Jean-Claude Blanc is the new president after Cobolli stepped down, according to John Elkann.

Not sure if this effects us in any way really, but seem an odd role for Blanc, he has no prior association to Juve.

Does this move relate in any way to the recent poor performance of Juve?

No it is nothing to do with it apparently, Cobolli's contract was up in June but he stayed on, his job was to steady the ship so to speak when the club was in crisis and he has helped do that.

Blanc era begins at Juve



Jean Claude Blanc has today begun the task of replacing Giovanni Cobolli Gigli even though he won't officially become Juventus President until October 27.

Last week, the club's owner John Elkann announced Cobolli Gigli would be stepping down after three very challenging years in charge.

The club's shareholders will ratify his decision on October 27, but as the designated heir, Blanc will assume the position from this morning onwards.

Among Blanc's first tasks as Juventus President is filling the role he vacated as director general.

The Italian Press understands Italy Coach Marcello Lippi is the club's No 1 target, although he won't be available until after the World Cup next summer.

In the meantime, Alessio Secco looks set to be promoted from his role as Juventus director of sport.

Turin based daily newspaper Tuttosport understands Blanc is also considering hiring Riccardo Colombini who is a good friend of his and one of the head honchos at Nike Italia.

If Colombini becomes another director general, he will take care of the club's marketing, leaving Secco and Lippi to deal with the technical side of the role.

http://www.football-italia.net/oct12e.html

------------------

Sounds like a great setup in theory, Secco has done well recently but Lippi would make a big difference.

With reference to the forthcoming Shareholders’ Ordinary Meeting, which will be held on 27 October 2009, Juventus hereby reports that the shareholder EXOR S.P.A. has filed the following list of candidates for the renewal of the Board of Directors:

1. Marzio Saà (independent director)
2. Carlo Barel di Sant’Albano
3. Jean-Claude Blanc
4. Aldo Mazzia
5. Riccardo Montanaro (independent director)
6. Camillo Venesio (independent director)

The said shareholder has also filed the following list of candidates for the appointment of the Board of Statutory Auditors:

Section 1 (candidates as Standing auditors)
1. Paolo Piccatti
2. Roberto Longo
3. Roberto Petrignani

Section 2 (candidates as Deputy auditors)
1. Ruggero Tabone
2. Paolo Claretta Assandri

Furthermore, Juventus hereby reports that the shareholder LIBYAN ARAB FOREIGN INVESTMENT COMPANY S.A. has filed the documents related to the following candidate for the renewal of the Board of Directors: Khaled Fareg Zentuti (independent director).

Since no other list has been filed for the appointment of the Board of Statutory Auditors, Juventus reports that, pursuant to the by-law, the dead-line to file such list of candidates has been postponed to 19 October 2009 and the minimum share ownership required is reduced to 1.25% of the share capital.

Sorry haven't followed this story nor read the thread, but why is some French dude in charge of Italy's most illustrious club?

Just worked his way up I guess, although he does have great past success in other sports in a similar overseeing role.

Blog: The Blanconeri



Jean-Claude Blanc is set to be officially confirmed as the new Juventus President. Serafino Ingardia wonders whether he is good enough for the Old Lady

That Jean-Claude Blanc was highly rated at the Stadio Olimpico in Turin is no secret. But not many expected the French business guru to go as far as being unveiled as the new Bianconeri President.

We are not talking about any old vacancy. This prestigious role was once held by Italy’s most powerful man, Gianni Agnelli, as well as Old Lady legend Giampiero Boniperti. The Frenchman is now the only foreign President in the top flight.

Does he deserve such recognition? Harvard graduate Blanc is a master in business and marketing and has, in his past experiences, covered a number of high profile jobs. And since his arrival in Turin he has played a fundamental role in the planning of the new Bianconeri arena which should be ready by May 2011.

However, Blanc seems to know little, very little actually, about football – a similar dilemma encountered by out-going chief Giovanni Cobolli Gigli. That is potentially a massive problem for Juventus seeing as the President should be an influential character who can shield the club in times of need.

While from a managerial point of view there is little to be questioned, Blanc may be lacking skill in other fields. For instance, will he be able to stand against his Serie A colleagues when necessary or efficiently communicate with players and directors at the club? We’re not so sure.

Blanc will need to prove he has what it takes to fill the boots of Agnelli, Boniperti and even Cobolli Gigli. However, sources close to the club believe he will soon be getting a helping hand from Marcello Lippi.

Rumours suggest that Blanc wants to hire the Italy boss after the World Cup. Lippi would not become Coach, but would take charge of transfer campaigns. That’s not a bad idea at all when you consider that the outfit are missing a strong figure like that in their ranks.

