First of all, did you know these name:
Paolo Tornaghi: Internazionale player
Matteo Trini: Juventus player
Niccolò Manfredini: Fiorentina player
Edoardo Pazzagli: Fiorentina player
Nicola Ravaglia: Cesena player
Ugo Gabrieli: Lecce player
Davide Petrachi: Lecce player
Gianluca Curci: Roma player
Diego Manzoni: Parma player
Serie A clubs stacking goalkeeper, a level that never saw in the past.
It had many reason that players failing to loan out. For example, they were ghost player in order to create fictional profit in player-swap. But most of the name were good player in "Lega Pro", just like Ravaglia, Manfredini and Trini. Did the club wished to stay as a extra cover as fourth keeper, the club wished to stack them in order to listen offer from Serie B?
Not every youth product create profit. Inter produced Tornaghi, Bindi, Cordaz and Moreau but none of them create a real profit. (not paper profit from paper swap). Juventus only profited Mirante for 3 million EURO in recent years. However at least someone willing to borrow them, when they had money to pay wage.
In the past Serie A clubs had to pay a portion of TV revenue to Serie B, just like Premier League. However since the set up of Lega Serie A and collective TV bargaining, the obligation to pay Serie B from A also expired. The source of income of Serie B clubs were came from selling youth product to Serie A and a little TV income. The source of income of Serie A club? Serie A were heavily rely on recapitalization or the shareholder loan to survive. However the introduction of UEFA Financial Fair Play in 2010, or even before that, Inter, Milan and Roma started a balanced budget or even a surplus budget in transfer market. In Lega Pro Second Division, the league was shirked from 3 groups to 2 groups. That means about 10 professional team withdrew. For the survived team, they also cut their budget on player wage. Player turned 20 were considered young-professional but player under that age could consider as trainee. Clubs could offered them "young-professional: contract but it was more economical to borrow them from youth team. A professional with trainee wage and experience, is that really a professional? Looking at Melfi squad (http://www.webcitation.org/63wF88qLB) The inexperience squad was an example that how the club survived. Old experienced but slow player no longer existed in the squad. In exchange they were replaced with even more low wage young (born 1989 to 1993!) player.
In the past we saw clubs using player exchange to create profit. Mechanism was sold a youth player (which in accounting it had no value, as value was based on hiring cost) with a certain price (say a few million) to B. But at the same time, B sold another youth player back to A with the same price. If the price was right, there is nothing wrong. Clubs were free to swap their surplus defender with midfielder they need. However most of the deal in turn were flops. Did you remember Alberto Maria Fontana, Marco Varaldi and Martino Olivetti? Profit was created because the selling profit of a player was registered in the accounts instantly, but the acquiring cost was amortize proportionally to player contract. Say, selling a player for 10million and buy another player for 10 million in 5-year contact, would create a net effect of 8million in the first season and 2 million cost in each year in next 4 seasons. Adding the effect of VAT the deal only create cost over time but it do borrow the future revenue to that window.
Looking at the recent transfer window. Boateng only signed by Genoa for about 6 million but half of the contract sold to Milan for 6 million but paid via a young striker who tagged for 4 million. In turn Boateng proved his price tag (over 10 million) but Giacomo Beretta? That even worst in Bologna "bilancio" (Italian words for report and accounts) Pisanu-Valiani both tagged for 2.5 million EURO for 50% rights? Pasi-Elia 1 million? Few days before the closure of 2010-11 financial year, Caidi-Luppi for 0.75 million? G.Bassoli-Gregorio for 1million?! Rickler-A.Bassoli for 1.5 million!! It is not illegal to make the deals (or very difficult to prove it was flopped and only for false accounting) but for years it was considered immoral in Italian media. The come back of these deal, was to avoid the negative equity appeared. Braca should used these method as Messi and Xavi were very under rated in accounting. However these players were recently graduated from youth team or struggle to find a place in Serie A. The true market price of Serie B player were below 1million. Most of these players were likely a toxic asset of the club, made the club already faced a negative equity but did not appeared on paper. In 2011 window, Parma also swapped Luigi Palumbo with Thomas Fabbri; while Vicenza was swapped Edoardo Bonicelli with Simone Tonelli. I did not had their accounts and reports yet. It was normal transaction if they had a low price tag, but if the tag was high, everyone know what the purpose was. The deals either delayed the bankruptcy or the club faced its turning point and started to make profit again.
Lets wait and see the fate of Italian football.
