{"id":4116,"date":"2023-02-15T16:56:58","date_gmt":"2023-02-15T15:56:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.alessandrolucciwsa.com\/?p=4116"},"modified":"2023-07-26T17:01:23","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T15:01:23","slug":"forbes-italian-soccer-agent-alessandro-lucci-shares-lessons-from-modern-day-player-representation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alessandrolucciwsa.com\/en\/news\/forbes-italian-soccer-agent-alessandro-lucci-shares-lessons-from-modern-day-player-representation\/","title":{"rendered":"FORBES – Italian Soccer Agent Alessandro Lucci Shares Lessons From Modern-Day Player Representation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the last decade, the business of player representation in world soccer has enjoyed remarkable growth: Just in 2022, FIFA\u00a0estimates<\/a>\u00a0that soccer clubs have disbursed $623 million in agent commissions, marking a 24% increase on the previous year. As a result, soccer agents have taken up new responsibilities that reach beyond the basic negotiation of a player\u2019s contract.<\/p>\n

To understand the evolution of an agent\u2019s role in modern soccer, I sat down with Alessandro Lucci, who has represented elite players and coaches for over 20 years through his Italy-based World Soccer Agency, whose client portfolio features high-profile names like Tottenham Hotspur\u2019s Dejan Kulusevski, Juventus\u2019s Leonardo Bonucci and Inter Milan\u2019s Edin Dzeko.<\/p>\n

The Agency Over The Agent<\/h2>\n

Soccer agents are an established figure in European soccer. They represent players and coaches when it\u2019s time to negotiate a deal, helping them with their contract\u2019s legal and financial ramifications, while serving as an intermediary for buying and selling clubs. At the time of the signature, they work to refine their client\u2019s salary, performance-related bonuses as well as their image and commercial rights.<\/p>\n

These are the agents\u2019 most common duties, and those responsible for earning them the largest commissions, which in the case of world-class soccer players can even be in the tens of millions for a single deal. However, agents have much more going on behind the scenes.<\/p>\n

To keep up with the times, Lucci explained during our interview on Friday in his Milan office, soccer agents have had to develop into an all-round figure.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, we don\u2019t speak any longer about the\u00a0agent<\/strong>, but rather the\u00a0agency<\/strong>,<\/em>\u201d said Lucci, whose World Soccer Agency currently manages 39 clients that together boast $283 million in market value, one of the highest in Italy according to\u00a0Transfermarkt<\/em><\/a>\u00a0estimates.<\/p>\n

\u201cSoccer evolves at an incessant pace and, as a result, our role evolves too.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Agency\u2019s Many Jobs In Modern Soccer<\/h2>\n

When Lucci brokered his first major deal, namely Serginho\u2019s transfer from Brazilian side S\u00e3o Paulo to Serie A giants\u00a0AC Milan<\/a>\u00a0back in 1999, he remembers that his job was limited to negotiating the best possible terms for his client.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a different era, everything moved at a much slower pace,<\/em>\u201d said Lucci.<\/p>\n

Now, to remain competitive in this modern, fast-paced sports world, agents have had to broaden their services, becoming a reference figure that manages virtually all aspects of a client\u2019s life – and not just their employment contract. Today, their duties extend beyond the famous moment in which a client gets photographed for inking their signature on a new deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlayers don\u2019t have only field-related necessities,<\/em>\u201d Lucci explained. \u201cThat\u2019s why we guarantee services in marketing, communication, administration, logistics, finance and legal protection.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Providing a comprehensive service is now vital to attract new clients and allow them to channel all their mental energy into performing on the pitch. This is especially true for top-rated players and coaches, whose involvement in international competitions puts them in a situation where they are always training, playing games or traveling.<\/p>\n

For these reasons, many of Lucci\u2019s clients nowadays seek professional help with a number of non-soccer related issues, which range from basic life necessities like finding a new apartment or opening up a bank account to mundane activities like making sure they update their Instagram feed with the proper picture and caption.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur services include house rent or furnishings, the rental of a private charter to reach all kinds of destinations, the management of social media communication and assistance in the financial and legal fields,<\/em>\u201d Lucci specified.<\/p>\n

The Industry\u2019s Future Challenges<\/h2>\n

One of the major challenges in this fast-moving industry is the ability to beat rival agencies to the recruitment of new players, especially when they belong to foreign markets.<\/p>\n

To identify rising soccer stars that have the potential to develop into multimillion dollar assets, Lucci\u2019s World Soccer Agency has offices located outside of Italy, namely in England, Brazil and Uruguay, and collaborates with talent scouts on North American soil.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always keep an eye on emerging players, regardless of their nationality, and on transfer movements even far from Europe<\/em>,\u201d said Lucci, who revealed the agency\u2019s intention to open an office in Los Angeles to enhance monitoring of the\u00a0North American soccer<\/a>\u00a0market.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany interesting U.S. players are coming to Europe. It\u2019s a clear signal of the huge steps taken by the U.S. with its soccer system.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps more than anything else, Lucci admits that adapting to the virtual means of communication in the post-pandemic era has been a challenge for someone like him, who has spent the last 25 years leveraging his in-person negotiating skills to broker a deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to conduct deals one-on-one, because it allows me to generate that energy, that magnetic field that becomes overwhelming during a negotiation,\u201d Lucci said. \u201cRemotely, you can\u2019t generate that energy.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

However, he recognizes that the process of selling a player will inevitably transition to the digital world, where the speed and quality of communication will end up making a difference for the success or failure of a deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe definition and immediacy with which you send a message has completely changed our living pace, which is why the dominant figure will be the one of communication,<\/em>\u201d Lucci said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can imagine that in five years, communication alone will sell players for you<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the last decade, the business of player representation in world soccer has enjoyed remarkable growth: Just in 2022, FIFA\u00a0estimates\u00a0that soccer clubs have disbursed $623 million in agent commissions, marking a 24% increase on the previous year. As a result, soccer agents have taken up new responsibilities that reach beyond the basic negotiation of a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4096,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[59],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alessandrolucciwsa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4116"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alessandrolucciwsa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alessandrolucciwsa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alessandrolucciwsa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alessandrolucciwsa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4116"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.alessandrolucciwsa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4118,"href":"https:\/\/www.alessandrolucciwsa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4116\/revisions\/4118"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alessandrolucciwsa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.alessandrolucciwsa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alessandrolucciwsa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.alessandrolucciwsa.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}