Enrico Preziosi recently confessed to a grievous error of judgment. In his previous role, a decade ago, as chairman of Lombardy-based Como football club, the Italian received a fax from an Argentine friend. It said: "I have this phenomenal player under contract. It is $50,000 for him."
Mr Preziosi immediately dispatched some scouts to watch the teenage Argentinian in action. They returned with the verdict that Lionel Messi - now widely regarded as the best footballer of the current generation - was not good enough. So Messi signed for Barcelona. "History could have been different," the perma-tanned 62-year-old muses, before bursting into laughter.
Luckily for him, he appears to display more discernment in his day job at the helm of Giochi Preziosi, the world's fifth-largest toymaker, which he founded in 1977. Revenues, driven by sales of small monster-like figures called Gormiti and Cicciobello dolls (see box), are expected to come close to €1bn ($1.2bn, £800m) this year with profits of more than €100m. A stock market flotation, which analysts value at €1bn, possibly later this year, is on the cards.