Bari’s charismatic President, Vincenzo Matarrese, had grandiose visions for his club.
I Galletti had historically flitted between Italy’s first and second tiers but, by the early 1990s, had finally established themselves in Serie A.
They boasted a Brazilian international leading the line and had even tasted minor European success.
The club had benefitted from a futuristic new stadium, constructed with Italia ‘90 monies. Serendipitously, Vincenzo’s brother, Antonio, had been on the World Cup Organising Committee.
Another brother, Giuseppe, was the Bishop of Frascati. Extremely wealthy and well-connected in the worlds of business, politics and religion, the Matarrese family were dubbed The Kennedys of Puglia.
Yet Don Vincenzo still looked on enviously at the prestige and influence enjoyed by his counterparts Umberto Agnelli and Silvio Berlusconi in the North.
Brandishing the family chequebook, Matarrese plotted to elevate Bari into Italy’s footballing nobility.
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In the summer of 1991, David Platt was experiencing an astronomic rise to prominence. He had gone to Italia ‘90 with England as a fringe player and returned home a national hero.
In the intervening year, he’d had a spectacular season for Aston Villa. His record of a goal scored every other game, including a virtuoso performance against Inter Milan in the UEFA Cup, was attracting attention from Europe’s top clubs.
Platt’s ascending star was the perfect fit for Matarrese’s ambitious Bari project. Initially, the Englishman was impervious to their advances, holding out for interest from one of Italy’s more established clubs. It was a courtship played out over several months with Matarrese personally leading the charm offensive.
On the eve of the new season, Platt finally agreed to become the centrepiece of Bari’s lavish transfer plans. “Matarrese kept his word, he has convinced me with his deeds,” Platt told La Stampa. “I know he spent nearly 30 billion Lire. It seems to me the President has set up a team capable of reaching the UEFA Cup.”
Bari had already captured Australian forward Frank Farina, who had dominated the Belgian league with Club Brugge. Meanwhile, Joao Paulo, their talisman from the previous campaign returned to Puglia having spearheaded Brazil’s frontline during that summer’s Copa America. Platt was the final part of Bari’s attacking trident.
“I want to become the Maradona of Bari,” Platt boldly declared at his press conference, further stoking the fires of expectation. Did he fully comprehend the magnitude of that comparison?
Whether it was a case of ignorance, delusions of deity or supreme confidence, Platt’s Barese subjects were immediately seduced. A giddying wave of anticipation swept through the city and season ticket sales went through the roof.
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Platt and Bari breezed through a pre-season tour of Scandinavia but were brought crashing back down to earth in their first competitive match. A faltering goalless draw with Serie C Empoli in the Coppa Italia saw Bari’s new captain miss a penalty. Whistles rang around Stadio San Nicola as the expectant Bari public offered their judgement.
In Serie A, two draws and a defeat constituted a similarly insipid start to the campaign.
Of perhaps greatest concern was the dearth of goals scored; just two, including one from the penalty spot. Those concerns multiplied when Joao Paulo sustained a serious injury that would ultimately keep him on the sidelines for a year. A misfiring Frank Farina meant Platt was carrying the goalscoring mantle alone.
Coach Gaetano Salvemini’s cautious tactical mentality became the target of an impatient Curva. Just five weeks into the season, he fell on his sword.
What the tifosi did not anticipate was the appointment of Zibi Boniek; an accomplished player but novice coach whose only prior experience had been to succumb to relegation with Lecce the previous season. It was a baffling appointment by Matarrese and the board.
Boniek immediately found himself under pressure after tamely surrendering to a 4-1 derby defeat at the hands of bitter rivals Foggia. Fortunately for Boniek and Bari, the November transfer window was just around the corner.
The Polish coach knew Bari desperately need firepower and set his sights accordingly high. He instructed the club’s executives to open negotiations for Ivan Zamorano (Sevilla) and George Weah (Monaco).
When those enquiries came to nothing, the club began working with AC Milan on a deal to bring Darko Pancev to Italy in a novel arrangement that would see the player immediately loaned to I Galletti. However, Red Star Belgrade were not willing to let their idol go.
Bari even failed to agree an altogether more modest deal involving journeyman forward Giuseppe Incocciati from Bologna. Misfiring in the transfer market and on the pitch, the predicament was looking decidedly meta.
Frustrated, Bari changed tack, switching their attention to Dinamo Zagreb’s creative midfield maestro Zvonimir Boban. This time, they got their man. Milan bought the player outright and immediately sent him south.
As the Balkans collapsed into outright civil war, players and agents from the region were hastily negotiating foreign transfers. Robert Jarni, a dynamic left-back with Hajduk Split, was initially offered to Verona and then to Sampdoria. When neither of those moves materialised, he found his way to Bari.
In a stroke, Matarrese had added another 6 billion Lire to the transfer tab. Jarni and Boban were undoubtedly talented players, but neither was the goal scorer that Bari yearned for.
