Bari on the hunt for a coach: Nesta is the surprise choice

BARI - Giuseppe Magalini and Valerio Di Cesare are hard at work, let's say incessantly. But the impression is that the white smoke for the new coach is not a matter of hours. This week will fly by without having managed to get to the bottom of an undoubtedly complicated situation. More than twenty days since the sad closure in Bolzano, with the playoff objective wrecked miserably after a series of embarrassing performances.

Let's try to put things in order. Bari has a coach. His name is Moreno Longo and he has a contract that expires in a year, June 30, 2026. There is a but, as often happens in the world of football. The relationship of trust with the Turin coach ran out with the end of the championship. Too many differences of opinion to be able to think of starting together again. The first signs had already been there at the dawn of the relationship, when Longo seemed very concerned about ferrying a message marked by caution under the heading of objectives. As time went by, the situation actually worsened, especially after the January transfer market. Magalini and Di Cesare wanted the bar to be raised, the coach did not want to hear of it, proposing a very low-profile communication.

It is no mystery that Bari, despite a budget that is certainly not impressive, is counting on being able to burn around six hundred thousand euros (Longo's salary, including taxes) in order to change the technical management. Consultations began immediately after Luigi De Laurentiis decided to renew his trust in the two heads of the technical area. At this time there is no favorite. We are still at the evaluation stage. Roberto D'Aversa and Andrea Sottil are profiles considered suitable. And there have been exploratory chats with them. The former Empoli coach would have no problem taking a step back in category but obviously his "yes" would be linked to Bari's ambitions. In the meantime, the coach born in Stuttgart is still hoping for a call from Serie A. He would be the favorite. Sottil has a reputation as a man of character. And here, with the current climate, characters with immense personality are needed. A limitation that Vivarini's candidacy presents. Someone who, in difficult times, shows a few too many limitations, despite remaining a tactically prepared coach.

In the last few hours, however, it seems that Bari are turning to Alessandro Nesta, fresh from a negative experience in Serie A on the Monza bench and, therefore, eager for redemption. The issue of salary should not be an insurmountable obstacle. The former defender does not seem to be the type to put the salary issue before everything else.

Returning to Longo, until yesterday there has been no contact with Bari. The club hopes for a call for the Piedmontese coach so as to be able to free themselves of a heavy salary. The chances that Longo will accept a transaction that includes a "cut" in his salary seem close to zero. As is right and legitimate, of course. There do not seem to be many alternatives. If Bari, as is now clear, has decided to change coaches, they will have to pay two. Hoping that this detail does not further lighten the economic availability to invest in the market.

The usual frost, finally, in the environments of the red and white fans. Resignation, a disturbing atmosphere. Nobody cares about the team anymore. The season of illusions and trust is over. The rift with an ownership that travels at two speeds is irreparable. Extreme ambition in Naples, floating in Bari. Here there is no desire to take risks. And not even to sell the club. If this is not deserted... it is very close to it.