From The Press Box: Chloe Beresford

In the latest in our series discussing key topics with members of the media, freelance journalist Chloe Beresford joins us to give her thoughts on the big issues in Italian football...

We spoke to Beresford about the unique beginnings to her passion for Italian football (and one club in particular) along with her thoughts on Roma's season so far - and what Serie A needs to do to enjoy a renaissance in fortunes in the coming years...

Hi Chloe, thanks for taking the time to chat with us. It’s clear from your social media presence that you are a big fan of Fiorentina, so let's start there. How did that come about?

“It’s quite an interesting story really. My great granddad played for Manchester City in the 1930s. He died well before I was born, but while he was alive he didn't really talk much about his football career. Later my dad found a photograph that showed him in a team line-up and it just said on the back ‘Peter in Italy’ – that was his name, Peter. He was mainly a reserve for City, but he was in the squad that won the FA Cup in 1934.

“From doing some research, my dad found out that the team went on a postseason tour of the continent that summer, which was arranged by Thomas Cook. And actually, because some of the regular first-teamers were away with England or the other national teams, he ended up playing in lot of the games. And we found out that he played at the Stadio Giovanni Berti – now called the Artemio Franchi, of course - and he actually scored a goal in the match too.

"It turns out the whole Italy 1934 World Cup squad were sitting on the sidelines that day and so they saw my great granddad play football and even score against Fiorentina."

“So, obviously we were curious to see the famous stadium he played in, so a number of years ago now we went over there. And it just kind of snowballed from that point. We made friends with people. They were really interested in our story. We just kept going back.”

That is something you end up hearing quite a lot - if you go to watch a team a few times, then the local supporters will quickly embrace you and welcome you and you become part of the family…

“If you go to an Italian team where it's not one of the Milan clubs, or Juventus, then as an English person you're quite unusual. So yeah, people want to know about you, why you are there and what your story is. They take an interest in you.

“I’ve probably been over 30 times now. I try to go at least four teams a season. And, obviously, I go and watch other teams and visit other grounds as well.”

What is the general assessment of Fiorentina’s season to date?

“It’s been a tricky season really, the first season that Rocco Commisso has taken over the club. I spoke to him recently and I think he has found similar frustrations to what Jim Pallotta found at Roma - with getting the stadium built, and all the bureaucracy and issues like that. So I think it's very much a transition year for Fiorentina.

“I think the club had gone very stale under the previous owners, and Commisso is trying to rebuild the squad - but I think he's not wanting to come in and just waste a load of money on expensive signings. He wants to build it steadily, for the long-term future of the club. So I think it's a case of knowing that good things are coming but being patient for now.

“But it has been a delight to see Franck Ribery playing – Fiorentina has not really had a star player like that for a long time. He’s surprised me with how good he has been, even at 37.”

Do you think a new stadium is vital for Fiorentina, if they want to progress?

“Yes. I think that is the case with any Italian team - you just have to take a look at how successful Juventus have been in the last decade to see that. You know how being able to make profit from your own stadium and being able to have the ownership of it is just so important to the business model these days.

“I don't think it's sustainable long term for a modern football club not to own their own stadium, and I think that is something that needs addressing massively throughout Italy as a whole."

“Look at Atalanta, they've invested a lot of their Champions League money in owning and redeveloping their own stadium and now they look very stable – perhaps more stable than the two Milan clubs even.

"So it is vital, but Rocco has already talked about how vital it is to the business model for Fiorentina, and being able to invest in quality players and get to the Champions League.”

What other things do you think Italian football needs to address, then, if it wants to enjoy a renaissance?

“I think it's vitally important that the league does a better job of addressing issues like racism. I know Roma acted on that, as did Milan. But it gives the league a bad reputation, and you also don’t want a situation where black players do not want to come to the league because they are fearful of the treatment they might receive. It’s not good for the image of the league.

“I also think another thing the league needs to do is to engage better with non-Italian fans. Not a lot of clubs have good English-language content, for example, while with the way the league can move kick-off times around at short notice it does not make it easy for fans wanting to travel from abroad to watch games. So I think as a whole it needs to be a little less insular and a little more global.”

What has surprised you or disappointed you since Serie A resumed?

“I think the lack of a real title race has been disappointing, because I think everybody wanted to see a title race that went right up to the wire. But I think if you look at other teams that have overachieved in the same way Lazio have done this season, like Leicester for example, then they very much relied on momentum. So the fact Lazio had to stop for the Coronavirus outbreak, I think that made it very difficult for them.

“But I do think that what I have noticed, since the break at least, is that the coaches who have a positive attitude have actually done really well. If you look at Gian Piero Gasperini, if you look at Claudio Ranieri, if you look at Stefano Pioli - these are all coaches with positive attitudes, who really care about their players and look out for them. They are good, positive motivators – which I think has been so helpful in a crisis situation like this. So I think that has played a role.

“And then the coaches that are a little bit more negative, like Antonio Conte or Maurizio Sarri, have perhaps found it a little harder since the restart. I think it’s been telling how much attitude has counted in this period – especially given it’s such an unusual situation for everyone, and tough on the players too.”

Do you think Italian teams will be at an advantage or disadvantage going into the European competitions, as about the only league to go into matches without even a short break?

