Official - A.S. Roma sold! (4 Viewers)

[Bjerknes]

New Roma owner wants 'club for 21st century'

(AFP) – 4 hours ago

ROME — American millionaire Thomas DiBenedetto, the future owner of Serie A side Roma, said on Monday that his aim was to create a team for the 21st century.

Boston-based private equity tycoon DiBenedetto is the head of a group of American investors who will sign a multi-million-euro deal to buy the club on Wednesday.

"The aim is to make Roma one of the top teams in the world," DiBenedetto told the Gazzetta dello Sport daily.

"Getting a competitive team together is in our interest. Winning will be the only way to obtain a return on our investment."

The first priority, he said, was "to balance the books, to bring the club back into financial fair play, given that we're presently outside".

He then wants to move the team from the Stadio Olympico, which was built for the 1960 Olympic Games.

"We need a new and different stadium: an English-style stadium that motivates the players," DeBenedetto explained.

"Roma doesn't have the adapted structure. Olimpico doesn't do justice to the passion of the tifosi (fans), the tribunes are too far from the pitch and the atmosphere is lost."

DiBenedetto said he wanted "a club capable of winning the scudetto (Italian league title) every year and to be finally competitive in the Champions League".

For next season he wants to recruit "at least five or six new players".

In the long-term, DiBenedetto added that he wanted "a club that knows how to get the best out of new technology and communication and the social media, to reach every corner of the globe, which will enable use to sell our merchandising better and to increase our revenues to buy the best players."

Three-time Serie A champions Roma are currently sixth in the league, 12 points behind leaders AC Milan. They won their last title in 2001.

DiBenedetto is no stranger to European football as a partner of New England Sports Ventures, who own the Boston Red Sox and last year bought English team Liverpool.

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Good stuff. He actually gets the stadium issue.

 

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[swag]

Just ask Liverpool how much American ownership has been a boon to them.

 

[Suns]

So if Roma won't sign up average players like Borriello, Simplicio, Burdisso and Guberti anymore, do they leave them to us? Thats so sweet of them. As soon as Roma will start spending money on good transfers we should go to their yard sale and sign their unwanted players ala Real Madrid. I think Marotta would fancy getting Borriello, Cassetti, Taddei and Brighi.

 

[.zero]

We just want to be special

 

[KB824]

Perhaps the stigma attached to Juve keeps high-roller investors away.

I wouldn't agree with that, Andy. This is something that has happened in the past, and its a past that the current and former board can't get out of they way of, because it just doesn't seem that there is a commitment to want to win and do it in a smart and prudent way.

Juve have already paid the cost for 2006. I don't see that as being the issue.

Rather, I would say that it is the current ownership group that is unwilling to sell

 

[KB824]

Just ask Liverpool how much American ownership has been a boon to them.

they haven't lost a match since the january transfer window, when the new ownership group had a hand in those signings

Yep, it sure has been a disaster

 

[.zero]

I wouldn't agree with that, Andy. This is something that has happened in the past, and its a past that the current and former board can't get out of they way of, because it just doesn't seem that there is a commitment to want to win and do it in a smart and prudent way.

Juve have already paid the cost for 2006. I don't see that as being the issue.

Rather, I would say that it is the current ownership group that is unwilling to sell

Word

 

[Bjerknes]

I wouldn't agree with that, Andy. This is something that has happened in the past, and its a past that the current and former board can't get out of they way of, because it just doesn't seem that there is a commitment to want to win and do it in a smart and prudent way.

Juve have already paid the cost for 2006. I don't see that as being the issue.

Rather, I would say that it is the current ownership group that is unwilling to sell

Well, from a business perspective, reputation is important. I'm not sure what potential buyers think about the club, but if I'm looking to invest in a restaurant chain, I'm going to think twice about the one that recently killed five people in an Ecoli outbreak.

 

[Rollie]

Well from a business standpoint, it wouldn't make much sense to sell Juventus ATM... would it? The biggest losses have already been incurred, and with the new stadium on the horizon, and hopefully a return to CL shortly afterwards, the value of the team should conceivably rise... right? That's what some basic logic suggests to me, at least.

We only sell our players when their value is low - not the team.

 

[Bjerknes]

That would be correct, Rolls.

 

[JCK]

That's actually bad news for us considering the situation we are in.

 

[Rollie]

Anyway, hopefully we get our shit together soon. The next couple of mercato's are just so crucial... losing that CL spot + Roma getting financially healthy (the rise of Napoli, etc.) is not exactly the greatest news for this Juventus

Edit: agreed, JCK.

 

[KB824]

Well from a business standpoint, it wouldn't make much sense to sell Juventus ATM... would it? The biggest losses have already been incurred, and with the new stadium on the horizon, and hopefully a return to CL shortly afterwards, the value of the team should conceivably rise... right? That's what some basic logic suggests to me, at least.

We only sell our players when their value is low - not the team.

On the contrary, I think it would be the perfect time to sell the club.

The one distinct advantage that Juventus has right now, with their own stadium, could be negated in several years if other teams are going to do the same thing. You say "hopefully" reach the CL shortly afterwards, but that is no guarantee.

The only concrete advantage (both literally, and figuratively) is the new stadium.

