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| Charlie Stillitano sets record straight over Leicester but says change is coming Charlie Stillitano sets record straight over Leicester but says change is coming | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Charlie Stillitano wants to clarify his controversial remarks about Leicester City competing in the Champions League, that European competition should be closed off to smaller clubs so the elite can become richer. “The irony and really the part most strange was I never said anything like this is what you should do,” says the American. “My comments were limited to answering questions colleagues had about my thoughts on different structures within European football. | Charlie Stillitano wants to clarify his controversial remarks about Leicester City competing in the Champions League, that European competition should be closed off to smaller clubs so the elite can become richer. “The irony and really the part most strange was I never said anything like this is what you should do,” says the American. “My comments were limited to answering questions colleagues had about my thoughts on different structures within European football. |
| “I specifically said with respect to Leicester, it’s the most amazing story if Ranieri and his crew can pull it off, the single greatest achievement in sport. And I’m talking about the 1980 [ice] hockey team [America beat the USSR to win Olympic gold], the 1923 Yankees, the Miami Dolphins’ perfect season – this will be the greatest, most improbable event we’ll ever live through.” | “I specifically said with respect to Leicester, it’s the most amazing story if Ranieri and his crew can pull it off, the single greatest achievement in sport. And I’m talking about the 1980 [ice] hockey team [America beat the USSR to win Olympic gold], the 1923 Yankees, the Miami Dolphins’ perfect season – this will be the greatest, most improbable event we’ll ever live through.” |
| In early March, Stillitano, chairman of the New York-based Relevent Sports, brokered the meeting between the Premier League’s so-called big five – Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool – at London’s Dorchester Hotel. Heading the agenda was the International Champions Cup, a summer tournament Relevent organises, but the future of the elite club competition was also discussed. | In early March, Stillitano, chairman of the New York-based Relevent Sports, brokered the meeting between the Premier League’s so-called big five – Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool – at London’s Dorchester Hotel. Heading the agenda was the International Champions Cup, a summer tournament Relevent organises, but the future of the elite club competition was also discussed. |
| Stillitano said then of the prospect of Leicester qualifying for the Champions League: “What would Manchester United argue: did we create soccer or did Leicester create [it]? Let’s call it the money pot created by soccer and the fandom around the world. Who has had more of an integral role, Manchester United or Leicester? It’s a wonderful, wonderful story, but you could see it from Manchester United’s point of view, too.” | Stillitano said then of the prospect of Leicester qualifying for the Champions League: “What would Manchester United argue: did we create soccer or did Leicester create [it]? Let’s call it the money pot created by soccer and the fandom around the world. Who has had more of an integral role, Manchester United or Leicester? It’s a wonderful, wonderful story, but you could see it from Manchester United’s point of view, too.” |
| A re-reading of his comments suggests they were more nuanced than reported at the time. Of the criticism that followed, he says: “The press ran with a lot of their own ideas. I’m not one to sit and complain. I did think a lot of the stuff was inaccurate. That was the part that was difficult to swallow. Some of the things that people attributed to me seemed bizarre. | A re-reading of his comments suggests they were more nuanced than reported at the time. Of the criticism that followed, he says: “The press ran with a lot of their own ideas. I’m not one to sit and complain. I did think a lot of the stuff was inaccurate. That was the part that was difficult to swallow. Some of the things that people attributed to me seemed bizarre. |
| “I did find it a little unfair. But I understand it. I understand it because Europeans who don’t know me from Adam say: ‘Who is this American? He doesn’t know anything about our game.’ | “I did find it a little unfair. But I understand it. I understand it because Europeans who don’t know me from Adam say: ‘Who is this American? He doesn’t know anything about our game.’ |
| “It’s funny, I’m in Europe and people ask me questions about basketball. I don’t know a thing about basketball. They must assume because I’m American I know about basketball. And the other side is that I don’t know about football because I’m an “American”. The funny part is that when they see I’m an Italian and American citizen the people immediately see [the] Italian and talk to me about soccer. I understand there’s a certain pride of ownership. Like: ‘Who are you to tell us how to run our leagues?’ | “It’s funny, I’m in Europe and people ask me questions about basketball. I don’t know a thing about basketball. They must assume because I’m American I know about basketball. And the other side is that I don’t know about football because I’m an “American”. The funny part is that when they see I’m an Italian and American citizen the people immediately see [the] Italian and talk to me about soccer. I understand there’s a certain pride of ownership. Like: ‘Who are you to tell us how to run our leagues?’ |
| Stillitano, whose father organised leagues around his New Jersey home town of Elizabeth, proves an expansive talker. He believes Major League Soccer can become as great a draw as the Premier League, La Liga and Bundesliga, recalls a long love affair with the game that includes being a ball-boy for Pelé’s Santos and offers further insight into the Champions League’s expected revamp. | Stillitano, whose father organised leagues around his New Jersey home town of Elizabeth, proves an expansive talker. He believes Major League Soccer can become as great a draw as the Premier League, La Liga and Bundesliga, recalls a long love affair with the game that includes being a ball-boy for Pelé’s Santos and offers further insight into the Champions League’s expected revamp. |
