How about a game of Monopoli?

[NDBrennan]

Played on FM2008 8.0.2. with all the Italian leagues loaded only. I’m staying here no matter what!

Decided a new type of challenge was in order so took a look at Serie C2 and debated which team to pick. Debated on Pro Vercelli but decided to pick Associazione Calcio Monopoli from the Puglia region of Italy. It’s close to Bari at the heel of Italy and it really is a very small club from a small coastal town.

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July 13th 2007

David awoke with the sweet scent of the sea on his nostrils and the sounds of seagulls ringing in his ears. Opening his eyes, David saw that shards of sunlight were beaming in through his apartment window, invading the cracks in the drawn curtains. Reaching across to the bedside locker, he fumbled for his watch and looked at the time.

7.30 am.

It was time to get up.

Slowly the tall, dark-haired Scot slipped out of bed and putting on his dressing-gown, walked over to the window and threw open the curtains, wincing as the sun hit his eyes and his body was bathed in its warmth. Once his eyes had adjusted to the glaring sunlight, David stepped out onto the balcony of his apartment and not for the first time since his arrival in the town, marvelled at the view.

His apartment gave him a view of the towns harbour and also at the crystal blue Adriatic Sea and he saw two boats bobbing on the water. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a powerboat pull off a sharp turn and head of towards the North in the direction of Bari, bouncing along the sea. There was not a cloud in the sky and it looked like it was going to be another glorious day.

Having jumped into the shower and grabbed a quick cup of coffee and some Italian bread left over from his previous nights meal, David headed down to where he had parked his car and set off for his first day as manager of Associazione Calcio Monopoli. He was due to meet the President of AC Monopoli and the board of directors at the Stadio Vito Simone Veneziani for a brief press conference and official unveiling as the clubs new manager on a two year contract. The order of business would have to be quick as David then had just 24 hours to prepare for his first pre-season match as the clubs manager. Thankfully it was a match against a local club based just 43 km away from Monopoli, in the town of Ostuni. However as there were no scouts at the club, getting any information on Ostuni Sport had been impossible.

As David negotiated his way through the streets of Monopoli, he saw that even at this early hour the town was busy. Hardly surprising given that it was a port town overlooking the Adriatic Sea that was fast becoming a tourist attraction in this part of Apulia. He looked down onto the street below and saw that the local denizens of the town were starting to go about their daily chores; much like his father and mother back in Glasgow when he had been growing up. As he drove through Monopoli, David thought about his journey to this day. The day he was about to take his first steps as a football manager.

It had all started in Glasgow...

The son of Genovese immigrants, David Rigatoni had grown up in a household that had lived and breathed football. His father had been a decent amateur player in his time and David had inherited some of his father’s skills. He’d had trials with Queens Park and Partick Thistle and it had been the latter that had offered him a chance to play in their youth set-up. Four years at Thistle from the age of 15-19 followed where David had played fine but never really excelled enough to make the step up to the first team. The Manager of Partick at the time was the legendary John Lambie and one day Lambie had called David into his office. Even before he had set foot into the manager’s office, David knew that something was up and that it was not good. It was sort of a hunch he had.

He had entered Lambie’s office fearing the worst, and the worst was what he got. From one perspective, anyway.

The curly-haired manager with the granite hard features had stood up and shook David’s hand before they both sat. As he spoke, Lambie’s steel blue eyes never left David’s;

‘Davie, this is never an easy thing to say to any young lad. Particularly one who has shown nothing but honesty and commitment during his time here at Partick. But as you know, we are under tightening budgetary constraints here at the moment and this coupled with the need to cut the youth squad numbers down means some tough decisions have to be made. So, unfortunately Davie, we will not be offering you a professional contract. I’m very sorry, son. We will try and sort you out with another club and if we can help you in any way, we will.’

David hardly heard another word that Lambie spoke as the reality of the situation sank in. Like his father, David was a die-hard Genoa fan and watched the Grifoni whenever he got a chance to but in Scotland he had been a Partick fan. They were his local club and he had always wanted to play for them even if they were not as glamorous a name as the Old Firm. Something about helping an underdog to overcome the odds appealed to David back then and every visit to Firhill Park had been akin to a religious experience for David. Now his dreams of playing professionally for Partick were in tatters. Hell his dreams of playing professionally were in tatters, let’s face it. If he wasn't good enough for Partick, would he be good enough for another club.

He had left Lambie’s office in a state of shock and had walked past the changing rooms at the training ground with a sense of emptiness and loss, particularly when he had looked out onto the pitch and seen the first team players involved in a training session five-a-side. He had managed to fight back the tears until he had left the training ground.

Realising he would never be good enough to be a professional footballer, and still with a burning desire to be involved in football, he had called John Lambie;

‘Davie. How are you keeping son?’

‘I’m doing ok Mr Lambie. Hanging in there. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about my future over the last few weeks.’

‘Anything we can do for you son, as I said, we’ll try and help set you up with a trial for another club.’, Lambie replied.

David had sighed and closing his eyes had said the words he’d been thinking over the last few weeks but had not vocalised to anyone;

‘I’m not going to need a trial with another club, Mr Lambie. I know I’m not good enough to be a professional footballer.’

There was silence on the other end of the line and David continued, realising that his former manager thought the same;

‘I would however like to stay involved with football though and that’s why I decided to ring you.’