In all honesty, they could do with a tougher backroom now given their on the field difficulties – one which they had in the form of the Triade led by Luciano Moggi. Some still miss Lucky Luciano in Turin, but only time will tell whether Blanc, eventually supported by Lippi, will be able to mirror such a successful environment at the club.

http://www.football-italia.net/blogs/si58.html

----------------------------------

You can't replace the Triade, whether they were outright corrupt or just shady they were the best of the best. I don't think Blanc is the right man, John Elkann should have been made new president.

Apparently Blanc and Cobolli are under an investigation for fraud, something similar which has popped up many times in Serie A because of the regulations surrounding payments to agents. Inter and Milan were both acquitted in recent months, but it's Juve so who knows what will happen.

Juventus have insisted it is a routine procedure which pertains to the fiscal years prior to 2006 and 2007. So 2005 and before, which is nothing to do with either of them lol.

There is a rumour going around that Blanc has frozen players salaries until they put in an acceptable performance? Seems unlikely, maybe fines. That'll boost morale...

Frozen?

you mean no rises or no money at all?

No money.

I highly doubt the legality of that when you're dealing with contracts.

Me too, although it depends what is in the contracts. I have seen examples of contracts that have minimum achievement clauses such as those for the team as a whole, and it could be that during lengthy talks in ritiro that they have agreed to the move to passify the fans. The BOD have been furious this week.

Blanc needs an armed guard now apparently, after receiving threats. The training ground has been protected too.

Apparently Blanc has delayed the wages for a few days longer, as a warning. Great motivation from the marked man

Stupid French dick...

Blanc: «Maximum collaboration with Marotta»

On the day of the presentation of Giuseppe Marotta and Luigi Del Neri, Jean-Claude Blanc wanted to bid welcome to the newcomers and farewell to the ones leaving: «With Giuseppe Marotta, who will be undertaking the role within the sport section, there will be maximum collaboration. I would like to bid farewell to the outgoing sport structure and thank Zaccheroni who put his soul and heart into a job which was far from easy».

Asked how much the missed qualification to the Champions League will weigh on the club, Blanc answered: «As you know, it will cost us about €25 million even though we will receive some funds from the Europa League. As it stands today, however, we are the team in Italy with greatest profits, and in the Deloitte classification we are back in the 8th position with regards to the wealthiest clubs and we have no debts. We will find internal resources and we will save money where necessary».

The conclusion of the search for a sponsor for the second jersey: «We are working on it. With the advent of the new president we have shown that Juve has ambitions and that it might also be a good opportunity for companies that would like to enter the football world».

----------------

Sounds like the Agnelli family are going to put their hand in their pocket for the first time since the 1980s, on the financial side Blanc has done well, just when he opens his mouth about football he sounds like an idiot.

An Analysis of Jean-Claude Blanc’s Tenure



Calciopoli was a tumultuous time, to say the least. In addition to the relegation, the players departing, the massive hit we took financially, the entire Board of Directors (CdA in Italian) and triade resigned their positions. Juve’s stock price plummeted, and we wondered how we might recover to be the great squad we’ve been in the past. In stepped a new triade- Giovanni Cobolli Gigli, as President, Frenchman Jean-Claude Blanc as CEO, and Alessio Secco as Sporting Director.

They came from rather diverse backgrounds: Cobolli Gigli was a businessman who spent much of his career working for various companies in the FIAT Empire. Jean-Claude Blanc’s background is in management of various sporting events like the Tour de France, and perhaps most notably the Roland Garros tournament in France. Alessio Secco, as much as we may dislike him, comes from a diehard Juventus background. Born and raised in Torino, he is the son of Sergio Secco, long-time Juventus accountant and right-hand man of Juventus President Boniperti for many years. He joined Juve at age 29 as a press secretary, then team manager, than understudy to Moggi before being promoted in the wake of Calciopoli. It seemed like a good mix, a businessman, a sports businessman, and someone who lived Juventus his entire life.

While most say it ended in total disaster, I won’t go that far. They do deserve credit for bringing Juventus from Serie B, to a team challenging for the top 4 in Serie A, but clearly lacked the experience to take us a step above. Secco of course was canned by Andrea Agnelli, and Gigli resigned a year earlier to be replaced by Jean-Claude Blanc as President of the club. To do an analysis, we must first define what their roles are in the team. The ultimate head of the team is the President, who both works with the financial issues, the stockholders, as well as transfers and on-the-pitch matters. The General Manager/CEO and Sporting Director both respond to the President, and ultimately, the fate of the team rests in his hand. The GM/CEO position is largely financial- it includes marketing, revenue, sponsorships, costs, etc. The Sporting Director is pretty much exclusively dedicated to footballing matters, making transfers, contract negotiations, etc. In the wake of Gigli’s resignation, Jean-Claude Blanc took over the President responsibilities as well, which many questioned if he was taking on too much work.