| Stillitano’s position running the ICC, which the big five and many of their European counterparts play in, can place him at the centre of discussions about the European Cup. Generally, Premier League clubs are content with the current format thanks to the riches generated by its broadcast windfall, but with next season’s new television deal of £5.14bn from domestic rights – plus a further expected £2.37bn from overseas rights – Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and other European heavyweights are concerned by English clubs’ greatly enhanced spending power and so want a greater yield from the Champions League. It is understood that one change under consideration is a move to a group stage of two mini-leagues of eight clubs each. | Stillitano’s position running the ICC, which the big five and many of their European counterparts play in, can place him at the centre of discussions about the European Cup. Generally, Premier League clubs are content with the current format thanks to the riches generated by its broadcast windfall, but with next season’s new television deal of £5.14bn from domestic rights – plus a further expected £2.37bn from overseas rights – Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and other European heavyweights are concerned by English clubs’ greatly enhanced spending power and so want a greater yield from the Champions League. It is understood that one change under consideration is a move to a group stage of two mini-leagues of eight clubs each. |
| Stillitano says: “I can’t really talk about what was discussed. I don’t think that would be fair. If the clubs want to comment on it that’s their business. But what I can say is that there’s something happening right now. It’s certainly not initiated by me. | Stillitano says: “I can’t really talk about what was discussed. I don’t think that would be fair. If the clubs want to comment on it that’s their business. But what I can say is that there’s something happening right now. It’s certainly not initiated by me. |
| “We weren’t trying to hide anything. If we were having some secret meeting we would’ve done a better job of hiding it. The connection is getting everyone round the table with the ICC. I spend probably half my year, or at least a solid third of my year, in Europe with these teams. So these are relationships that are real. | “We weren’t trying to hide anything. If we were having some secret meeting we would’ve done a better job of hiding it. The connection is getting everyone round the table with the ICC. I spend probably half my year, or at least a solid third of my year, in Europe with these teams. So these are relationships that are real. |
| “We’re in a unique position all the time at least to hear what’s going on in other countries, not just in England, but in Germany, in Spain, Italy or France, we’re all over the place. Because all our teams are from all over there – Portugal, Holland, everywhere – we’re at these places and we’re friends with some of these teams. | “We’re in a unique position all the time at least to hear what’s going on in other countries, not just in England, but in Germany, in Spain, Italy or France, we’re all over the place. Because all our teams are from all over there – Portugal, Holland, everywhere – we’re at these places and we’re friends with some of these teams. |
| “I’m not the architect of any these ideas. There’s so many different ideas floating around in Europe and the meeting was genuinely for the ICC, but at all these things conversations come up. | “I’m not the architect of any these ideas. There’s so many different ideas floating around in Europe and the meeting was genuinely for the ICC, but at all these things conversations come up. |
| “I might be having a glass of wine with the guys in Madrid or in Milan or I’m having a beer with the guys in England or whatever it might be, you’re chatting about these things.” | “I might be having a glass of wine with the guys in Madrid or in Milan or I’m having a beer with the guys in England or whatever it might be, you’re chatting about these things.” |
| This summer’s fourth edition of the ICC will take place in America, China, and Australia. It features 17 clubs, including both Manchester teams, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Leicester, Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona. | This summer’s fourth edition of the ICC will take place in America, China, and Australia. It features 17 clubs, including both Manchester teams, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Leicester, Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Barcelona. |
| Stillitano peppers discussion of the ICC with how authentic an experience it is for players, managers and fans. He cites the Liverpool-Manchester United 2014 final in Miami when the teams desperately wanted to win and he talks of how the fans can get close to the players. | Stillitano peppers discussion of the ICC with how authentic an experience it is for players, managers and fans. He cites the Liverpool-Manchester United 2014 final in Miami when the teams desperately wanted to win and he talks of how the fans can get close to the players. |
| Every two years there is no World Cup or European Championship and Stillitano admits being open to the ICC becoming a competitive tournament. “All we can do is try and make it as authentic as it can be,” he says. “That wouldn’t be something we could [have the authority to grant]. In order for it to be official it would have to have the imprimatur of Fifa or somebody else to do it. | Every two years there is no World Cup or European Championship and Stillitano admits being open to the ICC becoming a competitive tournament. “All we can do is try and make it as authentic as it can be,” he says. “That wouldn’t be something we could [have the authority to grant]. In order for it to be official it would have to have the imprimatur of Fifa or somebody else to do it. |
