Tacopina and Saputo installed as Bologna's new American and Canadian Owners


Photo courtesy of GianlucaDiMarzio.com


Joe Tacopina and Joey Saputo are officially the new owners of Bologna.

In today's introductory press conference Tacopina reiterated his commitment to returning the club to Serie A as a first step, before bringing it to compete for UEFA competitions. The protagonist of the press conference was Montreal Impact owner Joey Saputo.

 "We're here for a long term project. First objective is to return to Serie A. With respect to our partners, there is a lot of gossip on that. For example Kobe Bryant is a potential partner, but there is nothing certain at the moment".

Saputo admits to have been impressed by how well Di Vaio spoke to him about Bologna, "When Marco heard about my possibility to invest in this club, he went on about the city, the club, and mostly about the potential that there is in this project". On Di Vaio's future, Saputo snickered and said "the issue is that he's under contract at another club at the moment" knowing full well that Di Vaio is club contracted with his Montreal Impact, "but I'll try to offer him a job with the club".

Finally, on the idea of builidng a new stadium for Bologna: "There has never been an idea to build a new stadium - we're more interested in restyling the Dall'Ara".

In an interview to the Corriere di Bologna yesterday, Tacopina revealed his excitement over his new adventure: "It will be an honour to be the third foreign president of Bologna after Rauch and Arnstein. I am the primary investor, I'm not just the organizer - I'm investing my own money into this club, I have resigned from the vice president of AS Roma to dedicate myself to Bologna. I will invest my entire self in this club - that is my guarantee to the fans".
Among the investors is Montreal Impact owner Joey Saputo, "You know Saputo very well already, he's a great friend and a great businessman", says Tacopina "But we also have many other investors, men of high profile that prefer to stay out of the papers for now".

What's most exciting is the prospects of Bologna, a storied side in Italian football, "The first objective is to return to Serie A. Bologna has to stay in Serie A. Can you imagine the premiership without Arsenal or Aston Villa? Once we return to Serie A we will have to consolidate our position among the top 10, because the goal will be to become a club that habitually fights for European cup qualification. I have great respect for Udinese, Torino and Fiorentina but Bologna has nothing to envy those clubs. We will rebuild Bologna's pride".

An ambitious plan, without a doubt: "we will need time and patience. During my first years at Roma many people were skeptical about our chances of making it. They continued investing despite the criticisms and now they're the second strongest team in Italy".

Tacopina intimates that he decided to leave Roma "to follow my dream of leading a project with Bologna, which I've had since 2008. While we can collaborate with Roma, Bologna is Bologna, they are not a satellite club"

It is rumoured that the technical management of the club will be left with Claudio Fenucci e Pantaleo Corvino, which Tacopina neither confirms nor denies, but assures that will be left in the hands of high profile professionals. For the present, the current director of football Fusco and coach Lopez have his full support, to bring Bologna to Serie A - by any means necessary.

New ownership is synonymous with new stadium: "we want to realize a new stadium as soon as possible. The faith and support of Bologna's mayor is pushing us to hurry. We will speak to the local authorities and builders in order to have a clear picture. It will take a substantial investment, which I'm sure Bologna's people will support: when Baggio played here there were 30,000 season ticket holders which means that it's up to us to entice the public".

There's nothing that scares Tacopina, "I'm not scared, it's a new chapter in my life, I will do the outmost for it. I may make a mistake now and then but the fans will know that I am investing all of myself for this. We will be clear and transparent in every respect - starting from our next game: Bologna-Varese".

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