Genoa’s current transfer guru knows the club and how to work in a team: that’s why Continassa considers him the best candidate

From McKennie to De Winter, via the Club15 project and the first steps of the Under-23 second team. Marco Ottolini has a history at Juve that could prove useful in his new role as sporting director, following his current experience at Genoa, which has given him his first taste of the front line. He is an up-and-coming executive, now fully established with experience gained both in Italy and abroad, who could be the most functional fit for Juve’s vision, which looks to the future with confidence. He is at the top of Comolli’s list: he could be the new point of reference for the transfer market and recruitment at the club.
Ottolini would be reunited at Juve with Claudio Chiellini, with whom he worked to set up the Under-23 project under the supervision of Federico Cherubini. It was the first project he worked on in Turin after an initial period in scouting, during which he identified promising players such as McKennie, De Winter, and Dragusin. These players had the potential to play for a big team (and events proved him right) and at least some of them passed through Juve’s second team, on which the club made a good profit at the end of the growth stages envisaged at the time of the transactions.

CHARACTERISTICS—  On Cherubini’s recommendation, Ottolini was also responsible for the Club15 project: a network of contacts with important teams in Europe’s second and third tiers, with the aim of exchanging best practices in management and technical areas. He is a highly reliable manager who knows how to recognize talent and organize structures well: characteristics that he has also demonstrated recently at Genoa, working with foreign owners. At Continassa, he is considered the best candidate because he knows the club and has all the qualities needed to work in a team. CURRICULUM—  The Brescia-born executive worked at Anderlecht between 2015 and 2018 as head of international scouting and has in-depth knowledge of both the European market and the emerging market in the United States. In recent months, Comolli has carefully analyzed potential collaborators to add to the Juventus structure: Ottolini’s resume meets the club’s needs, and his candidacy is also welcomed by Giorgio Chiellini, who personally appreciates his professional and human qualities. The executive could soon be released from his contract with Genoa to return to Juve: Continassa needs a sporting director.