Miniature Italian side Carpi were promoted to Serie A for the first time in their history last season and will now be readying themselves for the campaign ahead.
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Just 15 years ago the club were facing bankruptcy, and they hadn’t even featured in Serie B before the last campaign. However, this meteoric rise hasn’t been welcomed by everyone. Lazio owner Claudio Lotito has complained that the recent influx of smaller sides in to the top flight has caused the competition to weaken financially, reported the Daily Mirror.
“If Carpi come up… if teams come up who are not worth a cent, in two or three years we won’t have a penny,” he said, “I’ve done well in selling the TV rights, we brought in €1.2 billion thanks to my skill. I managed to find an agreement between Sky and Mediaset, which in 10 years no one had been able to do.
“If in three years we have Latina, Frosinone, who would buy those rights? They don’t even know where Frosinone is.”
Indeed, with their 4,414 capacity Stadio Sandro Cabassi, Carpi have a ground which is five times tinier than the smallest stadium in the division last season. With Italian football hoping to grow after Juventus’ brilliant Champions League run and the recent investment at Inter Milan, it is understandable if Carpi aren’t wanted right now.
However, their sporting director Christian Giuntoli understandably disagrees, according to the Mirror.
“Our rise] is not born by chance, it is the realisation of a project that has grown and grown,” he said.
“The club is solid and does not splurge or act without foresight. Above all, the chain of command is very short, and this facilitates the decision-making process of the club. I am referring directly to president Claudio Caliumi who is represented by Roberto Marani and Stefano Bonacini. I talk to them, then I talk to the coach. That’s it.”
It will have to be seen over the next 12 months whether the club are able to compete at this higher level.