This sounds great, assuming the Chinese group wants to invest in creating a team that can consistently compete in Serie A. It'd be great to see Palermo vying for a Euro League spot on the regular.
Frank Cascio, an Italian-American (who I could have sworn I've posted about already. He came out about a month or so ago and basically said he had cash in hand ready to buy, but Zampa wasn't returning his calls) had a meeting with Zamparini today. It supposedly went well, and they have another scheduled. The Chinese are supposedly also still in talks.
The latest instalment of 'the club says no veteran GKs, Ballardini says buy a veteran goalkeeper.' Zamparini has had some words about Ballardini which should go to show how thin the ice is that he's standing on. Zamp is setting it up so that, if this team isn't great, it'll be the coaches fault, not the complete lack of any veteran presence at basically any position. “Ballardini needs to learn to shut up and let the pitch do the talking, seeing as he’s a fine Coach.” http://www.football-italia.net/90069/zamparini-shut-ballardini
http://www.tuttopalermo.net/intervi...lardini-e-bravo-ma-deve-essere-piu-otti-85951 Zamparini will complete the sale of the club "within two months." Mark your calendars. I still won't believe it till it happens. From my google translate assisted translation, it looks as if Cascio is part of a large consortium that Zamparini has known about for a while. He says the Chinese investors want Zampa to hold on to 30%, but it sounds like Zampa would rather get rid of the whole thing. He also confirms here that the club are serious about signing Bruno Henrique. He's hardly an allstar, but he is over 22, which is something this team needs.
Zamparini has pledged to give all sales from the next home game (Napoli) to a relief fund for the earthquake victims in Italy.
http://www.football-italia.net/90947/cascio-pushes-palermo-reply http://www.football-italia.net/90950/zamparini-wants-financial-guarantees http://palermocalcio.it/it/1617/news/comunicato-del-presidente-33255 Apparently despite mentioning him in previous interviews, Zampa has not really responded to Cascio's requests for negotiations. Almost immediately after Cascio complained to that effect, Zamp put out a press release saying the the bank is in the process of verifying that the group he is leading has the necessary funds to run the club, they will open more serious negotiations. Just when it seemed like a sale was immanent, now it feels far away again...
Zamp rejected Cascio's bid as insufficient. A Shame, I'd rather him buying it than a Chinese firm, who I'll expect to run it more like an investment (plus I'm skeptical that the Chinese soccer bubble will last much longer).
No idea, but rumors from a while ago were saying €50m for the whole thing. The Chinese group he is supposedly in favor of selling to would let Zampa keep a small portion of the club, and stay on in some sort of role.
My small time MLS club in California is worth $250 million + $100 mil for their stadium.....This translates into €311, 776, 244.50 in Euro. This tell you something about how far behind Italy and especially Southern Italy's economy is....
A club like Palermo would be worth more if Serie A didn't have promotion/relegation. A huge advantage for owners of San Jose and other MLS clubs.
Which is why it almost makes you wonder in this day and age , is promotion/relegation really necessary? You have one hit wonders coming through once in a while like Chievo , Novara, Carpi and Crotone but what is the point really? Even when Fiorentina were relegated they came right back up in two years and the bigger clubs (in bigger markets) Juventus, Milan, Inter, Roma, Lazio Napoli (unless their ownership falters) usually don't get relegated so what's the real point? It does nothing for clubs and/or fans. Maybe some of the games at the end of the season are more exciting but I question that also. Gilardino supposedly fought hard for Palermo last year but he didn't stay with them and is now in Empoli. Its not like he really cares about what the rosaneri are doing now nor should he.
They do that anyway. Milan spent 90 million euro in last years transfer window. That figure is nowhere near what Carpi or Chievo can produce.
Spend money to make clubs competitive. They aren't spending to avoid relegation but to make the Champions and Europa Leagues. You don't see the cellar dwellers paying what the bigger clubs pay during the transfer markets. The sette sorelle Juventus, Inter, Milan , Roma, Lazio, Fiorentina, Samp and sometimes Torino are always on top regardless. My point is though, relegation cheapens the league and simply implodes clubs.
And there's the drama. You don't have AC Milan, Chievo and Pescara all *trying* to finish last to get the coveted first lottery pick.
But that is America where clubs are rewarded for failure. That wouldn't happen in Europe or anywhere else.
Well maybe but that isn't necessarily a bad thing either. Looking at the NBA , MLB or NFL as examples, regardless of what the owners say, they are highly profitable leagues. You don't see too many owners wanting out because they are losing money. You may see them trying to sell to make a killing but not because they are losing. Same with Zampa, I'm sure he wants to make as much as he can from the club.
I don't give a rat's behind about the owners' profitability. It's a big part of the reason those leagues all suck. Because the owners make craploads of cash whether they suck, or not.
Palermo doesn't own their stadium, and Zamp has been wanting to build one for a while now, seeing as the current one opened in 1932 and was last renovated in 1989. I'm guessing that a sale will include promises to get a new stadium built. But yeah, Palermo isn't a valuable club. Part of it is the state of the economy, part of it is that Palermo has done a pretty bad job of marketing. It has a surprising amount of brand recognition among soccer fans ("isn't that the team that wears pink?") even by me in the US, but very few fans. Obviously being a lower-middle tier team doesn't help that, but Palermo essentially does nothing to cater to a non-Italian audience. Thats why I was hopeful the Cascio bid would be accepted, he would have had the ability to tap into that.
Southern Italian teams as a general rule are virtually non existent worldwide. Roma has a sort of name in Italy because they are the capital city but that's about it. All most people abroad know is how they lost 1-7 or 7-1 in the last few years in the CL.....Maradona's Napoli won twice and nothing ever since. When talking about Napoli , Diego's name is mentioned constantly and he has been gone for 25 years....
Zamp's given a string of comments saying the sale should be done sometime this year for €100m, and promising they will make an even larger investment in the club, including a new stadium. I hope this happens along that timeline. This team needs a major cash infusion in the winter market. Palermo desperately needs more goals http://www.football-italia.net/92416/zamparini-sell-within-month http://www.football-italia.net/92483/zamparini-palermo-deal-€100m http://www.football-italia.net/92535/zamparini-€200m-investment-palermo