As soon as the news spread around the world, the press began to collect information about the new owner of the team, which, although not among the best even in Spain, is still a solid mid-table club.
It turned out that 39-year-old Dmitry Piterman was born in Odessa and was involved in football and athletics. In 1980, the young man, whose childhood idol was Oleg Blokhin, received a scholarship to study at the University of California, Berkeley, and moved to the United States with his parents. Over time, the Odessa native acquired American citizenship, amassed considerable capital, and in 1991 moved to Spain, where he went into the hotel business on the Costa Brava coast.
Piterman was first talked about in Spain after he signed a contract with the local municipality at the resort of Tossa de Mar near Girona to build a museum dedicated to his favorite artist Salvador Dalí. But his activities were not limited to his love of art. In the town of Palamós, where the Odessa native bought a hotel for 9 million euros, and in 1999 extended a helping hand to the local football team playing in the third division, he became the owner of a controlling stake in the club, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, and then, while simultaneously being president and head coach, brought Palamós to a higher level - the second division, where the team still plays today.
Piterman's dream was to buy an elite division club with which he could achieve success in Europe. And since our former compatriot, who carefully calls himself an American businessman so as not to be associated with the Russian mafia, had despaired of bringing Palamós to the very top, his attention turned to clubs that play in the elite but have some financial problems.
At first Dmitry tried to acquire Espanyol, but the Catalans did not accept the offer. But in Santander, they shook hands with the ex-Odessa resident. Piterman did not have to go to such significant material expense as Abramovich. He limited himself to buying 25% of the shares, which cost him only 3.6 million euros. But the largest stake gave him the right to become president of the club, which was fighting for survival but nevertheless held on.
But first, Piterman had to give up the presidential chair and sell his shares in Palamós - Spanish laws do not allow one person to be a shareholder of several clubs at the same time. But that was not the most interesting thing. The 39-year-old millionaire considered that the coaching staff that was in the team before him was no good. This was publicly announced, after which all the coaches left Racing, leaving Piterman to conduct training sessions himself.
Finding a replacement for the departed was not particularly difficult for the holder of an American passport - a new coach appeared immediately. But Piterman himself also intended to sit on the coaching bench during matches and prompt the players on what and how to do. Being a sporty man and, it should be noted, having achieved some results as a coach (let us recall - the promotion of Palamós to the second division and the preservation of Racing's place in the elite), Piterman set to work zealously.
But he ran into a negative reaction from the Spanish football public, which was simply infuriated by the antics of the 'American'. An offensive against the newcomer began on all fronts. Piterman was forbidden to sit on the coaching bench during matches, citing the lack of the necessary coaching license. But they did not know who they were dealing with! Our school! Without thinking twice, Piterman accredited himself as a club photojournalist and, receiving permission to be at the edge of the field during the match, continued to do his job. At the same time, he came out with a phrase that fans of witty sayings still savor: "Any fool can run a country, but to run a football team, you need some kind of piece of paper. The famous Dutchman Cruyff had no licenses, yet Barcelona won everything there was to win."
The conflict was resolved almost amicably: the Spanish bureaucrats, realizing that they were making themselves look ridiculous, reluctantly added Piterman to the list of so-called club delegates, who are allowed to be near the field during the game. It will be interesting to see what the former Odessa resident will delight us with in the new season?