‘As I said David, anything we can do to help.’

David stuttered a little and cleared his throat;

‘Well, I was wondering if there was a possibility of doing a little coaching at the club. Maybe with the youth players? I know that Gregor could use an extra pair of hands and I’m willing to work for free if needs be.’

Lambie remained silent and nervously David continued;

‘I know I don’t have a lot of experience coaching at the club, but I’ve done a little at the local school here on a Sunday and I really enjoyed it. I know the club and the youth players know me. So if there was a chance, even a couple of days a week, it would be great Mr Lambie.’

After a few seconds of silence, Lambie replied hesitantly;

'I think it would be a good idea to get into coaching if you want to stay in football but I cannae give you an answer now David. I'll need to think about this and talk it over with Gregor and the Chariman. You'll have to give me a few days to get back to you.'

David hadn't expected much from this reply, noting how guarded his former manager had been;

'So they'd do anything to help me? Bollocks to that then.'

A few days later he recieved a call from the club telling him to be at the training ground at 8am sharp the following Monday.

He was being offered his very first coaching role!

[Terk]

Good luck with this, ND. The Italian lower leagues can be horrible to get out of (though I suspect that isn't an immediate goal). I'll be reading along

[NDBrennan]

Cheers Terk. C2 is a bit of a nightmare as the teams predicted positions never reflect the situations the game throws up! Plus 'worrying lack of cohesion' infects every team in the league! It will be interesting. However I know of one player, an American who blogs online, who managed to get Pro Vercelli from Serie C2 to three time in a row Champions League winners. In 15 seasons. Here's hoping I can do the same with Monopoli! :)

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It was easy enough for David to find the stadium as it was situated just a five minute drive from where his apartment was.

The Stadio Vito Simone Veneziani is situated near the coastal part of Monopoli at the intersection between the Via Fiume and Via Togliatti. With a capacity of 6,880 it is a small, compact stadium with one covered stand and open tiered seating that doesn’t extend all the way around the pitch. The running track does however. For a town with a population of just under 50,000, and one where the local club had never troubled Serie B never mind Serie A, it seemed to be just the right size.

Like most Italian football grounds, the stadium was not owned by the club but by the local council. Like Partick Thistle’s Firhill Park, the Vito Simone Veneziani is slap bang in the middle of a residential area. Something about that appealed to David as it signified, or at least seemed to signify, a unity with the people.

http://lnx.acmonopoli.com/images/stories/Stadio_Monopoli.jpg

The clubs offices were located close to the stadium and as David pulled into the car-park, he saw that there were several cars already there. After disembarking from his car, David headed into the small reception area that was manned by a tidy looking brunette woman in her mid-thirties;

‘Good morning, Mr Rigatoni. My name is Sandra. Welcome to Associazione Calcio Monopoli.’

David smiled and extended his hand, noting the wedding ring on her finger. Damn!

’Great to meet you Sandra. By the way, call me David.’

Her cool, perfectly manicured hand took his;

’Ok, David. It is nice to meet you. I will let President Ladisa know that you are here. Please have a seat.’

As he sat, David reminisced. He had spent 9 years on the coaching staff of Partick Thistle rising from Youth Team Coach to 1st Team Coach. It had been a fantastic way to learn the trade and he had studied under a vast array of managers - John Lambie, Murdo MacLeod, John McVeigh, Tommy Bryce & Gerry Collins. He’d applied for the management role at Partick once John Lambie had retired due to ill health but he had not been successful and although he’d stayed on for another year at the club, he knew he would have to move on if he was to develop his career. He was nearly thirty years old and wanted to manage a club.

So he had left Partick and headed to Italy as it had happened and a coaching role at Udinese. Here he had completed his UEFA Coaching badges and after two years had started to make applications for management jobs, without much success. That was until Monopoli had agreed to interview him for the vacant position as their manager. Their manager at the time Arcangelo Sciannimanico had had to resign his position due to a family emergency and so at incredibly short notice they had to find a replacement.

On meeting the then President of the club, President Domenico Ladisa and the board of directors, a two year deal had been agreed worth €725 per week which was less than 1/3rd of what David earned at Udinese. David didn’t care though. It was an opportunity to manage a league club and that was all that mattered.

A female voice snapped him out of his daydream;

’David, it is great to see you again!’

It was the new President of Monopoli, Floriana Ladisa. Floriana was a good-looking, willowy brunette in her late thirties-early forties. Like her father, she was a football fanatic and had taken over the Presidents’ position from her father that summer. She was keen to continue the work that he had started and drive the club forward. As they shook hands David smiled;

'Miss Ladisa. Or should that be President Ladisa?'

She returned his smile;

'Floriana will be fine. How is everything? I hope you found the apartment to your satisfaction.'

'The apartment is great. The views from the balcony are amazing! Particularly on a morning such as this.'

'That's good to hear. Shall we go? The others are waiting and so are the press.'

With that Floriana gestured towards the door to the club's boardroom and they went inside.

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The press conference itself was brief and without any incident. Three local and regional papers turned up: Il Corriere del Salento, Il Meridiano and La Gazzetta Del Mezzogiorno as well as the local radio station Radio Monopoli.

Given the fact that there was a match the next day, the press conference lasted no more than ten minutes before David was whisked off to the training ground where the first team were being put through their paces by the clubs Assistant Manager, Giordano Paoloni. Given the time constraints that the club were under, Paoloni had forwarded David all the squad information he had put together for the previous manager. So at least David knew the squad and some of its capabilities.

