3 clubs bankrupt and numerous legal challenges,confusion over the possible suspension of fixtures,just a normal day in Italian footie then.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45566113

I think Berlusconi is looking at buying Bari now.

You'd think a footy club over there would be an excellent vehicle for doing the laundry.

Foshiznik wrote:I think Berlusconi is looking at buying Bari now.

also reports of buying Monza the football club

diamondpocket wrote:also reports of buying Monza the football club

That's the one. I had Modena in my head but heard Monza on the Golazzo podcast.

tiger76 wrote:3 clubs bankrupt and numerous legal challenges,confusion over the possible suspension of fixtures,just a normal day in Italian footie then.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/45566113

ahahahahha ffs...is a mess...

Shame for the 3 clubs concerned as they are all clubs, if memory serves, who flit between A and B. Bari in particular have spent a lot of time in the top division. Oddly, according to a bit of research, they are still going but in Serie D so they must have had a similar fate to Rangers unless the sources are wrong.

houseboy wrote:Shame for the 3 clubs concerned as they are all clubs, if memory serves, who flit between A and B. Bari in particular have spent a lot of time in the top division. Oddly, according to a bit of research, they are still going but in Serie D so they must have had a similar fate to Rangers unless the sources are wrong.

Bari finished last season 7th in Serie B but were removed from the league over the summer due to financial difficulties. In the summer the club was taken over by the owner of Napoli and placed in Serie D.

So they've lost Avellino, Bari and Cesena?

I bet Delta Proto Tolle are worried. And who's next? Empoli, Fiorentina, Genoa?

claretburns wrote:Bari finished last season 7th in Serie B but were removed from the league over the summer due to financial difficulties. In the summer the club was taken over by the owner of Napoli and placed in Serie D.

As I thought. I do always feel sorry for the fans of clubs who go under, imagine if we lost our beloved Clarets, the weekend just wouldn't be the same for 9 months of the year.

dsr wrote:So they've lost Avellino, Bari and Cesena?

I bet Delta Proto Tolle are worried. And who's next? Empoli, Fiorentina, Genoa?

I think Fiorentina did go bust a few short years ago but they got saved at the last minute, if memory serves. Italian football has always been fraught with problems due to irregularities (look at Juventus' relegation not long ago, AC Milan should have suffered the same fate apparently but somehow they had more 'clout') and with guys like Berlusconi it's not surprising, he's had more lives than a Mafia godfather.

I thought he WAS a Mafia godfather.

It is a common occurrence lower down the leagues in Italy, in Serie C & D, that clubs go bankrupt and there are 10 or 20 a year. There have been a few high profile ones in the last 3/4 years including this year's lot, in Serie B: Bari, Parma a few years ago, Modena, Mantova, Lecce, etc. What happens usually is they just reform, change the name slightly and start again with new owners and new sponsors from Serie D or the level below that Eccellenza (5th level). If clubs are lucky then they get entrepreneurs in who can bankroll the club and make their way back up the leagues again; if not, they just go bankrupt again and the cycle continues. Attendances are less than 1000 at Serie D level, although it is considered semi-pro, and Serie C between 1000 & 5000 if they're lucky, so gate receipts are low; odd games on sky but as you can imagine not much interest there, and there's no commercial nounce at all at any Italian level apart from the top world famous teams. I don't really know how so many clubs keep going.

Like in Britain, most have a sugar daddy (like than Russian chap at Chelsea, speaking of gangsters.)

Foshiznik wrote:I think Berlusconi is looking at buying Bari now.

Jezzzzzzzzzzzz one of the great away days watching Ireland was in Bari , Robbie Keane scored in the 90th minute for a 1-1 draw the away end just was mental, i ended up 15 rows down from where i was sat when the goal went in . Mad night i must say .

You get around, don't you, Tribesman?

ontario claret wrote:You get around, don't you, Tribesman?

Not as much as I would like too