Lunchtime Legends Presents: The Return of Cartagena

[Dixie Flatline]

2nd of March 2008

Primera Liga – Game 26: Levante v Cartagena

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Solitary Nunens strike enough to secure three points for Cartagena

South African international midfielder Sipho Nunens’ sixth goal of the season was enough for the visitors to win the match against relegation-threatened Levante in Valencia this evening.

As could be expected, Cartagena enjoyed the lion’s share of attacking possession but found Levante’s keeper, Mora, in fine form and it took a super strike from Nunens to beat Mora on 61 minutes. With Sívori shepherding the ball from defence and drawing defenders to him, the quick lay-off to Johnson allowed Nunens to stride into space and from 25 yards, the South African curled the ball into the far corner of Mora’s net, much to the delight of manager, Señor Flatline.

Now, it’s three wins in succession for Cartagena and a move into seventh place overall in the league for the league’s rookie.

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A tight affair with Levante holding out for a scoreless draw and an important point. But Nunens has a habit of scoring clutch goals at important times, and he stepped up to the mark this evening to score a corker. Three wins in a row gives us the confidence to take on Real Madrid next weekend at home. Should be a stern test, but I’m starting to feel confident that I have a good starting eleven.

Levante (4-5-1): Mora; Harte ©, Reinhardt, De la Cuesta (Alexis 71), Descarga; Bierofka, Wagefeld (Enguix 61), Reyna (Cohade 71), Smertin, Gera; Congo.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Awate; Green, Mullins ©, Gaardsøe, Cazzola; Svärd; Goitom (Juninho 73), Nunens (Stevanovic 73), Johnson; Sívori, Matteini.

Final score: Levante 0:1 Cartagena

MoM – Sipho Nunens

3rd of March 2008

Sebastian Svärd and Sipho Nunens are selected in the Primera Liga Team of the Week.

4th of March 2008

Landry Bonnefoi reveals publicly he is disappointed not to be playing regular first team football and states he will look for a new club if he doesn’t play more often.

The 24 year old has the potential to be a good goalkeeper, but at this stage of the season, I prefer Awate in goal. Bonnefoi can either be patient, or he can move on, as far as I’m concerned.

[Dixie Flatline]

9th March 2008

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Osasuna in receivership; players’ fire-sale expected

Basque club Osasuna was today placed in the hands of official receivers as the club battles against bankruptcy. Although solidly placed in twelfth, Osasuna has struggled to turn a profit in recent years and for Chairman, Señor Patxi Izco, the decision was sad but inevitable.

Players such as former U-21 Spanish international, Miguel Flaño, Norwegian international defender Brede Paulsen Hangeland, Mexican international utility Alejandro Sosa, and club captain, Maxi López, are expected to generate the most interest as the club’s receivers look to sell players in order to balance the books.

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Hmm, there could be some good bargains to be had, given Osasuna’s current financial plight.

Primera Liga – Game 27: Cartagena v Real Madrid

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Stankovic thunderbolt separates Real from Cartagena

A trade mark Dejan Stankovic thunderbolt strike on 14 minutes separated Real Madrid from Cartagena in a tightly fought contest at the Estadio Municipal de Cartagena.

Selgado quickly whipped in a free kick from the right flank to Stankovic, who despite being subjected to tight pressure from Cartagena captain Hayden Mullins, was able to swivel and powerfully shoot beyond Awate into the net. Real Madrid then adopted a defensive outlook and sought to contain Cartagena’s attacking thrusts to long-range efforts.

Cartagena will rue some missed opportunities to equalize, none more so than Sipho Nunens’ missed attempt midway through the second half when with Casillas already committed, the South African just needed to thread the ball into the back of the net, only for a Real Madrid defender to deflect the shot away. Señor Flatline substituted the tiring Goitom and Matteini for Juninho and Míchel respectively, but they were not able to carry Cartagena to an equalizing goal.

Disappointment for Cartagena, but restrained joy for Real Madrid as the win keeps them five points clear of Barcelona in the chase for the title.

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It was always going to be a tough match, and for long periods I thought we actually matched, if not surpassed Real Madrid in terms of creative, attacking play. However, we fell for the three-card trick. Stankovic’s rasping drive on 14 minutes gave them the lead and they weren’t going to surrender it easily, even with Chivu forced from the field on 73 minutes through injury.

The loss drops us a place to eighth, and with Real Betis level on us on points and with a game in hand, we could drop further still.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Awate; Green, Mullins ©, Gaardsøe, Cazzola; Svärd; Goitom (Juninho 67), Nunens, Johnson; Sívori, Matteini (Míchel 67).

Real Madrid (4-2-2-2): Casillas; Sergio, Chivu (Jorge Andrade 73), Iván Helguera, Míchel Salgado (Jensen 60); Cambiasso, Ballack ©; Sneijder (Josemi 60), Stankovic; Raúl, Owen.

Final score: Cartagena 0:1 Real Madrid

MoM – Sergio

Valencia dismisses their manager, Hector Cúper.

[Dixie Flatline]

16th of March 2008

Primera Liga – Game 28: Mallorca v Cartagena

Much of our good work of late is undone this evening with a woeful performance away to high-flying Mallorca, who belt us 4-1. Delibasic, the lone striker for Mallorca, opens the scoring on 15 minutes he gets in behind my defence, accepts the pass from Parri and slots it calmly past Awate. We’re level, however, on 22 minutes when Nunens and Matteini cause heartache in the Mallorca defence, the ball ricochets off Sebas and into the back of the net for an own goal.

But parity lasts just moments as on 25 minutes, Parri, who delivered the ball for Delibasic to open the scoring, receives a fine pass from Katan and bangs it past the hapless Awate. Mallorca opens us up time and again and on 35 minutes, with Delibasic bearing down on goal, Green gets across to take the ball away, but it falls nicely for Parri and he doesn’t miss. The humiliation is complete in injury time at the end of the game when Delibasic again succeeds in slipping through my defence and firing past Awate.

We are very much outclassed today.

Mallorca (4-5-1): Gomes; Sebas (Poli 62), Iuliano, Traoré, Cortés ©; Katan (Arango 62), Rasmussen, Poujol, Parri, Renato (Campano 45); Delibasic.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Awate; Green, Mullins ©, Vicente, Cazzola; Svärd; Goitom (Stevanovic 73), Nunens (Juninho 45), Johnson; Sívori (Míchel 45), Matteini.

Final score: Mallorca 4:1 Cartagena

MoM – Andrija Delibasic

30th of March 2008

Primera Liga – Game 29: Villarreal v Cartagena

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Resilient Cartagena holds off Villarreal

In an entertaining match at El Madrigal, Cartagena took all three points thanks to a brace from Italian striker Davide Matteini, who scored the winning goal with 83 minutes on the clock. The burly centre forward opened the scoring for the visitors on 28 minutes thanks to some nice passing between Sívori and Juninho, which helped to create the space Matteini needed to find the back of the net.

However, Cartagena, despite enjoying the bulk of possession and creative flair, failed to build on the opening goal and when González was able to rise unchallenged to Andresen’s cross and head home past Awate on 78 minutes, it seemed as though Cartagena had wasted an opportunity to score a valuable away victory.

But Matteini stepped up to seal the win, accepting a lovely 45 yard pass from Sebastian Svärd that left the defenders with no chance of interception, before sidestepping the keeper and side-footing home.

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A good, morale-boosting win that one, after the debacle of last Sunday’s match against Mallorca. Goals have been a little difficult to come by lately, and to see Matteini score two was a good sight. Defence still lacked a little to be desired – the equaliser was a soft goal to concede and we lost track of the Villarreal player who came in to score. However, you can’t argue with the value of a win, and I’m glad to take it.

Villarreal (4-4-2): Reina; Sorín, Rodríguez, Edmílson, Spector (Armando 62); González, Celades, Andresen ©, Fritz (Arrieta 62); Marica, Elmander (Guerrero 74).

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Awate; Paredes, Mullins ©, Gaardsøe, Ferrón; Svärd; Míchel (Chaurant 73), Juninho, Goitom (Conget 64); Sívori, Matteini.

Final score: Villarreal 1:2 Cartagena

MoM – Jordi Ferrón

[Dixie Flatline]

2nd of April 2008

Primera Liga – Game 30: Cartagena v Racing Santander

We repeat the pattern set in the last game where we score first, let the opponent equalise, then wait to the last possible moment (almost) to seal the win. This time, all three goals came in the second half. Matteini scored on 57 minutes when Cazzola played a beautifully weighted, curving pass down the right flank to find his fellow Italian on the edge of the box. Matteini cut inside the defenders then bent the ball past the outstretched keeper but inside the far post for a possible contender for goal of the month.

But we lost track of the ball inside our penalty area on 68 minutes and allowed Aganzo, at the second attempt, to bundle the ball over the line past Awate. However, substitute Ricardo Sousa, who has disappointed me this season, it’s fair to say, scores another contender for goal of the month when he lefts fly with a powerful, curving shot on 87 minutes that completely deceives the keeper and ends in Racing’s net. A moment of pure genius there from Sousa.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Awate; Paredes (Corino 72), Mullins, Gaardsøe, Cazzola; Svärd; Míchel, Juninho (Sousa 69), Conget ©; Sívori (Míchel 69), Matteini.

Racing Santander (4-2-3-1): Córdoba; Juanma, Pablo Casar (Ãngel 68), Mora, Schmidt; Guti (Regragui 72), Matabuena (Alonso 68); Jonathan, Jorge, Alek; Aganzo.

Final score: Cartagena 2:1 Racing Santander

MoM – Míchel (the midfielder)

That was our thirtieth league game of the season, although we’ve played one more than the remainder of the league (except Racing). Here’s the ladder:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

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1st Real Madrid 29 22 2 5 62 16 +46 68

2nd Barcelona 29 19 7 3 66 19 +47 64

3rd Real Sociedad 29 19 5 5 51 26 +25 62

4th Deportivo 29 16 8 5 44 19 +25 56

5th Real Zaragoza 29 17 5 7 42 27 +15 56

6th Real Mallorca 29 17 5 7 42 21 +21 56

7th Atletico Madrid 29 15 8 6 56 30 +26 53

8th Cartagena 30 15 8 7 46 33 +13 53

9th Real Betis 29 16 3 10 45 40 +5 51

10th Valencia 29 13 11 5 45 22 +23 50

11th Villarreal 29 12 6 11 36 31 +5 42

12th Osasuna 29 9 10 10 28 35 -7 37

13th Sevilla 29 8 9 12 42 45 -3 33

14th Cadiz 29 9 5 15 24 46 -22 32

15th Racing 30 7 5 18 25 48 -23 26

16th Athletic Club 29 4 5 20 30 66 -36 17

17th Levante 29 4 4 21 17 61 -44 16

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

18th Cordoba 29 3 6 20 19 60 -41 15

19th Murcia 29 3 4 22 11 50 -39 13

20th Alaves 29 2 6 21 12 48 -36 12

</pre>

[Dixie Flatline]

5th of April 2008

Ex-Leeds youngster Simon Walton agrees to a four-year contract after I offer a good package to Real Betis, starting with an initial payment of £2.5 million. The 20 year old joined Betis for the princely sum of £85,000 back at the start of the 2004/05 season, and has made sporadic appearances for the first team since – his best return was 21(2) appearances last season. He’s spent some of the season on loan to Segunda Liga club, Málaga, which is pushing strongly for promotion to the Primera Liga.

6th of April 2008

Primera Liga – Game 31: Cartagena v Real Zaragoza

We crash back to earth with another loss at home, this time by 2 goals to 1. Real Zaragoza are enjoying a good season and are looking to crack the top four, while I’m trying to consolidate our club inside the top ten.

A poor clearance by Cristian Green allows Zaragoza to mount a sustained attack which culminates in Soriano bending a scoring shot at goal on 19 minutes from about 25 yards. Just after the hour mark, Svärd gives away a free kick in a dangerous position and Riise converts the opportunity. But we’re thrown a lifeline on 83 minutes when hesitancy grips some of the Zaragoza defenders, allowing Matteini to sneak in and score. Míchel, my midfielder, has several long-range chances to level the scores late in the game, but each flies inches wide of the post and we go down 2-1.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Awate; Green, Mullins, Cazzola, Ferrón; Svärd; Míchel, Juninho (Johnson 70), Conget ©; Sívori (Goitom 70), Matteini.

Real Zaragoza (4-3-2-1): Láinez; Riise, Boulahrouz (Frassetto 61), Naldo, Gabri; Movilla, Soriano ©, Cani (Óscar 64); Luis García, Varela; Soldado (Avalos 61).

Final score: Cartagena 1:2 Real Zaragoza

MoM – John Arne Riise

12th of April 2008

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Cartagena secures Albert Luque

Juventus forward Albert Luque has agreed to return to Spain and join Cartagena, it was revealed today by club manager, Señor Dixie Flatline. The 30 year old forward, who has made 28 appearances for Spain and scored 4 international goals, first made his name at Mallorca, before joining Deportivo La Coruña back in 2002/03. Two seasons ago, he joined Juventus, but decided that he would prefer to finish his career in Spain. Cartagena would not disclose the size of the transfer fee they will pay to Juventus on the 1st of July 2008, but it is believed that the deal has been structured, with an initial payment of £12.5 million.