| “What we’ve managed to do is give an opportunity for people to come and see their teams and to have a Champions League experience. The reality is – if you’re a United fan and United is playing Bayern Munich in the Champions League – what are the chances of you getting a ticket if you live over here? Not great. But now if they’re playing here you can not only go and see the game, the day before you can go to open training and rub elbows. The one thing that teams have done better than I could have ever dreamed is that they take the games very seriously.” | “What we’ve managed to do is give an opportunity for people to come and see their teams and to have a Champions League experience. The reality is – if you’re a United fan and United is playing Bayern Munich in the Champions League – what are the chances of you getting a ticket if you live over here? Not great. But now if they’re playing here you can not only go and see the game, the day before you can go to open training and rub elbows. The one thing that teams have done better than I could have ever dreamed is that they take the games very seriously.” |
| United’s match against Real in Michigan, in August 2014, drew a record 109,318 fans. Stillitano says: “An outsider might [say]: ‘It’s always pre-season’, but then you’re playing in front of 110,000 people, how does that feel for a young kid out there? | United’s match against Real in Michigan, in August 2014, drew a record 109,318 fans. Stillitano says: “An outsider might [say]: ‘It’s always pre-season’, but then you’re playing in front of 110,000 people, how does that feel for a young kid out there? |
| “The same goes for the stars. Look at Cristiano Ronaldo in Michigan, he was still hurt. Carlo Ancelotti [Real’s coach at the time] said: ‘Charlie, I’m not going to play Cristiano today. I’m sorry.’ And Cristiano said during the game: ‘I really want to get out there’. Because every United fan, every Real fan loves Cristiano and he wanted to show them: ‘I’m giving an effort here.’ You can’t make that stuff up.” | “The same goes for the stars. Look at Cristiano Ronaldo in Michigan, he was still hurt. Carlo Ancelotti [Real’s coach at the time] said: ‘Charlie, I’m not going to play Cristiano today. I’m sorry.’ And Cristiano said during the game: ‘I really want to get out there’. Because every United fan, every Real fan loves Cristiano and he wanted to show them: ‘I’m giving an effort here.’ You can’t make that stuff up.” |
| Stillitano, who is 56 and has two children, played in the Princeton Tigers soccer team with former national coach Bob Bradley, and after taking a law degree at Rutgers University, was a stadium manager at the 1994 World Cup. Given the changes he has seen in the game in America, could the MLS ever become a major league? “In the past 10 years it’s exploded, and particularly in the last five years. It’s the perfect moment for the MLS,” he says. “So will there be a place for MLS? Absolutely. Can it be one of the top leagues in the world? Yeah, but that’s got to grow organically then you’re going to attract the David Beckhams when they’re 27 years old, not 34.” | Stillitano, who is 56 and has two children, played in the Princeton Tigers soccer team with former national coach Bob Bradley, and after taking a law degree at Rutgers University, was a stadium manager at the 1994 World Cup. Given the changes he has seen in the game in America, could the MLS ever become a major league? “In the past 10 years it’s exploded, and particularly in the last five years. It’s the perfect moment for the MLS,” he says. “So will there be a place for MLS? Absolutely. Can it be one of the top leagues in the world? Yeah, but that’s got to grow organically then you’re going to attract the David Beckhams when they’re 27 years old, not 34.” |
| “You can’t have an NFL in England and in Italy, in China, because at this moment in time in time we’re not developing enough players. But in soccer there are enough players – you can fill probably 10 top leagues in the world and the US can be one. But it won’t be until more than one or two Beckhams or [Frank] Lampards or [Steven] Gerrards come – not after they’re done, but when they’re in their prime. | “You can’t have an NFL in England and in Italy, in China, because at this moment in time in time we’re not developing enough players. But in soccer there are enough players – you can fill probably 10 top leagues in the world and the US can be one. But it won’t be until more than one or two Beckhams or [Frank] Lampards or [Steven] Gerrards come – not after they’re done, but when they’re in their prime. |
| “You have to have a number of these guys on your team and then you can compete. But that really requires opening up the purse strings, and that’s just the reality of modern day sports. The one thing that we have here which is truly amazing, are the fans, it’s crazy. We’ve not developed the super player yet, the super star, but we’ve developed the super fan. | “You have to have a number of these guys on your team and then you can compete. But that really requires opening up the purse strings, and that’s just the reality of modern day sports. The one thing that we have here which is truly amazing, are the fans, it’s crazy. We’ve not developed the super player yet, the super star, but we’ve developed the super fan. |
| “Peter Kenyon [the former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive] used to say all the time: ‘It’s not that there’s 50 million soccer fans in America, it’s that there’s 50 millions fans with money’. That can be construed as cynical, right? But what we’ve been able to do is have fans who can afford to travel, can afford the TV packages, to buy the shirts and to follow a team in a different country. That’s certainly the secret to American sports success and the secret to soccer.” | “Peter Kenyon [the former Manchester United and Chelsea chief executive] used to say all the time: ‘It’s not that there’s 50 million soccer fans in America, it’s that there’s 50 millions fans with money’. That can be construed as cynical, right? But what we’ve been able to do is have fans who can afford to travel, can afford the TV packages, to buy the shirts and to follow a team in a different country. That’s certainly the secret to American sports success and the secret to soccer.” |
| He cuts a controversial figure, but there is little doubt that Stillitano could prove a key man in the ever-shifting landscape of football: in his homeland and in Europe. | He cuts a controversial figure, but there is little doubt that Stillitano could prove a key man in the ever-shifting landscape of football: in his homeland and in Europe. |