Ronaldo's debut with Juventus brought the spotlight back to Serie A. GETTY IMAGES
Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival at Juventus "could be a commercial, financial and structural victory for Italy’s Serie A," according to Rory Smith of the N.Y. TIMES. As soon as the final parking space was taken on Saturday afternoon, "long before kickoff," the roads around Verona’s Stadio Bentegodi went into "lockdown." Crack counterterrorism units -- "as well as Italy’s regular police and the carabinieri (military police)" -- patrolled the streets near the stadium. It was an "unprecedented security measure" for a city whose two football teams, Hellas and Chievo, "tend to labor in quiet mediocrity." No chances were taken for an event that, according to Angelo Sidoti, Verona’s vice prefect, "has assumed a worldwide significance." It "feels like an age since Serie A saw itself in that light." For almost two decades, Italy’s top division "has had an air of faded grandeur, of inescapable decline." Suddenly, "now, it feels like the center of the universe again." The "whole world" was watching as Chievo took on Juventus, which arrived with "the man who has changed everything: Cristiano Ronaldo." Though reports that Juventus has sold 500,000 jerseys in the six weeks since his arrival "are incorrect" -- that would be "impossible," according to one club exec -- it "already has sold more jerseys this summer than it did in the whole of last season." The club "has sold 29,300 season tickets, too, despite substantial price increases from last year." If anything, though, "the impact on social media has been more impressive." Ronaldo has almost 335 million followers across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. As Juventus "had hoped, a fraction of those have migrated to the club’s accounts with its new signing." The club has added 4 million new followers on Instagram in the weeks since Ronaldo signed, and an extra 2 million likes on Facebook. Curiously, "there has been a much less dramatic uptick on Twitter: only another 150,000 followers." According to a report by KPMG, the club "can expect an increase" of some €75M ($86M) to €100M ($131M) in commercial revenue over the first three years of Ronaldo’s contract, "thanks largely to increased opportunities in Asia, where Ronaldo’s brand is considerably more appealing than the club’s" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/17).
ROOM TO GROW: In L.A., Kevin Baxter reported when entrepreneur James Pallotta "joined three friends" to buy AS Roma seven years ago, "it had nothing to do with a love for the sport." He said, "I didn’t even like soccer." The deal "was an investment." But things "quickly went sideways in Rome so Pallotta’s partners urged him to take over the team." And that is "when the change began," he said. Pallotta: "Now I can't watch games without standing up and going from room to room. [I’m] watching women’s friendlies at three in the morning when I’m in L.A. It’s just completely the opposite." Serie A "has made a rousing comeback in recent years." In the seven years since Pallotta’s group purchased AS Roma, becoming the Italian league’s first foreign owners, int'l investors "have taken over four other teams." That growth figures to continue: the league kicked off the '18-19 season this weekend with a "new star" in Ronaldo and the "most lucrative TV contracts in its history," with domestic and int'l rights selling for more than $4.5B combined over the next three seasons. There is "still room for growth." The '15 bankruptcy of Parma, the third Serie A team to be declared insolvent in 13 years, "forced reluctant owners" to realize Italian football "had to adopt the business models of teams elsewhere around Europe." Improving "the league’s aging infrastructure was one obvious way to do that." Pallotta said, "There are some stadiums that are way too big. They’re way too old." He "hopes to break ground on his team's new stadium this winter." Pallotta, 60, was born to parents who emigrated from southern Italy. His investment in an Italian football team "had more to do with opportunity than heritage." He is one of several Americans who own significant stakes in European clubs, but Pallotta "doesn't expect many more to follow." Pallotta: "If you look at opportunities throughout European football today, I find it hard to see in many cases why Americans are looking at it. I don’t think there are many opportunities left to create a global brand” (L.A. TIMES, 8/18). REUTERS' Brian Homewood reported Juventus came from behind to "snatch a dramatic 3-2 win" at Chievo in Ronaldo's debut, although he "was not among the scorers" (REUTERS, 8/18).
