Biancazzurro president Joe Tacopina's point

This afternoon, Thursday, Jan. 19, biancazzurro President Joe Tacopina met with journalists at the press room of the "G.B. Fabbri" Sports Center making himself available to answer their questions.

A review after the first year and a half in the biancazzurro - "I am of the opinion that we have already achieved a lot in the growth and restructuring of the club and in this regard we will also introduce the new Chief Revenue Officer in the coming weeks. The situation we inherited upon my arrival was by no means easy and we had to invest more than I thought: we received heavy sports contracts as a dowry and we made significant new off-field investments, such as the acquisition of the Malborghetto sports field and the acquisition of Casa SPAL. Of course, the change of coach was an unbudgeted cost, but I am proceeding well, and in this week I have already held several meetings with the technical and commercial management of the club to continue planning the next activities."

"I have no regrets. It is obvious that not all the decisions made turned out to be perfect, but you cannot go back in time and it is useless to cry over spilled milk. If I could go back maybe this summer I would have made different choices, giving Daniele the chance to have a team that is more functional to what is his pattern of play, but now we look to the future and move forward with confidence."

On the winter soccer market session currently in progress - "The coach is not asking for specific players, he is a young coach who has approached the reality of Serie B a few months ago, but he is very clear about the characteristics of the players he would like and together with his staff he is in continuous contact with the technical direction, which is working hard to make available to him what he requires. The priority right now is on the outside forwards and in fact we will soon announce the arrival of Giannis Fetfatzidis, an ideal player for the characteristics the coach wants."

"La Mantia is our player and is a very important element for us. It is no secret that Andrea is not satisfied with the latest performance, but this does not question his technical and human value. In my opinion last Saturday when he took over in the second half of the match at home to Reggina, he changed the game. However, the technical decision towards him is up to the coach and his staff, but I am sure that his position will be carefully evaluated in the interest of the club, the coach and the player himself."

"You know what I think of Pepito as a player and especially as a person, but again the evaluation is exclusively the responsibility of the coach, the technical staff and director Lupo and I will only listen to them. I want to emphasize that this is not a technical evaluation, because I believe that Giuseppe Rossi is one of the greatest players existing in the world for technical qualities, but only an evaluation related to his physical condition and the contribution that Pepito will be able to give to the team at this specific moment."

"We have spent more than 23 million in a year and a half, so I think that concerns about ownership commitment are misplaced. Therefore, I urge everyone to be calm and clear-headed in our evaluations. The market is open, there is still time available, and we are looking for the right players. The investment on Fetfatzidis is important, he is a strong player and can be the ideal player for us. Personally, I have utmost confidence in everyone in the technical area and, therefore, calm is necessary with respect to the situation and what can happen between now and the end of the session. We will not take players just to show that we are active in the market or to comply with the pattern of out one, in another. The coach is happy with the players he has at his disposal, we have alternatives in so many roles and, therefore, we should not get anxious. When and if we identify the right players who are functional to our model of play, then we will put them on the roster."

Young players on the pitch and attention to the academy - "We have many young people with us of great ability, as Matteo Prati recently demonstrated, and we should not be afraid to let them play. In my vision the youth sector is and always will be a strength and the main asset of our club, and I want SPAL to be able to distinguish itself in this area as well from the many clichés that characterize our soccer. Abroad, the strongest teams have no fear in fielding even very young players, and this must be our mentality."

Regarding future goals and the economic and financial situation - "My goals have not changed since the beginning of the season. There are still a lot of games left until the end of the championship, and we have started the return round particularly well. Soccer is also fun because it is unpredictable, it is a marathon and not a sprint. It is undeniable that we had some difficult moments because we paid for not having an identity, there were some communication problems that led to the change of coach. Today, however, there is great cohesion and the guys would throw themselves into the fire for Daniele. Obviously he is a first real experience coach but we have always been aware of that, we are growing together and we are trying to improve the team and I think we will succeed, my feelings that our goals are still achievable. We have a great added value which is the locker room. There is unity, harmony and integrity, I'm sure all this can be our strength."

"Coming back to the economic and financial situation, we have worked hard and are continuing to do so to heal the finances of our society. We knew that in the beginning the costs to be incurred would be high, but now we are settling down and the accounts will also improve. We have to work to develop sustainable soccer, we cannot afford to lose the amounts that so many clubs lose every year, it would not be feasible and it does not fit into my business model. We want SPAL to become a reality as much as possible that can feed off its own resources from the various areas that make up the club: the youth sector, first and foremost, but also the commercial and marketing areas. With great performance in all business areas we will be able to be more and more solid, and I know that this is what our fans and the whole city of Ferrara want as well. This does not mean reducing investments at all, but making sure that they are made in a timely and effective manner."