by Christian Nicoletta
Italia, 2014, 52'
Associazione Nazionale Venezia Giulia Dalmazia - Consulta Provinciale di Torino (Torino), Reassemblage Film (Genova), BabyDoc Film (Torino), Mu produzioni audiovisive (Torino)
The dream coach is a creative documentary that tells a human story that goes beyond sport. It is a discourse about football and an invitation to believe again in the dreams we had as kids.
The protagonist is Sergio Vatta, who trained the Torino FC youth team in the ’80 and ’90. He made debut in the Serie A over 60 players and he dominated International competitions in his category. He did not only train the guys to play football. He also took care of their lives and education as if they were his sons. He was determined to form not only football players but free minded men.
“You have to fight to realize your dreams, not those of your parents or your attorneys" he said.
The discourse about football, with the contribution of champions like Dino Baggio and Demetrio Albertini, is crossed with the trainings of the young players of today Torino FC, trained by Silvano Benedetti, a Torino FC player who was trained by Coach Vatta. The young players are followed with a very close gaze that shows their passion, their dreams and the hope of a future as a true champion.
But about the future of football Coach Vatta will tell us some unexpected truth.
“Children, at the age of 10, must above all play, because football is a sport but first and foremost is a game. And it’s in the game that you see the most important features of a character.
We can never understand how a child is by answers and questions, but if we see him playing, we can understand everything about him…but he has to play free…”
( Sergio Vatta )