Luque joins goalkeeper Sebastián Saja, defensive midfielder Simon Walton, forward Luis García, and attacking midfielders Enzo Maresca and Hugo Viana as players who will join Cartagena in the summer.

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[Dixie Flatline]

13th of April 2008

Primera Liga – Game 32: Athletic Bilbao v Cartagena

The first goal ever for Juninho and another goal to Matteini helped us to secure a 2-1 win over relegation-threatened Athletic, though in fairness, the scoreline should have been much better in our favour. Juninho was left unmarked at a corner on the cusp of injury time at the end of the first half, was found by Míchel and slotted the ball home through a crowd of players, to his own joy and the joy of his teammates. Matteini was left unmarked on 72 minutes at another Míchel free kick – Juninho knocked the ball down to Conget, who slipped the ball into the Italian’s path and he did the rest.

Unfortunately, we took the eye off the ball late in the game and conceded a consolation goal through Bordas, but Athletic had neither the time nor the skill to score a second goal.

Athletic Bilbao (1-2-5-2): Aranzubia; Luis Prieto; Murillo, Lacruz; Bordas, Tiko, Gurpegi, Orbaiz © (Garrido 62), Iraola; Arriaga (Eqzuerro 73), Llorente (Azkorra 62).

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Awate; Green, Mullins, Gaardsøe, Ferrón; Svärd; Míchel (Goitom 90), Juninho, Conget © (Johnson 90); Sívori, Matteini.

Final score: Athletic Bilbao 1:2 Cartagena

MoM – Jordi Ferrón

16th of April 2008

Copa del Rey – Semi-Final, 1st Leg: Real Betis v Cartagena

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After an entertaining game, Cartagena holds the slight edge

Cartagena will feel that they hold the slight edge after drawing with Real Betis 2-2 in Seville in the first leg of their semi-final clash in the Copa del Rey, while Real Betis will curse defensive lapses and a loss of discipline which saw two players sent off.

Although Cartagena began brighter, Real Betis took the lead through Edú on 17 minutes when he was able to latch on to Assunção’s corner and lash it past Awate. The match remained evenly poised and it was little wonder that Cartagena equalised on 75 minutes, thanks to veteran forward Sívori, who had the opportunity created by some clever play between Juninho, Goitom and Matteini.

Real Betis then had defender Rafael Márquez sent off on 80 minutes, which changed the complexion of the match. Cartagena took full advantage as Goitom put the visitors in the lead on 84 minutes thanks to a tremendous ball played through the Betis defence by Juninho. But Edú rescued the tie for Betis with an equalising goal just a couple of minutes later, when he cut inside Mullins before cheekily lifting the ball over Awate and into the back of the net.

However, there was still time for Betis to lose a second man to a red card, as Belarusian international defender Alyaxey Baha, who created the second goal for Edú, was sent off for dissent in injury time at the end of the game.

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Well, I’m fairly happy with the outcome. For a while, I was disappointed we couldn’t take our chances that we were making on a consistent basis. But some good play by Sívori and an excellent through-ball by Juninho to set up Goitom helped me to overcome that disappointment. Unfortunately, the fact that my slow defence was caught out by quicker players annoyed me yet again, and it will be something I will try to rectify in the off-season.

Real Betis (4-3-3): Contreras; Edu, Márquez (s/o 80), Lembo, Baha (s/o 90); Alè, Perrotta ©, Assunção; Edú, Fernando (Perko 70), Dani (Harbuzi 45 (Denílson 70)).

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Awate; Green, Mullins, Gaardsøe, Ferrón; Svärd; Míchel (Chaurant 72), Juninho, Conget © (Goitom 58); Sívori, Matteini.

Final score: Real Betis 2:2 Cartagena

MoM – Juninho

Eduardo Conget bruises a shin quite badly and will need about 5 days to get over the injury. That rules him out of this Saturday’s clash with Murcia.

[Dixie Flatline]

19th of April 2008

With three games left in the season, Manchester United claims the English Premier League with a 1-0 win over relegation-threatened QPR. In Italy, AC Milan are on course for yet another Scudetto, leading closest rival AS Roma by 11 points with six games to play for AC Milan, having played a game less than AS Roma. Juventus, currently third, are looking for a new manager, after recently firing Signor Fabio Capello.

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Fiery exchange of words between Cartagena and Murcia managers

In the lead-up to tonight’s match of the round between local rivals Cartagena and Murcia, the managers have engaged in a fiery exchange of words.

Murcia manager, Señor David Vidal, claimed yesterday that there was nothing more satisfactory then getting a win over a derby rival, but Cartagena manager, Señor Dixie Flatline, responded dismissively, saying that the pressure was on his colleague to obtain results for his club to enable Murcia to avoid relegation.

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Primera Liga – Game 33: Cartagena v Murcia C.F.

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Cartagena takes bragging rights

As expected, the host Cartagena took all three points in a one-sided affair at the Estadio Municipal de Cartagena, with Italian striker Davide Matteini leading the way with a brace.

Matteini put Cartagena in front on 22 minutes when he was played through thanks to a visionary ball from Sebastian Svärd cut out the Murcia defenders – the Italian left with a comparatively simple finish. But Murcia struck back almost immediately when a defensive error by club vice-captain Hayden Mullins gifted Karanka a goal. However, six minutes before the half-time interval, Cartagena seized the lead when Volpe, under pressure from Matteini and Goitom, turned the ball past his own keeper. Sívori’s superb cross was headed towards goal by Matteini, but it rebounded off the bar into the path of Volpe, who could not prevent the ball going into the back of the net. Matteini sealed the win late in the game with his second goal, having been left all alone by his markers.

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Really, the Murcia manager should not have mouthed off in the media, as we’re a cut above his crew. A good, decisive victory that helps us in the chase for a berth in Europe next season, which is my ambition.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Awate; Green, Mullins ©, Gaardsøe, Ferrón; Svärd; Míchel (Nunens 87), Goitom, Juninho (Johnson 87); Sívori, Matteini.

Murcia C.F. (4-1-2-1-2): Olave; Lupidio, Martínez (Cuadrado 60), Maciel (Lolo 71), Juanma; Ghali; Javi Prats (Urzelai 60), Pulido ©; Volpe; Iván Alonso, Karanka.

Final score: Cartagena 3:1 Murcia C.F.

Davide Matteini

[Dixie Flatline]

27th of April 2008

Primera Liga – Game 34: Cartagena v Sevilla

We fall behind on 6 minutes to a goal from César Delgado, who is left unmarked and available to meet Ismael’s cross. We spend the remainder of the game trying to play catch-up football, and we eventually equalize on 78 minutes, thanks to a goal from midfielder Míchel, who benefits from a misjudged clearance from the Sevilla defence and is able to poke it past the Sevilla keeper. This game never hit the heights and we probably deserved the point.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Awate; Green, Mullins ©, Gaardsøe, Ferrón; Svärd; Míchel, Goitom, Juninho (Johnson 69); Sívori, Matteini (Míchel 69).

Sevilla (4-4-2): Esteban; Edman, Cuéllar, Rãdoi ©, Sergio Ramos; Ismael, Vila (Jorge 45), Gilberto (Ricardo 61), Fernando Sales; Aranda, Delgado (Pandiani 45).

Final score: Cartagena 1:1 Sevilla

MoM – Carlos Javier Cuéllar

30th of April 2008

Copa del Rey – Semi-Final, 2nd Leg: Cartagena v Real Betis

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In a tight encounter, Sívori’s late goal seals Cartagena’s passage through to the final

In an evenly fought match, Cartagena did just enough to ensure passage through to the club’s first ever Copa del Rey final against Sevilla with a 1-0 win on the night and 3-2 win on aggregate. Despite the best efforts of man of the match Joaquín, Real Betis lacked a cutting edge and Cartagena made the visitors pay for their failure in front of goal, with Sívori netting a headed goal on 89 minutes, deflecting Míchel’s cross past Contreras.

The win, however, comes at a cost, with Hayden Mullins ruled out for five days and top scorer Davide Matteini absent with a twisted ankle for up to a fortnight. Still, the celebrations in the terraces and on the streets of Cartagena will last long into the night.

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A hard fought and close victory there for the boys, but we did very well to keep Betis at bay. As expected, Joaquín ran rampant along the flanks, but his colleagues didn’t really offer him much support, which was surprising, given what was at stake. As the minutes ticked by, and we edged closer to a 0-0 draw which would have seen us go through on the away goals rule, I was becoming happier with that result. However, Sívori drove a stake through the heart of Real Betis with his late, late goal, meaning that Betis would need to score two goals in the space of a couple of minutes to overturn the deficit. Of course, they did not, and now I have to plan for our first cup final, against Sevilla at the end of the season.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Awate; Green, Mullins ©, Gaardsøe, Cazzola; Svärd; Míchel, Goitom (Conget 61), Juninho; Sívori, Matteini (Míchel 61).

Real Betis (4-2-3-1): Contreras; Rivas, Juanito ©, Lembo, Varela; Perrotta (Alè 25), Assunção (Portillo 38); Denílson, Fernando, Joaquín; Dani (Perko 71).

Final score: Cartagena 1:0 Real Betis

Aggregate score: Cartagena 3:2 Real Betis

MoM – Joaquín

[uskopite]

Just to let you in on a little secret Dixie Flatline - youre an inspiration. Youre a bit of a soul writer - and I take some of my style from you.

Keep up the dedication and the fine fine work

[SCH]

Yahoo, great as ever!

[Dixie Flatline]

uskopite and SCH - thank you very much for following my little story and giving me your praise.

[Dixie Flatline]

1st of May 2008

Veteran defensive utility, Vicente, agrees to join Italian club, Cesena, on a Bosman free transfer in the summer.

4th of May 2008

Primera Liga – Game 35: Valencia v Cartagena

I’m not sure how many epithets exist in the English or Spanish languages to describe the ineptitude of our performance this evening, but I would every single one of them to illustrate just how badly we played against Valencia. You wouldn’t have known that Valencia has sacked their manager and, before the game, were one place below us and five points behind us. We’re absolutely routed. We give away two penalties. We let Podolski score a hat-trick in the first half, and allow Sissoko, who loves playing against us, to run the midfield and get his name on the scoresheet. We score a consolation goal late in the match, through Goitom, but let’s face it, today we’re awful.

There will be tongue-lashings aplenty as well as warnings and possibly fines for the worst offenders.

Valencia (4-4-2): Leo Franco; Cole, Marchena, Navarro, Casagrande (Córcoles 75); Xisco (Canobbio 62), Sissoko, Ernst (Angulo 62), Poulsen; Podolski, Pizarro ©.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Awate; Green ©, Cazzola (Corino 19), Gaardsøe, Ferrón; Svärd; Míchel (Chaurant 45), Goitom, Juninho (Conget 45); Sívori, Míchel.

Final score: Valencia 6:1 Cartagena

MoM – Lukas Podolski

After the game, I warn Juninho, and fine a week’s wages from Míchel (the midfielder). Unbelievably, both players feel my actions towards them were harsh. I beg to differ strongly.

11th of May 2008

Primera Liga – Game 36: Atlético Madrid v Cartagena

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Cartagena bounces back with hard-fought win over Atlético Madrid

Cartagena striker Míchel scored the only goal of the game on 29 minutes to give Cartagena a much-needed victory, as they bounced back from a 6-1 hammering at the hands of Valencia last weekend. The striker, in the side for the suspended and injured Matteini, was on hand to power an unstoppable drive past substitute keeper Notario, after Atlético had failed to clear the ball from their defence.

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A good game, with plenty of opportunities created by both sides. Míchel plundered the only goal of the game and we looked much better across the entire field than we did against Valencia. With a difficult match at home next weekend to Barcelona, this is the tonic we needed.

Atlético Madrid (3-5-2): Lastuvka (Notario 12); Førsund, Pablo ©, Perea; Maier (Nano 62), David Sánchez (Kosowski 62), Bystron, Colsa, Jiranek; Benayoun, José Mari.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Awate; Green, Mullins ©, Gaardsøe, Ferrón; Svärd; Míchel (Conget 79), Goitom (Ricardo Sousa 18), Juninho; Sívori, Míchel.

Final score: Atlético Madrid 0:1 Cartagena

MoM – Thomas Gaardsøe

[Dixie Flatline]

18th of May 2008

Primera Liga – Game 37: Cartagena v Barcelona

QUOTE

Real Madrid crowned champion as Barcelona is held by Cartagena

Needing a win at the Estadio Municipal de Cartagena against Cartagena, Barcelona was held to a 1-1 draw by the eighth-placed club. Cartagena opened the scoring, against the run of play, on 19 minutes when midfielder Sebastian Svärd rocketed a drive past Víctor Valdés.

