Serie B club Bologna's new president, U.S. lawyer JOE TACOPINA, told SBD Global that AS Roma COO CLAUDIO FENUCCI will become CEO of Bologna. AS Roma announced on Oct. 27 that Fenucci had stepped down from the club’s board. Bologna was expected to introduce its new CEO at a press conference on Monday. "He's one of the top managers in Europe," Tacopina said of Fenucci. "He's a top-five manager in Europe. [AC Milan Owner Silvio] Berlusconi wanted to bring him to AC Milan. The Italian Federation [FIGC] wanted him to become president. He's passing all that up for this opportunity." Tacopina and a group of North Americans completed the purchase of Bologna on Oct. 15. Tacopina was named club president and Major League Soccer club Montreal Impact President JOEY SAPUTO is a "large investor." Tacopina, who previously worked with Fenucci during his tenure as AS Roma’s VP, said that he views Bologna as a distressed asset with untapped potential, and added that Fenucci shares his appreciation of the Serie B side.
Tacopina said of Fenucci, “The guy is really excited about this. He views it as a legacy project. He understands how significant Bologna is, what the upside is and what we can do. The fact that we’re bringing Claudio Fenucci from AS Roma to Bologna corroborates all my thoughts on this opportunity.”
Tacopina cited the club’s strong history, which includes seven Serie A titles, as one reason he has remained interested in acquiring Bologna despite an attempt he made with partners from Goldman Sachs to take over the club in ’08 in a bid that eventually failed.