The training ground at Monopoli was, to put it mildly, basic. Very basic. Two pitches, a changing facility that had paint peeling from the walls and showers that leaked. If ever there was an indication that Monopoli were a small club, this was it. As David observed the first team training, Giordano Paoloni stood beside him;

'David. It's good to see you again.'

'Good Giordano. You know yourself. Busy. And with the match tomorrow about to get busier.'

'We could get it postponed if you want?'

David shook his head;

'No. I'll learn more about the team from watching them play in a match then standing here watching them train. We'll sit down after training and work out a first eleven and formation for tomorrow's game. That ok?'

Paoloni nodded;

'Sure David.

With that he ran back onto the pitch and again started conducting the training along with the clubs other coach, Nino Trentadue. David continued to observe the training. Paoloni had picked out a number of players who he rated as the best at the club. Amongst them were:

Andrea de Florio - a veteran striker and new arrival at the club this summer.

Giusseppe Aquino - a 24 year old defender who had arrived from Pro Vasto in the summer

and probably most surprisingly

Kris Thackray - an 18 year old Geordie boy who could play Centre-Back or Defensive Midfielder and who was on a season long loan from Reggina. A Geordie in Monopoli? It sounded like some terrible British comedy film!

These three were the pick of the bunch in terms of ability they showed on the pitch. However right winger, Carlo Cardascio looked a handy player as did 37 year old club captain, and fan favourite, Francesco Bitteto. So while somewhat dismayed by the training facilities at the club, David was heartened by the ability of the squad.

After training had been completed for the morning David called the players into the centre of the pitch;

'Right lads. My name is David Rigatoni and as of today I am the new manager here at Monopoli. It is great to finally get to meet you all and finally put faces to names. Today really marks the beginning of the season for us. What work we do here on the training pitch and starting from tomorrow in Ostuni, will be what counts in May when the season ends. We have a lot of work to do between now and then to achieve our goal for this club, which should be to top last season's fifth place finish. There are a lot of talented players here in front of me and really that should not be beyond us. If you work with me and the other coaches, and believe in us and more importantly yourselves, we should have no problem having a successful season.'

Once David had finished his speech, the players had departed for lunch. As they had headed off to lunch, Giordano had turned to David, who was keying in a number on his mobile phone, and asked;

'Are you not coming to lunch, David?'

David replied;

'I'll be along in a few minutes Giordano. I'm just going to try and get us a couple of scouts.

[NDBrennan]

14th July 2007

It is only a 37 minute journey from Monopoli to Ostuni but for David Rigatoni it flew by. The club coach had left at 10am that morning to reach Ostuni in time for a light training session, lunch and technical chat before the 3pm kick-off. As Ostuni was 8km inland, there was little chance of a cool sea breeze and so the temperature was 35 degrees. An absolute scorcher of a day to be playing football in and since this was effectively a local derby of sorts it was going to be more competitive than most pre-season games.

Before they had left Monopoli, David had had a meeting with Floriana Ladisa and the Monopoli board of directors and asked them for two things. Firstly that they could set up a link with a smaller, possibly local feeder club where Monopoli could send younger players to gain some first team football. Even if this were at Serie D or Eccellenza level, it would be beneficial to the clubs younger players. Secondly, David had asked for a link with a bigger Parent club where Monopoli could benefit both financially and also from potential loan signings. The board had agreed to discuss the matter and told David that they would get back to him in a few weeks.

All this swirled in David’s mind as he looked through his team sheet for todays game for the umpteenth time. He had decided, after consulting with Giordano, to go with a 4-2-3-1 formation with the strongest Monopoli team available. The starting line-up would be:

Starting line-up v Ostuni 14th July 2007, Stadio Comunale, Ostuni – KO 15.00

GK. Salvatore D’Urso

DRC. Rocco Roberto Paris

DL. Giuseppe Pugliese ©

DC. Fabio de Sole

DLC. Giuseppe Aquino

DMC. Antonio D’Allocco

D/MC. Kris Thackray

AMR. Carlo Cardascio

MC. Gianluca Loseto

AMR/ST. Alessio Cossu

ST. Andrea de Florio

David hadn’t told the squad this yet and was waiting until after lunch before he did. Whilst on paper both he and Giordano believed that Monopoli should be able to beat Ostuni, both agreed on one thing. The Monopoli team lacked cohesion. Even in training, the players were still getting to grips with playing together and were not even close to being a cohesive unit. Add to this the fact that they were now being asked to play in a completely new tactical system and it could prove to be a difficult afternoon.

Ostuni itself was a small, picturesque town of 32,000 inhabitants that relied on tourism for its economy. Because of its architectural heritage it is known in Italy as "La Città Bianca" (the White Town) the centerpiece of which is the Old Town which sits on a hill overlooking the rest of the city. It looked like a beautiful place to visit for tourists, however for David he had other things on his mind.