With Dudu Awate playing brilliantly for Cartagena and the defence standing up to the onslaught from Barcelona, it seemed that an upset was on the cards. However, Gerald Asamoah crowned his man of the match performance with the equalizer, on 61 minutes, when he out-jumped Cartagena defender Thomas Gaardsøe to head Cristiano Ronaldo’s cross past Awate, eleven minutes of playmaker Ronaldinho was sent off for two yellow card offences. However, with 16 shots at goal compared to Cartagena’s six, it was certainly a case of two points dropped for Barcelona – and with those points, a chance of overhauling Real Madrid at the top of the ladder.

If you had told me before the match that my team was going to draw 1-1 with Barcelona, I would have taken it and ran. As it was, it’s still a great result, though it’s a pity my team couldn’t hold on to the 1-0 lead Svärd’s fizzing drive gave us inside the first 20 minutes of the match.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Awate; Green, Mullins ©, Gaardsøe, Ferrón; Svärd; Goitom, Ricardo Sousa (Nunens 74), Juninho (Conget 51); Sívori, Míchel.

Barcelona (4-3-3): Víctor Valdés; van Bronckhurst, Kompany, Gallas, Puyol ©; Yeste (Riquelme 45), Motta, Cristiano Ronaldo (Giuly 61); Ronaldinho (s/o 50), Eto’o (Aimar 50), Asamoah;

Final score: Cartagena 1:1 Barcelona

MoM – Gerald Asamoah

21st of May 2008

Barcelona retains the European Champions’ League trophy it won last year by defeating AC Milan 3-2, after extra time. Twice Barcelona took the lead (through Eto’o and Yeste), only be pegged back twice by AC Milan (through a penalty converted by Shevchenko and D’Alessandro). Motta’s goal on 109 minutes sealed Barcelona’s win.

[Dixie Flatline]

24th of May 2008

Copa del Rey – Final: Sevilla v Cartagena

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

In front of almost 98,000 spectators, Cartagena secures its first Copa del Rey victory

A brace from Italian striker, Davide Matteini, inside the first 15 minutes secured for Cartagena its first ever Copa del Rey triumph and sending thousands of Cartagena fans into raptures.

Matteini scored his first goal on 8 minutes when he accepted the pass from strike partner Sívori, following some good build-up from the back, held off several Sevilla defenders and slotted the ball past Esteban. He doubled his own tally and Cartagena’s lead on 14 minutes when he received a clever ball from Ricardo Sousa and knocked it past Esteban.

Matteini could have sealed his hat-trick moments later, but Esteban denied him with a good point-blank save. Thereafter, the momentum shifted to Sevilla, but a combination of poor finishing and good goalkeeping by Dudu Awate kept Cartagena’s lead intact. When the referee blew for full-time, the Nou Camp exploded with joyous Cartagena fans.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

A tremendous result, and one which seals our participation in next season’s UEFA Cup. Matteini took the chances when presented to him – Sevilla’s forwards did not, and that was the difference on the night. It probably ranks as an upset in terms of history of the Copa del Rey, and it’s our first major piece of silverware (discounting the Segunda Liga championship we won last season), so it’s a proud night for everybody involved with this club.

Sevilla (4-4-2): Esteban; Simunic, Cuéllar, Vanden Borre, Sagnol ©; Beasley, Fernando Sales, Kahlenberg, Scaloni (Navas 60); Antoñito (Edman 67), Delgado (Ismael 60).

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Awate; Green, Mullins ©, Gaardsøe, Ferrón; Svärd; Goitom, Ricardo Sousa, Juninho (Conget 55); Sívori, Matteini.

Final score: Sevilla 0:2 Cartagena

MoM – Jordi Ferrón

In addition to obtaining a place in the UEFA Cup, we’re also paid the princely sum of £500,000. No wonder the club’s board of directors are so pleased with our win.

The win does come at some cost, though. Juninho will miss the last game of the season against Osasuna with a damaged shoulder, which rules him out of football for five days.

[Dixie Flatline]

27th of May 2008

Primera Liga – Game 38: Osasuna v Cartagena

We end the season on a losing note after going down to Osasuna 2-1 in Pamplona. Former Barcelona midfielder Gerard scored both Osasuna’s goals, while Oswaldo Chaurant scored ours. All three goals came in the first half. It was certainly an entertaining match from the spectator’s point of view, with Osasuna dominating possession and the bulk of the attacking. I’m disappointed we lost the match, but after the euphoria of our Copa del Rey win evaporated (along with the hangovers) I’m not surprised.

Osasuna (3-5-2): Arenas; Eger (Cruchaga 61), Miguel Flaño, Paulsen Hangeland; Moha, Alexandre Fávaro (Zalayeta 71), Gerard, Muñoz, Ibarra (Demo 61); Maxi López ©, Sosa.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Bonnefoi; Paredes, Mullins, Gaardsøe, Cazzola; Conget © (Svärd 45); Goitom, Nunens (Johnson 69), Chaurant; Sívori, Matteini (Míchel 56).

Final score: Osasuna 2:1 Cartagena

MoM – Libis Andrés Arenas

So, after 38 matches, here is the final league ladder:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

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

1st C Real Madrid 38 28 4 6 79 19 +60 88

2nd Real Sociedad 38 25 7 6 69 32 +37 82

3rd Barcelona 38 24 9 5 82 25 +57 81

4th Mallorca 38 23 6 9 54 28 +26 75

5th Deportivo 38 20 10 8 54 27 +27 70

6th At. Madrid 38 19 12 7 64 34 +30 69

7th Zaragoza 38 21 6 11 50 35 +15 69

8th Valencia 38 17 13 8 68 37 +31 64

9th Cartagena 38 18 10 10 57 47 +10 64

10th Real Betis 38 17 6 15 52 55 -3 57

11th Sevilla 38 13 12 13 51 49 +2 51

12th Villarreal 38 14 8 16 45 48 -3 50

13th Osasuna 38 12 14 12 40 46 -6 50

14th Cadiz 38 11 7 20 28 56 -28 40

15th Racing 38 9 7 22 33 58 -25 34

16th Levante 38 7 8 23 29 73 -44 29

17th Cordoba 38 5 7 26 26 75 -49 22

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

18th R Athletic Club 38 5 6 27 32 81 -49 21

19th R Alaves 38 4 9 25 18 60 -42 21

20th R Murcia 38 4 7 27 17 63 -46 19

</pre>

All in all, not a bad season. Unfortunately, we couldn’t sustain our early season performance and I need to instill some consistency in our performance, as we would win a couple of games in a row, then lose some games in a row, which saw us comfortably entrenched in mid-table by about the two-thirds point in the season.

[Dixie Flatline]

28th of May 2008

I’m named second runner-up in the Spanish Manager of the Year Award, behind Real Madrid’s Vanderley Luxemburgo and José Mourinho of Barcelona.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Cartagena to sign Middlesbrough winger Stewart Downing

English international winger Stewart Downing was today publicly ecstatic to put pen to paper on a contract to join Cartagena from 1st of July 2008. Downing had fallen out with Middlesbrough manager, Mr Peter Taylor, and was looking for a new club. Cartagena manager, Señor Dixie Flatline said that the chance to sign the 23 year old winger, with 24 international caps to his credit and 5 international goals, was too good to pass up.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

With the season over, let’s take a look at the 2007/08 Cartagena squad, beginning with the goalkeepers:

Goalkeepers

Dudu Awate (30 y/o, ISR 30 caps, GK – 38 apps, 41 conceded, 13 clean sheets, 4 MoMs, av. rating: 7.29): 38 apps, 41 conceded, 13 clean sheets, 4 MoMs, av. rating: 7.29

Landry Bonnefoi (24 y/o, FRA, GK – 49(1) apps, 46 conceded, 25 clean sheets, 4 MoMs, av. rating: 7.28): 9(1) apps, 15 conceded, 3 clean sheets, 1 MoM, av. rating: 7.25

I think, after one season in the Primera Liga, that goalkeeping is an area I need to improve in my squad. Bonnefoi doesn’t have sufficient experience to be the first-choice keeper, while Awate can be very good one evening and woeful the next. That’s why I’ve gone out and signed Argentine keeper Sebastián Saja from San Lorenzo for next season and beyond.

Defenders

Sergio Corino (33 y/o, ESP, SW/D C – 65(2) apps, 6 goals, 2 MoMs, av. rating: 7.36): 2(2) apps, av. rating: 7.00

Hayden Mullins (29 y/o, ESP, SW/D C – 82(1) apps, 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 MoM, av. rating: 7.34): 46 apps, 1 assist, av. rating: 7.28

Thomas Gaardsøe (28 y/o, DEN 3 caps, D C – 50(1) apps, 1 MoM, av. rating: 7.32): 43 apps, 1 MoM, av. rating: 7.35

Jordi Ferrón (29 y/o, ESP, D/DM R – 44(2) apps, 2 assists, 5 MoMs, av. rating: 7.39): 28 apps, 2 assists, 4 MoMs, av. rating: 7.39

Cristian Green (30 y/o, ARG, D/DM RL – 82 apps, av. rating: 7.19): 43 apps, av. rating: 7.16

Riccardo Cazzola (22 y/o, ITA, D/DM RC – 63(4) apps, 2 assists, 1 MoM, av. rating: 7.08): 13(2) apps, 1 assist, av. rating: 7.27

Javi Paredes (25 y/o, ESP, D/DM L – 38(3) apps, av. rating: 7.22): 12(1) apps, av. rating: 7.23

By and large, I think my group of defenders did quite well, but overall, the lack of pace in the group was exposed when we came up against the better attacks in the league. With the majority of my preferred back four either in or approaching their 30s, I’m also on the look-out for some younger blood to infuse into the system. That’s why I’ve signed Simon Walton from Real Betis, to help that process along. Hopefully, with a more confident and assertive keeper behind them, my defence will improve next season.

[Dixie Flatline]

Midfielders

Sebastian Svärd (25 y/o, DEN, D/DM RC – 72(2) apps, 6 goals, 8 assists, 2 MoMs, av. rating: 7.48): 43(2) apps, 1 goal, 6 assists, 1 MoM, av. rating: 7.33

Vicente (32 y/o, ESP, D/DM C – 20(1) apps, 2 assists, av. rating: 7.24): 4(1) apps, 1 assist, av. rating: 7.20

Eduardo Conget (30 y/o, ESP, DM RC – 139(11) apps, 8 goals, 31 assists, 3 MoMs, av. rating: 7.11): 27(6) apps, 2 goals, 9 assists, av. rating: 6.85

Sipho Nunens (26 y/o, RSA 19 caps, 1 goal, M C – 24(9) apps, 10 goals, 7 assists, 5 MoMs, av. rating: 7.33): 10(6) apps, 6 goals, 4 assists, 2 MoMs, av. rating: 7.50

Oswaldo Chaurant (24 y/o, VEN 31 caps, 6 goals, AM RLC – 15(21) apps, 10 goals, 8 assists, av. rating: 7.19): 5(13) apps, 1 goal, 3 assists, av. rating: 6.94

Juninho (33 y/o, BRA 34 caps, 2 goals, AM RLC – 12(6) apps, 1 goal, 2 assists, 1 MoM, av. rating: 6.94): 12(6) apps, 1 goal, 2 assists, 1 MoM, av. rating: 6.94

Míchel (32 y/o, ESP, AM LC – 79(3) apps, 6 goals, 38 assists, 20 MoMs, av. rating: 7.79): 25(1) apps, 1 goal, 6 assists, 3 MoMs, av. rating: 7.35

Boudewijn Zenden (31 y/o, NED 62 caps, 8 goals, AM LC – 5 apps, 1 goal, av. rating: 6.80): 5 apps, 1 goal, av. rating: 6.80

Ricardo Sousa (29 y/o, POR 1 cap, AM C – 22(3) apps, 4 goals, 2 assists, av. rating: 6.92): 22(3) apps, 4 goals, 2 assists, av. rating: 6.92

Dalibor Stevanovic (23 y/o, SLO 15 caps, 1 goal, AM C – 23(9) apps, 9 goals, 11 assists, 3 MoMs, av. rating: 7.44): 4(8) apps, 1 goal, 3 assists, 1 MoM, av. rating: 7.25

Henok Goitom (23 y/o, SWE, AM/F RLC – 27(18) apps, 8 goals, 10 assists, 3 MoMs, av. rating: 7.36): 27(18) apps, 8 goals, 10 assists, 3 MoMs, av. rating: 7.36

Dulee Johnson (23 y/o, LIB 19 caps, 3 goals, F RC – 5(7) apps, 3 assists, av. rating: 7.08): 5(7) apps, 3 assists, av. rating: 7.08

Nákor (30 y/o, ESP, F RC – 0(1) app, av. rating: 7.00): 0(1) app, av. rating: 7.00

Samba (22 y/o, ENG, F RC – 0(14) apps, 2 goals, 1 assist, av. rating: 6.64): 0(1) app, av. rating: 6.00

Freddy Adu (19 y/o, USA 20 caps, 2 goals, F LC – 0(9) apps, 1 goal, 2 assists, av. rating: 7.00): 0(5) apps, av. rating: 7.00

Overall, the midfield was quite good for me this year, although players like Conget and Míchel began to show that they weren’t quite up to the same standard as they were in previous seasons. Ricardo Sousa, too, was also a disappointment and he will find it hard to break into my first eleven with Enzo Maresca set to join the club in the summer. Goitom, however, was the bargain of the season, as far as I’m concerned – he cost me just £425,000 to prise away from Udinese and he responded with 8 goals and 10 assists from 27(18) appearances. His versatility allowed me to play him just about anywhere in midfield, and he even played a couple of games as a striker.

