05 August 2014
Andrea Agnelli believes the Bianconeri’s Asia-Pacific tour will provide the ideal opportunity for the team to connect with their foreign fanbase and drive the club’s long-term internationalisation strategy forward.
Speaking exclusively to Bloomberg from Singapore, the club president began: “We’ve had an interesting four years in which there’s been a large-scale turnaround of the company both on sporting and managerial levels.
“One of the last pillars of this strategy is the internationalisation of the brand. We went to Tokyo last year and are doing a lot of digital activity in Asia but it’s nice to be here physically and strengthen our bond with the fans in person.”
The incredible welcome Juventus were treated to upon last night’s arrival in Indonesia was proof that distance truly knows no bounds when it comes to passion for the black and white stripes.
Such enthusiasm does not go unnoticed, and Agnelli confirmed the club’s intention to bring fans increasingly closer to the action through the means of digital media.
“We’re the most supported team in Italy with 14 million fans and have a further 180 million across the globe to reach out to. Whilst they’re close to us in terms of passion and dreams, they remain physically distant from the action. The only way to reach them is through the digital world, and that’s an opportunity we continue to explore.”
As far as on-field matters are concerned, the Juventus president says he is confident the team is in a good position to reward such great support with another campaign to remember.
“It’s been an interesting window for us with the likes of Patrice Evra, Alvaro Morata and Roberto Pereyra joining to bolster a team that won three successive titles. We want to reconfirm ourselves in Italy and be as good as possible in Europe – that’s where we belong.”
Concluding with a thought on the current FIGC presidential elections, Agnelli expressed his desire for a common goal to be established in order to allow Italian football to develop for the benefit of all concerned.
He added: “When you look at Italy there’s no technical plan or collective idea on where the system should be going. We’re currently running the elections and have one candidate who talks about players eating bananas rather than outlining his proposals to move us forward. There’s a lot that needs to be done and we should be looking ahead rather than dwelling on the past.”
