Bari up for sale. Who has 15 million euro?

By: Francesco | May 24th, 2008

Yes, as the title reads, A.S. Bari is up for sale. For whoever does not know, Bari is a port city in Southern Italy and is the capital of the Puglia region. It is considered the second biggest “piazza” (behind Napoli) in Southern Italy. The club has a long history, and throughout the ’90’s was a yo-yo club, going up and down between Serie A and B. In the late ’90’s the club had a solid base of players and managed to remain in Serie A on a consistent basis, but in 2001 they went down to Serie B and since have never come back.

Since the late ’70’s, the club has been owned by the Matarrese family. The president is Vincenzo Matarrese, brother of current Lega Calcio president Antonio Matarrese. The Matarrese family has done a lot for the club, even getting a state of the art stadium built in the city for the 1990 stadium. The Stadio San Nicola was built exclusively for the 1990 World Cup, and has a capacity of around 60,000. Now, it’s obvious the stadium is too big for a small club like Bari, who have a loyal fan base but fail to fill the stadium. The fans have lost faith in the Matarrese family over the years, and ever since they were relegated from Serie A in 2001 attendances have been going down consistently year after year, and combined with the inconsistent seasons of the club, Bari is in trouble. Fans are constantly contesting the Matarrese family, telling them to sell the club and leave. In recent years, the club is widely known for having discovered Gianluca Zambrotta, Simone Perrotta, and of course Antonio Cassano (pictured).

This season the club looked destined for another disappointing year, but Antonio Conte was hired mid-season and turned the ship around, turning Bari into potential promotion contenders for next season. Also, the Matarrese family are finally thinking about selling the club. Their asking price is 15 million euro (most players cost more than 15 million euro!), and someone has shown interest in buying the club. Who? Lorenzo Sanz, the ex-president of Real Madrid and current owner of Malaga. Sanz wanted to buy Parma last season, but Ghirardi beat him too it. Now Sanz is very interested in purchasing Bari, mainly because the club has potential to be a very good club. Think about it, Bari is the second biggest city in Southern Italy, it has one of the biggest stadiums in Italy, it has a loyal fan base that will pack the stadium if the club is run well, Antonio Conte is a very good young manager, and combine that with a wealthy owner and you have potential to be a very good Serie A club. Sanz seems to be finalizing the deal, and the Matarrese family has given him 10 days to put in his offer. 15 million euro is a bargain, and by early June the club could be in the hands of Sanz, and could realistically target Serie A promotion for the 2008-2009 season. We’ll have to see how it unfolds.