The Stadio Comunale in Ostuni had a capacity of 2,000 and it was an all seater ground. It was barely 1/10th full when AC Monopoli and Ostuni Sport took to the pitch at 2.50pm.

http://www.retegialloblu.it/foto%20roller%20homecalcio/4.jpg

100 of those fans had travelled from Monopoli and were part of the Bad Boys ’87 Ultras group associated with the club. Chief amongst them was a man David had met prior to games the kick-off, Gianni Galli. He was the official supporter spokesman and a tall, wiry man with a shock of brown hair. He was perhaps 40 years of age and like most of the Ultras, lived and breathed Monopoli. David learned that the group had named themselves after the Sean Penn film from 1983 and that Gianni had been a member since the beginning, eventually earning his place as head of the Ultras a few years back.

Of course Ostuni’s Ultras were also there and there was a police presence to make sure they didn’t do anymore than sing, or rather hurl, good natured abuse at each other. As they did, David took his place on the touchline and waited for the referee to start the game. David hoped that his players remembered what he had told them prior to kick-off;

‘Lads, I don’t particularly care about the result today. I want to see you out there passing the ball and getting to know each other on the pitch. So let’s go out there and enjoy the game.’

Ostuni Sport v AC Monopoli

First Half

As David had predicted, this was a slog and a hard slog at that.

Under a baking hot sun both teams struggled to play much in the way of good football. Monopoli had started the game much more brightly and within the first four minutes Kris Thackray had a smart shot saved and Andrea de Florio had shot high and over following a nice team move. However it was Ostuni who had the best chance of the match in the 8th minute when their centre forward, Davide Taurino, was put through by a clever ball. One-on-one with the keeper it looked a possible goal.

David held his breath and prayed his goalie could save it. Which he did! Thank you Salvatore D’Urso!

Monopoli’s defence seemed not to have learned from Taurino’s first chance because another clever through ball and the ex- Nardò striker was through on goal again. Once again Salvatore D’Urso came to the rescue and saved a certain goal.

By now David was screaming on the touchline;

’Fabio! Get tighter on Taurino! Track his movement! Stick with him!’

Taurino was giving the Monopoli defence problems on the pitch and David palpitations off it. The striker had another opportunity in the 26th minute when, with back to goal, he attempted a bicycle kick from the Ostuni left winger Salvatore Mappa’s cross. Luckily for Monopoli his shot went high and wide.

Almost inevitably it was Monopoli, against the run of play, who broke the deadlock. A corner in the 31st minute and as players jostled for position, the cross was whipped in by Carlo Cardascio and powered home by a bullet header from Fabio de Sole. The players were overjoyed, the Ultras celebrated and David punched the air with joy and a little bit of relief.

The goal knocked the stuffing out of Ostuni and it was Monopoli who dominated the rest of the half with Gianluca Loseto shooting just over from long range.

Half-Time

Ostuni Sport 0-1 AC Monopoli

In the dressing room David looked to calm the players down. Standing in the middle of the dressing room, David spoke looking around as he did;

‘ Right lads. Well done so far. We’re on top of them and playing the better football. Fabio, Giuseppe. Keep your eyes on Taurino. He’s a real live wire out there and their main goal threat. Get tighter on him and don’t let him turn you. He’s done it twice already so be aware of where he is at all times. Kris, Antonio. Keep it tight in the midfield. Track back and help the fullbacks when we don’t have the ball. Their main creative outlet are through their wingers so put them under pressure and keep them on their weaker foot. Lads, we’re 45 minutes away from a first victory of the pre-season so let’s get out there and finish the game off.’

Second Half

Monopoli came out of the traps the quickest after the half-time interval and within one minute had carved open an opportunity when Carlo Cardascio got free in the area, picked up a nice pass from Antonio D’Allocco, and turned and shot at goal. The Ostuni goalkeeper, Corcelli, could only parry the ball and it was hacked clear by the Ostuni defence.

The Monopoli Ultras, buoyed by this great start to the half, began to sing and chant even louder. With loudspeaker in hand, Gianni Galli led the group in chanting and their choreographed waves and chants were incredibly colourful and showed their passion for the team.

Another great chance went begging for Monopoli as another Cardascio shot was blocked. Monopoli were turning the screw now and heaping more and more pressure on Ostuni. Surely it would be just a matter of time before another goal went in?

In the 50th Minute David called Giordano over and handed him a list of seven players;

’Some of the lads are starting to wilt out there. I’m going to make a few substitutions so tell the lads to continue warming up.’

5 minutes later, Monopoli had made their first substitutions of the match introducing seven new players in all. This immediately upped the tempo of the game and Monopoli continued to dominate carving out a chance for substitute striker Francesco Caracciolese in the 64th minute. He was put through by fellow sub Francesco Bitteto, but was hauled down at the edge of the box. From the resultant free-kick, Caracciolese smashed his shot against the crossbar causing it to rattle and vibrate wildly and ushering a loud gasp and then groan from the Monopoli Ultras. David swore to himself when the freekick hit the bar. A few inches lower and it would have been game over.

As if this was the cue they needed, the rest of the game belonged to Ostuni. Having made several substitutes, they created chance after chance and it was only thanks to some poor finishing and alert goalkeeping by Salvatore D’Urso that Monopoli didn’t concede. How David and Giordano had squirmed as chance after chance was spurned by Ostuni’s impotent attack. David roared instructions at his players to keep it tight and after five gruelling minutes of extra time, the referee blew his whistle and Monopoli had won.

Full Time

Ostuni Sport 0-1 AC Monopoli

Sequestered in the dressing room, post match, David addressed the players;

'Right lads. Good result today. You showed a lot of fight and spirit in difficult conditions. This was always going to be tough game for us and you all did well. Let's do the warm down, get showered, changed and I will see you on the bus.'

