Inside Bari: Longo’s Tactics, Transfer Window and Best Players

With the clock ticking on the second international break of the season, it is legitimate to ask which is the real Bari. The side that won one point from their first three matches after a summer of turmoil or the one that hasn’t lost a match in almost two months?

As ever in these cases, the answer is somewhere in the middle.

Moreno Longo was dealt a difficult hand as he replaced Federico Giampaolo in the summer, after Bari avoided relegation to Serie C only via the play-outs last season. 

It was a dramatic fall from grace for the Galletti, who were 120 seconds away from promotion to Serie A just 12 months earlier, and one that looked set to continue after a summer which saw Aurelio De Laurentiis targeted by Bari fans.

The Napoli owner who purchased the club in 2018 after it had gone bankrupt, has never made a mystery of the fact Bari aren’t his main priority, going as far as describing them as Napoli’s B team.

He has acted accordingly and the Pugliesi have had to operate on a budget in recent summers, much to the ever-growing discontent of their supporters. 

Effectively all but one of Longo’s signings this summer have been loans, but criticism of De Laurentiis has died down as performances on the pitch have improved.

After a slow start, Longo’s switch from 3-4-2-1 to 3-5-2 sparked Bari into life. The Biancorossi have won nine points out of a possible 15 in their last five matches and are unbeaten since losing 2-1 to Modena back in August.

Even more encouragingly, Bari kept three consecutive clean sheets against Sampdoria, Mantova and Frosinone, racking up seven points in the process. And their incredible defensive solidity hasn’t come at the expense of creativity in attack, with nine different players finding the net over the past five fixtures.

As a result, Bari went into the international break 12th on the Serie B table, just four points behind fourth-placed Juve Stabia.

With just two of the next five fixtures before the international break in November against them above them in the table – Spezia and Salernitana – Bari have a great chance to maintain momentum and cement their status as a promotion contender.

Longo, however, insists that for now, his stated ambition is to bring fans back to the San Nicola, where the average attendance is below 17,000.

“Our main focus is to get more fans in the stadium right now,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“We need the team to perform well and get some wins. It’s not a small thing: this city could easily fill the stadium with 50-60,000 fans, something you don’t see very often in Serie A.”

Transfers: Bari spent a mere €800,000 (£670,000) on signings this summer, all of which went to bringing in striker Giuseppe Sibilli from Pisa. The Galletti have had to operate on a budget since Aurelio De Laurentiis purchased the club in 2018 and this year has been no different, with Longo having to dip into the loan market.

Some 13 players have arrived at the San Nicola this season, including goalkeeper Boris Radunovic and attacking duo Kevin Lasagna and Andrija Novakovich from Verona and Venezia respectively.

Best performers: Radunovic has kept three clean sheets since arriving from Cagliari on loan in the summer, while Ahmad Benali and Mattia Maita look completely different players from those who struggled last season. Up front, Lasagna has scored twice since joining from Verona and Bari will need him to keep firing this season.

Tactics: Longo began the season with his colours firmly tied to the 3-4-2-1 mast, but switched to a more pragmatic 3-5-2 after collecting just one point from the first three matches. In the new system, Maita, Nunzio Lella and Benali anchor the midfield, with Mehdi Dorval and Andrea Oliveri deployed as wing-backs and joining the back three when Bari are not in possession.

The tactical switch has paid immediate dividends, with Bari collecting nine points and three clean sheets in the next five matches. Goals have been spread out too, with nine different scorers finding the net over the past five fixtures.