Reflections on Cairo management

I believe that after 14 years of "nothing", Cairo can no longer exempt itself from officially selling Turin. At this point, it is a duty. Two repechage games in the Europa League as a maximum result, pitiful participation in the Italian Cup, 6 points out of 63 in 21 disputed derbies (1 win and 3 draws against 17 defeats) and an overall attitude marked by mediocrity and lack of love for the Turin, make your presidency the biggest missed opportunity in our history. Yes, because this time we are not talking about the Genoese "ciaparat" or the Busalla sheriff, the notary guitarist or the cleaning man De Finis. We are talking about one of the best Italian entrepreneurs, of a man who has distinguished himself in the Italian industrial scene for far-sightedness, intuition and management skills, just think of the excellent results obtained by Cairo Communication and the climb to La7 and RCS.

Cairo, paradoxically, is both the best president after Sergio Rossi and the worst. It is the best for economic solidity, for the ability to keep the accounts in order, for professional seriousness. It is the best because (touching iron for what is happening this year), in the last few seasons he has managed to bring us steadily to the left of the ranking. It is the worst because no one like him has been more disappointing in the relationship between potential (economic, media, political) and results. With the Taurus he did not succeed in anything except collecting personal prizes, gaining notoriety and winning championship badges. It is the worst because it broke the supporters riding on the long wave of terror generated by the failure of 2005 to make us digest results absolutely out of line with what is history and DNA. In this sense, it has determined a fratricidal war between the faction of the faithful devotees and moved beyond all limits by the mere fact of surviving and the faction of those who are not constantly thinking about themselves at the time of Cittadella but prefer as their benchmark of granatism the many derby won, the Italian Cups in which it was an affront to leave before the semi-finals, the European qualifications in series and a story made of tremendous and strong emotions. Cairo has to put Turin on sale at a reasonable price because it has not spent a euro to buy the company and because Toro is not the owner of the registered office; impossible to ask for a fortune for a society that has no real estate and is – with enormous fault – the most distant of the entire Italian scene to think of a stadium owned.

No drama but no triumphalism

At that point, after having officially put the company up for sale at a reasonable price, we'll see who shows up. Alas, it is difficult to be optimistic; in Turin over the years there were only rogues, clowns and characters from the ranks of Basharin and Ciuccariello and Giovannone. We'll see, you never know. Cairo must try; it is a gesture owed to a people now exhausted by almost three decades of emptiness, mediocrity, lack of enthusiasm and plans. If no one shows up or the usual quaquaraqua that come to light when it comes to acquiring Turin, we will open our arms; if we present a Burmese fund managed by drug traffickers, we will take note of this and we will keep Cairo without complaining, we will be satisfied with a team that when things turn the right way can hope for a repechage in the European cups and when they turn badly they have to fight for salvation but, in any case, in principle, it is solidly clinging to the soft underbelly of the center-ranking. If, on the other hand, a serious group is presented that is economically sound and with an authentic growth plan (and perhaps, to top it all off, with a president in love with the Taurus), Cairo will be able to pass peacefully for his joy (which with the Taurus he will have done yet another "surplus monstre") and ours (which we can resume dreaming and make sense of our life as fans).

Why can't Cairo no longer exempt itself from officially putting Turin on sale? Because this year it is reaching the bottom for a series of reasons that go far beyond the painful ranking position:

1. Although he knew for months that Petrachi was leaving, he didn't bother replacing it. The figure of Bava, as everyone has understood by now, is fictitious, so much so that it has not even been officially presented. With all due respect to Bava (creator of excellent results at youth level), it was not difficult to understand that one thing is to find fifteen-year-old talents in Savigliano and another is to make the sports director of a team that has to play for the Europa League preliminaries.
2. Cairo continues to want to do everything by itself. He is not capable of delegating, he does not trust anyone and he wants the spotlight to be constantly lit on his person. If it were not so, we would not be the only Serie A team without a truly operating general manager and sports director.
3. The current season was strongly expected by all the grenade people. After last year's great second round and European repechage, it was the right time to take off with a timely, punctual and targeted buying campaign. We all said it, it took little to fight for the first four or five squares. It took a great left-footer, a couple of top-level midfielders and a playmaker capable of giving fantasy to the asphyxiated grenade maneuver. Laxalt and Verdi have arrived (two good players, however, reservations in their former teams) in the last days of the market and the much sought after Europa League was played with a group of 14 players, totally insufficient to reach the goal. The poverty of our midfield, then, for fourteen years the weak link of the team, and the insistence in not wanting to buy high level players in that role, is almost becoming provocative, just think that Cagliari counts on Nainggolan, Nandez, Cigarini, Rog, Oliva, Castro, Ionita and Birsa while our midfield, both in terms of quality and quantity, is from low rankings.
4. The Nkoulou case has uncovered corporate weakness.
5. The insistence on Mazzarri has no reason to be: the team plays badly, it never pulls on goal and misses all the important appointments. Mazzarri and his alibi culture damage an environment that for years has assumed a "losing" appearance. Perhaps I am exaggerating, but he was relieved of his post after the ignominious internal defeat against Lecce (for us fans, that after 42 years we could savor the first place, a deadly blow that followed the enormous disappointment caused by the European elimination) or, if you really wanted to insist, you could declassify the defeat against Lecce as a "road accident" and give it another chance the following Sunday against the derelict Sampdoria of these times: either a great race crowned by the three points or exoneration (useless do you remember that Marassi's performance was disconcerting due to weakness and stupidity?)
6. The deafening and persistent silence related to the stadium owned. All the main Italian teams are gearing up, wherever it is on the agenda, not from us, everything is silent with us: a team that in 2019 does not put the stadium of ownership among its priorities is cut off from any authentic growth project .

And now the stadium owned

Cairo, this time, has really arrived at the end of the line. His experience at the helm of Toro has lost its raison d'etre because it is now well established that things will never change, every year the same mistakes, the same promises never kept, the usual jumble of disappointments, botched and concentrated summer markets last twenty-four hours, winter markets omitted or characterized by Coco or Tata Gonzalez strikes, decisively failed decisive games, lost derbies, anonymous seasons. We have seen the same film continuously for fourteen years. Needless to hope for a future with Cairo president. By now, even the most unwavering optimists have realized that Cairo will never put Toro's capabilities and ambition highlighted in the management of its other companies. The time has come to pass the hand (or at least try, seriously). Only in this way, with a new society or with the knowledge that there is no entrepreneur or serious group wishing to marry the grenade cause, we could put our hearts at rest.

---

Marco Cassardo, expert in sports psychology and professional mental coach. He is the author of "Belli e damnati", a best-seller in grenade literature

Disclaimer: the commentators hosted by Toro News express their thoughts independently of the editorial line followed by the editorial staff of the online newspaper, which has always made pluralism and free sharing of opinions its own distinctive trait.