Bari looking for a coach: Longo close to leaving

BARI - It won't be an extended casting , but it won't be a simple mission either. Bari is tackling the coaching issue with the goal of getting to the halfway point within the week. There are no more than five or six names being discussed at the moment. Discussions have already begun with some. The first step, however, is still Moreno Longo. The Piedmontese coach is under contract and is certainly not the main culprit for the team's failure to reach the playoffs. A meeting is necessary soon, even if only to understand once more that the harmony with the sports management team composed of Giuseppe Magalini and Valerio Di Cesare has ended. And perhaps to find solutions to a costly salary that continues to weigh on the company's coffers. The chances of continuing together are minimal, but the issue will still have to be addressed. Only after this step will the circle for the new coach be narrowed down. In the meantime, here are the six "possible" candidates at the moment.

ROBERTO D'AVERSA The Stuttgart coach is a cut above the rest. He is liked for his personality, clear concepts, tactical flexibility. And then his bond with Puglia is rooted in time. Di Cesare was under him in Parma, achieving the double leap from C to A. D'Aversa travels on high, but not impossible, wage parameters. The problem is another and concerns the project. A coach who has worked in A for the last five years can also accept going down a category, especially if there is a big place at stake that will certainly have been supported by close friends such as Antonio Conte and Daniele Faggiano (both in the saddle in the 2009 promotion). But the guarantee of fighting for the highest goal must be clear. Will Bari be able to raise the bar?

VINCENZO VIVARINI The coach from Abruzzo remains a strong candidate. With Magalini he built Catanzaro, first promoted to Serie B, then reached the playoffs for Serie A. With Di Cesare, in red and white, he achieved a useful series of 27 results that took the red and whites from eleventh place in Serie C to second and then to the playoff final lost against Reggiana. President De Laurentiis still cannot forgive himself for his dismissal after having shared the difficult months of Covid and would also entrust him with the relaunch. However, the disappointing season experienced by the coach from Abruzzo in Frosinone weighs heavily: the fans are furious and perhaps they need someone who is ready to fight from day one, putting disappointments aside.

ANDREA SOTTIL He was also evaluated last year. Characterful, determined, able to interpret multiple modules. In Ascoli he achieved a miraculous salvation in B and then an unexpected playoff placement. In Udine in A a quiet salvation and a dismissal. Then in the last championship Sampdoria ended up in chaos, which with him maintained an average salvation (16 points in 13 matches), but it was not enough to avoid dismissal. He is among those being observed, perhaps not in pole position, but he can climb positions.

POSSANZINI, DONATI, ABATE Here is the trio of "emerging players". Yes, because the choice could also fall on a younger profile, eager to compete in a place that is worth the turning point of a career. Davide Possanzini is the "playmaker" that half of Serie B likes. A courageous and proactive team: on this basis he brought Mantua to Serie B and saved it. The Lombards do not want to give him up and they would also need suitable arguments to push the 49-year-old coach to give up another year of contract in a place where he is an idol. But the idea of ​​making the leap in quality would be the spring on which to push. His principles, however, constitute strength and limitation at the same time: a complex should be built around him that supports his aptitudes on a 4-2-3-1 with front-wheel drive.

Massimo Donati would be a real gamble: two years ago he impressed in C in Legnago, then he chose the adventure in Greece, without luck. He has never coached in B, but he knows everything about Bari: he was a pillar of the team that came tenth with Giampiero Ventura in 2010, but he also navigated the stormy seas of relegation to B and the period marked by the betting scandal, until returning to the very troubled managements led first by Paparesta and then Giancaspro. In another critical moment, he would be ready to pick up the soda and often courage pays off. And he has the personality that is needed.

Finally, Ignazio Abate . The former Milan full-back grew up as a coach in the Rossoneri youth system, distinguishing himself above all in the Youth League. This year, his first experience among the professionals, in Terni. Despite keeping the Umbrians in second place, he was first fired in February, only to be reinstated at the explicit wish of the team. However, in April the decision to relieve him of his duties was irrevocable, despite still being in second place, 5 points behind league leaders Entella. He too is a supporter of attacking football, and has a broad knowledge of the most interesting young players on the Italian scene. It would be another leap in the dark, yet the Biancorosso entourage has observed him more than once. The challenge is complex: whoever is chosen will have to have broad shoulders, courage and the desire to lift up a disheartened environment.