The coach called in to save the Campania club in Serie C: “I’ll be like a surgeon. I want to get a team back on its feet that was struggling before I arrived. But for entertainment, there’s the circus.”
Eziolino Capuano is back. He’s wearing his blue cap and his usual mirrored sunglasses. He walks hurriedly across the field as he directs his Giugliano team’s training session: he observes, encourages the players, and corrects every detail. “Soccer is enthusiasm. After 38 years on the bench, I wanted to quit. I went through ten months of suffering due to the traumatic separation from Trapani. My family convinced me to start again. Today, I feel reborn. I wake up every morning to go to the stadium and make the city happy.” The Campania club has chosen to focus on the Salerno coach: he is the third change of the season at the helm of the team. Now the Gialloblù are stuck on 12 points in the playout zone in Group C of Serie C: “I will be like a surgeon. I want to get a team back on its feet that was struggling before I arrived. I will wear the white coat, but I will always remain a coach of the people.”
The defeat against Monopoli, then the two wins against Benevento in the Coppa Italia and Siracusa. Capuano’s cure seems to be working.
“I found a group of men, rather than just players. At Giugliano, there is a close-knit, united dressing room. In my career, I have often found myself in teams that were going through difficult situations. I immediately told the guys that ‘winning is something everyone wants, but knowing how to prepare for victory is a privilege enjoyed by few.’”
Where will Giugliano start from?
“From vertical and aggressive play. We have to run, get to the ball first, fight. Soccer is a simple sport: the team must know how to propose and maintain positions. For entertainment, there’s the cinema or the circus.“
Once again, there will be no room for building from the back in his 3-5-2 formation.
”I call it destruction from the back. The club is a business and, like any company, it wants results. It’s the same for the fans; the people only think about winning. I wrote about 3-5-2 in my thesis at Coverciano 16 years ago, when few colleagues in Italy were using it.“
At that time, he closely observed Mourinho and his Inter team that won the Treble.
”We were schoolboys, there was a misunderstanding with the team manager, and he intervened to defend us. I also admire the pragmatism of Conte and Allegri. I’m not a gambler. A coach is like a painter.”
Meaning?
“He must have ideas. Think of Van Gogh, a genius. How many replicas of his paintings are there? Lots. But they don’t belong to the original, so they’re not art. In soccer, you need imagination, in Serie A as well as in the First Division. And for a while, I lost it.”
Leaving Trapani affected him deeply.
“How can they sleep and caress their loved ones thinking about what they did to me? Agreeing to work with that management was the biggest mistake of my life. I paid dearly for it. They accused me of dishonesty in a shameful letter. I took the matter to court and the judge ruled in my favor. I wouldn’t wish the ten months of pain I went through on anyone. I’ll venture a comparison: I probably would have preferred to be in a hospital.“
However, he found the strength to fight back.
”Thanks to the love of my family and the extraordinary work of my lawyers. I couldn’t let a group of people who have been playing soccer for three days win. Giugliano is the right opportunity to start over.“
He spent 38 years on the bench, all between amateur and Serie C. He coached everywhere: from Modena to Messina. His greatest achievement?
”My last year at Taranto, the city is in my heart. In 2024, without the penalty points, we would have won promotion to Serie B.“
Do you use technology in your work?
”Absolutely not. I don’t even use social media.“ Yet videos of your cult phrases are everywhere.
”My wife and son often tell me that, but I don’t have these distractions.”
Is soccer the only thing that matters to Capuano?
“I live for soccer and I always speak from the heart. I’ve never bluffed in my life. I have principles and I say what I think, unlike many others. For me, the players are like my children. They should be kissed when they’re asleep, never during the day.”
What is your goal?
“To work and stay in this world as long as I have the strength.”
In your career, you have never gone beyond Serie C. Is the time right?
“I remain focused on the present. Coaching Giugliano is worth more than leading a team in the Champions League.”
