“The central point of the whole operation is that Ronaldinho will become a partner of Ravenna and will pursue the dream of scoring the last goal of his career wearing the yellow-red jersey.”
President Ignazio Cipriani confirmed the rumors and revealed the motivations and ambitions of the Ronaldinho operation.
Yesterday afternoon, the nephew of Raul Gardini entrusted his thoughts to a long press release, a week before the big presentation event next Thursday when, in Marina di Ravenna, the ‘Ronaldinho day’ will take place.
“He will make the kids of Ravenna fall in love, then they will cheer for their city’s team”
Cipriani spoke enthusiastically about the whole operation: “The media impact of this operation has been incredible, no use beating around the bush. When you see the name Ravenna alongside Ronaldinho’s on international headlines while the whole world talks about the Fifa World Cup, it has some effect on you. But beyond the newspaper headlines, for me this is first and foremost a personal thing. Dinho was the player who made my entire generation fall in love with football. Bringing him here, making people look at this reality again with this enthusiasm, is the closing of a circle after twenty-four years spent in the United States. Ravenna is home for me. I am sure he will also make the kids of Ravenna fall in love and lead them to cheer for their city’s team. All this visibility does enormous good for the city and gives a huge boost to our sponsors; seeing our territory and those who invest in the club on such a global stage must make us all very proud. Now comes the best moment: Ronaldinho will meet Ravenna and its people. On Thursday I would like to see many people alongside the team, because it will not be just a club evening. It will be a historic moment for the whole city and I believe it should be experienced together.”
“He will play with a clear and romantic goal, namely to try to score his last goal in his career”
The number 1 of the yellow-reds explained in detail how Ronaldinho was involved in the project: “This is not a simple facade move or a marketing ‘play’ to get people talking about us. Ronaldinho will indeed become a partner of Ravenna. This is the central point of the operation. There is a friendship, we have known each other for a long time and this made everything more spontaneous. Moreover, Dinho decided to make a huge gift to this city and its new team: he will take the field for an official professional match with Ravenna. He will play with a clear and romantic goal, namely to try to score his last goal in his career. He will do it with heart, to fill the stadium and above all to bring fans closer and make the kids fall in love with this jersey. He wants to bring his contagious joy directly to our field.”
“The project is solid, credible and looks far ahead”
The president of Ravenna Cipriani also spoke about the future: “We certainly do not stop at the novelty effect. This is the starting point for something much more structured. Alongside me is the Black Duck fund. With them, we are bringing a very modern approach based on data and artificial intelligence for scouting which, combined with the experience of a legend like Ariedo Braida and the work of our sporting director Davide Mandorlini, gives us an extra gear. We have a very close-knit team that lives for Ravenna. We want facilities that are up to standard and a lively stadium. If a person like Ronaldinho decides to become a partner of Ravenna, it means he believes in the project and its future. For us, this is a very clear certification; it shows that the project is solid, credible and looks far ahead. Our path is clear and we know exactly where we want to go and we work every day to build this reality.”
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