It is safe to say that the presence of Massimo Cellino at Leeds United has the same kind of resonance and effects that Moses had when facing the Red Sea when leading the Israelites out of Egypt.
With God’s help, Moses parted the waves and gave the fleeing Israelites safe passage across the once-impassable waters. The key point here was the division of the Red Sea into two sides, and that’s what has happened at Elland Road. Massimo Cellino strode in in April 2014, taking the club over from Bahraini investment bank GFH Capital, and many thought things would look up for the club.
But, like Moses, Cellino has had an effect of biblical proportions on the sea of Leeds United fans, with his demeanour and actions creating what many refer to as a divide that can be likened to the one created by Moses in the Old Testament. On one side you have the fervent anti-Cellinoistas who want the club rid of a man that they see as a toxic presence. On the other side, there is a band of fans staunchly pro-Cellino termed Celliebers by Leeds fans of the other view.
Like the Israelites following Moses across the Red Sea, there is the large majority of other Leeds United fans, stepping nervously behind, casting nervous glances to see whether the waves of either side are closing in. Where as Moses controlled the waves with his staff, it is with a rod of iron that Massimo Cellino has controlled Leeds United.
But all of that shouldn’t and doesn’t come as a surprise to Italian journalist Bruno Corda, who cut his journalistic teeth reporting on Cellino’s more infamous incursion into football with Italian side Cagliari. In an interview with Sardegna Live, Corda discusses the issue of Cellino and how his demeanour was at the Italian club.
Speaking directly of Leeds United’s Italian co-owner, relegated to such by the arrival onboard of Andrea Radrizzani, Corda says his journalistic career was affected by unsavoury elements creeping in to the way journalism within football was carried out. On this Corda says the problem was: “Unscrupulous Presidents, in this case, Massimo Cellino, who to protect, lock the criticism by using Mafia means, such as buying or selling exclusives.”
Many Leeds United fans would be able to point to this controlling approach at Elland Road, an approach where it is a case of ‘my way or the highway’ with Massimo Cellino very much il capo di tutti capi and operating very much within a variation of the omertà code of silence.
Whereas Cellino may have used ‘Mafia tactics’ to control the Italian press during his time in charge at Cagliari, there are many that will say these are transferable skills that have also been applied during his time at Leeds United.
