Bologna’s Di Vaio considering Impact offer
I nternational striker Marco Di Vaio let the cat out of the bag, which won’t sit well with Impact president Joey Saputo.
Di Vaio told reporters in Italy on Friday that he would be ending his career with Bologna’s Rossoblù of Serie A after four seasons, not wanting to become a burden to the club despite scoring 10 goals in 34 games this season. He also more than hinted that the Impact was his next destination to continue his career in Major League Soccer.
“I received an interesting offer from the Impact and I’m considering it,” Di Vaio told reporters. “I haven’t yet signed with the Impact, but there’s a concrete offer for one year and a half.”
Speculation has swirled for months that Di Vaio, who turns 36 in July, was in the Impact’s sights as its first designated player for its inaugural year in MLS.
Di Vaio basically blew the doors off for the Impact and trumped Saputo’s preferred way of doing business. Saputo doesn’t reveal any information about the club until it is definite. That’s the way he has always run Montreal’s professional soc- cer franchise and is the reason there have been few disappointments for the team and its fans. It’s also why the Impact has enjoyed success in the past en route to joining the top league in North America this year.
Knowing Saputo, he would have preferred if Di Vaio had made no mention of the Impact, and the player’s announcement could jeopardize other options the Impact might have if Di Vaio doesn’t come here.
“In this world, the same way we have other options, players have other options. That’s reality of it,” said Impact sporting director Nick De Santis, who was pressed into damage control hours after Di Vaio’s declaration, having to confirm a contract offer for 1½ years, with an option, had been made to the player’s representatives.
De Santis added that Di Vaio had offers from other teams to consider and that the Impact also had other possibilities on the docket for a designated player.
“But today we made a strong push for Marco Di Vaio and, as a player, the most important factor is feeling wanted and important,” De Santis told the Montreal media in a conference call from Kansas City, where the Impact faces Sporting Kansas City Saturday (8:30 p.m., TVA Sports). “I think we’ve done that all along to really make him feel he will be an important piece to this puzzle.”
De Santis added that the Impact is “just pleased to hear that we are in consideration for his next career move.”
“His people have never confirmed anything to us,” De Santis added. “The statement he made today was that he would visit Montreal and that this experience in North America would be something that he’d like to do.
“Once he visits with his family, sees the city and gets to know us in person as well, we’re very confident (of signing him) because everything that’s important to him, regarding his family and the conditions he wants to be playing in, we feel comfortable we can present him with all of that.
“Right now, it’s just a waiting period. Wait until he comes. Hopefully we can come to an agreement so that in the next international transfer (window), which reopens June 27, he’ll be a part of the Montreal Impact.”
Di Vaio has been with Bologna since 2008, scoring 65 goals in 134 appearances with the Rossoblù in Serie A. He’s been hugely responsible for helping the club avoid relegation to second-division status the last few seasons.
“I spent four great years in Bologna, and I don’t want to feel like I’m a burden,” Di Vaio told the Italian media. “I told the coach on Wednesday. The president tried to keep me yesterday. But the decision has been made.”
Di Vaio has also played with Lazio, Parma, Juventus, Monaco, Genoa and Valencia, where he was a teammate with current Impact striker Bernardo Corradi in 2004-05.
The timing of Di Vaio’s announcement is understandable. Bologna will play its final home game on Sunday, which will allow fans of the extremely popular player to bid him goodbye.
The fans have hung banners at the team’s practice facility begging him to stay.