The former CEO of Juventus, disbarred for the Calciopoli scandal: “As president of the FIGC, he thought about his former team. When Umberto Agnelli left, it was the end for us. Tudor has a boat, and he named it ‘Moggi.’”

A selfie. And then another. “Ask for clemency? Why? Clemency is asked for by those who have been given a life sentence…” Luciano Moggi is out of soccer: disbarred, the sentence. Out of the soccer that always brings him back to the center of the ring when the ball enters the most poisoned area.

A selfie. And then another…

“It’s like this every time I walk into a bar or restaurant. Does that seem strange to you? It’s not, here in Turin or elsewhere: I paid, I’m paying, but I didn’t kill anyone and people know that.”

He didn’t kill anyone, but 2006 changed history. The then president of the Italian Football Federation, Franco Carraro, wanted to reopen the case at Sports Prediction dello Sport…

“Carraro says that it all stemmed from a political mistake he made, I read: in 2004, he wanted to replace the two referees Bergamo and Pairetto with Pierluigi Collina, they found out and came to me for support. A real hoax.”

Carraro has no doubts: that’s how it went.

“So… just to set the record straight. In 2004, we and Milan were fighting for the Scudetto and Carraro was trying to favor the Rossoneri, of which he had been president in the past: ‘Please tell him not to help Juventus…’, he said in his phone call to Bergamo. The recipient of that “tell him” was Rodomonti, the referee of our match in Milan against Inter: obviously, he did not mean to help the Nerazzurri, but Milan in the event of a misstep by Juve.”

The former head of the FIGC also says that the two championships should have remained unassigned.

“But he doesn’t say what the Bianconeri executives are guilty of. He doesn’t say it so as not to continue with his lies. Wasn’t it him who admitted to trying to help some teams avoid relegation by damaging others? Instead, he talks about the referees who came to me for protection. How do you explain that? In the week leading up to Milan-Juve on May 8, 2005, we appealed to get Ibrahimovic back, who had been suspended for three games: we requested TV evidence from assistant referee Griselli of Livorno, who had to say whether or not he had seen the foul that no one in the stadium had seen except for a Mediaset camera. As soon as we submitted our appeal to the Commission, there was a phone call between Milan’s referee coordinator Meani and Bergamo. “Griselli is from Livorno like me, Juve will find the door closed…”, said the voice of the referee coordinator.

Who is Luciano Moggi today?

“A grandfather whose youngest grandson asks if he can bring his university friends home to meet me. A grandfather who spends most of his day giving advice on which players to sign: advice to everyone, even the most fashionable managers and coaches.“

A repentant grandfather?

”I came across as arrogant. I didn’t understand that a certain way of being, especially in a place like Turin, doesn’t pay. On the contrary, I’ve always loved to joke around and provoke people.”

Moggi had to step aside: did you ever think of leaving ahead of time?

“We had become cumbersome, we were winning on the field and not only that: the shareholders were increasing their dividends. When we got Capello to sign the contract, I told Giraudo to call Umberto (Agnelli, ed.): he was no longer there, he had left. Antonio, at the wheel, turned to me and said, ‘It’s over for us…’. I understood the meaning of those words two years later.”

Teams or players: the story he likes to remember.

“Zola. I took him to Naples as Maradona’s deputy: no one wanted to bet on him, I saw him in Campobasso, he played for Turris and didn’t do well, but you could see he had technique to spare and personality. ‘Diego’s shirt? One like many others,’ he replied after replacing the Argentine and scoring with Lecce. Maradona got angry.”

Yes, Maradona.

“He showed up in Moscow the next day: it would have been too easy to send him to the stands in the heat, so I put him on the bench in the snow. Never treat champions differently, or you lose credibility in the eyes of the group.”

A little stick, a little carrot…

“Let’s put it this way. Let’s tell David (Trezeguet, ed.): you could only go to the disco when there were no cup games in midweek. He found me at the entrance to Hollywood, and he never set foot in there again.”

Is Tudor a Juve coach?

“Igor is a leader, he knows how to do it: he made his way with us even though he’s not a natural talent. He has to understand, but he has understood, that his fortunes depend on Vlahovic, but that Vlahovic has to be sent onto the field from the bench: that way he can show the world that he’s stronger than the other strikers. If Dusan plays well, we can think about the top four places, otherwise I don’t see it as easy. And, in any case, I would have built the team with an extra midfielder, and maybe a defender, and fewer attacking players.“

Is Tudor a friend?

”In Split, his hometown, he has a boat: do you know what he called it? Moggi. My boys all loved me. And they still do.”