Translator: Claudia Di Lorenzo Reviewer: Muriel de Meo
Once upon a time the field of Via Moscova.
This story is set a few short steps from this theatre,
a stone's throw from Duomo Square.
It was 1979.
The year when this photo was taken,
Jody Scheckter, in Monza, becomes Formula 1 champion,
and AC Milan earns its tenth star in the national title,
and Pietro Mennea sets an unbelievable record,
19"72 in the 200 metres.
Just imagine that 40 years on, even now,
the record is unbeaten at a European level.
No European has ever run faster than him.
But above all, something happens
that changed forever the history of an area of Milan.
The United Nations proclaim 1979 the International Year of the Child.
Something that would normally make no difference.
And yet Carlo Tognoli, back then mayor of Milan,
decides to do something.
So he seizes the opportunity
and clears the area in front of Via Moscova 26
from the rubble of a bombing of the Second World War
and he realises a football field.
All right, it isn't a glamourous place,
it's an esplanade with two goals, which soon rust, and a basketball court;
but I assure you, it was a magnificent place,
because it had a noble mission:
sports for the youth.
I remember that field as if it were yesterday.
I went there every day, with my ball under my arm,
it was five minutes from home, but it only took me three to get there.
I couldn't wait to get to the field.
It was the neighbourhood's Maracanà.
A theatre of memorable battles.
For instance, I remember the derby
between the clerks of the INAIL building
and the funeral home employees in Porta Nuova.
(Laughter)
So no applauses: people would keep their hands in their pockets.
(Laughter)
And then there was -
(Applause)
And then there was the super-classic
between the Carabinieri from the barracks you see up there,
and the male nurses of the Fatebenefratelli hospital,
and they beat each other like drums: Florentine football, more than football.
Regardless, aside from these unmissable fixtures,
the field had become in the 1980s
an exceptional meeting, socialisation spot for the neighbourhood,
where kids like me were doing - without knowing, and this is key -
one of the healthiest things anyone can do in life: sports.
So up to here the story goes nice and dandy.
But it didn't.
Because something big arrives, something huge,
which puts an end to the story of the field, and of the 1980s.
Do you know what? The 1990s.
And Milan turns into Swiss cheese,
holes were dug up everywhere to build underground car parks.
Even under your house I'm sure there was some big hole:
there were holes in Gramsci Square, one in San Ambrogio, 25th April square -
Guys, could a hole be missing in Via Moscova? Of course no.
And guess where did they dig? Where the field was.
Here was the end of the endless games,
the end of the memorable battles.
Does the story of the field end here?
No. It depends.
Good, that's how I like you.
It depends. On whom? On us.
Because, if there's one thing I learnt, one thing I learnt over these years
is that it everything always depends on us.
So, if we don't want this story to end
with only a handful of extra car parks,
I'm asking for your help, because I won't go very far by myself.
So I'm asking all of you to stand up with me.
I'll make you work even on a Sunday.
Everybody up?
Put your hands behind your backs,
so we'll also beat the record
of the highest number of old dudes watching a construction site.
(Laughter)
And imagine how this story may end.
Because it is true that a void is a problem; it must be filled.
Some do so buying a motorcycle, or a pair of shoes.
This is a huge void, we need to fly higher.
So who says that, in the end, on top of the car park layers
we can't put some icing
and realise a football field that is nicer and stronger than before?
[It takes] a bit of creativity and enthusiasm.
So we can pick up from where we left off,
so no one is taking away our football field.
And what about Mennea's record? Shall we try to beat it?
We need an athletics track,
and a building licence.
François said so, I'm from Cagliari, and I miss the beach so bad,
so let's dream big,
let's pick up some sand and let's build a beach volley court.
Don't ask me to bring over the sea,
we'll do instead "Italian style", something creative,
let's build a basketball court, and let's paint it blue, sea-like.
Thank you, you may sit down now,
because we declare the construction complete,
the fastest building job in history.
We finished it in one minute.