“It's hard to say, isn't it, because it's an unprecedented situation and both competitions have become a straight knockout now.

“I think it may favour Atalanta, who are probably better in a one-off game than over two legs – because they have that sort of do-or-die attitude. I think Paris Saint-Germain will have been sat at home watching them wondering what they will do. So that will be interesting.

“As for Roma, since switching to a back three it’s been much, much better. So I definitely think Roma have a chance.”

What have you made of Roma more generally this season?

“I think they are in a transition year too. Bringing in a foreign coach, who's never managed in Italy before, there are going to be ups and downs and trial and error to some extent. But Chris Smalling has been blowing me away. He didn’t have a great reputation when he was at Manchester United, but he’s come to Serie A and he’s almost made the ‘Smalldini’ nickname seem like it’s not an exaggeration, because he just looks so calm, so knowledgeable in his position.

“I think if anything Roma could do with a new striker, someone to take the burden off Edin Dzeko and freshen things up. But I think they have the ingredients to be successful and get back to qualifying for the Champions League again soon.”

How do you see this weekend’s game against Fiorentina panning out then?

“Fiorentina drew with Inter in mid-week, in some ways it was a bit of a missed opportunity, but they are clearly improving. Nevertheless, I think Roma will be the favourites. I think they've been so impressive since Fonseca made that change in shape. I think it will be a tight game but Roma will probably just edge it, I would have to say.”

More generally – the big story this week was AC Milan’s decision to stick with Stefano Pioli. What did you make of that?

“Yeah. It's a tricky one. As a human being I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for Pioli, especially after his time at Fiorentina and the way he handled the death of Davide Astori and the aftermath of that. I think he’s an incredible person.

“I do think he has limitations as a coach, however. But I think Milan created this situation for themselves, when they brought him in to replace Marco Giampaolo after seven games yet immediately gave him a two-year deal. And then for the whole rest of the season there was this talk about bringing in Ralf Rangnick, and it just unsettled the team. Milan need a fresh start, but they need to get back to where they belong as well.

“I think they backed themselves into a corner, because Pioli did so well and the results improved so much. But they have just made themselves look indecisive, like they can’t stick to anything. What happens now, if results drop off at some point in the near future?

“Having said that, I do think Pioli has done well and deserved the opportunity to see if he could continue this turnaround into next season.”

Tell us a bit about you newest project, then – the Curva e Calcio newsletter and podcast.

“Yes. Well, obviously I've been a full time freelancer for a number of years now and I think during the Coronavirus outbreak, with work dropping off for everyone, I started to explore other avenues. I took a little bit of time out just to think about what I really want to do.

“I saw the company Substack have a format, a newsletter where you write and people can pay a small amount per month to subscribe to you. So I just gave myself some time to think about it. And when I actually sat down and thought of all the content I could produce, it was like a lightbulb going on - it was a really exciting idea to me.

"It's something that is in a different format, because it comes through to people’s email addresses – and becaue people do pay a small amount each month it doesn't have any adverts or any anything slowing the page down.

“I've got it going and lots of people have signed up already. There’s so much more to come, because obviously right now the games are coming thick and fast so it is a lot of previews and reviews. But going forward I want to get English-speaking players on the podcast, I want to do more in-depth features, I want to do stuff with fans and fan culture and finances – everything I’ve been doing already, but amalgamating it into a newsletter.

“That’s what people will pay the small subscription fee for, for a better quality experience from somebody who has spent time in Italy, is very familiar with the league and is so passionate about it. I hope that will come through in the newsletter and people will enjoy it.”

How has the response been so far, has it been what you hoped?

“Yeah, yeah. So far, so good! All the content on there has been open access for the last month, just to give people a flavour of what it is going to be like. Most of it will then be for paid subscribers, but there will still be some free-to-access posts as well. It’s going really well, people have been so generous and have signed up and the feedback so far has been great.”

And what about the podcast?

“The subscription gets you the newsletter and the podcast. I’ve got a huge list of really interesting guests that I want to bring on – from players, to agents, to club owners. Different people working within the game, that I can get to talk about their experiences of being in Italy and living there and working there.

“We’ve had some great guests already: we also chat about travel tips and food culture and everything else, because I think that everybody who follows Italian football is also passionate about the country in general. So I want to bring that into it too. We have some varied and interesting chats.”

Where did your passion for the game come from, then, beyond the story with you great grandfather?

“I grew up I Stockport, just south of Manchester, and we would get free tickets at school to go and watch Stockport County play. So from about the age of 10 I would go regularly. And I just fell in love with football completely.

“I would then go with my dad a lot, and he explained everything - I asked a million questions. He would take me through all the rules of the game and everything. We started to go to all the home games, then away games too. We went through a period where, really, the week was just about getting through it so we could get to the next match. So it’s always been an interest of mine.

“And then when we first went over to Fiorentina that sparked it further. I always grew up wanting to be a writer, but for various reasons my career went off in a different direction. Then in January 2015 I started writing about Fiorentina for SB Nation, in English, and it kind of spiralled from there.

"I got going, my name got known, and eventually I was able to make it full-time. It’s been a dream come true.”


Click here to visit Curva e Calcio.

Click here to follow Chloe Beresford on Twitter.