Bari already preparing for life in Serie B
There is no need for a mathematician, nor a belief in miracles at the Stadio San Nicola. Bari have already accepted the inevitable and the Biancorossi must now prepare for life in Serie B.
Technically, of course, Bari haven’t been relegated to Italy’s second tier yet, but being 13 points adrift with only 15 to play for is surely beyond even the most optimistic member of the UCN’s expectations.
The club are instead beginning to focus on next season in an attempt to hit the ground running in Serie B. This will based on two key elements – keeping hold of their star players and also retaining the services of the Coach.
Bari Sporting Director Guido Angelozzi spoke to TUTTOmercatoWEB this week and outlined his plan that would (if successful) see his team bounce straight back into Serie A, backing Coach Bortolo Mutti, whom he refused to hold responsible for Bari’s current situation.
“Right now we think we are close but we meet at the end of season to evaluate the work to be done. Mutti is working fine, we will decide everything in the summer, including the choice of the Coach,” Angelozzi commented.
Mutti had taken over from Bari’s previous Coach Giampiero Ventura in February. Employed to keep the Biancorossi in the division, he has almost certainly failed, and Angelozzi’s words may come as a surprise to the Bari faithful as Mutti has not had the best luck with his two previous clubs either.
The 56-year-old was sacked from Modena after a run of terrible results, and was also let go by Atalanta after he helped them on their way to Serie B last year. Even so, the Bari hierarchy still feel it would be better to maintain stability at the club, and have faith in his abilities to guide them back into Italy’s top flight.
Angelozzi is also keen to keep hold of his key players when relegation inevitably strikes and the vultures from Serie A start to circle during the summer. This is why it is important for the club to secure the services of players like goalkeeper Jean-Francois Gillet, Sergio Almiron, Paulo Vito Barreto and Alessandro Parisi.
Gillet is the only player so far to confirm he will stay at the club next season and indeed until his contract ends in 2014. The Belgian has also expressed an interest in a coaching role at the club once he has hung up his gloves.
Nevertheless, with all the talk and focus being centred around next season, Angelozzi was quick to reassure doubters that Bari would still be 100 percent committed in the remaining games this season:
“We will not give up and instead try to do our work until the end out of respect for the club and the fans,” he insisted.
You could argue, then, that Bari’s fight for promotion starts here, and if the Biancorossi can at least finish this season in some sort of form, it would be a small positive to take into the summer break before the rebuilding starts.
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