You won't believe it, but -
(Applause)
Unity is strength.
But what we daydreamt for a minute
is exactly what I was faced with
when I took a walk and went to see the end of works, in 2013.
We owe this to a group of citizens,
who, just like we did, did not get discouraged,
they fought with patience and tenacity.
They built all the car parks, the Green Moscova Cooperative,
but they also put on the icing.
So can we open it now, can't we?
Because the centre is closed.
They haven't opened it yet.
And incidentally, I find out that in those days
the city of Milan was looking for an administrator.
So I run home, full of enthusiasm,
and I jot down a 52-page project on how I'd manage that place.
I place it in an envelope, and I send it to Chiara Bisconti,
alderman of sport, 2, Via Marconi, Milan City Hall.
And I wait.
(Laughter)
With much optimism, come on, we'll manage the field.
A week, two weeks, two months, three months, four months -
The phone doesn't ring.
It finally does, at eight at night.
Unknown number. Shall I pick up? It's dinner time, after all.
Yes. Guess who it was.
It was Fastweb wanting to sell me the mega fibre - No, I'm joking.
They told me, "Don't say that, it's a sponsor", but I did.
(Laughter)
No -
(Applause)
It must have happened to you too.
Worse, it was the alderman.
They had loved the project,
and the next day I had to go to her office
to collect the keys because "Soon", in a hurry,
"Luigi, you have to open within 30 days."
You understand how the enthusiasm and the happiness last about one minute
and soon turns into -
(Laughter)
absolute terror.
And I assure you that if you only knew
what I put in that envelope, in that project,
you would also panick big time.
Let's read it together,
so we take up a little dose of fear all together, which is good for you.
I won't read all 52 pages.
I wrote: creating a sports area that acts as a model for the whole city,
managed according to ethical and innovative criteria
to promote sports, wellbeing and health
fostering participation and integration beyond any differences and prejudices.
How do you do all that stuff?
I had really shot high, because I wanted to manage the field, but -
(Laughter)
(Applause)
Settle down,
you follow the other 51 pages of the project methodically,
and if we want to create a model area
we need to improve the structure that was already there,
because there indeed were a few flaws.
A 20,000-euro loan by a friendly bank, immediate liquidity,
my dad, who's here somewhere.
(Laughter)
And we build the locker rooms -
there were no hot showers, no benches,
and we cover the athletics track, which was made of asphalt,
with technical material.
And while we are at it, we make the real dream come true:
we receive truckloads of sand for the beach volley court.
Then, over the years, little by little, after two years,
we also realised a gym,
so we put up a roof on a sports centre, which had been entirely outdoor.
We're halfway through the construction, we've built the roof,
which we celebrate with "malloreddus alla campidanese"
prepared by my mom that morning.
I hadn't prepared them. Is Pietro Palvarini here?
My mom had prepared them, I can tell you now.
So the sports centre is the atomic bomb, guys.
It's sensational,
the first people we want to welcome once we open the gates
are the children, those of the Year of the Child,
who are now in their 50s,
but they have their own children, so more people in the neighbourhood.
But there isn't much time, because we only have 30 days.
So myself and my partner,
who's the first person I called
when I saw the ad from the city,
together with him and the old five-a-side friends
we quickly put together a non-profit
to realise that mission and open the field.
So, here we are.
We look more like those guys welcoming you onto the ferry,
but I assure you it's us.
Over time, we create over six years a veritable team,
made up of educators, coaches and project managers.
The projects are the heart of the sports centre;
they are intended
for those whose life's starting blocks
were a few steps behind ours,
due a condition of physical or social disadvantage.
And those like me who had all the fortunes in the world are pleased to wait,
and support them to take a journey of sports and life together.
So there are plenty of activities.
We have 100 free courses for low-income families,
so those in need have a fair chance to play sports.
And then there's the issue of welcoming migrants,
so we have multicultural football, basketball teams that are open to anyone.
During Saturday mornings trainings, the centre becomes the navel of the world.