Juninho was a stop-gap measure that by and large worked, but at 33 years old, he is no spring chicken and I need to start planning for life after he and Míchel. That’s why players such as Stewart Downing, Hugo Viana and Maresca are all lined up to join the club in the summer, as I set about rebuilding my midfield stocks.

In the anchor midfield role, Svärd did a sterling job, though he tended to find that the Priemra Liga was a slightly more ambitious league than the Segunda Liga, which he had dominated. He is still young and developing into the role, so perhaps I’ll try to find an experienced hand – playing the role that Guardiola and the departing Vicente played – or an understudy to Svärd, to step in when the going gets a little tough for the Dane.

Zenden and Nákor, in hindsight, probably weren’t great signings, and I’ll be looking to move them on in the summer. Dulee Johnson showed flashes of good work after he joined the club in the winter, while Samba is teetering on the edge of being cut from the squad. Freddy Adu endured a season off with injury after damaging his knee ligaments early on – he would have had a much bigger role to play if he had not been injured.

Forwards

Sívori (31 y/o, ESP, F C – 150(5) apps, 79 goals, 29 assists, 14 MoMs, av. rating: 7.35): 44(1) apps, 15 goals, 8 assists, 1 MoM, av. rating: 7.20

Davide Matteini (26 y/o, ITA, S C – 73(1) apps, 46 goals, 13 assists, 10 MoMs, av. rating: 7.55): 41 apps, 25 goals, 5 assists, 5 MoMs, av. rating: 7.46

Míchel (30 y/o, ESP, S C – 8(21) apps, 6 goals, 3 assists, 3 MoMs, av. rating: 7.21): 8(21) apps, 6 goals, 3 assists, 3 MoMs, av. rating: 7.21

Jurica Vucko (31 y/o, CRO 3 caps, S C – 15(15) apps, 13 goals, 6 assists, 2 MoMs, av. rating: 7.23): 1 app, av. rating: 5.00

I need to find some more avenues to goal next season if we are to improve upon our mid-table finish. Matteini looked pretty good in front of goal, scoring 25 goals, which is about what I expected from him, but his main strike partner, Sívori, chipped in with only 15. Míchel was a good support act, scoring 6 goals, from 8(21) appearances, but I need extra goalscorers and more prolific goalscorers next season. I hope that Mallorca’s Luis García and Juventus’ Albert Luque can help with that.

[Dixie Flatline]

15th of June 2008

UEFA releases its club rankings today. We’re ranked 102nd in Europe. The top ten are Barcelona, AC Milan, Real Madrid, Valencia, Inter Milan, Manchester United, Chelsea, FC Schalke 04, Arsenal and Juventus.

I’m delighted to hear that Anton Ferdinand, once of West Ham United and currently of Chelsea, has agreed to join the club. The 22 year old defender was initially reticent about joining Cartagena, on the grounds that he felt we don’t have sufficient resources. However, the Chairman took Anton under his wing and showed him our gleaming new facilities that were built over the season, including our new training centre, and Anton was sufficiently impressed, both with the infrastructure and the terms of our deal proposed to him, that he changed his mind. With plenty of scope for improvement and at a price of £1.9 million, I believe that Anton will be a good bargain for us. He completes his move on the 1st of July 2008.

24th of June 2008

I accept an invitation from Manchester United to participate in a friendly pre-season competition to be held in Manchester. We’re going to be paid £120,000. In addition to Manchester United, the defending English champion, we’ll be joined by Mallorca and Rostock.

29th of June 2008

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

England wins Euro 2008

England is the new champion of Europe after defeating Croatia 3-1 in the final of Euro 2008. Croatia took the lead through a penalty converted by Ivan Klasnic on 52 minutes, but a triple salvo from Steven Gerrard, Jonathan Stead, and Wayne Rooney in the space of 12 minutes at the end of the game sealed England’s first international triumph since winning the World Cup in 1966.

Immediately following his success, Sven-Göran Eriksson announced his shock decision to resign from his post as England’s manager, leaving a clear run for his successor to plan for qualification for World Cup 2010 in South Africa.

Joining Mr Eriksson on the managerial sidelines are Germany’s Jürgen Klinsmann and Portugal’s Felipão.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

For a giggle, I apply for the position of English and Portuguese national sides’ managers.

[Dixie Flatline]

1st of July 2008

New faces arrive at the club, including Enzo Maresca from Fiorentina, Hugo Viana from Newcastle United, Sebastián Saja from San Lorenzo, Simon Walton from Real Betis, Anton Ferdinand from Chelsea and Fabricio Coloccini from Deportivo La Coruña. The last signing was a last minute deal which came together following the sacking of Irureta by Deportivo. He’s signed for an initial £10 million, with another £4 million payable after a certain number of league appearances.

Unfortunately, the deal with Luque fell through at the last moment due to lack of funds, but I’m hopeful that I can put that deal back on the rails.

Luis García will join us at the end of July.

I’m informed by my Commercial Director that the acquisition of Maresca and Coloccini in particular should boost shirt sales. Every little bit helps.

7th of July 2008

I don’t even get interviews from either England or Portugal as they decide to go with Glenn Hoddle and José Mourinho respectively. Hoddle keeps his job at Wolves, and José Mourinho keeps his job at Barcelona.

9th of July 2008

Unsurprisingly, Davide Matteini is named the Player of the Year by the Supporters’ Association.

Eighteen youngsters are invited by my assistant manager, Pedro Arango, to join the U-18s and to commence professional training.

As a result of our credible performance in our first season in the Primera Liga, we’re given £40 million from the split of television rights revenue. However, the Board makes available £26 million for transfers, while setting the bar very high – we need to win the league.

12th of July 2008

I spend £4.2 million to sign Real Betis’ experienced centre-half, the Uruguayan international Alejandro Lembo. He had fallen out with Betis over his contract, and since his current contract was not protected, I swooped. Lembo is a strong defender, although with a question mark over his pace, I think he’ll play a back-up role in the forthcoming season.

[Dixie Flatline]

19th of July 2008

Finally, we land Albert Luque from Juventus, for an initial £12.5 million. With the structured nature of the deal, Juventus could receive up to £28 million for the 30 year old Spanish international.

Luque was named in the Euro 2008 Dream Team and was named as the runner-up in the Best Player award at Euro 2008.

20th of July 2008

F1 Cup II – Semi-Final: Cartagena v Celtic

In our first game of the new season, we triumph 2-0 thanks to goals from Míchel in the first half and Sívori in the second half. Six new players featured in the first eleven – Saja, Ferdinand, Coloccini, Downing, Maresca and Luque – and all played well indeed. Luque and Downing created the first goal for Míchel when the former took the ball down the left flank before passing inside to Downing, who crossed the ball for the striker to head past David Marshall, in Celtic’s goal. On 84 minutes, substitute Freddy Adu - back in action after his knee injury – saw his shot saved by Marshall, but Sívori was first to pounce and hit the rebound into the back of the net.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Paredes, Mullins ©, Coloccini (Gaardsøe 69), Ferdinand (Lembo 69); Acuña (Svärd 56); Downing (Viana 56), Maresca (Stevanovic 69), Goitom (Johnson 56); Luque (Adu 56), Míchel (Sívori 69).

Celtic (3-5-2): Marshall; Rae (McKenzie 72), McLean (C. Murray 61), Valgaeren © (G. Murray 72); Graham (Christie 61), Miller (Attan 45), Love (Robertson 61), Cahill (McClymont 61), McNamara (Kerr 45); Fernandez (Ritchie 72), Sutton (Millar 72).

Final score: Cartagena 2:0 Celtic

MoM – David Marshall

In the other semi-final, FC Bayern won 3-0 over our U-18 side.

21st of July 2008

F1 Cup II – Final: Cartagena v FC Bayern

Two brilliant goals from Brazilian veteran Zé Roberto sealed Bayern’s win, although we did pull one back spectacularly in the second half thanks to a fizzing, swerving drive from substitute Sipho Nunens. We struggled to find our feet in the first half, and once we leaked those two goals, we were always going to struggle to make it back on level terms.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Green © (Paredes 87), Gaardsøe (Mullins 87), Coloccini, Lembo; Acuña (Svärd 59); Hugo Viana (Adu 45), Stevanovic (Nunens 59), Goitom (Johnson 45); Luque (Míchel 87), Sívori (Vucko 87).

FC Bayern (4-1-2-1-2): Mustermann © (Franz 90); Meier (Weiß 61), Stranzi (Iwan 74), Van Buyten (Jeremies 45), Görlitz (P. Meier 74); Dabrowski (Schmitt 74); Zé Roberto (Kovac 61), Fischer (Hintersberger 61); Rose (Stegmayer 45); Hashemian (D. Weber 74), Braun (Weber 45).

Final score: Cartagena 1:2 FC Bayern

MoM – Zé Roberto

In the other match, Celtic defeated our U-18s 3-0.

[Damien77]

Looking to forward to more updates...had been an interesting ride so far..

Best luck next season especially would like to see whether Cartagena has the depth to handle both euro cup and la liga

[Dixie Flatline]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Damien77:

Looking to forward to more updates...had been an interesting ride so far..

Best luck next season especially would like to see whether Cartagena has the depth to handle both euro cup and la liga </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks, mate. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far.

[Dixie Flatline]

24th of July 2008

I coax Ronaldo to leave the bright lights of Madrid and join the revolution at Cartagena. I didn’t need to negotiate with Real Madrid directly, although they are compensated to the tune of £3 million for the 31 year old Brazilian. He is now in the twilight of a glittering career, but he is still a very good striker and I hope he scores plenty of goals in the forthcoming season.

28th of July 2008

We will play Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup, with the first leg in Madrid on the 17th of August 2008.

30th of July 2008

Bit of a blow, as Ronaldo twists his knee in training and will miss a fortnight.

31st of July 2008

Hayden Mullins follows Ronaldo into the treatment room after he twists an ankle. He’ll miss a fortnight, also.

1st of August 2008

Luis García formally completes his move from Mallorca.

Leaving the club are Vicente, on a free transfer to Cesena, Julio Puig on a free transfer to Xerez, and Javi Navarro, who just leaves the club.

Vicente (32 y/o, ESP, D/DM C): 20(1) apps, 2 assists, av. rating: 7.24

Julio Puig (31/ yo, ESP, D/DM C): 37(3) apps, 3 goals, 4 assists, 1 MoM, av. rating: 7.17

Javi Navarro (28 y/o, ESP, DM LC): 0 apps

They are soon joined by the following players:

Sergio Corino (33 y/o, ESP, SW/D C): 65(2) apps, 6 goals, 2 MoMs, av. rating: 7.36

Jurica Vucko (31 y/o, CRO 3 caps, S C): 15(15) apps, 13 goals, 6 assists, 2 MoMs, av. rating: 7.23

Juan Carlos (21 y/o, ESP, GK): 0 apps

José Esteban Yepes (36 y/o, ESP, GK): 0 apps

Nákor (30 y/o, ESP, F RC): 0(1) apps, av. rating: 7.00

Juan Antonio Godino (30 y/o, ESP, AM RC): 32(12) apps, 4 goals, 3 assists, av. rating: 6.98

Carlos (28 y/o, ESP, D/DM RL): 45 apps, av. rating: 7.14

2nd of August 2008

Friendly – Cartagena v Lleida

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Albert Luque hat-trick marks him as a player to watch in the forthcoming season

Cartagena thrashed Lleida 5-0 at the Estadio Municipal de Cartagena this evening with Spanish international forward Albert Luque scoring a hat-trick in the space of 16 minutes. With goals to Fabricio Coloccini and Davide Matteini, Cartagena ran out easy winners, and perhaps the margin should have been greater.

Señor Dixie Flatline in the post-match press conference praised Luque but cautioned his team against over-confidence ahead of the season beginning, noting that their opponent was in the Segunda Liga and things would be much tougher in the season proper.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

A nice hit-out for some of the senior players in the team, but nothing really to get too excited about. We should be spanking these types of teams with this type of scoreline, though it isn’t a good visit for Rafa Moreno and Juan José Herviás.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Paredes, Gaardsøe ©, Coloccini (Lembo 71), Ferdinand (Ferrón 55); Walton (Cazzola 55); Downing (Míchel 55), Maresca (Hugo Viana 45), Goitom (Chaurant 55); Luque (Adu 45), Matteini (Luis García 71).