After David had thanked the referee Daniele Canino, he had headed out to the team bus only to be met by a happy Gianni Galli and a bunch of the Bad Boys ’87 Ultras. The group congratulated David and headed off towards their cars leaving Gianni to talk to David.;

'David, congratulations on your first win as manager of Associazione Calcio Monopoli.'

'Gianni, thank you for your support. It helped us today definitely. What did you think of the game?'

'It was ok. We could play better but hey...we won and that is the most important thing!'

'Yeah. I guess it is. And we'll get better as the players get used to the system of play'

'I have no doubt of that, David.', Gianni staring intently at David as he spoke.

Hearing his name being called by one of the group, he turned and rejoined the group of Ultras who were headed for a old battered Fiat. As he rejoined the group, they began to sing another Monopoli hymn.

Ah yes. You could always trust the Ultras to ratchet up the pressure on you....

[tenthreeleader]

Italian lower leagues are huge fun but as Terk has mentioned, can be a tad frustrating. Good to see another writer try them. Best of luck.

[NDBrennan]

Thanks threeten. Judging from my perusal of the Monopoli squad, I may need it!

Continued

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By the time the team had returned to Monopoli, David received word that the two men he had approached for positions as scouts with the club had accepted his offer. Daniel Striani, a Belgian of Italian lineage and Claudio Onofri would arrive at the club on Monday morning to take up their new positions. A win under his belt and two new scouts. So far, a productive day.

Once the team had disembarked from the bus and dispersed, some home to their families and others to dinner, David had taken Giordano and Nino Trentadue aside;

‘Ok guys I’ve just gotten some good news. We have two new scouts starting with us on Monday. I was wondering if you guys have any plans for tonight? I wanted to sit down with you and discuss the squad, the performance today and where we need to look to strengthen for the forthcoming season? Are you guys busy or can you spare a couple of hours? I’ll shout you a bite to eat. If that will sweeten the deal.’

The two looked at each other.

’Sure David. Not a problem. I’ll just let the missus know.’, said Giordano.

’Yep. I’ll need to do the same.’, affirmed Trentadue.

’Great! Where’s the best place to eat out around here?’, David smiled

’It has to be Osteria Perricci. Without a doubt.’, the taciturn Trentadue said and judging by Giordano’s smile it would seem he agreed.

’Ok guys. Lead the way.’

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Osteria Perricci was situated on the Via Orazio Comes which was close to the harbour and within a ten minute walk of David's apartment on the Via Giuseppe Ungaretti. Osteria Perricci was the very definition of an Italian trattoria; small, cosy and family run with whirring fans and testament to its popularity, a hive of activity. On this glorious Saturday evening three generations of the Perricci family were working there with the Patriarch Don Giovanni an exuberant host, and he became quite animated when he saw Giordano and Nino. Looking around the trattoria David saw why. There were AC Monopoli scarves, posters and pictures hanging on all the walls. Don Giovanni was a corpulent, red-faced gentleman in his mid-sixties with whisps of black hair still visible on his balding pate and a Groucho Marx moustache. When he was introduced to me he clasped David's hand and boomed;

’So this is the man who will take charge of my beloved Biancoverdi. And he is a bloody Scot, a bloody foreigner, as well! What has the world come to!’

Grinning, David leant in closer;

’It gets worse my friend. I am also of Northern stock. From Genoa.’

’Mahrone!! What is the world coming to! A bloody genovese! This is not right!’

Giordano, who was grinning throughout the exchange piped up;

’Well Giovanni…the genovese led us to our first victory of the pre-season today.’

To which David received a strong clap on the back from Don Giovanni;

’Fantastic! Let’s hope this Northerner can keep it up!’

After a few more minutes of banter, Don Giovanni led David, Nino and Giordano to their table where over a sumptuous feast, for it was an absolutely fantastic meal, they talked football and as the wine flowed, they became more animated.

’OK from what we’ve said here, we’re looking at having to bring in a minimum of five new players to strengthen the squad. A new goalkeeper, as we only have D’Urso who is ready for first team football.’, David stated

Trentadue nodded as he shoveled a fork full of pasta into his mouth. Giordano spoke;

’A new goalkeeper is a must. Plus we need at least two new defenders. We’ve a couple of guys in their mid-to-late thirties at the moment and di Sole can be quite injury prone. I can’t see us going through a whole season without losing him at least once or twice. When he was at Catanzaro and last season when he was at Gallipoli, he missed almost half the season through various injuries.’

David nodded and took a sip of wine;

’ Ok that’s the defence sorted, in terms the number of players to bring in anyway. In attack we’re all agreed we have the numbers to cope with all but the worst injury crisis. In midfield? Maybe one or two? ‘

’Two maximum I’d say, David. Anymore and we risk upsetting the balance of the squad. I think we can all agree that despite the result today, the team is very, very far from being a cohesive unit. If we bring in too many players right away, we could really screw things up in terms of getting the team to gel.’, Nino stated, his fork loaded with more pasta and shrimp.

Giordano nodded;

’I’d agree with that David. We have a lot of new players here as it is. Throwing in more than four or five on top of that is a recipe for disaster. In my opinion.’

David nodded and mused for a moment as his two coaches exchanged glances and continued with their meals.

