KUALA LUMPUR: As Datuk Dr Noordin Ahmad nears the completion of a 50 per cent acquisition in FC Bari 1908, the Malaysian tycoon is looking to turn the unfashionable club into a romantic Italian football story rivalling that of Leicester City.
Noordin, 59, has long had links to Italy, having worked at technological giant Finmeccanica in Malaysia for two decades, which spurred his interest in Serie B club Bari.
Once due diligence is complete, Noordin will finalise his acquisition of the club from a consortium headed by club president Gianluca Paparesta by the end of May.
Plans to lift Bari to greater heights will then be put into motion, including making the southern Italian club Serie A champions for the first time in their history, within five years.
First, though, they need to get out of Serie B with a spot in the promotion playoffs almost confirmed ahead of two remaining regular season matches on Friday and on May 21.
"We just follow the flow and take things easy,"Noordin told the New Straits Times here on Thursday as excitement grew in Bari following news of his plan to buy the club.
"We have an important (home) game on May 21 (against promotion rivals Trapani) and they want me to be there. Then there is the playoff and God willing, after that we might be in Serie A.
"Recently we saw how an Italian coach (Claudio Ranieri) made a small club (Leicester City) become champions in England. And their owners come from this part of the world (Thailand).
"Our aim is to be champions in five years. I have seen how talented the youth are in Bari. I have seen the club's players, their enthusiasm and motivation. They have a great future and all they need is a good structure to give them a chance.
"We have to plan and work hard, be committed but we are not in a rush. We will achieve it, God willing."
Noordin foresees no issues with completing his purchase of the club, saying: "It is a complete package. Due diligence is also about future planning with a proper and achievable plan. We hope to make Bari champions in five years and I believe we can do that."
Paparesta, a former international referee who rescued AS Bari from bankruptcy in May 2014 and renamed it FC Bari 1908, concurred.
"Datuk Noordin has been in Bari many times to see the matches and the situation of the club," said Paparesta on his first visit to Malaysia.
"Now I'm here to build a stronger relationship with Datuk Noordin and with Malaysia. For FC Bari it is very important to start this project as soon as possible, this month.
"In the coming days we want to complete the due diligence so I hope to announce (the sale) soon at the club's (next) board meeting. Since we met the first time, we found a lot of agreements on many points."
Once the ownership agreement is signed, Paparesta said the club will look to explore opportunities in Malaysia.
"Malaysia is an important market for Bari," he said.
"To build a relationship with Malaysia, it is important for FC Bari to come here and play matches with Malaysian teams and experience the atmosphere in a stadium here.
"Maybe some player in Malaysia will interest us, whether young or not, and we can offer a test for Malaysian teams and develop the image of Bari here."