Lleida (4-4-2): César (Bazán 83); Gotor © (Marc 74), Polo, Herviás, Roberto (Rafa Moreno 65); Santos (Lezaun 74), Kiko Torres (Rodríguez 83), Carpintero (Francis 83), Xavi Moré (Bayarri 50); Iliev (Oviedo 50), Anxo (Castro 65).

Final score: Cartagena 5:0 Lleida

MoM – Albert Luque

[Dixie Flatline]

3rd of August 2008

I sell 20 year old Italian full back, Corrado Quaresmini, to Napoli for £800,000: Corrado Quaresmini (20 y/o, ITA, D R): 1 app, av. rating: 6.00

13th of August 2008

Friendly – Lecce v Cartagena

In our final scheduled friendly before the season begins, we comfortably defeat Lecce 3-0. All three goals came in the second half. Luque began the scoring by neatly lobbing the Lecce keeper on 69 minutes. Substitutes Ricardo Sousa and Sívori each score a goal in the last ten minutes of the game, with Sívori’s goal coming in injury time.

Lecce (4-3-3): Santoni (Diarra 74); Roger (Castelli 45), Abruzzese (Persson 60), Stovini © (Fiedler 74), Bruni (Visentin 69); Hugo Leal, Jarosik (Ergik 74), H. Nakata (K. Nakata 69); Mattioli (Angelini 74), Mido (Corona 69), Toni (Niccolai 60).

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Paredes (Green 76), Gaardsøe © (Cazzola 88), Coloccini, Lembo (Ferrón 88); Walton (Svärd 76); Downing (Míchel 76), Maresca (Ricardo Sousa 76), Goitom (Chaurant 63); Luque (Sívori 88), Matteini (Luis García 63).

Final score: Lecce 0:3 Cartagena

MoM – Albert Luque

15th of August 2008

We continue our spending spree as I sign Wayne Bridge from Chelsea for an initial £11 million. It also means that I no longer need to sign Jlloyd Samuel from Liverpool, and I cancel that deal.

17th of August 2008

Spanish Super Cup – First Leg: Real Madrid v Cartagena

Unfortunately, a mistake from Javi Paredes leads us to a disappointing result when the game began so brightly for us. Albert Luque scored his first goal for the club in under a minute when he beats the off-side trap, takes Paredes’ pass in his stride, rounds Casillas and rolls the ball into the empty net. However, Real Madrid batter Saja’s goal for long stretches of time and they have their equalizer when Josemi’s corner is headed home by Ballack on 35 minutes.

Going into the break at 1-1 apiece is an acceptable result, but upon the restart, Paredes dwells in possession and is stripped of the ball by Owen who quickly side-steps Saja and passes the ball into the empty net. Real Madrid add a third goal when Owen gets behind my defence, takes Marcelinho’s pass expertly and fires past Saja to put the icing on the cake.

Not really a good result, especially when we scored inside the first 30 seconds of the match.

Real Madrid (4-2-2-2): Casillas; Evra, Jorge Andrade, Chivu, Josemi (Salgado 61); Iván Helguera, Ballack ©; Sneijder, Stankovic (Beckham 61); Raúl (Marcelinho 71), Owen.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Javi Paredes, Mullins ©, Coloccini, Lembo; Svärd; Downing (Adu 65), Maresca, Johnson; Luque, Matteini (Luis García 82).

Final score: Real Madrid 3:1 Cartagena

MoM – Michael Owen

After the game, French keeper Landry Bonnefoi approaches me to file a transfer request. After consultation with my coaches, I decide to grant Bonnefoi his request and I instruct Pedro Aranga, my assistant manager, to find a suitable club for him to join. Unfortunately, Señor Aranga’s initial inquiries are firmly rebuffed.

[Dixie Flatline]

18th of August 2008

Espanyol makes me an offer of £1.6 million for Javi Paredes. I want £2.5 million for the left-back.

19th of August 2008

The Totalbet.com odds are released for the La Liga season. We’re listed at 16-1 to win the Primera Liga, behind Barcelona (at 3-1), Real Sociedad (at 14-1) and Deportivo La Coruña (at 16-1).

Our chances of making a good start are downgraded when Ronaldo strains his back in training, which will rule him out for three weeks.

21st of August 2008

Espanyol withdraws its bid for Paredes.

24th of August 2008

Spanish Super Cup – Second Leg: Cartagena v Real Madrid

Trailing 3-1 on the first leg, it’s imperative that we begin with a bright start, and inside the first ten minutes we have a goal, thanks to Matteini, who pounces on a rebound from Casillas’ save of Luque’s shot and fires it into the empty net. On 18 minutes, Coloccini and Goitom combine to clear the ball away from a Roberto Carlos corner, and Goitom finds Luque running through the centre. The Spanish international drags the defenders towards him as he moves towards the by-line, before he pulls it back for Maresca to score his first goal for the club to make it 2-0, and now we have the advantage on away goals. Maresca makes it 3-0 on 23 minutes when he is left unmarked at a corner, receives Downing’s cross and smashes it into the back of the net.

However, our defence falls asleep and allows Roberto Carlos the time and space to drift into a dangerous position and sure enough, he manages to chip Saja from distance to make it 3-1 on the night and 4-4 on aggregate. Then on 40 minutes, Arjen Robben gets the better of Anton Ferdinand and finds Raúl with a short pass. The Spanish international fends off Coloccini before firing the ball into the back of Saja’s net to make it 3-2.

And it stays that way for the remainder of the game, meaning that although we won the battle, we lost the war 5-4 on aggregate.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Bridge, Lembo ©, Coloccini, Ferdinand; Svärd; Downing (Adu 67), Maresca, Goitom; Luque, Matteini (Luis García 67).

Real Madrid (4-2-2-2): Casillas; Roberto Carlos, Chivu, Jorge Andrade, Josemi; Beckham (Iván Helguera 45), Ballack ©; Robben (Jensen 62), Stankovic; Raúl, Owen (Marcelinho 62).

Final score: Cartagena 3:2 Real Madrid

Aggregate score: Cartagena 4:5 Real Madrid

MoM – Enzo Maresca

26th of August 2008

We draw Nantes in the first round of the UEFA Cup, with the first leg to be played on the 11th of September 2008.

27th of August 2008

I’m required by UEFA to submit a list of 25 players as my squad for the UEFA Cup, which I do.

30th of August 2008

Freddy Adu scored the only goal of the game for the USA in its 1-0 win over El Salvador in CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers.

[Dixie Flatline]

31st of August 2008

The transfer and registration windows close this evening, which means we should have a look at the squad for the forthcoming season:

Goalkeepers

Sebastián Saja (29 y/o, ARG 7 caps, GK): 2 apps, 5 conceded, av. rating: 7.00

Dudu Awate (30 y/o, ISR 30 caps, GK): 38 apps, 41 conceded, 13 clean sheets, 4 MoMs, av. rating: 7.29

Saja will hopefully strengthen my goalkeeping reserves. I was very happy to sign him and I hope that he can repay my faith. Dudu Awate’s first season in the Primera Liga was inconsistent but he is a competent keeper and can step in if Saja is unavailable for any reason. Landry Bonnefoi requested a transfer but is still a Cartagena-registered player for the moment.

Defenders

Hayden Mullins (29 y/o, ENG, SW/D C): 83(1) apps, 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 MoM, av. rating: 7.28

Alejandro Lembo (30 y/o, URU 85 caps, 6 goals, D RC): 2 apps, av. rating: 7.50

Fabricio Coloccini (26 y/o, ARG 31 caps, D RC): 2 apps, av. rating: 6.50

Thomas Gaardsøe (28 y/o, DEN 3 caps, D C): 50(1) apps, 1 MoM, av. rating: 7.32

Jordi Ferrón (30 y/o, ESP, D/DM R): 44(2) apps, 2 assists, 5 MoMs, av. rating: 7.39

Cristian Green (30 y/o, ARG, D/DM RL): 82 apps, av. rating: 7.19

Wayne Bridge (28 y/o, ENG 30 caps, 1 goal, D/DM L): 1 app, av. rating: 8.00

Javi Paredes (26 y/o, ESP, D/DM L): 39(3) apps, 1 assist, av. rating: 7.22

Anton Ferdinand (22 y/o, ENG, D/DM RC): 1 app, av. rating: 7.00

As you can see by the number of new faces in the defensive portion of the squad, defence has been an area I’ve concentrated upon during the off-season. My best back four will probably consist of Wayne Bridge at left back, Coloccini and Mullins as the centre-halves and Anton Ferdinand at right-back. However, Alejandro Lembo has shown that he can be a very capable defender during the pre-season, and you can’t disregard the claims of Thomas Gaardsøe, Cristian Green and Jordi Ferrón, who all have bagfuls of experience playing for Cartagena in the past. It’s good that I may have a selection headache over my defenders this coming season, because I really need the depth.

[Dixie Flatline]

Midfielders

Sebastian Svärd (25 y/o, DEN, D/DM RC): 74(2) apps, 6 goals, 8 assists, 2 MoMs, av. rating: 7.48

Simon Walton (20 y/o, ENG, D/DM C): 0 apps

Sipho Nunens (26 y/o, RSA 19 caps, 1 goal, M C): 24(9) apps, 10 goals, 7 assists, 5 MoMs, av. rating: 7.33

Oswaldo Chaurant (24 y/o, VEN 32 caps, 6 goals, AM RLC): 15(21) apps, 10 goals, 8 assists, av. rating: 7.19

Stewart Downing (24 y/o, ENG 24 caps, 5 goals, AM L): 2 apps, 1 assist, av. rating: 7.50

Hugo Viana (25 y/o, POR 14 caps, AM LC): 0 apps

Enzo Maresca (28 y/o, ITA 20 caps, 1 goal, AM C): 2 apps, 2 goals, 1 MoM, av. rating: 8.00

Henok Goitom (24 y/o, SWE, AM/F RLC): 28(18) apps, 8 goals, 10 assists, 3 MoMs, av. rating: 7.33

Dulee Johnson (23 y/o, LIB 22 caps, 3 goals, F RC): 6(7) apps, 3 assists, av. rating: 7.07

Freddy Adu (19 y/o, USA 22 caps, 4 goals, F LC): 0(11) apps, 1 goal, 2 assists, av. rating: 7.00

The addition of the likes of Maresca, Downing and Viana should boost the creativity of the midfield, while Simon Walton is a young, up and coming player who should give good support to Sebastian Svärd. I’m also looking forward to seeing Freddy Adu step up this season, after having the last season ruined by a serious knee injury. However, his performances for the USA seem to suggest that he has fully recovered and he will be pressing for a starting position in the near future. Henok Goitom has the chance to establish himself on the right side of midfield, but he will need to be wary of the claims of Dulee Johnson and Oswaldo Chaurant, who will be super-keen to forge for themselves a place in my starting eleven. Sipho Nunens’ patience is beginning to run out, but he has finally gained his Spanish citizenship and he is still a dangerous customer – particularly with his long-range shooting – and he will have a role to play at some point this season.

Forwards

Albert Luque (30 y/o, ESP 31 caps, 4 goals, F LC): 2 apps, 1 goal, 2 assists, av. rating: 7.50

Luis García (27 y/o, ESP 1 cap, F C): 0(2) apps, av. rating: 7.00

Ronaldo (31 y/o, BRA 113 caps, 57 goals, S C): 0 apps

Davide Matteini (26 y/o, ITA, S C): 75(1) apps, 47 goals, 13 assists, 10 MoMs, av. rating: 7.54

Obviously, capturing Albert Luque has been a big coup for us, and I will use him to replace Sívori, who is becoming dimmed by his age. Davide Matteini will be expected to back up his good season with another good season, although he will need to fight Ronaldo for the opportunity to partner Luque. Luis García I see as more than handy support.

[Dixie Flatline]

Friendly – Cartagena v Cartagena U-18s

I use the match to give some of the lesser lights in the squad an opportunity to shine against our U-18s. Míchel (the striker) scores two goals, both headers, while Hugo Viana sees a penalty being saved.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Awate; Green, Mullins ©, Gaardsøe, Ferrón; Walton; Hugo Viana, Ricardo Sousa (Nunens 45), Chaurant (Svärd 69); Luis García, Míchel.

Cartagena U-18s (4-4-2): Vicente Flor; Aguirre, Santamaría (Gallego 45), Alonso, Aguilar; Alejandro, Marín (Sánchez 53), Manu, Delgado (Javi 69); Castro (Carlos 53), Chema ©.

Final score: Cartagena 2:0 Cartagena U-18s

MoM – Míchel

3rd of September 2008

European World Cup qualifiers are played this evening. Albert Luque is an unused substitute for Spain in its 4-0 win over Albania. Dalibor Stevanovic was a second half substitute for Slovenia in its 2-1 win over Belarus in Minsk. Henok Goitom made his international debut for Sweden as a 62nd minute substitute in Sweden’s 2-0 win over FYROM. Stewart Downing played the first 66 minutes for England in its 4-0 whitewash of Switzerland, but failed to crown a great game with a deserved goal.