There are kids from Palestine, Kosovo, Senegal, Mali
who play with Italian kids to have an enriching experience?
The more diverse the cultures, the richer the people.
We also focus on the accessibility of sports to people with disabilities.
So we have a program of crossdisciplinary activities
open to people of every age and ability.
Because if we get different people to do sports together,
the experience is far richer.
This mix of individuals and this variety of people on the field
is the key that makes this centre the home of sports for everyone.
To realise our mission there,
otherwise it's useless, it remains just a sheet of paper.
So there are kids on wheelchairs who come to the centre to play
with the staff of the non-profits accompanying them,
there are families who take their children to attend our courses
and they join gym courses alongside kids with disabilities.
There are phenomenal visually impaired baseball players,
who open the eyes of those
who sometimes forget how good sports are for you,
and they do it together.
And of course running cannot be missing:
the easiest of sports, you only need a pair of shoes.
We have a free running club
where disabled children and volunteers train to run marathons and relays.
We began tentatively with five people
then, after three years, step by step,
the whole world arrived there are 500 of us,
with firms, partners, institutions that have joined us,
50 youths with disabilities,
and the day of the marathon is an extraordinary event.
With all these activities, all these projects,
with the necessary enthusiasm,
leaving home, rain or shine,
winning, losing, sweating, falling and getting back up,
in other words, doing sports, change begins.
The most profound one. The one within yourself.
So the mood is lifted,
you breathe -
It shows that I started doing yoga last Monday, huh?
You bunch of phonies.
So you just feel better.
You're more sociable, you laugh more, you joke more,
you reconnect with yourselves.
I saw this change in the face of a person who one day came to the centre,
a company manager who had supported our projects.
"I want to come and play with the disabled kids."
"Great, come over."
He came in tensed, after a presumably hellish day at work,
with all the muscles in his face contracted.
He held out his hand to greet the first kid,
and this boy with down syndrome just sprang into a wonderful hug
I'm jealous, I'd have liked to receive a hug like that.
It wasn't your everyday hug.
It was warm, human, long, therapeutic.
And this person got better immediately.
He had fun, he relaxed,
and he played with the kids; he still thanks us today.
A hug was enough to trigger all this.
What an ability!
After you witness episodes like these, you ask yourself some questions.
I know.
Who's disabled?
And I gave myself some answers.
We all have disabilities and abilities.
Everyone of us is able to do one thing perfectly,
and everyone of us is incapable of doing other things,
we have our disabilities, possibly because we've worked too much?
Because we've been looking at our mobile everywhere like dowsers,
and we have the world's most nimble thumbs,
but we've let other parts of us wither?
Can it be?
So sports are always round the corner,
there's always a gym open 24 hours a day,
seven days a week,
to help us train the most important parts.
Our body? Easy bet.
The head? The Romans said it already.
The heart, above all.
So it is a gym where each of us can bring, first and foremost, our abilities.
Let's start from the nice things, because we share those first,
then the not-so-nice ones, our disabilities,
will look more human, more manageable, overcomeable.
This is why sports are magic, and sports change lives.
And just like it changed mine,
and in small or large part
the lives of the other protagonists of this story,
I am sure that it can be achieved
in other places with similar social challenges.
Because Milan, Italy and even other countries
are full of fields ready to take flight.
And, I hope, there are plenty of people -
maybe even in this theatre, at home, around the world,
ready to invest in the magic of sports.
The sports revolution, I feel it,
can explode anywhere and in anyone,
provided one condition.
One condition must be fulfilled: our willingness to light the fuse.
Our willingness to take the first step,
our willingness to dare more, to get involved, play more.
That's it, play more.
I'm actually terrible at this myself,
because I too forget this thing some time.
So I wanted to write it down
in the most visible place I could find,
a place I would have in front of my nose ten, a hundred, a thousand times a day,
together with the other protagonists who have joined me in this story.
I wanted to write it in the name of the project
and in the name of the sports centre, which is called, "Play more".
Thank you.
(Applause)