The high-stakes gamble of Joe Tacopina and fellow investors in Serie A side Bologna FC climaxed in the last few minutes of a hair-raising match Tuesday night as his Rossoblù squad survived a furious onslaught on the pitch and advanced to the top Italian league. It was the nexus of sport and business, with his entire investment riding on his undermanned team and the bounce of the ball in any of a dozen frenzied Pescara attacks. Tacopina looked like a thrill-seeker struggling to regain composure after paying for an aerobatic adventure, surviving a freefall and narrowly escaping a crash. “The last 10 minutes almost killed me,” said an ashen-faced Tacopina immediately after the match as he was swarmed by thousands of Bologna fans.
TAKING A CHANCE: His thrill ride began in October when he acquired the historic club at a fire-sale price. The club had been relegated to Serie B after the '13-14 season. Tacopina once tried to acquire Bologna for €18M when it was in Serie A. But after relegation, he and investors, including Montreal Impact Owner Joey Saputo, were able to close the deal for €7M in cash and a promise to spend another €13M rebuilding the club. They were betting on a huge increase in franchise value if the club could claw its way back to Serie A. At the time, he did not relish talking about the alternative, but the picture he painted was bleak. A relegated club loses close to €50M in TV revenue. In the first year of relegation, a club receives a €12M parachute. But Bologna had an €18M player payroll and its most optimistic prediction for '14-15 was to break even. Bologna was facing a second season in Serie B without the parachute. That would have forced a restructuring of business, particularly player payroll, and left Bologna as a middle of the pack minor-league club. Making it back to the big money would have been exponentially harder.
MAKING A RUN: When the deal closed in October, Bologna was languishing outside of the promotion picture in ninth place. But immediately after the sale, attendance doubled from 9,000 to 18,000, and both the spirits and fortunes of the club took off. By mid-November, Bologna was a serious contender and early in '15, the club had a solid hold on second place, a position of guaranteed promotion. It looked like Tacopina’s gamble would pay off. But in late April, with only six games left, the team took a nosedive. By the end of the regular season, it was barely holding on to fourth. Bologna would have to enter the six-team playoff. It squeaked into the Serie B finals in unconvincing fashion, managing only a tie in two semifinal games against Avellino. But a tie worked in Bologna’s favor. The first match of the finals, played in Pescara, ended 0-0. The winner of Tuesday night’s match, played in Bologna’s Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, would get elevated to Serie A.
KEEPING IT TOGETHER: On Monday, Tacopina said he was "barely holding up." Again, a draw would end in Bologna’s favor. So when Bologna’s Gianluca Sansone scored in the 37th minute, months of "unbearable" pressure eased momentarily. But in the 56th minute, Sansone could not put a break-away attempt in the net, which would have sealed the victory, and Pescara’s Cristian Pasquato responded with the equalizer. That left Tacopina with 34 minutes of agony. "It wasn’t fun. It can’t be fun with so much on the line," Tacopina said. But it got worse. In the 65th minute, Bologna’s Ibrahima M’baye was red-carded. That meant Bologna would have to play the last 25 minutes a man down. "It was painful," Tacopina said. When Pescara’s Federico Melchiorri launched a missile off the cross bar, Tacopina said, "My heart stopped. I mean it literally skipped a beat." But the Rossoblù defense held and when the referee’s whistle finally ended the match, Bologna would join AS Roma as the 20-team Serie A’s only two commercial football franchises. Tacopina was carried off the field by fans. "I have to admit that when I addressed the player in the locker room, I was enormously overwhelmed. Yes, there were tears. My tears."
John Genzale is the founding editor of SportsBusiness Journal.