Alejandro Lembo captained Uruguay to a surprise 2-0 win over Brazil in Montevideo. Freddy Adu helped the USA to a 2-0 win over Canada. Enzo Maresca scored the only goal in Italy’s 1-0 win over Greece, and played a full 90 minutes. Dudu Awate kept a clean sheet for Israel as they scored a 0-0 draw against Scotland in Glasgow. Fabricio Coloccini participated in Argentina’s 3-1 win over Bolivia.

5th of September 2008

We begin our defence of the Copa del Rey with a first round trip to Segunda Liga B club Calahorra on the 22nd of October 2008.

[Dixie Flatline]

7th of September 2008

Primera Liga – Game 1: Barcelona v Cartagena

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Ronaldinho the saviour as Barcelona is held to a draw

Brazilian international midfielder, Ronaldinho, scored the equalizing goal in Barcelona’s 3-3 all draw with Cartagena at the Nou Camp this evening. Although Riquelme gave Barcelona the lead after 25 minutes, it was very much against the run of play, and Barcelona were pegged back by Davide Matteini on 31 minutes. The Italian striker then put Cartagena in front on 36 minutes, only for Motta to draw Barcelona back level on 53 minutes. Maresca scored a scorching goal on 67 minutes to give traveling Cartagena fans hope of an upset victory, but Ronaldinho saved the day nine minutes from full time for Barcelona.

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A really big test of our championship aspirations on the first day of the season and I think we did alright. If you had told me at the start of the day we’d draw 3-3 all with Barcelona in the Nou Camp I’d take that and run a mile. The thing is, however, is that we hit the lead twice only to be pegged back both times. If the defence could tighten up just a little, we would have taken all three points instead of sharing them with Barcelona. Having said that, I was very pleased with Saja’s game today. He made some spectacular saves and really did his best to hold out Barcelona – although their relentless attacking in the second half made it a little difficult for him.

Barcelona (4-3-3): Luís Carlos; Bouma, Kompany, Gallas, Puyol © (van Bronckhurst 49); Yeste (Jara 54), Motta, Riquelme; Ronaldinho, Villa (Saviola 54), Asamoah.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Bridge, Mullins ©, Coloccini, Ferdinand; Svärd; Downing (Adu 86), Maresca, Goitom (Chaurant 54); Luque, Matteini (Luis García 54).

Final score: Barcelona 3:3 Cartagena

MoM – Enzo Maresca

After the game, Sipho Nunens and Javi Paredes both ask for transfers. I grant their requests.

8th of September 2008

Dalibor Stevanovic also requests a transfer. It’s a shame, as I think the Slovenian has plenty of talent, but he’s going to struggle to find a place ahead of the likes of Maresca for the foreseeable future, so I don’t stand in his way.

9th of September 2008

I think it’s time to improve my back-room staff, so I poach Sevilla’s coach Ramón Orellana.

11th of September 2008

UEFA Cup – First Round, First Leg: Cartagena v Nantes

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Maresca the star as Cartagena turns on the style

Enzo Maresca’s brilliant display in the middle of the Estadio Municipal de Cartagena marked a strong display by the Spanish side as they took a comfortable 4-1 lead on the first leg.

Spanish international Albert Luque opened the scoring for Cartagena on 8 minutes when he was picked out superbly by Matteini and was able to slide the ball past the keeper without too much pressure. Yapi Yapo equalized for Nantes on 22 minutes when he was able to bend the ball around the defenders and past the scrambling Saja following Saja’s misplaced punch. However, the goal failed to dent Cartagena’s confidence and Maresca powered home a brilliant free kick on the half-hour mark to put Cartagena back in front. Luque then benefited from fine Maresca work in midfield to find enough space and time to drive home his second and Cartagena’s third goal, leaving Cartagena comfortable at 3-1 at half-time.

When Luque’s shot on 52 minutes was only partially blocked, Matteini was on hand to tuck home the rebound and to give Cartagena a 4-1 score-line that, frankly, flattered Nantes. Substitute Luis García in particular will be lamenting his bad luck as, despite numerous attempts at goal, he failed to hit the back of the net when Cartagena was pouring forward.

Nevertheless, Cartagena’s manager, Señor Flatline, was able to smile at the post-match press conference, as he paid tribute to Italian international midfielder Enzo Maresca, who has given Cartagena a different dimension since joining on a Bosman free transfer from Fiorentina at the end of last season. For his part, Nantes manager, Monsieur Serge Le Dizet, admitted that his side has plenty of work to do if it is to overcome the three goal deficit in Nantes in a fortnight.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

A splendid game played by all today and we were well worth the 4-1 win we notched up. It could have been more, if Luis García had had a little more luck in front of goal.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Bridge, Mullins ©, Coloccini, Ferdinand; Svärd; Downing (Adu 59), Maresca, Goitom; Luque (Luis García 59), Matteini.

Nantes (4-4-2): Landreau ©; Baldé, Durand (Garcia 75), Savinaud, Kasri; Dalmat, Yapi Yapo, Toulalan, Glombard (Mehdi 66); Luyindula, Bagayoko (Thomas 66).

Final score: Cartagena 4:1 Nantes

MoM – Enzo Maresca

[Dixie Flatline]

14th of September 2008

Primera Liga – Game 2: Cartagena v Real Madrid

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Two minute double salvo from Cartagena gives the host the win

Cartagena came from behind to score a 3-1 win over defending champion Real Madrid at the Estadio Municipal de Cartagena. Unwilling to tinker with a winning formula, Señor Flatline named the same eleven that held Barcelona to a 3-3 draw and beat Nantes 4-1 last Thursday evening to play Real Madrid. However, the visitors grabbed the lead on 27 minutes when Dejan Stankovic played a neat one-two with Raúl to find a gap in the Cartagena defence and put the ball into the back of the net.

Matteini brought Cartagena level on 34 minutes when he was first to react to the rebound from Casillas’ save of Luque’s fiercely struck drive to head into the empty net. With the match heading towards a draw, Real Madrid unaccountably left Maresca free at a Downing corner on 83 minutes, and with the aid of a cruel deflection off Cristian Chivu, the ball trickled into the net to put Cartagena in front. Luque made sure of the points when two minutes later, he was played through superbly by Fabricio Coloccini and hit the ball into the net, beyond Casillas’ reach.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

A good victory, and what we needed to get our league campaign under way. I was very impressed with the way Stewart Downing moved and controlled the left flank. He probably deserved a goal, but he’ll have to settle for the man of the match award. Defence remains somewhat of a problem, as we were caught out by Real Madrid’s quick movement of the ball to put Stankovic through on goal. However, we’re now very potent in front of goal, which means we can start causing our opponents some second thoughts.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Bridge, Mullins ©, Coloccini, Ferdinand; Svärd; Downing, Maresca, Goitom (Chaurant 68); Luque, Matteini.

Real Madrid (4-2-2-2): Casillas; Evra (Roberto Carlos 71), Andrade, Chivu, Dalgado (Josemi 60); Cambiasso, Ballack ©; Robben (Jensen 60), Stankovic; Raúl, Owen.

Final score: Cartagena 3:1 Real Madrid

MoM – Stewart Downing

[Dixie Flatline]

20th of September 2008

In the build-up to our match with Real Zaragoza, I’m struck by friendly comments made to the press by the Zaragoza manager, Señor Mané, who says that I am a good manager and that he hopes that the best team wins tomorrow. I reciprocate with the friendliness.

21st of September 2008

Primera Liga – Game 3: Real Zaragoza v Cartagena

A frustrating game ends in a 1-1 stalemate which should have been a win to us. Albert Luque puts us ahead on 9 minutes, against the run of play, when Goitom takes the ball off Ashley Cole, who finds Matteini. The Italian striker passes the ball to his compatriot Enzo Maresca, who eases the ball into Luque’s path. Still inside the centre circle, the forward rounds a couple of Zaragoza defenders before lobbing César Láinez cheekily to open the scoring.

However, we fail to make further progress, despite creating some good opportunities, and we gift Zaragoza the equalizer on 72 minutes when Wayne Bridge’s errant backpass is mis-controlled by Saja over the goal line. It was close, but replays confirm that it was a goal to our host. Two points dropped, I’m afraid.

Real Zaragoza (4-3-2-1): Láinez; Cole, Ãlvaro ©, Boulahrouz, Gabri (Cuartero 72); Movilla, Ponzio, Cani (Soriano 62); Luis García, Varela (Galletti 62), Soldado.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Bridge, Mullins ©, Coloccini, Ferdinand; Svärd; Downing, Maresca, Goitom; Luque, Matteini.

Final score: Real Zaragoza 1:1 Cartagena

MoM – Albert Luque

22nd of September 2008

Stewart Downing, Enzo Maresca and Albert Luque are named in the Primera Liga Team of the Week.

25th of September 2008

UEFA Cup – First Round, Second Leg: Nantes v Cartagena

Holding a 4-1 lead on the first leg, I think I’m able to experiment a little with my first eleven. Therefore, I rest Anton Ferdinand, Sebastian Svärd, Stewart Downing, Enzo Maresca and Davide Matteini from the first eleven, and bring in Alejandro Lembo, Simon Walton, Freddy Adu (making his first start for the club since joining two seasons ago), Hugo Viana and Ronaldo.

The match belongs to Viana. The former Newcastle United midfielder scores twice and creates the third goal, as he relishes his role in the middle of midfield. His first goal comes on 19 minutes with good work from Goitom down the right allowing Ronaldo the time and space to find Viana inside the box, and he does the rest from close range. On 55 minutes, Goitom crosses for Viana to head home past the Nantes keeper to make it 2-0 in our favour. Luque wraps up the scoring for the night on 69 minutes when he is set free by Viana through the centre and easily hits the ball past the Nantes keeper.

Nantes (4-4-2): Landreau ©; Baldé, Damato, Kasri, Savinaud (Gomez 19); Dalmat (Léo 67), Yapi Yapo, Toulalan, Glombard (Mehdi 67); Luyindula (inj. 72), Bagayoko.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Bridge, Mullins ©, Coloccini, Lembo; Walton; Adu, Viana (Nunens 69), Goitom (Chaurant 69); Luque, Ronaldo.

Final score: Nantes 0:3 Cartagena

Aggregate score: Nantes 1:7 Cartagena

MoM – Hugo Viana

For winning in the first round and qualifying for the group stage, we are awarded a total of £510,000. We are drawn in Group G, with Auxerre, Sporting Lisbon, Groclin and Gorica.

[Dixie Flatline]

28th of September 2008

Primera Liga – Game 4: Cartagena v Mallorca

Back to league action and we carry our confidence from the UEFA Cup into our game with Mallorca, laying siege to their goal and eventually scoring two goals. The first goal comes early, with Henok Goitom scoring his first goal of the season on 4 minutes following some excellent play down the left by Stewart Downing. We are made to wait for the second and sealing goal, but it comes on 87 minutes when Luque surges down the left before crossing low for Maresca to smash home, with the shot taking a slight deflection off a Mallorca defender.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Bridge, Mullins ©, Coloccini, Ferdinand; Svärd; Downing (Viana 80), Maresca, Goitom (Chaurant 80); Luque, Matteini.

Mallorca (4-5-1): Gomes; Sebas (Iuliano 60), Kroldrup, Perea, Colin; Sergio (Arango 60), Parri, Poujol, Traoré ©, Renato; Delibasic (de Pinho 72).

Final score: Cartagena 2:0 Mallorca

MoM – Stewart Downing

The win lifts us one spot, into seventh. Although we are unbeaten at the moment, there are five other clubs in the same position, or better, including league leader, Atlético Madrid, which has enjoyed a perfect start to the season, so far.

29th of September 2008

Stewart Downing is again nominated in the Primera Liga Team of the Week.

1st of October 2008

Albert Luque’s goal against Real Zaragoza is named as the third best goal of the month.

Primera Liga – Game 5: Málaga v Cartagena

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Substitute Stewart Downing the difference as Cartagena defeat Málaga

Stewart Downing came off the bench to secure a victory for Cartagena against newly promoted Málaga with a goal on 81 minutes. The English international winger benefited from Luque’s vision and creativity, with the Spaniard finding Downing in a modicum of space inside a crowded Málaga penalty box, and the former Middlesbrough man did the rest.

It was no more than what Cartagena deserved, as the club made the most of the running, only to find Juan José Calatayud, in goal for Málaga, in fine form. In the end, Cartagena racked up 21 shots at Málaga’s goal, but must thank Downing for the difference between two points dropped and a vital away victory.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

A timely substitution to bring on Stewart Downing for Freddy Adu, I think. Downing has been terrific down the left for us so far this season, but I wanted to give him a rest. However, we kept knocking on the door but without avail, so I wanted Downing on to give us extra penetration down the left side. He bobbed up and scored the winning goal, so I’m pleased.

Málaga (1-2-5-2): Calatayud; Juanito ©, César; Usero (Amo 61), Iván Hernández (Nené 73), Kaleta, Mladenov (Manu 61), Evanílson; Alex Geijo, Rodrigo Paulista.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Bridge, Mullins ©, Coloccini, Ferdinand; Svärd; Adu (Downing 67), Viana, Goitom; Luque, Matteini.

