Roland in talks with Bari
It looks as if Roland Duchâtelet is close to adding an Italian club to his footballing stable, the famous AS Bari, currently lounging in the lower reaches of Serie B.
Italian football has been beset with all sorts of trials and tribulations in recent years, and Bari are said to be €30m in debt and close to bankruptcy. One would assume that Duchâtelet would be able to pick up the club for a song if he clears the debt that the family owned club has amassed.
Like a lot of Italian football clubs, Bari don’t own their ground. The famous 58,000 capacity Stadio San Nicola is owned by the Municipality of Bari. The stadium hosted some 1990 World Cup games for which it was built but Bari’s crowds are shockingly low. There were just 3,250 in attendance for their last home game!
The i Galletti have spent most of their history bouncing between Serie’s A and B, and were last relegated in 2011. The club is seriously in the doldrums and despite pitiful gates, Bari have the vast catchment area of Puglia pretty much to themselves.
On a personal note I have always had a soft spot for Bari. They were always a team I remembered from Channel 4’s Football Italia, mostly because of English imports such as David Platt and their great badge. Then when I lived in Chicago, one of my very best friends that I made was born in that region of Italy and he and his family, who had all moved to Chicago when he and his brother were young, were massive Bari fans.
In fact my mate and his brother began a Sunday team called Bari FC and I played for them as well and we had a great couple of seasons before I moved to Bermuda.
On another note every Addick should take a look at the CAST website to read the Q&A from last night’s VIP meeting with Katrien Meire, Chris Powell and Richard Murray at The Valley. Interesting stuff.
