A group of North Americans led by N.Y. lawyer Joe Tacopina "completed the purchase" of "cash-strapped" Serie B club Bologna on Wednesday, according to the AP. Tacopina was named club president and Major League Soccer club Montreal Impact President Joey Saputo is a "large investor." Tacopina and Saputo will
"reportedly make an initial investment" of $16.5M and will provide a €7M ($9M) payout to the club's
previous owners. Since '10, Bologna has been "held by a consortium including coffee maker Massimo Zanetti" (AP, 10/15). THE STREET's Michael Brown reported the transaction "already has been approved by the board of Bologna FC." It was "unclear what roll Saputo, whose family started Canadian dairy
giant Saputo Inc., will play at the club." He also owns the Montreal Impact. The deal "marks the end of a 13-month auction process" for Bologna. Former Bologna President Albano Guaraldi announced in September '13 that he would "put the club up for sale after growing tired of unrest from fans" in reaction to selling Algeria int'l midfielder Saphir Taider to Inter Milan and and allowing Italian Alberto Gilardino to return to Serie A side Genoa in the summer of '13 (THE STREET, 10/16).
NEW STADIUM PROMISED: FOOTBALL ITALIA reported Tacopina promised to build a new stadium worth €60M ($77M). Tacopina: "We have the support of the Mayor and the city, so will try to push
through the stadium plans as soon as possible, because we want to give
Bologna a splendid home for its football. ... If we give the fans a spectacle worthy of them, they will respond.
Anyone who thinks we won’t get back to being an important club is
wrong" (FOOTBALL ITALIA, 10/15).