’I can’t argue with that logic.’

Taking a sip of wine he continued;

’Ok a maximum of five new players for now. I’d like to try and get these guys in before the Castel di Sangro game which is this day next week. As you say, we’ve a huge task turning this squad into a team. We have some good players, but no team as it stands. So gentlemen, I’d like to raise a toast to working together to build a competitive and cohesive Associazione Calcio Monopoli. Salute!’

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All of a sudden David felt tired. It really only hit him when he got up to pay the bill and leave the trattoria.

It was the combination of the travelling he’d put in over the last week, the stress of managing his first game combined with the several glasses of wine he had consumed with dinner. However the dinner had been fantastic and it had paid to socialize with his coaches. He had found them to be pretty honest and straightforward. What he was happy about was that neither of them seemed like Yes men.

They had said their goodbyes and David had strolled out towards his apartment. Looking at his watch, he saw it was only 9pm. Too early to go home to bed, even though he felt like it, and too late to start hassling player agents, even though he had an idea of at least two players that he would like to sign. Or at least get on trial for a few days to run assessments on them.

’Best off to leave it until tomorrow.’, he thought to himself.

So what to do? He wasn’t in the mood to go drinking, and drinking on your own was never a good idea anyway. So he decided to go for a stroll along the streets of Monopoli.

David began to stroll towards the coast, admiring the historical architecture that fused seamlessly with the more modern vestiges of life in 21st Century Italy. The town had a rich history, particularly during the era of the Crusades where it had been the starting point of naval Crusading expeditions. There were two castles within the city environs and as David walked on he could see them both illuminated against the darkening sky. The coastal castle of St. Stephen with its reinforced walls flanked the beaches near the town and were a constant reminder of the military significance of the town. The larger King Charles V Castle was situated very near where David stood now. These castles were necessary as the town had been a flourishing seaport in Byzantine and Norman times and the port was subject in the past to the pirate attacks. In fact many of the local farmers who resided in the vicinity of Monopoli at the time had reinforced their own farmhouses against potential pirate attacks. That's how many there were.

The cool sea breeze refreshed David and he sighed contentedly. The club might have been small, but there was certainly potential to grow it. The problem was that like any small club there was little money to work with and most new signings were going to come from free transfers and loans. But at least the board weren’t expecting miracles. A top-half finish should be attainable if the club had some luck along the way.

He continued to walk along the cobbled streets of the Via Orazio Comes and near the corner of the Via Orazio and the Lungomare di Santa Maria he spotted he a mobile ice-cream seller. Immediately he had a hankering for an ice-cream and reached into his pocket fishing out a €2 euro coin and walked up to the vendor.

It may have been dark, with only the dim streetlights as illumination, but David could not stop smiling when he saw how beautiful the woman was. She was roughly 5’5” tall with black hair tied into a ponytail, flawless olive skin and beautiful big brown doe eyes. Clad in a pair of jeans that looked painted on and a simple white t-shirt she was absolutely stunning looking. He couldn’t even speak in her presence….and it had been a long time since a woman had stopped him doing that!

She looked at him, grinning like a goon, and she smiled back with such a warm smile that his heart melted a little. It may have been a brief moment but, My God, he had felt like he had been transported to heaven.

’Good evening. Which ice-cream would you like?’, she asked him in a soft voice

David returned to earth then, and stammered.

’Emmm….could I get the mint chocolate? Please? I just had dinner and always like mint after dinner. It always tastes better after a good meal….’

Christ, had he actually said that!

As she had leaned down to pick the mint chocolate ice-cream he saw her smile a little;

’That will be €1.50 please.’

As they exchanged items, David’s hands touched hers and he felt a bolt of electricity through his body.

’Thank you, Miss.’, said David

She looked up at him again;

’You’re welcome.’

David looked out onto the harbor, and with the twinkling of lights from the town and the lights from the Castle illuminating the harbor it looked spectacular.

’Wow…it really is beautiful.’

The woman smiled and nodded;

’Yes it is. In the summer, in this weather it is spectacular.’

She looked at him

’Is this your first time in Monopoli?’

He turned and looked at her, nodding.

’Yeah…I arrived here about two days ago. I haven’t really had time to wander around Monopoli much. I hope to see a lot more of over the next week. It has such incredible architecture and history. I was in Ostuni today and it was beautiful. Really spectacular.’

She smiled;

’Ah yes, La Città Bianca. It is beautiful of course. But Monopoli is much prettier. If you get a chance, you should go to the Lama Belvedere. It is a beautiful park on the outskirts of Monopoli. It is so tranquil and serene. It is my favourite place in Monopoli.’

David smiled;

’Thanks for the recommendation. I’ll be here for a while so I may just get the chance to do that. Thank you. ‘

’No problem. You will enjoy it.’

They were silent for a moment as David continued to look out at the harbor. The woman observed him quietly and then asked;

’If you don’t mind me asking. Where are you from? I can’t place your accent at all.’

David turned and smiled;

’I am from Scotland. My parents are from Genoa and they emigrated to Glasgow in the 1970’s. So while I speak Italian, I really don’t have that much of an accent.’

She had a dreamy look in her eyes;

’Scotland. Wow…I hear it is a beautiful place. It is a place I have always wanted to visit.’

