Historical match!

This year is very important for FC Inter and FC Lugano - both of them have anniversary - 110 years! On 14^th of July, they will play together in Lugano.

An Interview with Luca Pedroni - Responsabile Marketing e Business Development of FC Lugano that will be very interesting for all football fans!

- Tell us about the history of FC Lugano, about legendary players, fateful matches, and sensational results. How did the club change? The most interesting periods in the history of the team are ...   

– The club was founded in 1908. We won Swiss Cup and Swiss Championship for three times. There are four most famous players in history of our club: Otto Luttrop, Mauro Galvao, Nelson Dida and Igor Shalimov. The team went bankruptcy in 2003; it came back to the Swiss Super League only in 2015 with Angelo Renzetti as a president. You can visit our website for more information. Today we are team with the smallest budget and smallest group of people working for it in the Swiss Super League.

– Very soon, on July 14, there will be a friendly game with FC Inter. What are the team's expectations and goals for this game? Will this game be important for both clubs? Tell us about the idea of organizing this jubilee match?

–We do not have any special expectation for this game, because it is a friendly game. What is important about this game is the fact, that it comes only one week before our start season against Sion. It will be a good test for us, against an important club with top players. The idea came because of foundation date: both teams were founded in 1908 and we are both 110 year old. Inter really appreciated the idea to create the 110 Summer Cup Trophy.

FC Lugano won Swiss Cup for three times, photo WEB

– What were the results of the last team's friendly games in the new season? Are there any forecasts for the upcoming game with Inter FC?

– We won 5-1 against Bellinzona during the last test-game. However, we do not take friendly games too seriously, because no one wants to get injured. Often players are suffering, because they give one's best at training sessions.

– What is the difference between the Swiss Premier League (Raiffeisen Super League) and the Italian Seria A? What distinguishes FC Lugano and FC Inter from other sports clubs in the world?

– The main differences are budget and number of people. Our budget is around 8 million Swiss Francs; it is the salary of Mauro Icardi, the Inter star. Our top teams (YB-Basel) will be able to stay near the 5-8 position in the Italian Serie A.

FC Lugano – Bellinzona, 5:1, photo © fclugano.com

– FC Lugano: Who are they? Tell us about the players, the coach, the administrative part of the team. Who came to your "family" this year? The most important people in the club are ...

– FC Lugano played last year at the group stage of UEFA Europa League, that’s why me and other people came to the club one year ago. Our president Angelo Renzetti is the most important person in the club. Thanks to the administrative director and the sports director, he manages the club without being every day at the stadium. Our group of players is a good mix between experienced players and young players. We do not have a lot of money, so we have to look the balance sheet every day.

 Angelo Renzetti is the president of FC Lugano, the club's main person, photo WEB

– The brightest star of Inter is ...

– Mauro Icardi for sure.

– A few words about the sponsors of FC Inter and FC Lugano.

– Please, check Inter website. For us: our main sponsor is AIL, the city’s electricity company. Our other main sponsors are Implenia, Nordstern, Volkswagen, GTL.

– Tell us about the fans of FC Lugano. What are they? How many tickets are usually sold for the matches? How often do they buy souvenirs? The main difference between the tribune of FC Lugano fans from others is ...

– Our fans are quiet. We have an average of 4000 fans per match. Usually our fans buy merchandising apparel around 1-2 times per year. Our tribune fans are quite old and all of them are football managers (smiles)… 

– How many tickets were left at the guest stands on the upcomming match on July 14? In your opinion, how important will be this game for the Milano club's fans?

– We still have around 2000 tickets to sell. For fans it is important only for one thing: it’s the first friendly match for Inter this year. They want to have a look at new players like Nainngolan. As an opponent, they do not take us too seriously…

FC Lugano fans, photo © fclugano_official

– Are there any tasks set by the club management? Please, give a small calendar of upcoming matches for your fans. 

– Our season will start on July 21, in Sion, on July 29 we will play against YB at home. It will be one of the most important games in the season, because during this day we will celebrate Lugano’s 110 Birthday. We will play in historical jersey without sponsor labels, and we will have a party with our fans all day and all night.

– Plans for the future of the main team Ticino are ...

– We want to become the team for all football fans in Ticino. We want to grow, we want to have a new stadium and we want to find new financial sources in order to develop a long-term sustainable business.

INFORMATION

Football match FC Lugano - FC Inter will be held at Carnaredo Stadium on July 14 at 20:00 local time

You can buy tickets and find more information on the official website of FC LUGANO!

Ekaterina Tikhonova, Switzerland, Lugano  

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