Federico Buffa: The American colonization continues

Federico Buffa, in an interview with Il Tirreno, said "The American colonization continues" while assessing the state of Italian basketball. According to Buffa, this process started with football. American investors bought almost all of Italy's biggest clubs one after another.

Buffa said this trend could lead to San Siro being demolished and replaced by a huge shopping center. In his view, match tickets could rise to 200 dollars. Buffa said Italian sport is based on passion, while Americans bring a commercial mindset. He noted that this change moves sport away from its essence, but that there is no way back.

Buffa said he agreed with Marcelo Bielsa's remark that "They are taking football from the poor." Touching on NBA Europe plans, Buffa said a match between Milan and Manchester would not be attractive from a basketball standpoint. He interpreted this as part of a commercial point of view.

Giving an example from Tuscany, Buffa recalled the basketball derbies between Pistoia and Montecatini. Saying "Basketball is a passion for us, not for them," Buffa said he is 67 years old and misses the old way of understanding sport.