WORDS OF WISDOM IN MONACO
WORDS OF WISDOM IN MONACO
WITH ANTONIO CALIENDO
INTERVIEW BY Olga Taran and Maurizio Abbati
PHOTOS BY Jean Ronin
Antonio Caliendo, Founder and Director Golden Foot Award, interviewed by Hello-
Monaco in his private bureau
ANTONIO CALIENDO, NATURALIZED MONEGASQUE,
REPRESENTS AN UNDISPUTED LANDMARK ON THE
INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL MAP. BORN IN THE PROVINCE
OF NAPLES IN 1944, HE STARTED WORKING FOR DE AGOSTINI,
A RENOWNED ITALIAN PUBLISHER, WHEN HE WAS YOUNG.
SOON AFTER, HE CREATED HIS OWN PUBLISHING HOUSE
THANKS TO HIS ENTREPRENEURIAL TALENT, CONCEIVING
THE FIRST NEW SERIES OF SCHOOL DIARIES DEDICATED
ENTIRELY TO SPORT. MOREOVER, HE PUBLISHED SOME
MANUALS ABOUT MAJOR SPORTSPEOPLE OF THE 1970’S
INCLUDING THE ITALIAN TENNIS CHAMPION, ADRIANO
PANATTA.
ON THE 16TH DECEMBER 1977, HE SIGNED A FOOTBALL
AGENT’S AGREEMENT WITH GIANCARLO ANTOGNONI,
FORMER MIDFIELDER PLAYING FOR FIORENTINA AND THE
ITALIAN NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM. FROM 1979 ONWARDS,
HE STARTED WORKING FULL TIME AS SPORTS AGENT FOR
SOME OF THE GREATEST CHAMPIONS IN THE FOOTBALL
WORLD. AMONG THEM: ALDAIR, ROBERTO BAGGIO, DUNGA,
RAMÓN DÍAZ, DANIEL PASSERELLA, SALVATORE SCHILLACI,
DAVID TREZEGUET, MAICON AND EDERSON. IN THE FINAL
OF THE 1990 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, WHICH TOOK PLACE IN
ROME BETWEEN GERMANY AND ARGENTINA, TWELVE OUT
OF TWENTY-TWO PLAYERS WERE HIS AGENCY’S CLIENTS.
IN 2003, HE GAVE BIRTH TO THE «GOLDEN FOOT» AWARD,
THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL LIFETIME PRIZE AWARDED TO
FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS BY ONLINE SUPPORTERS’ VOTES.
THE AWARD WAS SOON LOCATED IN THE PRINCIPALITY AS
THE CHAMPIONS PROMENADE, A FOOTBALL WALK OF FAME
MADE OF FOOTPRINTS OF SPORTS LEGENDS, WITH THE VIEW
TO CREATING A NEW MUSEUM AREA WORTHY OF BEING
REMEMBERED AS A MONEGASQUE MUST-SEE.
HELLOMONACO HAD THE GREAT PLEASURE TO INTERVIEW
HIM IN HIS OWN HEADQUARTERS OFFICE FULL OF
MEMORABILIA, BRINGING OUT NATURALLY HIS HUMAN
FACE WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON HIS LONG-LASTING CAREER
AND INTERESTING FACTS.
HelloMonaco: What inspired you early in your career?
Exclusive artistic handmade Memorabilia made of terracotta to represent earlier
examples of footballs and soccer shoes
Antonio Caliendo: At the beginning of my career devoted to football,
a friend of mine told me I should introduce myself to the right
people in order to get attention from the audience and from the Media.
I didn’t follow that piece of advice since I was sure they would
mention me as soon as I could create something important. I still
believe in that. I don’t care if they talk about me or not, but I would
30 / Hello Monaco Spring–Summer 2020
www.hellomonaco.com