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WONDERS OF THE PYRAMID: Meet the eccentric Petruzzo brothers who survived two weeks in the jungle before taking over at Hampton & Richmond. Now they boldly say… Champions League? Why not!

  • Rafa and Stefano Petruzzo took over Hampton & Richmond 14 months ago
  • The pair have taken the club from a relegation battle to seventh in the league 
  • Liverpool must be ruthless – Jurgen Klopp has to hang on to two-point lead until title clash with Man City – It’s All Kicking Off podcast 

The Bayaka people, a nomadic tribe who have dwelled in the remote forests of the Central African Republic for more than 30,000 years, haven’t encountered many National League owners in that time. But they have met two more than you might expect.

Rafa and Stefano Petruzzo, the Italian-Argentine brothers who took charge of Hampton & Richmond in December 2022, are remembering the first adventure they went on together. 

‘We were trying to find the forest people called the Bayaka,’ recalls Rafa, ‘to meet these people who live in the middle of the jungle, to learn from them, learn their rituals, get a feel for the cradle of humanity. We spent two weeks learning how to survive in the jungle and then got a boat down the Sangha river to the Congo. 

‘When we arrived there, they arrested us because they thought we were spies.’

‘It was a random border crossing in the north of the Congo,’ interjects Stefano. ‘They were thinking, “You’re either into diamonds or something worse, you can’t possibly be doing this for fun!” But we were.’

Rafa and Stefano Petruzzo took over at Hampton & Richmond FC in 2022 and recounted their first adventure together in the jungle in Congo

Rafa and Stefano Petruzzo took over at Hampton & Richmond FC in 2022 and recounted their first adventure together in the jungle in Congo

The brothers, pictured here with Paul Tisdale, are now hoping to guide Hampton & Richmond to glory and progress on and off the pitch has been swift

The brothers, pictured here with Paul Tisdale, are now hoping to guide Hampton & Richmond to glory and progress on and off the pitch has been swift

Rafa and Stefano have, with the help of a consortium of US-based investors, guided the Beavers to seventh in the National League South

Rafa and Stefano have, with the help of a consortium of US-based investors, guided the Beavers to seventh in the National League South 

Fast forward six years, and despite being some 4,000 miles away from the Congolese border in the safety of the boardroom of a football club in a plush part of London, the Petruzzo brothers are still being interrogated about an adventure. This time it’s Mail Sport asking the questions, and happily the adventure in question doesn’t involve stealing state secrets. 

Rafa and Stefano Petruzzo, with the help of a consortium of largely US-based investors, took over Hampton & Richmond 14 months ago when the club was in a parlous state financially and in a relegation battle in National League South. Progress on and on the pitch since has been swift.

The new owners had taken over when Hampton & Richmond were stuck in the middle of a relegation battle

The new owners had taken over when Hampton & Richmond were stuck in the middle of a relegation battle

The Beavers are seventh in that division now, rounding off the play-off spots. In the FA Trophy, they enjoyed their best-ever run, knocking Southend and Hartlepool out of the National League on their way to the fifth round.

Attendances at the Beveree Stadium are up significantly, with the club attracting a younger and more international fanbase — in no small part thanks to interest generated by Ted Lasso, the wildly popular TV series about the eponymous American manager’s trials and tribulations at the fictional ‘AFC Richmond’. And, like Lasso, Rafa and Stefano do things a little differently.

The brothers, who are 43 and 38 respectively and previously worked in fashion, watch games alongside fans, dressed immaculately in tailored suits. As well as their expedition to Africa, they have completed more than 1,000 skydives together, and will be taking some of their players jumping soon — ‘at the end of the season!’ Stefano stresses. 

They have hired a former Parkour star as strength and conditioning coach and a former SAS soldier as the club’s ‘chief of staff’. They want their squad to play in an uber-positive environment, high-fiving them after defeats and eschewing sponsorship on advertising boardings around the ground for messages of affirmation, and take a dim view on abuse to their players.

