On Oct. 21, Venezia F.C., the home soccer—or calcio—club for Venice, Italy, beat Florence’s Empoli F.C. 1-0 to move into a tie for first place in Serie B, the second-highest division in the Italian soccer league system after the world famous Serie A.

While this might not mean much for some, it means everything for John Goldman, a longtime partner at New York’s Herrick Feinstein and co-chair of its vaunted sports law practice, who sits on the board of directors for Venezia. Last month Goldman left Herrick after 30 years at the firm to start his own business consultancy and devote his attention to Venezia.