Bench casting closed. After a long and intense evaluation phase, Bari is ready to nominate Moreno Longo directly. The Piedmontese coach is the one chosen to lead the red and whites starting from next season.
Non-stop table
There was no doubt that the former Como player was liked. In fact, his profile had been among the favorites for the final sprint for days. First real contact on Thursday evening: a timid approach, just to test the waters. Given the positive conditions, yesterday the dialogue definitely came to life: Longo and the “plenipotentiaries” of Bari carried out a discussion, resulting in a negotiation, with the aim of arriving at a total convergence on programs and economic issues. Longo would have received extensive guarantees on a technical and planning level. L’former coach of Turin, Frosinone and Alessandria after clearly putting his ideas on the table he gave the OK and is waiting for feedback. The ball therefore passes to Bari. There is confidence that the 48-year-old from Piedmont and the club led by De Laurentiis can find a solution. The hypothesis on the table is a two-year contract, with an option for another season. Monday should be signing day. Rumors speak of an enthusiastic president, thanks to the contacts he had with Longo already in February, when the Piedmontese coach was investigated after Marino’s dismissal.
Desire for revenge
This is the common denominator of Bari and Moreno Longo. If on one hand the red and whites are coming out of a unsuccessful season, with a last-gasp salvation earned in the playouts, on the other hand the Turin coach is fresh from the inexplicable dismissal he received last November 13th from Como. Dismissal occurred after the away win against Ascoli, with the Como team fifth in the standings, together with Cremonese, at 22 points, and with a gap from second place of only five points. On his professional CV, Longo boasts a promotion to Serie A with Frosinone, at the end of the 2017-2018 Serie B championship. Success also in the name of Raffaele Maiello, among the protagonists and goalscorers of the playoff final won against Palermo. In 2020 he achieved salvation in Serie A with Torino, after taking over from Mazzarri on the bench. Also worth remembering is his experience in the ’20-’21 season in Serie C with Alessandria, which culminated in a historic promotion. In Serie B Longo averages 1.3 points per game; out of a total of 166 matches the balance is 53 wins, 61 draws and 52 defeats. Armored defense and game organization are the mantra of the class of ’76, who are particularly accustomed to the 3-man defence. The last formation used at Como is the 3-4-2-1, the same formation at the time of Frosinone; 3-5-2 at Alessandria.
Crossroads with Di Cesare
With the time machine you have to go back to 14 years ago. It all happened between 2010 and 2013: while Longo began his career as a coach in the Turin youth team, the then 27-year-old former captain of Bari was playing in the first team. The attack on Longo took place after the red and white club took note of the impossibility of Vincenzo Vivarini’s return to Puglia, blocked in Catanzaro by contractual issues. Sottil and Aquilani were also beaten. Be careful, Longo’s is not a second choice at all. However, it is no mystery that president Luigi De Laurentiis harbored the desire to rewrite history together with the Abruzzo coach, to redeem the sad epilogue of the 2019-2020 Serie C season, marked by the defeat in the playoff final against Reggiana.