Attendances at the Beveree stadium have also been on the up thanks in part to the hit TV program 'Ted Lasso'

Attendances at the Beveree stadium have also been on the up thanks in part to the hit TV program ‘Ted Lasso’ 

The series follows the fictional club AFC Richmond, and like the club’s manager, Lasso, Rafa and Stefano do things a little differently

Stefano, pictured, says the club are hoping to take some of their players sky diving

Rafa, pictured, says that the club is 'very strict with their anti-abuse policy'

The club’s bosses, here pictured wearing Halloween masks, say they are a ‘values-driven club’

‘We’re a values-driven club,’ explains Rafa. ‘We are probably the only club that interviews players before signing them. Is it a bit of a pain to do so? Yes. Because you’re negotiating with agents, other teams, and you may lose the window to sign the player. Some players, some agents say “we don’t do interviews”. OK fine. Then you’re not for us.

‘The reason we interview them is because we want to make sure they align to our values, to our team spirit, and they know that this is not a club where we’re just looking for mercenaries.

‘We’re very strict with our anti-abuse policy. One thing I find very distasteful about football across the world is this permissiveness there is about abusing players, abusing other fans with foul language, constant aggressive behaviour. Sometimes I look at some of these fans who are objectively and factually slobs, throwing verbal abuse of the most disgusting kind to a young player who’s giving their all. That doesn’t sit well with me. You can’t do that here.’

Manager Mel Gwinnett has certainly fostered a positive vibe in his dressing room, and deserves much of the credit for Hampton’s remarkable progress this season. ‘The environment Mel has created is unique in my experience of football,’ defender Ruaridh Donaldson tells Mail Sport. ‘It’s transparent, trusting and liberating. The overarching goal is to remove performance anxiety.’

Gwinnett is a long-time associate of Paul Tisdale, the former Exeter City manager who is now a friend and adviser to the Petruzzos, as well as a co-owner of Hampton & Richmond. ‘We got along with Paul right away,’ says Stefano, who spent six years as strategy director of Liverpool under FSG. ‘He knows what it takes to run a club, and how to do it sustainably without just chucking money at it.’

‘Paul brings a level of intelligence and sophistication that I found very difficult to obtain at this level of the pyramid,’ adds Rafa. ‘I remember when we were interviewing for the new first-team manager, we interviewed a lot of managers that were keen. But it immediately dawned on me that 99 per cent of them, their solution was “give me more money, so I can buy better players” — that’s pretty much it — “and then maybe we’ll also abuse those players”.

‘But having Paul there, and then him introducing us to Mel, you see a totally different quality of management. There’s actual intelligence applied, there’s psychology, and putting themselves in the shoes of the player.’

The owners stated that they are one of few clubs who interview their players before signing them

The owners stated that they are one of few clubs who interview their players before signing them

Their manager Mel Gwinnett has also fostered a positive vibe in the club's dressing room

Their manager Mel Gwinnett has also fostered a positive vibe in the club’s dressing room

Perhaps it’s just the effect of the tongue-in-cheek nods to Ted Lasso in the Beveree boardroom — the framed ‘AFC Richmond’ shirt on the wall, the signed photo of the actors in their blue-and-red kits by the coffee machine, and the poster reading ‘Believe’, Lasso’s mantra — but I can’t help but be reminded of the methods of a fictional coach from Kansas. Is that a fair comparison?

‘I actually think so,’ says Stefano. ‘It’s funny, it’s no secret the writers of Ted Lasso spent a lot of time with Paul. Some of the phrases they use in Ted Lasso, like the concept of being a goldfish (and forgetting about losses after 10 seconds), they’re Paul Tisdale. It permeates here.

‘The good thing about Ted Lasso is that it actually shows the human aspect of football. And the other good thing it’s done is bring Richmond and football into the same sentence. Great.

‘Richmond was already a beautiful part of town, and it increasingly has a lot of American tourists thanks to Ted Lasso. The more people we can attract, the more we can do for the club.’

