The Bari Story
It was a performance full of vim but in the end the result left a slightly bitter taste. Despite limiting their opponents to just two shots the whole game, A.S Bari lost to Latina 1-0 in front of a vociferous home crowd. The result may prove detrimental to their chances of reaching the Serie A playoffs but more importantly 32,528 supporters turned out at the Stadio San Nicola - a Serie B record for tickets sold in a single match.
It’s been a while since such numbers packed the ground dubbed as the spaceship, 2011 in fact, when the Galetti (cockerels) hosted the likes of Juventus, AC Milan and Inter in Serie A. However last Thursday against Latina, the Curva Nord was a morass of red and white flags, scarves and pyrotechnics. The atmosphere was reminiscent of more prosperous times, 1999 for example, when a juvenile Antonio Cassano burst onto the scene and stunned Inter with a virtuoso 88th minute winner, or even 1991 when thousands packed the steps of the Gradinata to welcome their English saviour - David Platt.
However against Latina the Bari faithful did not turn out on mass to welcome a Serie A giant, nor to worship their latest hero but to respond to an appeal released in a video delivered by the Bari players in local vernacular. For Bari are in real danger of disappearing off the face of the Calcio map.
In February 2014, after 37 years at the helm, the sun set on the Matarrese family’s reign at the Puglia club. The clubs financial travails had reached a point of no return with debts in the region of €35 million, forcing the majority shareholder – Salvatore Matarrese Spa – to concede he was unable to rescue the club financially. After a general meeting of the club’s hierarchy an announcement on the club’s official website said.
“During discussion, a common desire emerged, to protect the prestige and history of A.S Bari.
“The majority shareholder urged, therefore… to establish any initiative to ensure the integrity of corporate assets, the preservation of company values of creditors, including through the use of bankruptcy proceedings.”
The severity of the Biancorossi’s financial situation is such that the clubs supporters have recently funded the team’s travel during away games. Desperate times called for desperate measures and on March the 10th the tribunal accepted Bari’s request to file for bankruptcy. It was the only viable solution which would guarantee their Serie B status, notwithstanding their performance on the field. It was proving to be an undignified fall from grace for a club that once nurtured players of the calibre of Antonio Cassano, Gianluca Zambrotta, and Leonardo Bonucci as well as providing a launch pad for the career of Juventus coach, Antonio Conte.
The Mattarese once had visions of grandeur for Bari, hoping to follow in the footsteps of Calcio tycoons such as Silvio Berlusconi at AC Milan and the Agnelli family at Juventus. However their failure to secure their Serie A status – earning them the epithet “L’ascensore” (The lift) for their yo-yoing tendencies – combined with mountains of debt and paltry attendances has landed them in today’s predicament. This season the average attendance at the San Nicola has been just 5,572 in a ground which can hold up to 58, 270 and as Owen Neilson explains this is a problem endemic to Italian football.
Bari’s malaise has provided their supporters with a quandary. On the one hand they have been witnessing their clubs demise and possible extinction and on the other their desperate situation has signalled the end of what the Baresi believe was a footballing dictatorship ruled by the Matarrese family. In spite of the doom and gloom and economic austerity, hope of new beginnings spring eternal.
At this moment in time the first auction for the takeover of A.S Bari is underway. The bankruptcy judge, Anna De Simone, will assess the offers on the table and establish if they are concrete and viable. Four consortiums presented bids for the Biancorossi however two have since withdrawn, including one backed by London investors. Despite this the signs remain positive and two other parties – The F.C. Bari 1908 headed by Gianluca Paparesta and backed by a group of entrepreneurs from Northern Italy and the Bari Calcio s.r.l. headed by Brescia businessman, Francesco Ghilardini, and supported by a group industrialists from Puglia – remain in the running to alleviate Bari from their financial chaos. The key stumbling block is whether the aforementioned parties can raise the funds necessary to participate in the auction in the allotted time, which is said to be €3 million. Failing this, the judge will have to re-arrange the dates for a second auction.
Italian football has seen its fair share of clubs fall foul to financial irregularities. Piacenza, Venezia, Perugia, Ascoli are joined by a host of others who once boasted Serie A status but were crippled financially and slid down the Calcio ladder. However the Baresi need only look 150 miles west to their southern counterparts Napoli for inspiration, a club who were declared bankrupt in 2004 and have now re-established themselves as an Italian juggernaut with the help of film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis.
Bari may not be one of the most prestigious clubs in Italy but for the Anglo-Calcio enthusiasts it is hard not to have a soft spot for the Biancorossi. The Stadio San Nicola evokes memories of England’s third place play-off against Italy and David Platt’s consequent move to Puglia in his quest to become the Diego Maradona of Bari.
Thursday night’s game against Latina proved that there is life yet within this bastion of Southeast Italy and their supporters retain hope that rather than being the end, this is the dawn of a new era, an era in which the cockerels will rise like the phoenix to crow among Calcio’s elite once again.
By Luca Hodges-Ramon – @LH_Ramon25
Bari vs. Latina- Curva Nord http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pSZqx5BH9g&sns=tw