‘Stopping in Time’, Pasquale Pes’ adventures between Africa and 80’s football

A book strongly desired and written in his buen retiro in Kenya, entitled ‘Fermarsi in tempo’. Pasquale Pes told his life, adventurous but full of successes. A life of a successful entrepreneur but with some fundamental stages in the world of sport. Of humble origins, born in Fiumicino in the immediate post-war period, he started from scratch until he established himself in the construction and infrastructure sectors, in Colonel Gheddafi’s Libya, as soon as he returned to Italy he won the bet to join the Board of Directors of As Roma, quickly becoming the right-hand man of president Viola and subsequently a sincere friend of the volcanic Luciano Gaucci, alongside whom he entered history, winning with the horse Tony Bin the Grand Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

With Gaucci, known as president of Roma, he then shared the happy experience at Perugia. But the call of Africa was incessant and he decided to start a new business in Kenya. Taking advantage of the advice and mistakes of his teachers, Viola and Gaucci, so different, but united by the extraordinary ability to live sporting situations as protagonists, never as supporting actors. Learning not to go beyond his limits. “Fermarsi in tempo” is a true autobiography, without veils and full of anecdotes, which tells the story of the man, the entrepreneur, the sports manager.

He is tied to his roots, in Fiumicino, where he created a club, the Olimpia Club, with an Olympic-sized swimming pool and a competitive water polo team, in which Nanni Moretti also played, whom Pes supported financially on the occasion of the release of his first successful film, ‘Ecce Bombo’.

Pasquale Pes did everything in a hurry. The hard work to be able to afford independence at a very young age, the family that never let him go without anything, the Olimpia Club that became an important reference for sports in Fiumicino, the experience in Libya during the first Gaddafi era, the return to Italy. From that moment on he felt a stronger bond with Roma, which he had always followed as a fan. And so he became a manager, not one of many, but the man closest to Dino Viola, the trusted and silent advisor, the companion on many car trips to follow Roma away from home.

In Malindi Pes re-proposed the Olimpia Club and it was another success, which emerges in some passages of the book (Edipro, 192 pages, € 16), edited by Freddie del Curatolo and published thanks to his friend Oliviero Franceschi, in which Pes talks about himself with sincerity and heart. His experiences alongside Viola and Gaucci were useful to him in his life, he was able to avoid the mistake they made, of not being able to stop the mania to surpass themselves. For this reason the title chosen is “Fermarsi in tempo”, a book to read in one breath, with many memories and anecdotes. The experience alongside Viola left an indelible mark on his life. The great president, after having made thousands of Giallorossi fans dream and having given them a championship that had been awaited for half a century, tried at his own expense to get where very few (Agnelli and Berlusconi, who Pes knew personally) have climbed.

If he had a respectful admiration for Viola, the best friend of the author of this book is Luciano Gaucci who, after his victory at the Paris racecourse, beating titled sheiks and billionaire owners of golden horses with one of his “crazy” bets, tried to subvert the dusty rules of the world of football. There are many stories of travel, of sporting feats, of corrupt referees and managers and footballers and coaches with great humanity.