“Leonardi, Football and Exciting Humanity” – Sport

The town hall is full of people, FIFA President Gabriel Gravina at the table and 50 years of history remember them with affection and passion. And so Leandro Leonardi, the former sports director of Vis, presented his book Pay to Have Fun (Etabeta editions, €15). A text that traces his long career in the world of football, from his hometown of Pesaro, through his studies in law up to the noble arenas such as Juventus, Fiorentina, Verona and Salernitana. Anecdotes, curiosity, professionalism and love of work, all in the name of fun. Leonardi about the most beautiful sport in the world It was this and the head of Federcalcio Gravina, who passed by before going to follow the national team in Cesena and the author of the introduction, recalls with joy the years he shared with Castel di Sangro, a small town in Abruzzo. From six thousand souls moved from the amateur to the second division. “A little castle that proved to be wonderful,” says Leonardi. Gravina closely follows: “A fairy tale, a message that the little ones can still achieve important goals. This project is still alive. A stadium that doubles the population, modern sports facilities, I was lucky enough to experience these moments. of innovation with Leonardi , a man of honesty in a world that isn’t always this way.”

Also in the room are many former players, managers and coaches of Vis and other sports, such as technicians Beppe Magi and Simone Pazzaglia, presidents Claudio Pandolfi and Franco Signoretti, Ario Costa della Vuelle, co-worker Pietro D’Anzi, and women who live not knowing Untiring Marisa Damiani and Sarah Pandolfi, Paolo Cellini from Figs. But also the Sorbini family in the world of volleyball, former deputy deputy Paolo Di Biagi and current press officer of Vis Luciano Bertuccioli. Presidents Mauro Bosco and Marco Ferri carried their greetings, as did Mayor Matteo Ricci. A path that started at the Junior Pesaro Stadium and passed through FES and reached the highest levels of Italian football. Arches also touched Campobasso, Vastese, Chieti, Pistoiese and Siena. And whoever was close to him in this adventure remembers the director Leonardi as: “a sensational humanity,” says Costa. Giancarlo Sorbini continues that the one who “was controlling us, was close, gave his hand, strict but for the good of the boys”. “He led me into the world of football, made me understand a lot, and all for free,” Signoretti recalls with pleasure. Successes, disappointments, joys, sorrows, love but also intolerance for some of the dynamics of football. Education and training, unconditional secret slowly opens in reading. These are some inconsistencies in the text. Because, as Leonardi says, the book “is dedicated to all my family: the first born, the current family and the many children that football has had.” Past, present and future of several generations. Enclosed circle over 200 pages. Nicholas Massetti