This monkey has only a passing interest in football, and so found little of interest in the rumours that Brazilian star Kakà was to leave Berlusconi’s AC Milan. Little of interest until browsing the latest from La Voce, the online magazine from some of Italy’s leading economists. The site posted an intriguing article by Tito Boeri and Fausto Panunzi, entitle why Sheik Mansur hasn’t bought an Italian club (in Italian).
The article starts with a question that no-one else seems to have posed: if Sheik Mansur has so much money, why wouldn’t he buy a full Serie A team, rather than just shelling out for Kakà? AS Roma is valued on the stock exchange at 85million, while Juventus stand at 170million.
The answer that the economists come up with is interesting, because it applies to investments in Italy in general.
In simple terms, the Sheik wouldn’t be interested in relatively cheap teams, in what was once considered the most exciting league in the world, because they don’t make money.
Stadiums are virtually all owned by the local authorities rather than the clubs, and so neither clubs nor the comune are keen to invest in modernising them, reducing drastically the possibility of attracting large crowds, and of exploiting the revenue generating potentials of the real estate.
Merchandising profits are hit hard by the production and sale of fake material, often in the hands of organised crime – rarely if ever clamped down on.
And speaking of organised crime, there are the ‘supporters groups’, which time and time again show themselves to be organised, violent, and for reasons that remain obscure, untouchable. It’s reported that Adriano Galliani, Berlusconi’s man in charge at Milan, is currently under police escort having received threats from some of the club’s Ultras (as much to do with how the club handles lucrative free tickets as it has to do with Galliani’s initial position as the fall-guy should Kakà have decided for Manchester City). The disproportionate influence the ultras have in Italian football is shown time and time again, whether it be the chasing out of a coach (Roberto Mancini was ‘forced’ to leave Fiorentina), or protests at relegation (Messina fans in 2005 blocked the all-important ferry connections between the mainland and Sicily, until by coincidence the sporting authorities over-ruled an order to relegate them from Serie A for failing to meet financial requirements).
The clubs in Italy make what money they’re able to from the TV rights – something that is complex to negotiate, and dependent not just on sporting success but also strategic alliances with other clubs.
So why then do magnates like Berlusconi devote so much of their time to having a football club? The answer is more than mere vanity, though that can’t be dismissed as a factor for some. Since the fascist establishment of the Serie A league, the powers that be in Italian society have always looked favourably on controlling something that elicits unconditional support. The owning of football clubs in Italy is very much a pr exercise, and one which, when it goes well, can be spectacular.
On a political level owning a club has only helped Berlusconi. His largesse with Milan has translated into a nationwide network of supporters who are ever-willing to give him the benefit of the doubt when it comes to conflicts of interest, interference with the justice system etc, judging his political integrity and credibility through a black & red prism.
There may be more tangible benefits, though, suggests the article citing the case of both parmalat and cirio – the two huge financial scandals suffered in Italy in the last decade. Was the fact that Calisto Tanzi and Sergio Cragnotti were also both owners of Serie A clubs (Lazio and Parma) of any influence on the banks that offered them such generous credit terms – credit which kept their shakey business concerns afloat (Tanzi, for example, with a spectacularly brassy neck, has blamed the banks for the disastrous collapse of parmalat).
The final message? In Italy it’s not just on the football pitch that strange refereeing decisions, and curious results reign. And if you don’t know the (ever-changing) rules of the game, then it’s hard to win – so the Sheik is well-advised to stear clear of Serie A.