Serie A set for American revolution

Ageing stadiums, declining fortunes and a troubled recent past. These are the notions applied to Italian football, if it attracts attention.

But soon-to-be Bari owner Timothy Barton spots something much more appealing concerning the Italian football, untapped potential.

The American property magnate is set to make the promoted side Serie A’s only foreign-controlled club next month after signing a preliminary deal in August to buy Bari for around €25 million.

“It’s very exciting and we hope it’s the beginning of a lot of changes in Serie A,” Barton told Reuters in an interview.

“This is an opportunity we found interesting and somewhere we know we can apply our ability and relationships and create a change.”

After ruling the roost in the 1990s, Italy’s top flight has been overtaken by Spain’s La Liga and England’s Premier League in terms of prestige and results in European competition.

That means Italian soccer has bigger margins for improvement than its rivals, according to Barton, especially given the great passion there is for the game.

“If you get into some of the other more glamorous leagues, the ability to enhance or influence it takes much greater time and different circumstances are involved,” said the 46-year-old, who made his millions in luxury real estate around the world.

“Combining American business acumen and Italian passion is certainly a big part and I think it’s a good marriage.”

Italian football’s lack of foreign investment is one of the reasons it has suffered a dip in fortunes, when considering many Premier League clubs now have foreign owners, with giants Manchester United and Liverpool in American hands along with Sunderland and former European champions Aston Villa.

Barton believes the game in Italy is mending its ways, after poor financial management meant big clubs such as Napoli and Fiorentina had to fight back to the top flight after going bankrupt this decade.

Serie A is due to imitate the Premier League by breaking away from the second tier next year to maximise revenues.

For the first time the league is also being run by a business expert from outside football, Maurizio Beretta, the former director general of Italy’s employers’ association.

“Hopefully the sport and Serie A are in a position to move forward and we want to be part of that,” said Barton, a Texas-based businessman with Irish roots.

“All the owners and teams are looking into that and seeing how it’s time for things to evolve for the best for everyone.”

Among the challenges are controlling the hooliganism that has dogged Italian football in recent years and the problem of stadium ownership, with most clubs unable to use their grounds to generate income as they rent them from local authorities.

Beretta is working with the government on both issues and a new law is in the pipeline to help clubs buy their grounds.

Barton has not ruled out making a bid for Bari’s San Nicola stadium, which was designed by world-famous Italian architect Renzo Piano for the 1990 World Cup, after the council said it intended to sell the ground.

While, Serie A has recovered from the match-fixing scandal of 2006, the American has said he would be watchful.

“We are absolutely concerned about this,” said Barton, whose strong Catholic faith is reflected in his company’s name, JMJ Holdings, which stands for Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

“But we are hopeful that when you look at a five- or 10-year plan that those things are going to change. It evolves like everything else and eventually everybody gets back on a level playing field when there’s a lot more professionalism overall.”

While Italian Football Federation chief Giancarlo Abete said he would like the Bari case to remain an exception, some industry experts hope Barton will have a positive impact.

“Bari’s example can now show that football has become global and Italian football needs to be ready to welcome investors from abroad,” Giorgio Brambilla of sports marketing consultancy firm SPORT+MARKT told Reuters.

“In Italy we need a new vision and organisation of clubs. Italians see foreign investors as an enemy. We need a successful case study to prove foreign investors are a benefit, not a problem.”

Barton said his decision to buy Bari underlined a long-term commitment to doing business in southern Italy, with a major renewable energy project among his plans.

While his big aim is to make Bari competitive in Europe, he intends to take things one step at a time in the club’s return to the top flight after eight years in the second tier.

“Our first goal is to stay in Serie A and build a strong team and a strong foundation so we don’t have any steps back that can be avoided as we seek to get better,” he said.

“The big teams don’t have to fear for their places at the top of the table; not this year anyway.”