My Derthona Basket: Maurizio Conti tells his story
A passion for the black and white of Derthona Basket born since he was a boy, a bond with the team that has remained over time despite his work taking him away from Tortona: for Maurizio Conti, known as “Caius”, 55 years old, basketball has always been my favorite sport, from the moment ʺI lived the experience of organized cheering with the Fossa dei Leoni. We followed the team home and away, the players and the city were one. My experience as a fan began with following the women's junior team, then we started going to watch the men's team's matches..
In those years the team played in Serie C and, among the many matches he followed, Conti remembers with pleasure the away match in Carpi in which Derthona won promotion to Serie C1, becoming the second team in Piedmont. ʺIt was a very close race – says Maurizio – and upon returning to Tortona, after the victory, ʺI remember that Guido Ghisolfi gave us a long sermon on our behavior, almost as if he were an older brother: it was a special momentʺ.
Work experiences then led Caio to progressively move away from Tortona: first the move to Milan, then, in recent years, the move to Brazil where he still lives. In South America Maurizio began a new life in the world of catering, opening ʺa churrasqueria together with a Brazilian partner in Arcos: I am very satisfied with my choice. I had already been in the world of catering, because my father had a bar in Tortona and I had opened a place in Milan, but in life I had always been involved in selling products. I then took a sabbatical and started traveling around Brazil: I met my wife and when we got married I decided to stay and live there because it would have been difficult for her to find work in Italy as an architect..
After several years away from the city, Conti feels ʺnostalgia for Tortona, even though I returned last year in April to see the home match against Siena and follow the subsequent trip to Rietiʺ. The geographical distance from Italy does not prevent Maurizio from informing himself about the events and results of the team during the season, as ʺI often talk to Giovanni Lonardo on the phone and watch the matches on LNP TV. Derthona is in my heart, it is a club made up of friends: as a boy I was in class with Paolo De Ros and classmate of Andrea Ablatico. In this sense, with the advent of Doctor Gavio as main sponsor a circle closes, because he too followed the team with enthusiasm as a young man..
Last season Bertram won the Serie A2 Italian Cup, at the end of three games conducted with authority: for Caio, who has followed Derthona's exploits for many years, that triumph was It's a unique sensation, the apotheosis. I am very happy with everything that is happening, even the project of the new building is beautiful: we are experiencing something great for a city like Tortonaʺ. In recent days, Maurizio received a t-shirt signed by all the players who wore the Bertram shirt last year: it is ʺa gift that Giovanni Lonardo and his wife gave me: it is the first time I have received such a beautiful gift and I hope in the future to be able to have other Derthona shirtsʺ. The time has come to say goodbye, for Caio it is inevitable to end with a ʺGo Lions!ʺ.
