BARI – “We have gone through a difficult year, marked by mistakes and misfortune. The last season taught us a lot, culminating in a salvation achieved with sincere tears, shared by the whole team.” With these words, Bari president Luigi De Laurentiis presented the club’s new managers for the next season in Serie B.
“When I was under guard and was insulted with vulgar epithets, someone wondered where I was. I was in my seat in the stands. My dignity remains intact,” he recalled. “We started immediately with the right people: sporting director Giuseppe Magalini, an experienced manager and talent scout, and coach Moreno Longo, with a highly respected CV. Valerio Di Cesare will be the new deputy sporting director: he shared his journey from Serie D with us.”
“We have ambitious goals: we are aiming for the playoffs. Until October we hadn’t lost many players to injury and experts considered Bari stronger than in the past. Our plans require planning and we will have a significant budget,” underlined De Laurentiis.
Responding to the controversy over his father Aurelio’s statements regarding timeshare, he clarified: “My father’s words hurt me and I dissociated myself as a son. It’s clear that my father can talk nonsense, but when it affects my work, there is damage. He defended timeshare, but with the wrong expressions. We believe in two sports brands, and my group invests heavily in Bari, which has failed in the past but will never fail under our ownership.”
The new sporting director Magalini declared: “I’m here to work hard. I consider myself lucky to be here. We chose Longo as coach for his human and technical values.”
Coach Longo added: “Choosing Bari was very easy: this club was at the top of the list of places where I wanted to work. It is a large square, full of passion. Furthermore, my mother is from Bari, one more reason to accept this assignment.”
Lagazzettadelmezzogiorno.it reports it