He grinned;

’Yeah, it is beautiful. Since you gave me a nice tourist hint about Monopoli I’ll give you one for when you visit Scotland. Edinburgh is a beautiful city, really beautiful. Like Monopoli, it has a great history. But one of my favourite places is Loch Lomond. It may be remote but like you’ve described Lama Belvedere, it is very tranquil and very serene.’

’I really want to visit it now!', she exclaimed

They were looking into each other’s eyes again and David wanted nothing more in his life but to kiss her. However the loud shouts of a group approaching them put that possibility to bed. Not that he would have acted on his wild impulse. As they ambled over to the ice-cream cart, David spoke;

’Thanks very much for the ice-cream…and the chat. I’ll definitely visit the Lama Belvedere and hopefully see you around and tell you what I think of it.’

She nodded and spoke softly;

‘I think you will like it. At least I hope you do.’

She was about to say something else but hesitated. He nodded and smiled;

’Thanks again. And it was nice meeting you, Miss.’

As he finished that sentence, the group had reached the ice-cream cart, and he departed back down the Via Orazio to his apartment, throwing one final glance over his shoulder at the beautiful, and nameless, woman.

[NDBrennan]

The next few days flew for David as he tried to get team affairs sorted out. Starting on the day after the Ostuni game, it was all systems go.

Of primary concern was to contact the agents of the two players that he had was looking to trial at the club. The first was a Brazilian midfielder, Juninho Pinheiro, whom Udinese had been interested in signing at one time 2 years ago and had scouted vigorously. Pinheiro had been playing with Chiasso in Switzerland until the middle of last season when he had then signed for Perugia. However due to the latter’s financial problems, the Brazilian midfielder had been released from his contract. David saw him as an ideal player for the Monopoli team. He had pace, good technique and was a pretty determined character. He was also of Italian heritage so there would be no problems in terms of the quota on foreign players.

The second player that David wanted to sign was another attacking midfielder, Mario Morfeo. Morfeo was the younger brother of Parma star, Domenico Morfeo and had just had his contract with Pro Vasto cancelled. A skilful customer and adept from set-pieces, his only weakness was his lack of pace something which had seen his rise to a higher level curtailed somewhat. Both players agents had talked to their clients and it was agreed that they would arrive in Monopoli on Tuesday to trial with the squad. A good start to a Sunday morning.

The day was made even better with the news that the club would have a new physio and fitness coach starting from Monday. Mauro Casaleggio a native of Bari had accepted the position as Monopoli’s physio whilst Cristiano Francomacarro would take up the role as the clubs fitness coach.

By 4pm on Sunday afternoon, things were ticking along nicely and David could now start to relax a little. He wandered down into the town and picked up copies of the local papers and sauntered back to the apartment. Flicking through the papers he saw, at the very bottom of the second last page of La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno a short match report of the yesterday’s game.

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/545/gamevostuni.jpg

It really didn’t tell him anything he didn’t know already. He and the staff had a lot of work to do. Glancing at his watch he saw it was now 4.30pm and he remembered, for the umpteenth time that day, the brief encounter of last night. Would the Lama Belvedere be open now? He picked up his car keys and headed out to see.

As luck would have it, it was and for the rest of the afternoon he wandered around the park absorbed in the beauty and serenity of the place. That night he had returned to the Via Orazio Comes to see if she was there.

Unfortunately she wasn’t.

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Monday morning and David was very busy. As well as being actively involved with first team training, he had met the two new members of his coaching and physio staff and talked them through the squad and showed them around the training facilities, such as they were. He noted the grim looks on their faces when they saw the facilities they had to work with.

Having shown his two new coaches around, David had next met with his new scouts Daniel Striani and Claudio Onofri.

‘Daniel. I’d like you to concentrate on scouting our next opponents. I’ve printed up a fixture list for you to look at. These are all the games we will play in Serie C2C and in the Serie C Cup, as well as the next pre-season friendlies we have scheduled. I’m still trying to organize at least two more so the pre-season list is not complete.’

He nodded his understanding and David continued;

’Not that I really need to tell you this but while you’re on the road, keep your eye out for any potential players as well. Since you’ll be scouting other games you may spot someone we can take a closer look at from other sides as well. Ok Claudio.’

The balding scout was all ears;

’Claudio, I’d like you to scout this division for new players. As with Daniel, I’d like you to keep an eye out for players who may be useful for us who may not be playing in the division that maybe you learn of on the road. I’ll send you an email later confirming all the details. I suppose I should let you know that presently we are looking for two defenders and a goalkeeper. We lack a little pace at the back that needs to be addressed before the start of the new season and we really only have one goalkeeper as it is. They would be the primary targets now.’

It was the Belgian scout who spoke;

’I may know of a defender who is looking for a club. He is a young guy who I think has just been released by his club. His name is Nathanaël Scozzari and as far as I know his contract with Union SG was terminated by mutual consent. He may be a guy you could use.’

David took a sip of coffee;

’Could you get in contact with his agent and find out? If he is on a free then let me know. We’ll see if we can get him on trial for a few days.’

Striani nodded and took down some notes. After a few more minutes chat, David ended the meeting and departed to the Monopoli boardroom for his weekly meeting with the AC Monopoli board. The discussion was focused primarily on the match on Saturday with the general consensus of the board being one of satisfaction with the win. Before the meeting had finished Floriana Ladisa spoke;

‘Well we have some good news from a commercial point of view. We have managed to sell almost half the number of season tickets that we had expected already which is great news. We had a target of 400 and we have so far sold 171. This is a slight increase on last year’s figure for the same time. If we can continue to win in pre-season, we should be able to reach that target without a problem. So David, with no pressure on you at all, please keep on winning!’

