Just when you thought Oguchi Onyewu was the only American plying his trade in Serie A, now comes word that an American has purchased newly-promoted Serie A club Bari.
Texas-based and Connecticut-born business man Tim Barton revealed his plans to not only buy Bari, but also to bring in some American players to help boost the prospects of the club that handed Inter Milan an season-opening draw last weekend.
“We want to bring in talented players and take some from the American market, Barton said. "We hope to take Bari to a competitive level in Europe."
Have no idea who Tim Barton is? Here is Barton's bio on the website of his company, JMJ Holdings, and here is an Italian news segment on Barton and his bid to buy Bari:
(Any Italian-speaking SBI readers are welcome to translate the portions in Italian)
The sale, valued at about 25 million euros ($35.6 million), has been agreed to by Bari's long-time owners, the Matarrese family, but still needs to be approvd.
What do you think of this development? Excited to see an American buying into Serie A? Do you see more inroads being made into European soccer for American players? Will Bari become your new favorite Serie A team if Barton succeeds in bringing over some Americans?
Share your thoughts below.