The Petruzzos also revealed that the writers of Ted Lasso had spent some time with Tisdale, using a few of his catchphrases in the show

The Petruzzos also revealed that the writers of Ted Lasso had spent some time with Tisdale, using a few of his catchphrases in the show

The Petruzzo's have taken regular attendances at the Beveree from around 400 when they joined to 1,300 in just over a year

The Petruzzo’s have taken regular attendances at the Beveree from around 400 when they joined to 1,300 in just over a year

The Petruzzos’ ambitions for Hampton & Richmond are understandably high. They’re ahead of schedule on the pitch, and have taken regular attendances at the Beveree from around 400 when they joined just over a year ago to 1,300. Although even Lasso might have set his sights a little lower than Rafa.

‘We’re targeting two promotions every five years,’ he says. ‘I’m the guy that says “nothing is impossible”, right? We may end up being in the Premier League, we may end up being in the Champions League. Of course that’s a minimum 10-year project. But then again, if Luton did it, there’s absolutely no reason why we couldn’t.’

Rapid change will inevitably cause some friction, and Rafa and Stefano rubbed up against some of the club’s older fans upon arrival. ‘One of the first matches we were here, some of the more entrenched fans were singing stuff around “The Falklands are ours”,’ recalls Rafa. ‘Some fans were saying they didn’t want the club to be promoted. For me that’s not a fan. How does that work? When you come to our matches — do you want us to lose or win?’

The owners have set the bar high and say they're targeting two promotions every five years

The owners have set the bar high and say they’re targeting two promotions every five years

But there's no denying that the Petruzzo's time at Hampton & Richmond has been a success story so far

But there’s no denying that the Petruzzo’s time at Hampton & Richmond has been a success story so far

But there’s no question the Petruzzos’ time at Hampton & Richmond has been a success story so far, on and off the pitch. This is a club that’s going places, that feels energised and that has the unique potential to tap into both an affluent local community, and an enormous emerging market overseas.

Stefano brings the brothers’ journey in south-west London back to the forests of Africa, to the Bakaya people, and a jungle in Gabon that followed that was home to some overly-friendly insects who stung them 50 times a day. ‘

The first part of the season — that’s us with the forest people, learning how to survive. The second part of the season — now we’re going back into the Forest of the Bees. So suck it up buttercup.’

EFL mark LGBT History Month with a new ball 

All EFL clubs will use a Rainbow Ball for the next two weekends to mark LGBT History Month. 

The EFL hope the ball will help ‘symbolise that football is for everyone and represent the League’s active support for inclusion throughout the game’, while ball manufacturers Puma will be donating to an LGBT charity for every goal scored across all four leagues.

Considering, even in 2024, how few LGBT footballers have felt able to come out, and that many LGBT fans don’t feel safe within grounds, this is a superb initiative — and one which looks set to raise money for a good cause. 

Let’s hope for lots of goals this month!

Clubs across the EFL will mark LGBT History Month by using a Rainbow Ball. Ball manufacturers Puma will be donating to an LGBT charity for every goal scored

Clubs across the EFL will mark LGBT History Month by using a Rainbow Ball. Ball manufacturers Puma will be donating to an LGBT charity for every goal scored

A touching moment for Michael Beale

A touching moment came on the touchline during Sunderland’s win over Plymouth on Saturday. 

After Black Cats boss Michael Beale revealed last week that his four-year-old niece Poppy is fighting leukaemia for the second time, fans at the Stadium of Light organised a minute’s applause.

A visibly moved Beale returned the favour, before touching his chest in appreciation. Excellent stuff from Sunderland supporters — and the very best wishes to Poppy.

Fans inside the Stadium of Light organised a minute's applause after Sunderland boss Michael Beale revealed that his four-year-old niece Poppy is fighting leukaemia for the second time

Fans inside the Stadium of Light organised a minute’s applause after Sunderland boss Michael Beale revealed that his four-year-old niece Poppy is fighting leukaemia for the second time 

St Albans put six past Taunton 

I enjoyed a trip to St Albans City at the weekend, where the Saints ran out 6-0 winners against Taunton in National League South. 

Shaun Jeffers — no relation to Francis — bagged a hat-trick, while George Hoddle — who is actually Glenn’s cousin — also starred.

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