The Guardian have run a feature piece on Tottenham’s new managing director of football, Fabio Paratici, shedding light on the Italian’s relentless and eccentric way of working.
Paratici certainly seems to be wasting very little time in trying to make his mark at Tottenham, with the Italian thought to be in advanced negotiations for several players.
Paratici enjoyed plenty of success during his time at Juventus, first serving as the sporting director alongside Giuseppe Marotta, then as the chief football officer until the end of last season.
The Guardian have now spoken to people who worked with the Tottenham managing director during his time in Italy to explain some of his eccentric practices.
Paratici is described in the report as ‘an inventive workaholic utterly determined in his pursuit of success’.
The report reveals that the sacred rule of the ‘Paratici code’ is that there are no holidays or breaks and his phone is never turned off.
It is explained that Paratici had relied on iMessages and phone calls for 10 years until Tottenham convinced him to install WhatsApp.
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Apart from the Italian’s well-documented practice of negotiating for up to ten players in one position, it is claimed that he never loses sight of a player or negotiation, even when it does not involve his club, ensuring that he is alert if an opportunity were to open up.
The Guardian also spoke to Javier Ribalta, Parma’s managing director of sport, who worked alongside Paratici at Juventus from 2012 to 2017 as head of scouting.
Ribalta is quoted as saying: “I would call him (Paratici) an incredible worker. I don’t even know when he can find time to sleep.
“He works 24 hours a day, and that’s not a saying. Usually, Paratici’s calls are after midnight, with the energy of someone calling you at noon!
“Fabio watches all kinds of games even at night, from the Copa Libertadores to the Copa América. He watches any match.
“Normally when you are the sporting director or director of football you don’t have the time to follow young players that you do when you work in scouting.
“He, on the other hand, never wants to lose this skill: he always watches games, he never loses anything, he constantly calls his collaborators to be updated on all the players in the world.
Ribalta also gave a glowing endorsement of Paratici’s negotiating skills and revealed that the former Juve man had always been keen to work in the Premier League.
He added: “I will never forget his ability to get Kingsley Coman as a free agent from PSG. Paratici worked on it for six months, day and night.
“We first went to watch the player together several times because Fabio wanted to make sure it was worth investing in Coman; then, as soon as he was convinced to sign Kingsley, he made many – but believe me many – trips to convince Coman, his family and the agents to choose Juventus rather than many other offers and a possible renewal with PSG.
“It was very difficult but with his insistence, hard work and all his skills, Paratici managed to bring him to Juventus. He was only 18; now he’s a star at FC Bayern [Munich]. Not bad.
“He has always had this desire linked to the Premier League. He always told me that he loves London, where he often went for his missions related to negotiations.
“He can make an impact by acquiring important talent and also sell players at a good price to always keep the level high. I wish him the best – a worker like him deserves it.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Based on early signs, it certainly appears as if Paratici was the best new signing we could have made this summer. It also appears as if Levy has allowed the Italian a free hand when it comes to footballing decisions and the Spurs chairman needs to be commended for that.
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