The final evening at Villa d’Este before the summer break and the Rotary Tables, in accordance with the theme chosen by President Lombardi for this year, “entrepreneurship and youth,” featured Dr. Giovanni Manna as the guest speaker,
the very young Director of Juventus Next Generation, the Juventus second team that competes in Serie C and aims to develop new players who would otherwise lack space in the Serie A “parent” team.
Dr. Manna began with a brief presentation of the Juventus Next Generation project which, inspired by examples observed abroad, gathers under-23 players from the youth sector to form the second team. Its goal is not to achieve sporting results but to help the boys grow as footballers and individuals, given that they attend regular classes in the morning at the boarding school and train in the afternoon.
The Speaker then left ample room for contributions and questions from the many attendees. In particular, he initially focused on the role of young footballers and their future prospects, then on issues related to the world of football in general which, like other sports disciplines that create entertainment, is now driven solely by business.
There was no shortage of questions regarding individual Juventus (Serie A) players and also on the Super League affair (in competition with UEFA), which will only conclude upon the outcome of the ongoing legal proceedings.