Final score: Málaga 0:1 Cartagena

MoM – Juan José Calatayud

[Damien77]

Great Start to season, hopefully can maintain hope to make a run at the title..

[Dixie Flatline]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Damien77:

Great Start to season, hopefully can maintain hope to make a run at the title.. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks, mate, I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Happy new year to all and sundry, btw.

[Dixie Flatline]

4th of October 2008

World Cup qualifier time, and Albert Luque scores Spain’s first goal in its 3-0 win over Cyprus in Nicosia. In other matches, Dudu Awate kept a clean sheet for Israel as they defeated Norway 2-0 in Ramat-Gan. Stewart Downing played the first 67 minutes for England before being substituted with a deeply bruised rib – England went on to win the match against San Marino 3-0. Enzo Maresca scored for Italy in its 2-0 win over Finland in Helsinki. Freddy Adu bagged a brace for the USA as it thrashed El Salvador 5-0 in Los Angeles.

6th of October 2008

Sebastian Svärd is nominated in the Primera Liga Team of the Week.

8th of October 2008

More World Cup qualifiers, with Enzo Maresca playing a full but ultimately disappointing game for Italy in its 2-0 win over Northern Ireland. Adu also played a full 90 minutes for the USA, but they lost 1-0 to Canada in Edmonton. Stewart Downing again produced a wonderful display for England as they overcame Slovenia 2-0. Dalibor Stevanovic played for Slovenia but was substituted after a woeful display on the hour mark. Albert Luque scored Spain’s only goal in its 1-0 win over Belgium, a game they dominated, but will miss five days courtesy of a strained neck. Henok Goitom played 54 minutes of Sweden’s 2-1 loss to Scotland, but was substituted.

11th of October 2008

More World Cup qualifiers were played today. Alejandro Lembo captained Uruguay to a 6-0 whitewash of Venezuela. Oswaldo Chaurant was one of those on the receiving end. Dulee Johnson played for Liberia in its 2-1 loss to the Republic of Congo. Sebastián Saja kept a clean sheet for Argentina as it defeated Chile 2-0.

12th of October 2008

Ricardo Sousa, Javi Paredes, Míchel (the striker) and Dalibor Stevanovic all announce their intention to leave the club on Bosman free transfers at the end of the season.

[Dixie Flatline]

15th of October 2008

South American World Cup qualifiers are played today. Alejandro Lembo is named captain in Uruguay’s 2-0 loss to Chile in Santiago. Sebastián Saja kept goal for Argentina as it won 3-1 over Ecuador.

16th of October 2008

UEFA Cup – Group Phase, Group G, Game 1: Cartagena v Groclin

With several players returning from international duties, it’s a somewhat different eleven than usual that I put out on the pitch. Two first half goals from Matteini and Maresca are enough to see off Groclin, the Polish club. On 11 minutes, Maresca flicks on Bridge’s throw-in into the path of Matteini, who swivels and shoots past the Groclin keeper. Twenty minutes later, Groclin leaves Maresca unmarked at a corner, and he fires Svärd’s corner past the Groclin keeper. Given the amount of possession we enjoy throughout the game, we probably should have had a larger score-line in our favour, but a comfortable 2-0 win is still a good way to start the group phase.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Awate; Bridge, Mullins ©, Gaardsøe, Ferdinand; Svärd; Adu (Johnson 55), Maresca, Goitom (Viana 79); Luque, Matteini (Luis García 55).

Groclin (4-4-2): A bunch of unknown Polish players.

Final score: Cartagena 2:0 Groclin

MoM – Enzo Maresca

18th of October 2008

Málaga agrees terms with Javi Paredes, so he will move to the newly promoted club in the winter transfer period, and the club will bank £750,000. It’s better than losing him for nothing in the summer.

19th of October 2008

Primera Liga – Game 6: Cádiz v Cartagena

Against lowly Cádiz, who have collected just two points in five games to start the season poorly, I expect to win comfortably. The boys meet my expectations nicely, with Matteini and Luque scoring on 29 and 45 minutes respectively. A nice interchange of passing between Maresca, Adu and Matteini allows the Italian to break free from his marker and fire the ball low and hard past Jorquera, the ex-Barcelona keeper, to open the scoring. On 45 minutes, Sebastian Svärd uses his bulk to win possession back, before he finds Maresca in the centre corridor. The Italian plays a nicely weighted pass to Luque, who spins past his marker and blasts the shot beyond Jorquera to make it 2-0.

Cádiz (3-5-2): Jorquera; Mario, Bréchet, Amaya; Anderson Silva (Gavilán 81), Cziommer ©, Giacomazzi, Pérez (Gargiulo 72), Lagerblom; Forlán (Salvo 72), Benjamin.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Bridge, Mullins ©, Coloccini, Ferdinand; Svärd; Adu (Viana 64), Maresca, Goitom; Luque, Matteini (Ronaldo 74).

Final score: Cádiz 0:2 Cartagena

MoM – Albert Luque

We move into third position, behind Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid.

[Dixie Flatline]

20th of October 2008

Enzo Maresca is selected in this week’s Primera Liga Team of the Week.

22nd of October 2008

Copa del Rey – First Round: Calahorra v Cartagena

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Cartagena dumped in shock result by minnow Calahorra

Javier Monforte’s 59th minute goal was sufficient to dump defending champion Cartagena out of the Copa del Rey this evening. A crowd of just under 3,000 at La Planilla reacted with joy when Monforte scored as he deceived Sebastián Saja with sufficient drift to find the back of the net just before the hour mark. It was cruel luck on Cartagena, as they dominated the game, only to find Calahorra keeper, Alfredo Argensó, in fine form.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I did field a weakened eleven, as I left out Wayne Bridge, Anton Ferdinand, Sebastian Svärd, Enzo Maresca, Albert Luque and Davide Matteini from the eleven that defeated Cádiz last weekend, but against Segunda Liga B opposition, I would have thought that my “second eleven†would have been capable of doing the job. Albert Luque caused all sorts of problems when he came on as a substitute, but even he couldn’t rescue us, while Ronaldo looked somewhat out of sorts leading the line. Oh well, at least it allows us to concentrate on the league and the UEFA Cup, now.

Calahorra (4-3-1-2): Argensó; Palencia, Borja (Sedu 45), Elbusto, Rafita; Dani (Zé Tó 59), Xavi Jiménez, Monforte ©; Moreno; Vytautas (Óscar 59), Puustinen.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Green, Mullins ©, Coloccini, Ferrón; Walton; Viana (Chaurant 59), Nunens, Goitom; García (Luque 59), Ronaldo.

Final score: Calahorra 1:0 Cartagena

MoM – Alfredo Argensó

25th of October 2008

Primera Liga - Game 7: Cartagena v Real Sociedad

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Four goal blast from Cartagena sweeps Real Sociedad away

Cartagena reacted to their shock loss to Calahorra during midweek by thrashing Real Sociedad 4-0 in front of an almost packed house at the Estadio Municipal de Cartagena.

Enzo Maresca was the wizard for Cartagena, probing and prompting most of Cartagena’s thrusts forward. The Italian international created the first goal for compatriot Davide Matteini when he sent a wonderful ball through the heart of the Real Sociedad defence and Matteini coolly did the rest on 33 minutes. The game remained tight until 72 minutes when Maresca latched on to a clever flick-on from US international Freddy Adu and bent a superb shot past the Sociedad keeper to make it 2-0 – definitely a contender for goal of the month.

Maresca was involved in the build-up to Cartagena’s third goal, on 90 minutes, but it was Sebastian Svärd who supplied the final pass for Matteini to knock home nonchalantly for his second goal of the match. Then the Real Sociedad keeper made a terrible blunder – he came too quickly and too far for Hugo Viana’s through-ball to Ronaldo, and the former Real Madrid striker seized upon the opportunity, hitting his shot past the stranded Arenas and into an empty net in injury time to pour salt onto the wound.

All in all, a wonderfully drilled performance from Cartagena, announcing their intention that they are gunning for the title.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

A great response to the disappointment of being bundled out in the first round of the Copa del Rey. Enzo Maresca is a cut above, and his ability to create opportunities from practically anywhere on the pitch gives my strikers plenty of confidence, because they know that they will soon have a chance to score a goal. Matteini, also, is maturing into a dangerous striker, and with six goals from seven league appearances, he is well on his way to justifying his salary increases over the last couple of seasons. And it was good to see Ronaldo get his name on the scoresheet, as he took full advantage of a horrible blunder from Arenas, who won’t want to look at the highlights from today’s game. The rest of the league plays tomorrow, but today’s match was a good result for us and I’m pleased for the players.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Bridge, Mullins ©, Lembo, Ferdinand; Svärd; Adu (Viana 79), Maresca, Goitom (Chaurant 73); Luque (Ronaldo 79), Matteini.

Real Sociedad (4-4-2): Arenas; Arruabarrena, Jauregi, Camisa (Dellas 70), Zubiaurre; Gabilondo ©, Blasi, Aranburu, Freier; Haedo Valdez (Oskitz 70), Nihat (Saavedra 73).

Final score: Cartagena 4:0 Real Sociedad

MoM – Enzo Maresca

26th of October 2008

Things are becoming tight at the top of the ladder. Atlético Madrid lost to Villarreal 4-2, and that means that Real Madrid join them at the top of the ladder, both equal on 18 points. We trail both by a point, along with Valencia. Real Zaragoza lies in fifth place, on 16 points, while Barcelona needs to get a move on, being sixth with 14 points.

Enzo Maresca and Sebastian Svärd are both nominated in the Primera Liga Team of the Week.

[Dixie Flatline]

29th of October 2008

Primera Liga – Game 8: Córdoba v Cartagena

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">

Cartagena mauls Córdoba with a five-goal blast to go top of the table

Cartagena went to the top of the Primera Liga table this evening for the first time in its history after putting five goals past hapless Córdoba.

The rout was completed between the 23rd and 44th minute mark of the match, when Cartagena scored four goals without response. Stand-in skipper, Sebastian Svärd, scored a captain’s goal on 23 minutes when he accepted Goitom’s clever cross and bent a shot from almost 30 yards into the top corner of the net. Three minutes later, Enzo Maresca scored from Svärd’s corner, as he was left completely unmarked by the Córdoba defence. Matteini made it 3-0 on 36 minutes when he headed home Adu’s perfect cross, before Maresca added his second and the club’s fourth on 44 minutes when he shot truly from the edge of the box, again benefiting from Adu’s creativity and vision.

Goitom added Cartagena’s fifth goal on 59 minutes when he shot from wide out past the Córdoba keeper, but Maresca, despite having 20 shots at goal, with 12 on target, was unable to complete a well-deserved hat-trick.

Nevertheless, manager, Señor Dixie Flatline, was enthusiastic about his side’s performance and said that it was difficult to imagine his club performing any better. The trick was, of course, ensuring that they did not peak too early, with still a long way to go in La Liga.

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

A great result and it’s great to see Cartagena on top of La Liga, for the moment. We need to keep up the good work, though.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Bridge, Coloccini, Lembo, Ferdinand; Svärd ©; Adu (Viana 78), Maresca, Goitom (Chaurant 78); Luque (Ronaldo 59), Matteini.

Córdoba (4-4-2): Toño; López Ramos ©, Maínz, Bouzón, Ibarra (Redondo 78); Jorge Pérez, Manolo Pérez, Rubén Rodriguez, (Vrsic 71) Serginho (Iacolenna 71); Sérvulo, Peña Molina.

Final score: Cartagena 5:0 Córdoba

MoM – Sebastian Svärd

30th of October 2008

Albert Luque strains a groin muscle and will miss two weeks of football.

1st of November 2008

Enzo Maresca’s goal against Real Sociedad is considered the third best goal of the month, behind Rodrigo Paulista’s goal for Málaga against Levante and Park Joo-Young’s goal for Ejido versus Córdoba.

Oswaldo Chaurant believes that he will not be playing regular first team football at my club and requests a transfer. I will miss his versatility – it’s the reason why he is played off the bench so much – but I grant his request. I’m not in a hurry to find a new club for him, though. However, the fact his contract expires at the end of the season might hurry me along a little.

[Dixie Flatline]

2nd of November 2008

Primera Liga – Game 9: Sevilla v Cartagena

Our time at the top lasts only four short days as a 1-0 loss to Sevilla brings us back to earth. DaMarcus Beasley, Freddy Adu’s international teammate, scores the crucial goal on 32 minutes to separate the sides. Apart from Enzo Maresca, we don’t seem to play with any verve or passion, and we probably deserved to lose, on balance. We missed the likes of Albert Luque, Hayden Mullins, Fabricio Coloccini and Alejandro Lembo, but I can’t blame their absence for this defeat. Simply, we weren’t good enough.

Sevilla (4-4-2): Esteban; Roberto (Vanden Borre 45), Cuéllar, Naldo, Sagnol; Beasley, Jorge (Sales 61), Kahlenberg, Jesús Navas (Ismael 61); Antoñito, Delgado.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Bridge, Mullins ©, Gaardsøe, Ferdinand (Coloccini 52); Svärd; Downing (Chaurant 52), Maresca, Goitom; Adu (Ronaldo 68), Matteini.

