, at the same time, recognise the foundations on which we can build again. Lazio gave us some answers. Now we have to turn them into consistency and results.

I also want to address another issue directly. In recent days I have read and heard interpretations suggesting that the ownership and the President have doubts about my work, or that there are divisions within the club. I say this with complete calm and just as much firmness: that is not the case. My relationship with President Bodie and the ownership is strong. There is trust, daily dialogue and complete unity of purpose regarding the direction we want to take Venezia in. During this period, our discussions have inevitably been even more intense. We analysed scenarios, expressed our views, discussed them and ultimately made the decision together. Because discussing things does not mean being divided. Discussing things means taking responsibility for decisions together. Giovanni Stroppa’s confirmation was also made in full coordination between the ownership and management. With one criterion above all others: the good and the interests of Venezia FC. Venezia is a strong, united club with a clear vision.

This conviction also comes from the work we did in the transfer market. We had an important and ambitious transfer window, with a precise objective: to strengthen the squad, make it more competitive and give the coach more options in several positions. We sought to build a mix of young players with potential, players already established in Serie A and players with international experience and pedigree. All of this was possible thanks to the investment of a strong and ambitious ownership, which has demonstrated in concrete terms its desire to put Venezia in a position to compete for its objective.

At the same time, we continued to develop another important component of our model: developing players and creating value for the club. I believe this season has already demonstrated something important: as a club, we have had the strength and ambition to build a squad that we consider highly competitive for our objectives. But I also want to make this clear: having made an important transfer market did not mean thinking we would win every match or dominate every pitch in Italy like a Serie A big club. We are a newly promoted team. Thanks to a strong ownership, we are certainly an ambitious newly promoted team. But we must always have the utmost respect for Serie A, the level of our opponents and the difficulty of this league, which operates on a completely different scale from Serie B. A team’s value is not something you declare. You demonstrate it on the pitch through results, and that is the responsibility of the coaching staff, the players and everyone working in the sporting department. And that is exactly what we have to do now.

In moments like this, I believe it is essential to remember the journey. Not to take refuge in the past. But because we need to know who we have been in order to have an even clearer understanding of who we want to be today and what we want to become tomorrow. In recent years, Venezia have earned two promotions to Serie A and experienced relegation after a hard-fought season. We have known difficult moments and extraordinary ones. But there is one value that has always distinguished us: the desire to build a solid club, financially balanced as well, and a footballing culture. Football culture, professionalism and a club structured to remain at a high level are three pillars of Venezia at this moment. We have sought to grow without losing touch with reality. We have worked every day with a culture based on commitment, competence and the awareness that nothing in football can be taken for granted. We did so when we were relegated. And we also did so during the most beautiful moments, such as after last season’s fantastic promotion, continuing to invest in the team and the facilities to further develop the club. Because balance does not mean a lack of ambition. For us, it means building ambition on solid foundations. This is the Venezia we have sought to build, and this is the Venezia we must continue to be.

I have always said that, for me, Serie A is not simply a division. It is a footballing way of life. It means a daily pursuit of excellence. It means continually raising the level of our work, facilities, organisation, team and people. It means being ambitious without losing touch with reality and with our roots. We knew we would face difficulties.

The difficulties we are experiencing in terms of results are objectively greater than our initial expectations, and it would be wrong to deny that. But five matches cannot erase the work, investment and journey we have built. Instead, they must remind us of one thing: nothing is given away in Serie A. Every point has to be earned. And that is exactly what we have to do.

We have a DNA that must not change according to the league table. A battling, balanced and passionate DNA. When we win. And even more so when we lose. I want to see this spirit in our players every time they step onto the pitch. I want to see it in our staff. I want to see it in the management. And I believe it must be part of the heritage of the entire Venezia community. Because this club carries an extraordinarily important word in its name: Unione.

And it is precisely in difficult moments that this word must take on even greater meaning. I want to be honest. In recent days, apart from our fantastic fans whom I meet every day in the streets, at the clubs and at the Penzo, I have sometimes found it harder to perceive this sense of Unione from part of the media. From the fans, on the other hand, I have received an enormous amount. They have made me feel their warmth, their trust and, above all, their desire to come through this period together, a period in which the sporting results have not matched the efforts the club is making. And that means a great deal to me.

There is an image that can explain what I think very well. Until a few weeks ago, we were all in the same boat: the boat of promotion, enthusiasm, the transfer market and ambition. Today, the first real storm has arrived and, at times, I have had the feeling that some people have already started looking towards the lifeboats, as if this boat were sinking. This boat is not sinking. Venezia is a solid club. It has a strong ownership. It has a united management. It has a team we believe in. It has a prepared and ambitious coach. And, above all, it knows where it wants to go. Criticism is part of football. It is legitimate and it needs to exist. But one thing is to analyse, criticise and ask questions — and that is also your job — while another is to look for divisions or internal cracks that do not exist. Because that helps nobody, and above all it does not help Venezia. We are all free to have different opinions. But I believe that anyone who loves this team and this club has one common interest today: to see Venezia react.

When we were relegated, we said a phrase that became part of our identity: ‘We lost the division, but we did not lose our course.’ That course brought us back to Serie A. Today we are facing a different kind of difficulty. We can call it turbulence, we can call it a storm. The results say so, and I have no problem acknowledging it. But being in turbulence does not mean being without direction. And this is where the responsibility of those who lead must emerge. We are in turbulence. But I know where we need to go. I know the Venezia we have built. I know the Venezia we want to become. I believe in the technical project. I believe in the team we have built. I believe in the strength and ambition of our ownership. I believe in our management. And above all, I believe in Venezia’s journey. Our responsibility now is not to talk about what we have done, but to demonstrate what we are capable of doing. Responsibility does not mean fear. It means having the courage to make decisions, the clarity to make corrections and the strength to keep working when you know the direction.”