Bari and the Zebra Within

In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, four animals find themselves shipwrecked. An orangutan, a zebra, a hyena, and a tiger, along with the protagonist, are crammed into a tiny lifeboat together, eventually eating each other as the story progresses and hunger becomes a large concern. The zebra is the first to be eaten, torn apart bit by bit by the hyena.

It is incredibly fitting that in many years, Bari’s kit features at least one stripe.

Bari is, somewhat indubitably, the worst club in Serie A, which makes last weekend’s result all the more mind-boggling. Inter (twice) and Milan have beaten the side by at least a three goal margin, and fellow relegation rivals Brescia and Sampdoria have taken full points against i Galletti as well. Yet Fiorentina, Milan, Palermo, and Juventus have all dropped points against Bortolo Mutti’s men. Bari thus stands as somewhat of a conundrum; awful and yet capable of great results, a porous defense that can sometimes shut out some of the greater strikers in footy. Despite how truly abysmal Bari are, there remains a hint of last season within them, most often seen against top clubs not named “Inter Milan”.

And last season, make no mistake, Bari were good. Quite good. So good in fact, that the club truly outperformed all expectations and finished in tenth place quite comfortably. Andrea Ranocchia and Leonardo Bonucci anchored one of the tightest backlines in the peninsula, whilst Paulo Barreto provided the firepower up front. The side won thirteen times, drew eleven, and lost fourteen, whilst conceding and scoring forty nine. All the while, however, a cloud hung over Giampiero Ventura’s men. Surely, the side were overachieving and would eventually crash down to earth. Surely, Ranocchia and Bonucci were all but gone, destined for brighter pastures. Surely, a lack of funds would end hopes for finding adequate replacements for the side that lost nineteen million Euros in the first half of the fiscal calendar.

Certainly, all came to pass. Ranocchia was snatched up by Genoa and later sent to Inter, whilst Juventus snatched up Bonucci to create their own young Italian centerback pairing with Giorgio Chiellini. There was no sophomore surprise for the side, who failed to bring in adequate replacements for big name departures. After twenty nine rounds of calcio this season, the stuttering Southern side has amassed three wins, eight draws, and eighteen defeats. A shockingly anemic sixteen goals have been scored whereas forty three goals gave been conceded, the latter not even the worst in Serie A due to Lecce’s fifty-one.

Ten wins less, three fewer draws, and four more defeats; thirty three less goals scored, and six fewer goals conceded. The side are thirty three points behind where they finished one year ago. Even if they do win all remaining games, the side will finish the year six points off of where 2010 ended. By any slice of statistics, Bari have gotten almost exponentially worse.

One year has made an enormous difference for the side.

For the Pugliese team, the problems have aggregated. Inadequate transfer campaigns? Lack of funds? Firing a coach who did all he could? Check, check, and check. Serie A is as competitive as ever, and perhaps in the immediate post-Calciopoli years, this team could have carved a niche and survived. A weakened team this season, however, seemingly has no chance, barring a miracle survival run during the final weeks of the season.

Bari seem destined for relegation, a cart racing down a roller-coaster track with a single, irrevocable destination. The nine point gap between twentieth and nineteenth is the largest between any two places in Serie A. I Biancorossi are twelve points from safety, and little seems to be going right at the moment. Barreto’s goal tally is off by ten from one campaign ago, as injuries have limited his playing time. Even with a mere four goals, he stands as the side’s leading marksman. Only two other players have scored more than once for the side. Even Sergio Almiron, who did so admirably in midfield a short while ago, has struggled to reimpose himself, epitomizing the struggle the entire team has endured.

A struggle to score goals. A struggle to not concede. A struggle to stay in Serie A.

Yet somehow, the struggle against top teams is not as great for Bari as their often losing battle against most other sides. The zebra within lashes out, adroit at putting in point-winning performances against the larger animals in the boat that is calcio. If only the side utilized that ability against the rest of Serie A, perhaps Bari would be further up the table- with or without adequate replacements. Though those, of course, like a rescue ship in Martel’s novel, could only have helped.

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Follow Julian on Twitter for Serie A news coverage, updates on new posts, and more, @JulianWCB.

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Category: Serie A