Dmitry Piterman (; born 18 December 1963) is a Ukrainian-American businessman. He owned Spanish
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
football clubs
Racing de Santander
Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spani ...
and
Deportivo Alavés
Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually known as Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Basque ...
in the 2000s.
Early years
Piterman was born to a
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
family in
Odessa
ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
, in the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...
of the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. Eight of his father's brothers were killed by the Nazis in World War II.
At the age of 15 his family emigrated to the United States, settling in
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
where he attended college at
UC Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...
, excelling in sports – including
triple jump
The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...
, later narrowly failing qualification for the
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...
in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
.
[El hombre de las mil caras (The man of a thousand faces)](_blank)
; El Periódico Mediterráneo, 2 December 2002 (in Spanish)
Football career
Piterman relocated to Spain in 1991, immediately buying two
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
clubs: amateurs Tossa Sport and
fourth division side
Palamós CF
Palamós Club de Futbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Palamós, a town and commercial port in the ''Costa Brava'', in the autonomous community of Catalonia. Founded in the late 19th century, it currently plays in , holding home matc ...
, with the latter promoting to the
third level under his ownership in 2002. Three years earlier he had been elected club president and had his firsthand at coaching in spite of not being qualified to do so.
In January 2003, while still president at Palamós, Piterman bought 24% of
Racing de Santander
Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. (), also known as Racing de Santander () or simply Racing, is a football club based in Santander, Spain, Santander, Cantabria, Spain, that currently competes in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spani ...
's shares, thus reaching
La Liga
The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...
. He insisted on being his team's manager, which granted him disciplinary action from the
Royal Spanish Football Federation
The Royal Spanish Football Federation (; RFEF) is the governing body of football in Spain. Founded on 29 September 1913, it is based in La Ciudad del Fútbol of Las Rozas de Madrid, Las Rozas, a municipality near Madrid.
RFEF organizes the natio ...
for being in the technical area, which he sometimes eluded by being accredited as a journalist or photographer. When criticised for wanting to manage the club despite a lack of experience and qualifications as such, he mentioned how
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
was allowed to be in office as
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
.
[
After a brief spell in ]handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...
, also in Cantabria, Piterman bought a 51% controlling stake in Deportivo Alavés
Deportivo Alavés, S.A.D. (; ''Sporting Alavés''), usually known as Alavés, is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football club based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Basque ...
in July 2004, helping it return to the topflight in his first season, with Cos now acting as director of football
A sporting director, or director of sport, is an senior management, executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many typ ...
. The American's spell in the Basque Country was also a rocky one, with three coaches being used during the 2005–06 campaign, which ended in relegation, the dismissals occurring when the managers refused to accept his interferences and impositions. Clashes also occurred with the club's players and fans alike. Piterman left a debt in the Alavés of more than 25 million euros (35 million USD), and fled the country leaving the team on the verge of bankruptcy.
The Cos/Piterman tandem appeared in 126 matches in Spanish football
Football is the most popular sport in Spain, with 61% of the population interested in it. Spain has some of the most influential teams in Europe (Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atlético de Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia, and others) as well as many playe ...
, winning 63, drawing 29 and losing 34. In 2006, he purchased a USL First Division
The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...
franchise in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, the California Victory
The California Victory was a USL First Division professional soccer team based in San Francisco, California. It was an expansion team for the 2007 season, but ceased operation in September of that year after parent club Deportivo Alavés withdre ...
; it folded in one year, after he had already sold his stake of Alavés.Whitecaps soccer league loses team
; Canada.com, 20 November 2007
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piterman, Dmitry
1963 births
Living people
Odesa Jews
Soviet emigrants to the United States
Jewish American sports executives and administrators
University of California, Berkeley alumni
American masters athletes
American soccer chairmen and investors
Deportivo Alavés
Racing de Santander
California Victory
American emigrants to Spain
California Golden Bears men's track and field athletes
21st-century American Jews
American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent