FC Bari 1908 has been trending all over Malaysia for the past couple of weeks after it emerged that a Malaysian businessman in the form of Datuk Noordin Ahmad, had completed a deal to become the club’s brand new owner.
The Italian Serie B side has been battling financial issues for quite some time now; so when the news initially broke, Bari fans were ecstatic to find out that the club would be receiving a hefty financial boost, as they continue to push for a promotion into Serie A.
But it hasn’t exactly been fine and dandy – fans within the 10th biggest city in Italy, are becoming very skeptical of the takeover. In fact, they are struggling to trust him and the promises he made during the press conference last week. After all, how do you trust someone you barely know?
“Paparesto was definitely going to go broke, he didn’t have funds to sustain the club. So he was desperate to find a new owner for the team. Datuk Noordin’s arrival has generated mixed reactions but people like me are pretty worried, because we don’t know much about him,” Dario Albanese, who is based in Bari, told FourthOfficial.com
When it appeared that a certain Datuk Noordin was pushing to takeover the club, very little was known of him, except that he was a Malaysian businessman. The first bit of information came from a Malay Mail article, where KAFA President Tan Sri Annuar Musa revealed that he was a close friend of Datuk Noordin, and that they were both alumnis of the Royal Military College.
During the official unveiling ceremony, Datuk Noordin claimed that his decision to purchase FC Bari was premised on his desire to give back to the Italian people, as a sign of gratitude for the excellent care he received last December, after suffering a heart-attack.
“I suffered my second heart attack in Rome … the first attack was 10 years ago. I thought I was going to die (this time) but the doctors in Italy took care of me and they saved me. I feel I should do something for Italy,” he revealed, during the press conference.
“My question is, why football? And why FC Bari? He seems to have very little understanding of Italian football as a whole, judging by his responses in press conferences. My understanding is this – if you’re interested in purchasing a football club, you’d usually do your due diligence first and contact the embassy for more details, before proceeding to officially open discussions.
Another fan though, who did not want his identity to be disclosed, pointed out the possibility of a bigger power at play within this deal. This individual’s theory believes that Datuk Noordin is merely being used as a proxy by an Italian-based investor, who presumably owns another football club within the country.
“Why Datuk Noordin though? Well, he is well-connected in Italy through Finmeccanica, a major Italian company that specializes in aerospace, defence and security. He is also a friend of Lazio owner, Claudio Lotito. They both share the same lawyer as well. I’m not accussing anyone here, but it’s not a big surprise that Datuk Noordin was picked as the proxy, if my theory is proved right,” he added
As of now, Petronas are reportedly keen on pumping in RM110 million into the Serie B side, despite reportedly adopting major cost-cutting measures this year. If it goes through, Bari fans could be set for a respite, after years of suffering on the sidelines. But right now, fans are convinced that there is more to this deal, than meets the eye.
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