The enigma of Southampton FC chairman Nicola Cortese

A smartly dressed Italian banker named Nicola Cortese is in the adjacent grounds having a series of portrait shots taken by a club photographer.

He is keen to understand why he is being asked to stand in various different poses and also wants to survey the results.

It’s the first hint of a perfectionist of a man who would go on to leave an indelible mark on Southampton Football Club.

Before the photo session we had reclined on the sofas of the five star hotel’s drawing room to discuss Mr Cortese’s part in the takeover of Southampton FC, funded by the Swiss billionaire Markus Liebherr.

Mr Cortese comes across as every inch the polished professional, even though he admits to being unused to conducting interviews or dealing with the media.

His background has been in the world of high finance, working firstly on the sports desk of Credit Suisse and, most recently, managing the wealth of billionaires for Switzerland’s illustrious Banque Heritage.

Markus Liebherr Markus Liebherr

It was while working there he suggested to Mr Liebherr the idea of buying financially stricken Saints. Mr Liebherr agreed and, after some wrangling, completed the purchase and installed Cortese as the club’s executive chairman.

Mr Cortese comes across during the interview as considered and not afraid to clarify remarks, a sign of exacting attention to detail.

He is a man determined to get his way and push the club forward no matter what, something proven again when he appeared ready to quit last month before the Liebherr family agreed to his new plans for the future of the club.

He is confident, but strays just short of outright arrogant, and at times is both friendly and charming.

It’s hard to feel totally at ease with him, as you feel he will pick up on any mistake, but on the journey back to Southampton which we share, and where he takes a call that he later reveals is from a Formula One team he helps, there are only hints of the character about to unfold during the next four years.

Mr Cortese’s time in charge of Saints has been one of unprecedented success.

Funded by the millions of Mr Liebherr, who passed away a year after buying the club, Mr Cortese has steered Saints from the third tier of English football to the fame and riches of the Premier League, the most lucrative domestic division in the world.

He has earned millions for himself in the process, and turned around the fortunes of an ailing club.

You would be forgiven, therefore, for thinking the 44-year-old would be a celebrated local dignitary in Southampton, a hero to the masses.

Yet opinion remains very much divided on a man who seems to engender both love and loathing. It is the enigma of Mr Cortese.

The surroundings of the Four Seasons, where Mr Cortese stayed before moving into a £1.7m house in Chilworth with his wife, Alexandra, and two children who are now schooled in Hampshire, certainly suggested somebody who enjoys the finer things in life.

He drives an Aston Martin, likes good food, takes an interest in boating and has helped align the club with the kind of blue chip sponsors that seem to fit his mould, such as the luxury yacht maker Sunseeker and exclusive watch manufacturer Eterna.

Mr Cortese has also spoken of his desires after football.

“I’d like a little estate in Tuscany where I could grow my own wine,” he once reflected. “And sell just enough to pay for itself.”

However, these are the rare glimpses into a man who few, if any, people in the local area really know much about.

Mr Cortese has shunned the corporate lunches and local black tie dinner circuit which was oft frequented by previous incumbents of his job, such as Rupert Lowe and Leon Crouch.

He has also been accused of failing to pay due heed to the club’s past, having fallouts with a number of high profile people including clubs legends such as Francis Benali and Matthew Le Tissier, who described him as “not a very nice human being.”

Some jokingly refer to the day of his takeover as ‘year zero’ for Saints.

There have been a number of employment tribunals brought against the club during his time in charge.

And despite the success on the pitch, he even came in for some stick from fans for the sacking of manager Nigel Adkins, who became a hero after leading the club to back-to-back promotions but was placed on gardening leave rather than seeing his contract instantly settled.

Nigel Adkins Nigel Adkins

Mr Cortese has had fallouts with the media. The Southern Daily Echo has been banned for more than two years for reasons still not fully explained while The Sun briefly referred to Saints as only ‘south coast club’ and branded the chairman ‘Nicola Clotese’ over a ban on photographers.

Those who have worked with Mr Cortese describe him as a man of exacting standards, ruthless in his pursuit of success for the football club, proven again when he appeared ready to quit Saints before the Liebherr family agreed to new plans for the future of the club.

Perhaps it is that side which makes him so successful in his job, but hard for some to warm to.

Though he isn’t at St Mary’s Stadium every day, he is far more hands-on than many supporters realise, overseeing even seemingly trivial details of the day-to-day running of the club.

Mr Cortese doesn’t seek much counsel from elsewhere and can normally be seen on home match days at St Mary’s sat in the director’s box with an empty seat either side of him, one in memory of Mr Liebherr.

This is a man who knows his own mind and doesn’t need an entourage.

Maybe that is what makes him so hard for many to fathom.

Football is full of egotists and people who seek the limelight. In Mr Cortese, Saints have somebody who doesn’t seek the glare of publicity.

His current first team manager, Mauricio Pochettino, perhaps gave the most telling insight into Cortese.

“He is a very pragmatic and direct person,” he said.

"He is a person who doesn't beat around the bush. He tells you what he likes. And what he doesn't.

"He tells me things straight to my face and is tough when he has to be, because he is the figurehead, but he still uses common sense in many situations.

"He always makes his presence felt, especially in the tough moments. But he is committed to us."

Mauricio Pochettino

Mr Cortese’s greatest contradiction is perhaps hidden in among Pochettino’s final words on his boss – what he has achieved and yet how he is perceived.

“If we look back to the past few years he has done an amazing job,” said the Argentinian.

“Perhaps the most popular person at the club should be him."

Perhaps it should – that is the great enigma.