Press Conference: President Ben Rosenzweig

This morning, President Ben Rosenzweig met with the media in the press room of Stadio Rocco. The meeting was preceded by a moment of mourning for the passing of former Rector Fermeglia and a clarification from the general manager of the sporting side, Alex Menta, regarding an inaccurate news report published today in a local newspaper, concerning the exclusion of two players during yesterday’s match in Vicenza. The exclusions of Redan and Agostino were due to disciplinary reasons, with their return to the squad starting today, while D'Urso sustained a muscle injury in Lumezzane, which was why he was unable to join the trip to Vicenza.

Ben Rosenzweig:

"My aim and that of my staff is to shape a team that can achieve excellence in the long term, engaging the fans and the city, and upholding the values of work ethic and a sense of responsibility. The legacy we want to provide to the community, to promote lasting progress, also involves an investment we wish to make in the construction of training fields. We are positively negotiating the management of Stadio Rocco, as well as the sports center in the Municipality of Muggia, with a fruitful relationship both with President Fedriga and with the Mayor of Muggia, Polidori.

I want to be clear when I say that we have faced and are still facing many difficult obstacles inherited from the previous ownership. However, our journey continues united and in the right direction, and I am confident that we will achieve significant long-term goals. I acknowledge that this season has had its ups and downs, and I admit that some of our decisions have not been communicated particularly well, causing discontent and disappointment among our fans. As president, I take full responsibility for these mistakes and guarantee that I will do my best and continue to do everything possible to improve these aspects as I get to know Italian football better.

I want the same things that everyone in this room wants. To win as many games as possible and compete for promotion. I hope you believe in this, as well as in building a constructive dialogue to achieve all the goals together. What I love most are the fans, because they are the ones who pass on the love for these colors through generations. I want them to continue following and supporting the team; apathy is our greatest enemy. My goal is to build a club that they can be proud of, supporting and sustaining it for years to come.

We understand the efforts and financial sacrifices all our fans are making to attend the matches, and I guarantee that we are working to find a way to return to playing at the Rocco and to repay the trust the fans have placed in us. We are looking for a way to provide benefits to our fans for the inconveniences not caused by us, and I can promise that we will do everything to ensure that a situation like the one that happened this year does not occur again in the future. I do not ask you to blindly believe in us; I ask for a little time to continue working, not only evaluating the results of the last period but also in the medium to long term, because our intention is to build a better community for everyone. I want to reiterate what I said last July, our commitment to the club's growth is absolutely confirmed, and we will continue to work tirelessly to achieve our goal. I thank all the fans and appreciate their patience because we continue to receive it even in difficult times, and I reiterate that our intention is to win as many matches as possible, reach the playoffs, and try to play our cards to be promoted to Serie B.

Serie C is a difficult business model to sustain, and it is certainly not our intention to stay in it for long. We want to build a reality that can bring lasting success, without moving up and down the Italian football ranks like a yo-yo. But building something takes time. I have great respect for Attilio Tesser, and I am aware that a tough decision was made. But every decision in any field, both on and off the field, is made for the long-term good of the club. Every day, difficult internal decisions must be made that you cannot be aware of. I trust that we will meet here again in a year and talk about a better situation.

We chose Trieste for the value of the community, for this amazing stadium, for a strategic location that can attract interest from the network of investors I have relationships with. Our will is to create a high-level project and infrastructure that can bring tangible benefits to Triestina and the entire community, something that lasts over time. Expectations need to be aligned with results; when these are not achieved, the perception is that steps are being taken backward, putting more pressure on the club. Achieving results without suffering is practically never possible; the club works every day to achieve them, and we will work even harder because we believe in this possibility. I take full responsibility for the choices, even when they involve taking a small step back now to take two steps forward in the future".