Boris Becker: Il talento non basta. Serve un team che ti protegga

At 17, Boris Becker was already on top of the world. Wimbledon, global fame, money, sponsors, television. But behind the sporting phenomenon was still a boy who hadn't had time to grow up. Today, decades later, Becker looks at that victory with different eyes. "It was a blessing, but also a curse," he said, speaking to an audience of students at Bocconi University. The heart of his story isn't tennis, but everything that comes after success. Or perhaps too soon. "If I could change anything, I'd like to win Wimbledon at 22 or 23, not 17. I would have had more maturity to understand the business of sports, the money, the people." Becker explains that he was catapulted "into a sea of ​​sharks" when he was still a teenager: everyone saw him as an exceptional champion, no one as a boy still unformed. The most powerful theme is his post-career. Becker talks about the emptiness that came after his retirement: "I was 32 and I didn't know what to do. All my life, I'd only been a tennis player." After having won everything at the age of 25 (world number one, Grand Slams, successes everywhere), the question was inevitable: "What now?" A transition he compares to that of many entrepreneurs who leave the company they spent a lifetime building, with one huge difference: they are often 60, he is just over 30. From there, a very clear reflection on money and people also emerges. "When money comes into play, people change." Becker admits that he trusted too much, that he wasn't prepared to handle fame and wealth. This is why he insists on the importance of having true professionals and trustworthy people at his side: "Talent isn't enough. You need a team that protects you." Today, he says, he has become wiser. He has learned to choose who to let into his life and his work. And he leaves a very clear message to younger people: success doesn't happen by chance. "There's no magic formula. You have to work harder than others, every day."