SOCCER
James Richardson
As football crises go, the one running at Fiorentina right now takes some beating. Tuscany’s top team are up to their teeth in trouble: without an owner, stripped of their best players, and threatened by both relegation and bankruptcy. And to top it off, this week there’s the real risk their own players will declare the club in breach of contract paving the way for a mass walkout.
What’s gone wrong? Club president Vittorio Cecchi Gori, that’s what.
Plump and pompous, Cecchi Gori is the Italian film producer behind the success of Life Is Sweet’s Roberto Begnini, and for many Fiorentina supporters he’s an equally comic figure. In 1998 Cecchi Gori borrowed heavily to acquire himself a TV network. Within two years, losses of about 30000 a day forced him to sell up. The sale price agreed was close to 300-million but, thanks to some financial sleight of hand by the buyers, Vittorio received only a quarter of that, dashing his dreams of becoming the next Silvio Berlusconi.
Thus, this summer Cecchi Gori reluctantly put Fiorentina up for sale, but not before pinching some of its juicier assets (give or take a consonant, an Italian tradition).
He’s sold off stars like Gabriel Batistuta, Manuel Rui Costa and Italy goalkeeper Francesco Toldo. He’s “borrowed” 25-million of club profits to keep the rest of his business afloat. And, showing admirable forward planning, he’s already spent all of Fiorentina’s TV income for the next two seasons, and all their season ticket revenue until 2006.
All of which adds up to a fairly grim situation indeed. But it doesn’t stop there. Not only have this summer’s promised player reinforcements failed to materialise, but Fiorentina’s biggest remaining star, Enrico Chiesa, has been hit by a cruciate ligament injury and manager Roberto Mancini is even considering coming back from retirement.
“You know me, I’m crazy I wake up each morning with the desire to play,” the former Sampdoria and Lazio legend, now 37, admitted. “If I could, I’d go back out there and help. But the regulations forbid it.” Just last season Mancini bent the rules to become Fiorentina’s manager, and the thought of him now making an equally controversial journey in reverse has horrified the managers’ association.
For the moment though the club have more pressing problems, like a bugding players’ revolt. The squad hasn’t been paid for almost four months now, and if money doesn’t arrive in the next few days captain Angelo di Livio says he “can’t rule out” players suing for breach of contract. It’s a dramatic move.
Fiorentina would be left with just 20 days to handle their arrears (that Italian tradition again), after which would come disaster: the club’s entire squad would be liberated from their contracts, to transfer to any club they wished, for free.
So any hope of a happy ending? Since the club struggled even to meet the cost of their last away game, paying wages anytime soon can only happen if a buyer or new finance is found immediately.
This week the citizens of Florence rallied with typical creativity threatening the banks that they’ll withdraw their savings if Fiorentina aren’t extended more credit. As many as 5000 account holders can be mobilised, claims a supporters association. The banks don’t appear worried.
As for new ownership, everyone from Benetton to the Prada family has been touted as possible new owners the former with their ample experience in flimsy Italian outfits but so far the only concrete offer has come from a Roman consortium and was rejected last weekend.
Many in the city say they’d actually prefer bankruptcy to seeing the club remain with Cecchi Gori. A small consolation for them is that for Vittorio a particularly gory ending awaits: he’s now both under investigation by Italian police for money laundering and possession of cocaine, and being sued for a $70-million divorce settlement in a Californian court.