Final score: Sevilla 1:0 Cartagena

MoM – Enzo Maresca

The loss pushes us back down to second, a point behind Real Madrid and having played a game more.

3rd of November 2008

Svärd and Maresca represent Cartagena in the Primera Liga Team of the Week.

5th of November 2008

Cartagena will have as many as 12 players representing their countries in friendlies in three days’ time. Fabricio Coloccini and Sebastián Saja are selected by Argentina. Oswaldo Chaurant is picked by Venezuela. Israel calls upon Dudu Awate. Enzo Maresca will play for Italy. Slovenia requires Dalibor Stevanovic. Chile picks Jorge Acuña. Sweden calls up Henok Goitom. Sebastian Svärd has the opportunity to make his international debut for Denmark. Freddu Adu will turn out for the USA. Sipho Nunens will play for South Africa. Alejandro Lembo will be named captain of Uruguay.

In the evening, Real Madrid plays its ninth game of the season against Córdoba and better our score by three goals, winning 8-0 in a terrible contest, as Córdoba had three players sent off within the space of 12 minutes in the second half. Surprisingly, Dejan Stankovic was the only multiple goal scorer for Real Madrid, scoring twice. Roberto Carlos, Raúl, Chivu, Beckham (from the penalty spot), Owen and Ballack were the other scorers. The victory puts Real Madrid four points ahead of ourselves, with a healthy goal difference that is seven goals better than our goal difference.

8th of November 2008

The international friendlies are played this evening. Alejandro Lembo captained Uruguay to a scoreless draw in Montevideo against Scotland. Enzo Maresca came on at half-time against Mexico but Italy came away with only a 0-0 draw.

Henok Goitom was a half-time substitute in Sweden’s 2-0 loss to Portugal in Lisbon. Freddy Adu set up a goal and was named man of the match despite playing 74 minutes in USA’s 3-0 win over Guadaloupe.

Saja was on the bench while Coloccini was named at right back in Argentina’s 2-0 win over Russia in Moscow. Dalibor Stevanovic was a 63rd minute substitute for Slovenia as they beat Cyprus 2-1.

Sebastian Svärd came on at half-time and scored a goal on debut as Denmark routed Bahrain 4-0. After the match, Svärd credited me with giving him the self-belief that he could make it as a top-flight footballer.

Dudu Awate kept a clean sheet for Israel but they will be disappointed, drawing 0-0 with Luxembourg.

11th of November 2008

I persuade Sebastian Svärd to commit to Cartagena for four further years. At minimum, over that span of time, he will receive £3 million. This should suffice to discourage Valencia’s interest in the midfielder.

12th of November 2008

Alejandro Lembo captains Uruguay to a 4-0 win over the Faeroe Islands.

Enzo Maresca scored Italy’s second goal on 7 minutes as they defeated Switzerland 2-0. Maresca was substituted late in the match, but did enough to be named man of the match.

Fabricio Coloccini played 54 minutes for Argentina as they beat Serbia & Montenegro 3-0. Saja was an unused substitute.

Freddy Adu was substituted at half-time by the USA as they beat Haiti 4-0.

Henok Goitom came off the bench on 73 minutes for Sweden but couldn’t stop his country losing 2-0 to Germany.

Sebastian Svärd earned his second cap for Denmark, coming off the bench on 67 minutes, as they defeated New Zealand 4-0.

Sipho Nunens got South Africa under way as they defeated Gambia 4-0, with Nunens scoring the first goal on 14 minutes.

Despite Stewart Downing playing a very good match for England, along with Wayne Bridge in defence, England threw away an early lead to lose to the Czech Republic 2-1 in London.

[Dixie Flatline]

15th of November 2008

Primera Liga – Game 10: Espanyol v Cartagena

On a televised game, we struggle to draw 1-1 with Espanyol. Raúl Tamudo opened the scoring for Espanyol on 52 minutes, when he battled his way through our defenders and put the ball beyond the reach of Saja. It was really no more than what Espanyol deserved to that point. We picked up the pace and Maresca equalized for us on 80 minutes, heading home Hugo Viana’s cross to secure a point.

Espanyol (4-2-3-1): Biel; Marc Bertrán, Masiello, Soldevilla, Damiá (Bilic 46); Tavares, Karhan; Jorge López (Santi 45), Mokoena (De Lucas 45), Maxi Rodríguez; Tamudo ©.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Bridge, Mullins ©, Lembo, Ferdinand; Svärd; Downing (Viana 74), Maresca, Goitom; Ronaldo (Chaurant 74), Matteini.

Final score: Espanyol 1:1 Cartagena

MoM – Wayne Bridge

16th of November 2008

After the completion of the round, the top six looks like this:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag G.D. Pts

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

1st Real Madrid 10 9 0 1 30 4 +26 27

2nd Atletico Madrid 10 7 1 2 26 11 +15 22

3rd Cartagena 10 6 3 1 22 7 +15 21

4th Valencia 9 6 3 0 22 11 +11 21

5th Zaragoza 9 6 2 1 16 5 +11 20

6th Barcelona 9 6 2 1 22 13 +9 20

</pre>

17th of November 2008

Wayne Bridge is selected in the Team of the Week.

19th of November 2008

Sebastián Saja plays for Argentina in their 1-0 World Cup qualifying match against Brazil, while Alejandro Lembo captained Uruguay to a thumping 4-0 loss at the hands of Colombia.

20th of November 2008

UEFA Cup – Phase 2, Group G, Game 2: Gorica v Cartagena

Despite having most of my South American contingent unavailable through international commitments, we still manage to comfortably dispose of the second of two East European minnows. Albert Luque returned to goalscoring form, notching up a first half hat-trick with goals on 6, 34 and 40 minutes. Enzo Maresca was also in fine form, making two goals for Luque and adding a third himself when he converted a penalty kick earned by Luque on 38 minutes. Substitute Sipho Nunens, on for Maresca in the second half, added a fifth goal on 71 minutes. We only had five on-target shots for the game but fortunately for us, they all scored! However, it was disappointing to see Dudu Awate concede a relatively easy goal to Gorica when Mavric converted a free kick from distance past the static Israeli international. Still, we top the Group on goal difference.

Gorica (4-4-2): Fourteen amateurs

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Awate; Bridge, Mullins ©, Gaardsøe, Ferdinand; Svärd; Downing, Maresca (Nunens 58), Goitom; Luque (Garcí 58), Matteini (Walton 67).

Final score: Gorica 1:5 Cartagena

MoM – Albert Luque

[Dixie Flatline]

23rd of November 2008

Ricardo Sousa requests a transfer. As I am disappointed that he has failed to deliver on his talent, I’m more than happy to grant it. My assistant manager is given the task of finding a club that will take him off our hands.

Primera Liga – Game 11: Cartagena v Atlético Madrid

Third versus second on the ladder, and an important game for us as we need to win to keep up with pacesetter, Real Madrid, who are threatening to streak away from the rest of the pack. However, we make a streaky start ourselves, and Atlético are probably unlucky not to be ahead as soon as 3 minutes into the game, thanks to José Mari and then Taddei a couple of moments latter. However, we recover our composure and when Anton Ferdinand repels an Atlético thrust forward and finds Luque, we’re away down the left flank through Downing. The English international carries the ball into a dangerous position and finds Luque streaming into the box. Luque scores past Lastuvka’s outstretched hands into the far corner on 23 minutes.

Then Atlético danger man José Mari is sent off on 35 minutes after collecting two yellow cards and we make our numerical advantage count in the dying minutes of the half as we score two goals in the space of a couple of minutes to end the half on a high. First, Downing’s cross on 45 minutes causes headaches for the Atlético defence and the ball is headed out only as far as Svärd, who bends the ball superbly from 25 yards into the top corner of the Lastuvka net to make it 2-0 in our favour. Then in the third minute of injury time, Mullins plays a magnificent ball to the advantage of Luque, who beats the off-side trap and carries the ball into a shooting position. Inside the box, he rarely misses and he makes no mistake to make it 3-0.

The second half is somewhat of a let-down after the enjoyable first, but we don’t concede anything to our visitors and we finish the game still enjoying our 3-0 lead.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Bridge, Mullins ©, Coloccini, Ferdinand; Svärd; Downing (Walton 78), Maresca (Viana 45), Goitom (Chaurant 45); Luque, Matteini.

Atlético Madrid (4-4-2): Lastuvka; Fernando Navarro, Førsund, Pablo ©, Molinero; Taddei (Benayoun 73), Luccin, Bystron, José Mari (s/o 35); Arizmendi (Nery 61), Edú (Diego Tristán 61).

Final score: Cartagena 3:0 Atlético Madrid

MoM – Stewart Downing

The result pushes us into second place behind Real Madrid, but the league leader holds a comfortable six point cushion over us. Valencia is equal with us on points but has an inferior goal difference.

24th of November 2008

Sebastian Svärd and Stewart Downing represent Cartagena in the Primera Liga Team of the Week.

26th of November 2008

We concede second spot in the league to Barcelona, who comfortably defeat relegation-threatened Cádiz 3-0 to leapfrog into second. They had a game up their sleeve and we have now played the same number of games.

27th of November 2008

UEFA Cup – Phase 2, Group G, Game 3: Cartagena v Sporting Lisbon

At the recommendation of my head physio, I rest Coloccini and Downing and draft in Lembo and Adu in their place. Nevertheless, we turn in a fairly lacklustre performance against our Portuguese opponent but still secure the important victory and another three points. As it turns out, results go our way and we also secure qualification from the Group. Freddy Adu was the architect for our single goal, playing a superb ball cutting our the defence completely for the advantage of Matteini who tucks it away neatly. We keep our opponent on the back foot throughout the 90 minutes but we don’t add to the scoresheet.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Bridge, Mullins ©, Lembo, Ferdinand; Svärd; Adu (Viana 52), Maresca (Chaurant 82), Goitom; Luque, Matteini.

Sporting Lisbon (4-4-2): Ricardo; Humberto, Beto ©, Enakarshire, Araújo; Tello, Krause (Ajide 61), Rogério, Ribeiro (Zé Mário 70); Liédson, Braga (Djaló 45).

Final score: Cartagena 1:0 Sporting Lisbon

MoM – Freddy Adu

[Dixie Flatline]

29th of November 2008

Ahead of our crunch league game against Villarreal tomorrow, I can hardly afford anyone to skip training. So when Sipho Nunens decides not to turn up, I hit him with a week’s fine, which he accepts.

Two important fixtures are played today. Real Madrid extends its lead with a 3-1 win over Sevilla in Seville, while Barcelona edges out Valencia 3-2 at La Mestalla. That allows Barcelona to go five points clear of us, but we play tomorrow. We need the win to keep up with the leading frontrunners but against a club in sixth, only two points below us, it’s not going to be easy.

30th November 2008

Primera Liga – Game 12: Villarreal v Cartagena

I restore Stewart Downing to the first-team lineup in place of Freddy Adu, while Goitom’s position is taken by Chaurant in the former’s absence through suspension. We make another lightning start to the game when some neat build-up work by Chaurant and Matteini culminates in Luque firing home from inside the box, despite the attentions of two Villarreal defenders, on 8 minutes. However, our lead is cancelled out by old boy Javier Araújo, who takes advantage of some slack marking at a corner to bury Armando’s corner past Saja. The game remains in the balance until 42 minutes when Luque and Downing play the old one-two inside the Villarreal box and before any defender could react, Luque has his second goal! From then on, it’s a cake walk as Luque and Svärd combine to set up Maresca cleverly on 44 minutes and the Italian international doesn’t miss from point-blank range.

So we enjoy a comfortable lead at the break but Luque makes the points sure when on 57 minutes he toys with the Villarreal defence until he is in a position to score past Reina, and he does so expertly to claim another hat-trick. On 80 minutes, Svärd plays a superb ball through the heart of the Villarreal defence to Luque, who turns one defender inside-out and buries it past Reina for his fourth goal of the game! The man is unstoppable! The match finishes 5-1 in our favour and Luque is the hero.

Villarreal (4-4-2): Reina; Armando, Lourde (Rodríguez 58), Edmílson, Jiranek; Araújo, Arteta, Andresen © (Rivas 70), Okan (Fritz 58); Elmander, Marica.

Cartagena (4-1-3-2): Saja; Bridge, Mullins ©, Lembo, Ferdinand; Svärd; Downing (Viana 68), Maresca, Chaurant; Luque (Ronaldo 80), Matteini.

Final score: Villarreal 1:5 Cartagena

MoM – Albert Luque

After the game, I single out Luque, Downing and Maresca for special praise, as I believe that all three of them have been instrumental in our recent upturn in form. However, by the time I get to Maresca, the jaded press are starting to look at me a little bit cynically.

The boss, however, is delighted with our big win.

[Flying_Fin]

Great read! Took a while to read through it all though!

KUTVGW!