Nicola Cortese
Encyclopedia
Nicola Cortese is an Italian banker who was appointed Executive Chairman of Southampton Football Club, based in Southampton
, England, in August 2009.
where he managed the finances of billionaire
s. He had previously run the sports business desk for Credit Suisse
.
, then in administration
, for Markus Liebherr
, a German-born, Swiss-based industrialist. Following the completion of the purchase, Liebherr realised that his newly-acquired business had no senior management structure, and invited Cortese to take the role of Executive Chairman, with the principal role of developing the long term strategy for the football club and the business. Cortese was appointed a director of Southampton Football Club Limited on 1 August 2009.
At the time of the appointment, Liebherr commented:
On accepting the appointment, Cortese said:
ese striker Papa Waigo on loan in September 2009, Cortese is alleged to have commented that he had "links on the board".
It was subsequently claimed that the club concerned was A.C. Milan
, but Cortese pledged his future to Southampton, saying: "Southampton is my baby; I'm not going to abandon it". In a statement on the club's website, Cortese claimed that he had been approached but that he remained totally committed to Southampton:
, when he was reported to say that, despite the form in the Football League Trophy
, he was not satisfied with the team's results in League One, with the club's "top priority" being to reach the end of season play-offs.
The following month, Cortese denied that there was any rift between him and Pardew, but once again underlined his desire to reach the play-offs at the end of the season. Cortese said they were both of the opinion that the amount spent in January – around £2 million – meant the playoffs had to become their target for the campaign.
A few weeks later, on 28 March 2010, Cortese was present at Wembley
to witness Southampton win the Football League Trophy
, defeating Carlisle United
4–1. After collecting his winner's medal, Pardew embraced both Liebherr and Cortese. Pardew later commented:
in March 2010, Cortese discussed his approach to running a football club.
, Switzerland with his wife Alexandra and two children, then aged 6 and 4. He has since moved his family to Hampshire
.
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, England, in August 2009.
Banking career
Cortese was educated in Switzerland and England in business communication and finance. He was involved for ten years in sports business practice as head of the sports and entertainment desk at various Swiss banks, providing global services to sports and entertainment professionals. His most recent position was as an executive at Banque Heritage in GenevaGeneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
where he managed the finances of billionaire
Billionaire
A billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency, usually the United States dollar, Euro, or Pound sterling. Forbes magazine updates a complete list of U.S. dollar billionaires around the...
s. He had previously run the sports business desk for Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse
The Credit Suisse Group AG is a Swiss multinational financial services company headquartered in Zurich, with more than 250 branches in Switzerland and operations in more than 50 countries.-History:...
.
Appointment as Executive Chairman
In July 2009, Cortese conducted the deal to buy SouthamptonSouthampton F.C.
Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...
, then in administration
Administration (British football)
Sports clubs in the United Kingdom, most often in football, sometimes choose to enter administration when they are unable to pay off outstanding debts. Under the Insolvency Act 1986 a business will face a winding up order bringing them to court and if it is shown that a business cannot pay debts as...
, for Markus Liebherr
Markus Liebherr
Markus Liebherr was a German-born Swiss businessman and a member of one of Europe's top family business dynasties....
, a German-born, Swiss-based industrialist. Following the completion of the purchase, Liebherr realised that his newly-acquired business had no senior management structure, and invited Cortese to take the role of Executive Chairman, with the principal role of developing the long term strategy for the football club and the business. Cortese was appointed a director of Southampton Football Club Limited on 1 August 2009.
At the time of the appointment, Liebherr commented:
Nicola has been pivotal in conceiving the purchase of the Club and making it happen. I am now delighted to entrust him with overseeing the Club's progress, development and achievement of success over the long term. Nicola and I have enjoyed a long business relationship and it was Nicola who convinced me about buying the Club. He then conducted what proved to be a very difficult process very expertly and professionally. Ultimately, it happened because Nicola was at all times focused on strong business and ethical principles. Since our early conversations about the deal I made it clear that I would only buy the Club if he remained involved following the purchase. I am therefore very happy that he has accepted the role as Executive Chairman.
On accepting the appointment, Cortese said:
I have been running the Club as Markus' representative since 8 July and a good start has been made in recruiting well regarded senior staff and our new First Team Manager, who have begun putting together the strategies for on and off field success. But it is only a start. We have been reviewing, and will continue to review, every aspect of the Club. We will be applying policies to our football team, commercial operations, financial structures, community work and fan communications which ensure that we run as a first-in-class football club and business.
