Two very large seats still vacant. 20 days after the “miracle of Terni” (because that’s what it was) Bari is formally without sporting director and coach. Between great maneuvers, work under the radar and silences, the red and white club is trying to find the right solution to finally accelerate the start of the new course.
Waiting for Magalini
Until yesterday morning the director “in charge” was still in his home in Mantua, but with his suitcases already packed. The 62-year-old from Veneto has put on his agenda, today at the latest, a trip to Catanzaro to discuss the termination of the contract (in place until June 30) with the president of the Calabrian club Noto. The Veronese manager, as anticipated yesterday, asked Bari for a few days to clarify the terms of his farewell with the club, especially in relation to the word given months ago to the Giallorossi owner to renew the contract once the season was over. At the moment there is nothing to suggest a sudden collapse of the verbal agreement reached a few days ago with Bari. According to sources close to the Apulian club, the only thing missing for the signing (contract until 2026) and the official announcement is the so-called “bureaucratic details”. However, Magalini himself has made it known that his transfer to the Apulian capital is not expected before next week. In the meantime, Catanzaro has protected itself by blocking 28-year-old Matteo Lovisa, met by Noto two days ago in the city in a seaside restaurant, as well as an early sponsored “motion” for the succession of Ciro Polito.
Rebus bench
Yesterday took another of the potential candidates away from Bari. After losing D’Aversa from the race, heading towards Cesena, there was nothing to do for “super Pippo Inzaghi”. The 50-year-old from Piacenza, fresh from a negative spell at Salernitana, is now one step away from Pisa. The road to Vincenzo Vivarini’s return to Puglia is also intricate. Yesterday Ari’s coach informed Catanzaro that he did not want to continue his adventure in Calabria. The former Bari player would also have returned to the sender the renewal proposal put on the table once again by Noto, dealing with the farewell of two of the main protagonists of the last two winning years. At the moment there is nothing that could keep Vivarini at Catanzaro, not even a presumed release clause, which would only be triggered in the event of the Giallorossi’s promotion to Serie A. The farewell is therefore certain, but the future of the 58-year-old from Abruzzo is still to be written. Bari, in particular president Luigi De Laurentiis, has been pressing for some time to bring the unconfirmed coach back to the red and white at the end of the 2019-2020 Serie C season, after the defeat in the playoff final. A decision that has been the subject of great regret ever since, expressed several times, even publicly, by the sole administrator of the Galletti family. The deal is anything but simple. Putting a spanner in the works is Angelozzi’s Frosinone, who would like to focus on Vivarini for an immediate assault on Serie A, which they lost at the end of the last season. The risk that Bari will be left holding the bag is real. For this reason the Apulian club is exploring various alternatives: yesterday the name of Longo circulated, already in the red and white orbit in February after Marino’s dismissal, before Iachini arrived. Sottil’s profile is also back in fashion. The Aquilani hypothesis also seems to be gaining ground, destined to leave Pisa to make room for Inzaghi. Donati is more secluded, also sought by the Greeks of Athens Kallithea, who have just been promoted to the top Greek league.