 

[Rollie]

On the contrary, I think it would be the perfect time to sell the club.

The one distinct advantage that Juventus has right now, with their own stadium, could be negated in several years if other teams are going to do the same thing. You say "hopefully" reach the CL shortly afterwards, but that is no guarantee.

The only concrete advantage (both literally, and figuratively) is the new stadium.

Hmm.

It could be, Sergio - if things continue down the current path, it's possible. I know you think I'm a bit of an optimist buddy, but I'm just not sure that things will get that much worse over the next few years. I see our value rising over the next few years, so I figure if management ultimately wants to sell, it would be better to do it once (a big if) things are functioning well.

I think once players around Europe see the new stadium, the great atmosphere, it'll help our draw a bit.

I guess one could also argue that a healthy Roma makes Serie A more attractive in general, and might boost the reputation of the league in general.

We obviously just don't know right now... I guess there are a lot of different ways to look at the situation.

 

[KB824]

Well, from a business perspective, reputation is important. I'm not sure what potential buyers think about the club, but if I'm looking to invest in a restaurant chain, I'm going to think twice about the one that recently killed five people in an Ecoli outbreak.

While reputation is important, you also have to look at what steps were done to rectify the situation in order for that not to happen again.

Let's take your restaurant hypothesis as an example.

Let's say Applebee's, one of the most popular restaurant chains, had a situation where 5 years ago a number of their franchises were hit with Ecoli. Applebees then took every measure, from changing food distributors, to upkeep and modernizing of the kitchen and sanitation quarters, to replacing the kitchen staffs responisble, and in short, have done everything to rectify that situation.

Knowing that Applebee's is still Applebee's at the end of the day, what investor would want to trun away from an opportunity such as that?

 

[KB824]

Hmm.

It could be, Sergio - if things continue down the current path, it's possible. I know you think I'm a bit of an optimist buddy, but I'm just not sure that things will get that much worse over the next few years. I see our value rising over the next few years, so I figure if management ultimately wants to sell, it would be better to do it once (a big if) things are functioning well.

I think once players around Europe see the new stadium, the great atmosphere, it'll help our draw a bit.

I guess one could also argue that a healthy Roma makes Serie A more attractive in general, and might boost the reputation of the league in general.

We obviously just don't know right now... I guess there are a lot of different ways to look at the situation.

The other aspect that I had failed to mention is that it seems that Juve is already in line with the Financial Fair Play rules. That in itself is an inducement to purchase, as we say in the Mortgage underwriting world. You wouldn't have to take two steps back in order to move one step forward, in terms of financial stability.

This is why Di Benedetto "only" had to spend 105 million dollars for Controlling Interest in Roma, becaseu A) They are behind the 8-ball in regards to the Fair Play Rules, and B) there was no stadium attached to the deal

 

[Rollie]

The other aspect that I had failed to mention is that it seems that Juve is already in line with the Financial Fair Play rules. That in itself is an inducement to purchase, as we say in the Mortgage underwriting world. You wouldn't have to take two steps back in order to move one step forward, in terms of financial stability.

This is why Di Benedetto "only" had to spend 105 million dollars for Controlling Interest in Roma, becaseu A) They are behind the 8-ball in regards to the Fair Play Rules, and B) there was no stadium attached to the deal

Right, from a Financial Fair Play perspective, that does make the team more attractive right now than it would otherwise be if we were in big debt...

But we also currently need some serious investments - which everybody realizes - so we'll have to see how we conform to those FFP regulations once we've done a little more of the necessary heavy lifting. There are just a ton of variables and it's hard to know how much weight each variable carries; I have no idea how all of the retail venues, etc., attached to the stadium function, how attractive our current sponsorship deals are to potential buyers, etc, etc.

I generally think that Juventus should be an attractive purchase - but I can't ultimately say whether we'll be worth more now, or in a few years time. Hopefully it's a few years time, so we're not subjected to more of this constant disappointment.

Anyway, I've gotta run and get some food. Have a good day, guys.

 

[Nicholas]

Interesting.

I see them in a similar position come 3 years down the line.

 

[Bjerknes]

While reputation is important, you also have to look at what steps were done to rectify the situation in order for that not to happen again.

Let's take your restaurant hypothesis as an example.

Let's say Applebee's, one of the most popular restaurant chains, had a situation where 5 years ago a number of their franchises were hit with Ecoli. Applebees then took every measure, from changing food distributors, to upkeep and modernizing of the kitchen and sanitation quarters, to replacing the kitchen staffs responisble, and in short, have done everything to rectify that situation.

Knowing that Applebee's is still Applebee's at the end of the day, what investor would want to trun away from an opportunity such as that?

The damage to the reputation would already be done and you might not be able to get that business back no matter you do. Plus I wouldn't say the Applebees chain has a lot of room for growth.

I suppose one of the major positives in Roma's SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) is their room for growth. They don't have a major global fanbase at this point, but they are widely known. If they were to become successful on the pitch, find a few stars from South America and maybe Asia, they could tap into more global markets. That's one thing investors tend to look at, growth potential. Juventus on the other hand already has a huge fanbase across the globe.

 

[Quetzalcoatl]

Can they finally afford to send Totti to a geriatric home?