Blanc’s beard is an attempt to go incognito…

With Pavel Nedved and Giuseppe Marotta joining the CdA, along with two Torino natives, there was a discussion this morning in Tuttosport about the management of the club. Jean-Claude Blanc, notably, remains the highest paid manager at the club. By the time his contract expires in 2012, he will have earned €12 million in compensation, so €2million per season. Last year, while wearing two hats as President and GM/CEO, he earned €2.7 million which is fairly steep. There are also details that if we sacked him, we would owe about €3 million in golden parachute payments, which is perhaps part of the reason why Agnelli canned Secco but not Blanc.

If we separate Jean-Claude Blanc’s tenures, it becomes clear how he has done. From 2006-2009, he was exclusively involved as a GM/CEO, and did brilliantly. The Swiss Ramble’s article on Juve’s finances prove that he has done wonderfully to build Juventus up financially, while investing into the new stadium. Each mercato, Secco had a significant amount of money ( €30-45million) to spend, without the Old Lady going into any kind of real debt. Cash flow has been excellent, the TV revenues are high, and the marketing/sponsorship deals have been excellent. In the last week, we signed agreements with Sony and MSC Crociere which will certainly help our balance sheet. Overall, he has signed fewer sponsors, but involved them more heavily than some of our rivals. He successfully sold our new stadium naming rights, as well as getting a solid deal on Betclic as our new shirt sponsors.

It’s well known that JCB has done an excellent job revitalizing the team financially, and in that case, his salary/bonuses are certainly worth it. It reminds me of the outcry over Wall Street exec’s compensation- if they tanked the stock and posted losses, then yes, the criticism is warranted. Many, however, have certainly delivered in profits or market capitalization, thus earning their massive pay. It is worth paying top dollar for top management, and when it comes to our balance sheet, Jean-Claude Blanc has done a stupendous job and deserves credit.

The negatives are largely his decision to become President in 2009, where he oversaw Juve’s worst ever season. Ultimately, the club rests on the President’s shoulders, and he was not up to the task. Andrea Agnelli stepped into those shoes in May 2010, and quickly made all of the changes that Blanc should have done long ago. Andrea Agnelli hired a competent Sporting Director to replace Alessio Secco, who after 11 years on the Juve payroll was let go. He immediately went about resolving our injury crisis, by having Vinovo inspected and fixed (the drainage system) and letting the entire medical staff go, some who had been at Juve for 15+ years.

All of these were problems that had manifested themselves for sometime before- Our injuries were high in 07-08 and 08-09 as well, and Secco failed miserably especially when it came to rebuilding the defense. The addition of Roberto Bettega to the team was a smart one, but a clear sign that JCB had no idea what was going on, and needed a calcio man to sort things out. It was a good move, but obviously one that would not bear fruit immediately, particularly when the other administrative problems (medical team, Vinovo, Secco) were still around. Ferrara paid for it, as by late January the Bettega effect had failed to inspire the team. Then came the sacking of Ferrara.


Two calcio-savvy men that will let Blanc return to what he does best…

Firing Ferrara was the ultimate proof he didn’t know what he was doing. A supporter of JCB might suggest canning Ferrara was necessary to try and kick the team in the pants, but as I said at the time, and Zaccheroni’s brief tenure proved, the team’s problems went FAR beyond the coach. Ferrara took the fall because at that point, Blanc and Secco simply had no other ideas on how to kickstart the team. Blanc should be fired Secco before January, but their sole move in the winter mercato was pitiful and even more evidence to can Alessio. All of these problems existed for some time, Blanc was not new to the organization. In this case, he failed.

With the introduction of Andrea Agnelli as President, Blanc took a direct demotion, and did so without complaining. With a healthy balance sheet, excellent sponsorships, and a great investment in the stadium, Blanc has done well and deserves his pay, especially now that he has been removed as President. His contract expires in 2012, and it remains to be seen if it will be renewed, perhaps his work will be done with Juve on stable feet and the stadium finished. It all probably depends on Jean-Claude…having organized the Tour de France, Winter Olympics, and Roland Garros, will he move onto another project, or is he satisfied in Torino?

http://juventus.theoffside.com/team-manage....html#more-4639

Looks like Blanc is leaving the club completely by June. Marotta took his original position and now he is being replaced as expected now the stadium is near completion.

Blanc did a good job once he got away from football. He will be replaced by Romy Gai, who was our financial guru under Moggi and co, and who brought in some excellent sponsorship deals such as Tamoil and Sky Sport.

Blanc will be a non-associate adviser.