"Campioni" is in a way back on TV. Other protagonists, another format, another interaction, but Cervia will always be at the center: Francesco Gullo's announcement
In the past, reality shows were very popular, today it's TV series. Once upon a time - it was 2004 - there was Campioni, the dream on the small screen, with a very young Ilaria D'Amico at her first experience, but it will be back under a different format and a different banner: it will be Cervia calcio 2.0 social generation.
This has been announced by Francesco Gullo, whom many will remember as one of the main players of Ciccio Graziani's Cervia team. Fifteen years have passed since the first edition of the reality show, and it is certainly worth doing a little recap of what Campioni was. The objective of the Italia 1 format was to follow the daily life of a soccer team, its sports life but also its private life. The public at home, through televoting, chose three players who, net of injuries, Graziani was obliged to send on the field for at least one half. The winners of Champions earned the right to participate in the pre-season training camp of Juventus, Inter and Milan. Cervia played in the Eccellenza championship, but at the end of the first edition of the program it was promoted to Serie D after more than thirty years.
Campioni evolves, modernizes, and returns to TV
Campioni was not immediately a successful program. Its ratings were disappointing at the beginning, but then they grew, obtaining a good success among the public, so much so that the contract was renewed for a second season. Much of the credit for the turnaround was probably due to the Gialappa's Band, who during the week sent the funniest excerpts of what was happening at Cervia to Mai dire... with Ciccio Graziani and Francesco Gullo among the most popular targets.
And, as we were saying, it was Gullo himself who confided to Il Resto del Carlino that this format would give life to a new TV program on channel 163 of the digital terrestrial TV channel Go-Tv. Cervia will still be the protagonist, but many things will be different compared to Campioni, if only because fifteen years have gone by and a lot has changed: formats are different, TV interacts with the public in a different way, and a program that worked over ten years ago now needs to be modern in every way in order to take root.
The new Campioni
So Cervia calcio 2.0 social generation will rely heavily on social networks. Here is how Gullo explained the program to Il Resto del Carlino: "We want to tell the story of Cervia and of the Promotion. We want to tell the story of Cervia and its promotion, in all its facets, starting with the players. It is not a reality show in the strictest sense of the word, but we like the idea of going back and telling the story of what happens 16 years later".
And again: "There will be no televoting, but interaction with social networks. The cameras will enter the locker room, which will be the pivotal place, and will follow the team during training and between the first and second half of the match. There will not be live coverage, but highlights that will tell the story of the match. Then, during the week, there will be a strip that reveals the team's secrets, and there will also be a space for culture".
There should also be (a small) space for Ciccio Graziani, who will not be part of the program but will appear as a guest. No news yet on when Cervia calcio 2.0 generazione social will be broadcast.