I realise that there are great expectations and I will ensure that every effort is expended to meet these expectations, but effectively we need to restructure and create a solid base from which we can build and become successful. This will take time. We will take our example from our supporters, who already are what we aim to become – Premier League. With their support we will again become a Premier League Club. The supporters, the City of Southampton and the region deserve nothing less. Everyone at the Club will be fully committed to responding to this great challenge.
Links with Italian football clubs
In January 2010, rumours were circulated that a top Italian club had approached Southampton about Cortese with a view to him joining their board of directors. Initially the mystery club was believed to be Fiorentina, because at the time that Southampton signed SenegalSenegal national football team
The Senegal national football team, nicknamed the Lions of Teranga, is the national team of Senegal and is controlled by the Fédération Sénégalaise de Football...
ese striker Papa Waigo on loan in September 2009, Cortese is alleged to have commented that he had "links on the board".
It was subsequently claimed that the club concerned was A.C. Milan
A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly referred to as A.C. Milan or simply Milan , is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Lombardy, that plays in the Serie A. Milan was founded in 1899 by English lace-maker Herbert Kilpin and businessman Alfred Edwards among others...
, but Cortese pledged his future to Southampton, saying: "Southampton is my baby; I'm not going to abandon it". In a statement on the club's website, Cortese claimed that he had been approached but that he remained totally committed to Southampton:
I am obviously flattered about the interest, and flattered that it has come from a top, top team because I think this is a success, not just for me, but for Southampton Football Club, the supporters, my management team and our First Team. It shows that what is happening here is attracting awareness, that is good for both our supporters and our partners, and also good for attracting new partners. It shows that we are not just creating awareness locally, but nationally, and also as it seems internationally. My answer at the time when I had this approach was a simple one and I didn't have to think for even a second about it. The club, despite where they are and the success that they have had in the past in the Italian leagues cannot offer me anything that Southampton cannot achieve.
Comments to the Press
In February, Cortese was interviewed on Radio Solent when he appeared to put pressure on the Southampton manager, Alan PardewAlan Pardew
Alan Scott Pardew is an English football manager and former player, currently the manager of Newcastle United....
, when he was reported to say that, despite the form in the Football League Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
, he was not satisfied with the team's results in League One, with the club's "top priority" being to reach the end of season play-offs.
If you go back to the beginning of the season, Southampton were probably not in a much different position than Norwich or Charlton, with the difference that we started on minus ten points; but Norwich or Charlton had no money to spend in the window. We all know what we spent. Now we are approximately 30 points behind Norwich and 20 points behind Charlton. I think that gap is simply too big.
The following month, Cortese denied that there was any rift between him and Pardew, but once again underlined his desire to reach the play-offs at the end of the season. Cortese said they were both of the opinion that the amount spent in January – around £2 million – meant the playoffs had to become their target for the campaign.
We spent quite a considerable amount of money in the transfer window. Simply, when you do that automatically your expectations change. When the manager comes to ask me about buying players, we also talk about what we are going to end up with when we are buying those players. So we were always on the same page with what we want to achieve.
A few weeks later, on 28 March 2010, Cortese was present at Wembley
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
to witness Southampton win the Football League Trophy
Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy, currently known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football knock-out competition open to the 48 clubs in Football League One and Football League Two, the bottom two divisions in the four fully professional top...
, defeating Carlisle United
Carlisle United F.C.
Carlisle United F.C. is an English football club based in Carlisle, Cumbria, where they play at Brunton Park. Formed in 1904, the club currently compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system....
4–1. After collecting his winner's medal, Pardew embraced both Liebherr and Cortese. Pardew later commented:
There's been a lot of speculation about what the acting chief executive has said and some of the pressure he's put on us and I have to accept that. It was important we won this so I can look him in the eye and say "we've won this".
Business style
In an interview with The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
in March 2010, Cortese discussed his approach to running a football club.
Clubs spend money they do not have; they spend next year’s income. They spend money that will not arrive for two years and say, "But we'll have some success and bring in more cash to cover the shortfall". It cannot be sustained. In good times you need to be saving money for the bad times. If we reach the Premier League, I would like to be in a position where we did not need parachute payments. In good years you should put money away for the bad years.
Family
At the time of his appointment, Cortese was living in EnnetbadenEnnetbaden
Ennetbaden is a municipality in the district of Baden in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland, located in the Limmat Valley .-Geography:...
, Switzerland with his wife Alexandra and two children, then aged 6 and 4. He has since moved his family to Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
.