Luciano Moggi has chosen not to let Antonio Giraudo’s La Stampa birthday interview pass without a response. Speaking exclusively to TuttoMercatoWeb, the former Juventus director general delivers a mixture of warm brotherly affection and pointed clarification — setting the record straight on several details of Giraudo’s account whilst broadly endorsing his former colleague’s reading of Calciopoli.
“I Share Everything He Said — It Was Envy That Triggered Calciopoli”
Moggi’s opening position is one of fundamental agreement with the substance of Giraudo’s account. “The words of Giraudo? I share everything he essentially said — that it was envy that triggered Calciopoli.” On the intercepts that gave the affair its public character: “When he speaks of vain communication, it is not the communication itself he means. It is the intercepts, of which he also made use. I never said I was more capable — only that we were three people who knew their business. They made me appear even more capable than I was.”
“He Was a Torino Fan — They Didn’t Want Either of Us”
The passage that will generate the most discussion is Moggi’s pointed correction of Giraudo’s framing around their respective arrivals at the club. “Boniperti was no longer there. And it is not that they didn’t want me — they didn’t want either of us. He was a recognised Torino fan. I came from the granata. He spoke about me — but he should have spoken about himself too. When we argued with Paparesta in the changing rooms, he was there too, and nobody sent him away.”
It is a characteristically direct Moggi riposte — generous in its ultimate conclusion but unwilling to let the record stand unchallenged.
“He Will Always Be a Brother — but You Must Be Careful What You Say to Journalists”
Despite the corrections, Moggi’s affection for his former colleague is unmistakable and ultimately genuine. “I have always had great warmth for him and he will always be a brother. But you must be careful what you say — and especially careful about how it is then reported. At a distance of twenty years, it is too easy to talk.” On the quality he most acknowledges in Giraudo: “He said he recognises my ability in management. There also exists the ability to buy and resell — and that kept Juventus from ever having to ask for capital increases.”
“Juventus Has Improved — but It Will Take a Couple of Years”
Moggi’s verdict on the new Juventus is measured but encouraging — and comes with a realistic timeline attached. “From algorithms to a knowledge of football and knowledge of the subject — and this is the most important thing. Massara, Ottolini, and Carnevali know the subject. But to put things right, a couple of years will be needed.”
It is, in its own way, the most succinct and authoritative external assessment of the Carnevali era yet delivered: the right people, the right philosophy, the right direction — but patience will be required before the full fruits are visible. From a man who built the most successful domestic dynasty in the modern era of Italian football, it is an endorsement that carries real weight.
