September 27, 2022
The brief from today:
Lotito gets into politics
Lazio owner and president, Claudio Lotito, has decided to test his abilities in the world of politics. He isn’t just experimenting, however, he has actually successfully run, and won, an election campaign for a seat in the Italian Senate. The Lazio patron will now be the representative in the Italian government for the Molise region. Lotito isn’t the first football owner, or high level executive, to run for office, however, as the political party he is affiliated with, Forza Italia, was actually founded by Silvio Berlusconi. Berlusconi was the former owner of AC Milan, and famously held the office of Prime Minister of Italy four times during his time at Milan. Of course during the periods he was in political office, he would simply hold a non-official title at the club, and cede controlling authority to his right hand man: Adriano Galliani, who has also dabbled in politics, recently winning a Senate seat in 2018. Lotito may now have to consider something similar regarding the position he will hold at Lazio while being in the government, but there is no telling what the 65-year-old will decide. After all, this is the same man that owned both Lazio and Salernitana, and when the latter was promoted to Serie A for the 2021/22 season, he knew he couldn’t continue to own two teams in the same league. Despite this being known in advance, and understanding that he would have to sell one of the two clubs otherwise risk one team losing its status in the league, he still let the sale run down to the final day of the deadline. Lotito has also received his fair share of suspensions ranging from his involvement in the 2006 Calciopoli scandal, to third party ownerships of some his own players, as well as ignoring COVID protocols. To say the man is unpredictable is quite an understatement, and his foray into the world of politics is now further proof of this.
Lotito can now add Senator to his credentials
John Mikel Obi officially retires
Nigerian midfielder, John Mikel Obi, has officially retired from his playing career. The 35-year-old is one of the country’s most successful exports, having won a number of titles primarily during his 11-year spell at Chelsea including: the Champions League, Premier League (twice), FA Cup (three times), and the Europa League. Mikel came onto the scene at a very young age playing for local side Plateau United, which earned him a move to Norwegian side Lyn in 2004 when he was just 17. Following two years of impressive displays, attention from some big European sides began to increase with Manchester United agreeing a deal to sign the teenager. This announcement was premature, however, as Chelsea would also claim they had agreed a transfer with Mikel. The difference between the two deals, it would later appear, was that United allegedly negotiated directly with Mikel and Lyn, while Chelsea are said to have involved his agents in discussions. Mikel would later state that he was pressured into the deal with United, and in the end Chelsea agreed to pay their Premier League rivals £12 million, in addition to the £16 million transfer fee to Lyn to acquire the player. The transfer saga would soon be history as Mikel would go on to play in 372 matches for Chelsea until his departure in 2017. After Chelsea, the man from Jos, Nigeria would go on to play for Tianjin (China), Middlesbrough (England), Trabzonspor (Turkey), Stoke City (England), and Kuwait SC (Kuwait). In addition to the aforementioned titles at Chelsea, Mikel also lifted the Turkish Cup with Trabzonspor, while on the national team level he was part of the 2013 AFCON winning side. His club career effectively ended in November 2021 after the termination of his contract with Kuwait SC, but as of today he has officially called time on a successful career.
John Mikel Obi calls time on his successful career