The choice of director (general or sporting) that Messina will have to include in the organizational chart will say a lot about the season that will be and the ambitions of the Giallorossi club after the relegation to Eccellenza.
The names are always the same: in pole position seems to be Antonello Laneri, an expert manager ready for yet another challenge in Sicily after Catania and Syracuse. He could also accept the Excellence, waiting to understand if the Acr will be able to obtain the repechage in Serie D in which he has shown interest (and ready to access it). For Laneri, perhaps even more than the other profiles being examined for the vacant position, what matters and can make the difference will be the budget available. Suitable for the reference category to set up an immediately competitive team, ready to win in Excellence. Then perhaps to be modeled with 4-5 category additions in case, in mid-July, the doors of a “planned” return to the fourth series were to open.
So the first real issue, prior to the choice of men, will concern the spending potential that Racing Group will make available to the man of the market who will be chosen. To immediately aim to win the Excellence and at the same time be competitive also for the “upstairs”. This is what the square expects, after the double relegation and tumultuous seasons.
Even the managers with whom there have been contacts know exactly that, at these levels, Messina can only aim to win. Cocchino D’Eboli also knows this well, as he is the last in these parts to obtain a promotion as sporting director, from Serie D to Lega Pro in the 2020/21 season, in the problematic Covid era. On his side is already knowing the environment.
The outsider at the moment is Ettore Meli, formerly of Vibonese and Sant’Agata, another figure who knows Group I and also the territory.
The full article is available in the print and digital editions
