Passion for soccer, expertise and great enthusiasm. Joseph Casini is one of our students from the Football Observer Course who is currently working as Observer in Parma soccer scouting area. A small dream realized in the face of a thousand other dreams, for a talent for soccer that is innate and now almost entirely dedicated, with love and devotion, to the younger generation.
Giuseppe Casini, in this interview, tells us about himself and his experience with Sport Business Academy.
Where are you from and how old are you? Tell us a little about yourself....
I am Casini Giuseppe, I am 47 years old and live in Castellarano, in the province of Reggio Emilia. I work as an employee in a company in the ceramic sector. I am married and have 2 children, one 18 years old and the other 13. My weekends are totally turned to soccer, both as an Observer and as a father of a 13-year-old boy who plays for Reggiana.
What was your course of study?
I attended an industrial technical institute in Modena, from which I graduated as a computer technician.
Why did you enroll in the Sport Business Academy course? And how did you learn about SBA's educational offerings?
In the spring of 2020, during the difficult lockdown period, forced to stay at home, I got to thinking about what I had done in my life and what I wanted to do: turn my great passion for football into a work experience. In the past, I always watched games in strict silence. I loved analyzing players on the field, especially young players, and that is where my passion for scouting came from. I started to read up on it through the Internet and the SBA Football Scouting Course appeared by chance. I asked for information, then I enrolled and here I am, telling my
path.
How was the Course you attended and what did you learn?
The classroom phase of the Course, conducted in Bologna, was a fantastic experience, with trained lecturers including former professional players who are now important managers in the soccer that counts. Without going into details, the course experience made me enter and understand the world of scouting in every aspect, strictly using technical language employed in the second phase of the course to write the 10 technical reports of target players.
How has the Course been helpful to you? Do you work within a sports club? What is your current role?
The Course gave me the opportunity to have the training necessary to create an adequate
Working method to tackle the third stage of the course: internship at a company
professional. I currently work without a contract as an Observer in the Parma club in the
provinces of Reggio Emilia and Modena.
What are you looking forward to in the immediate future?
My near future means enthusiastically preparing for the coming weekend in the various
soccer fields, trying to help, through my small contribution, children and young people to
fulfill their dream of becoming professional players.
What is your biggest dream?
My biggest dream would be to continue working in scouting for a professional team with a contract and minimal pay (I do NOT consider the financial aspect to be crucial). This would be the crowning achievement of a path composed of many sacrifices and would give me the knowledge that I have done something important, that I have earned a place in professional soccer. And to finally be able to shout: I'VE ALSO MADE IT!
How did your passion for soccer come about?
I think that one has a passion for soccer from birth as one's personality, and then it is directed or enhanced depending on one's environment, friends, parents, and experiences that set goals for you to achieve. I have always played soccer in amateur clubs as long as my physique allowed me, then I had to leave room for the new generation like my son who was my inspiration for enrolling in the Observer course. Seeing the happiness and fun of children inside a soccer field fascinated me.
Who is your favorite player? And what skills and qualities do you think potential champions should have?
I do not have one favorite player but many, with characteristics that express different qualities from each other. In my opinion, to become a champion, the mental and psychological aspect is crucial. Let me explain: among so many good players in terms of technical, athletic, physical qualities, etc., only those who possess enormous mental strength are able to express their talent and overcome the moments of difficulty that will inevitably be there, with determination and willingness to work and sacrifice.
If I have to consider one aspect, I believe that the future champion must have a good "motor," understood as a high motor rhythm since today's soccer involves intensity and aggression, with reduced space and playing time in which the target player must have speed of execution combined with an equal speed of thought.
What characteristics do you think someone who wants to enter the profession of football observer should have instead?
There must definitely be a great PASSION for the game of soccer so that other fundamental elements such as TRAINING, METHOD and AVAILABILITY can be nurtured. TRAINING: a study through courses, books, the Internet, newspapers and field experience is essential in order to learn about the various aspects and language of scouting. METHOD: this is the part that identifies and personalizes the way each Scout works. I recommend creating one's own database and worksheets to be used during match monitoring, with any simplified parameters of the various players reported.
Each method of work must be shaped according to the demands and inputs of the companies for which one works. I would like to emphasize that watching a game is totally different from OBSERVING a game: when I am observing a game, it is as if I am also on the field along with the players. Everything around doesn't exist and I am so focused on the boys that I sometimes have a hard time remembering the final result! AVAILABILITY: Of course to become an Observer you have to be "hungry" for games, so willing to travel and commit weekends to soccer fields.