With Italian clubs limited to three foreign players, a necessary casualty of the transfer window was Frank Farina. His world had been turned upside down in just a few short months.
He had been treated like royalty in Belgium, having won the championship, the cup and the Golden Boot. In Italy, struggling to make his mark in an underperforming team, he incurred the wrath of the Curva.
In Farina’s own words: “I went from the Penthouse to the Shithouse. [In Italy,] if you’re winning, you don’t pay at restaurants. You lose, you’re a piece of garbage.”. Excommunicated from the Bari squad, Farina would end the season on loan at Notts County.
Bari lurched into the winter break with just 5 points and 8 goals from 14 matches.
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The new year brought new hope. Bari recorded a maiden victory against Cagliari on 4th January. Overcome by joy – or perhaps relief – President Matarrese spontaneously trebled the players’ win bonus.
A fortnight later, another more impressive victory followed against Roma. David Platt rose from his sickbed to play, scoring twice to conquer the Giallorossi. “The Englishman is the true soul of this team,” declared La Stampa. At last, Bari were waking from their slumber.
Jarni and Boban had arrived in Bari with a hefty weight of expectation on their young shoulders. They had won the under-20 World Cup together in 1987 and had since graduated into senior international football. But, at 22 years old, they were fledglings. Despite this, and against the backdrop of horrors unfolding back home, the pair had breathed new life into listless Bari.
Jarni had been a revelation since his circuitous arrival in Puglia. Though it wasn’t apparent at the time, his buccaneering style of play was the blueprint for the modern fullback. He was strong, combative and defensively sound, whilst his lightning pace and attacking guile posed a dangerous threat at the opposite end of the field.
It was abundantly clear that Boban had the makings of a world-class midfield player. Zorro was tenacious, intelligent, and majestic with the ball at his feet.
But he was not yet the finished article. Bari fans witnessed a work-in-progress as the player acclimatised to the tactical and physical demands of the Italian game. One trait that was not in question was Boban’s character; he was, after all, a player that had famously fought the law when the politics of Yugoslavia were beginning to disintegrate.
An unbeaten run of six matches through February and March unleashed a surge of confidence in the Bari camp. Amidst burgeoning optimism, nearly 5,000 Bari tifosi made the long journey north to Cremona for a crucial relegation battle. A Boban equaliser secured a 1-1 draw to keep the momentum going.
It took the might of an imperious Milan at the San Siro to finally halt Bari’s sequence. However, a fortnight’s international break provided the perfect opportunity for Bari to regroup ahead of the most important game of the season; the visit of Apulian rivals Foggia.
Bari certainly had cause for confidence. Aside from their own resurgence, Zeman’s Foggia were winless in 9 matches and in freefall. A home win would finally lift them from the relegation places and, in doing so, further condemn their adversaries.
Alas, it wasn’t to be. In a season laden with false dawns and disappointment, Bari’s failure to seize the opportunity felt like an act of destiny. A 3-1 humiliation in front of their own fans was the final inflexion point in a wretched season. This spirit-sapping defeat caused Bari’s form to disnintegrate once again.
Bari endured one final piece of misfortune that epitomised a calamitous campaign. They were forced to contest the crucial final rounds of the season without Boban. His ailment? He’d contracted hepatitis A from a plate of raw seafood consumed in Bari’s old town.
Bari eventually limped home, 7 points adrift of safety. The hedonistic fanfare of David Platt’s arrival back in the summer seemed a lifetime ago.
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Whilst the early season injury to Joao Paulo and Boban’s misadventure in the old town could be attributed to bad luck, responsibility for the appointment of a novice coach in Boniek and failings in the transfer market lay squarely with the club’s management.
Matarrese was left counting the cost of his largesse. The performance of his esteemed captain provided the only modicum of consolation.
Platt had valiantly led from the front. “It’s impossible to forget his charisma. A great friend and captain, he never gave up and passed on his grit to the whole group,” Jarni later recalled. Platt’s tally of 15 goals in a struggling team ensured Matarrese saw some return on his investment when Juventus came calling.
However, Platt’s true legacy in Bari is not measured in Lire. Notwithstanding the season’s bitter conclusion, he had won the enduring respect of Bari’s supporters. He had joined the ultras on the Curva when he was suspended and had fronted up with them when things were unravelling on the pitch.
As the Bari dream slipped away, the tifosi recognised that their English hero could have done no more.
“Shopkeepers would see me walking past and drag me in to give me presents. The people of the city welcomed me with open arms and, in turn, I was captivated by the warmth and enthusiasm they showed for me and the team.”
David Platt
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this, check out our article about David Platt’s baptism of fire in coaching with Sampdoria.
Calcio England 
Absolutely fantastic read 👏🏻 Thoroughly enjoyed the article
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