The meeting ended in a jovial fashion and David headed off to his office again only to be interrupted by a phone-call. It was a young man named Fabrizio Celani who was ringing to accept a position as a scout with Monopoli.

’That’s brilliant Fabrizio. When can you get to Monopoli?’

He would be there tomorrow which meant another briefing for David to prepare for.

As he sat in his office and started to prepare for the briefing he received another phone-call, this time from Daniel Striani who was preparing to go out on the road to scout Castel di Sangro. Nathanaël Scozzari was a free agent and was amenable to a trial with Monopoli. He spoke fluent Italian so there would be no need for a translator and he could be in Monopoli by Wednesday. David was delighted and rang Scozzari’s agent to confirm this. He rang Daniel Striani back and asked him if he wanted to go out to dinner as a thank you for his tip-off and also as a welcome to Monopoli? Striani accepted and having also rang and invited Claudio Onofri, who accepted, David headed out of the office and home for a shower.

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As well as briefing Fabrizio Celani on what was his scouting tasks would be, David spent most of Tuesday and a lot of Wednesday running the rule over the three triallists that were at the club. Juninho Pinheiro and Mario Morfeo had arrived on the Tuesday and by Wednesday afternoon it was clear to David and his coaches that they would be excellent signings for Monopoli. As such, David organised a meeting with the players, their agents and the Monopoli Director of Football Giovanni Manzari, a short, balding and very tanned man in his fifties. Offers were drawn up and the players went away to discuss things with their agents.

Nathanaël Scozzari had arrived on Wednesday morning and looked a good player. He was exactly the type of player that David was looking for, pacy and aggressive. Along with Scozzari, David had invited a player called Stefano Lanzellotto along to train with the first team following an email he had received from the player on Monday afternoon.

Lanzellotto was a 24 year old utility player who had once been on Modena's books until the end of the 2001/02 season when he had been released from his contract and promptly disappeared from professional football.

They were seated in David's office both sipping coffee;

'You know I have to ask you. What have you been doing for the last five years and why did you quit professional football?'

Lanzellotto nodded;

’I was released from my contract with Modena and was looking for a trial with another club when I learned that my father had cancer. So I returned to my home to help my mother take care of him. Unfortunately he passed away a year later and I then went to work to help pay for my brother’s university tuition. But I always played football. Even though it was just Sunday league level. I dreamt and still dream of playing professionally again.’

David scratched his chin and looked at the young man;

’You know it’s a big ask to take a step up to professional level again after a five year break. Your sharpness and reflexes won’t necessarily be at the same level. All I can offer you is a trial until the end of the week. It’s just two days so you’ll need to impress the hell out of the coaches and I. Even then I can’t guarantee you a contract here. We’re a small club with a limited budget. I can’t really afford to take risks with players.’

’That’s all I ask. Just a chance. You won’t regret it, Mister Rigatoni.’

David sighed. He'd emailed the young man back that evening and asked him to come to speak to him next week and the kid had driven from Naples to Monopoli that morning. The least he could give him was a run out;

’Ok. You have your boots I see. The lad’s will be going out for the afternoon session in around an hour so get kitted out and be on the pitch then.’

These words were met with a huge grin on the face of the young man;

’You won’t regret it Mr. Rigatoni. You really won’t! Thank you so much for this opportunity.’

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By Thursday evening it had become clear that Scozzarri was a good player. Good enough to offer a contract to. Which the club did. As for Lanzellotto? Well having observed him first hand, David felt the boy had the ability. He wanted to confer with his coaches however to get their equally valid opinions.

Seated in his office were Giordano and Nino. David spoke;

'You probably know why I called you here. I need to get your opinion on Stefano Lanzellotto. He's only been here for a couple of days but I wanted to get your feedback on him. Initial impressions if you will.’

Giordano spoke;

’First impressions? I was surprised to be honest. I hadn’t expected much. I mean the boy has been out of the game for a few years now but he still has a good first touch and good football brain. The fact that he is a utility player and can play all over the pitch comfortably is also a bonus.’

Nino nodded;

’It would be too early to give you a definite assessment of the kid, David, but I’ve been impressed with his attitude and commitment. He’s busted his balls out there over the last few days to prove himself and while it’s obvious he’s rusty, I think he has the ability to succeed.’

David nodded;

’I agree he’s put a huge amount of effort into training but I’d like to see him in action in a match. It’s a big risk to just offer him a contract before seeing how he can handle a match situation so…..I am thinking of starting him against Castel di Sangro on Saturday. At least it will give us an idea of his ability in a real match.’

Nino shook his head;

’Starting him may be a risk. He’s not really conditioned properly compared to the other lads. My opinion would be to start him on the bench and throw him on in the second half. See how the match is going and then give him a run out then.’

’I’d agree David. It may be too much, too soon to throw him on straight away.’, Giordano said.

’ Ok I’ll think about it again. I’d still like to give him more than 45 minutes in the side though. We need to make a decision on this kid because if we aren’t going to sign him, I don’t want to waste any of his time trying to find a club. It’s not fair on the boy.’, stated David.

Putting away some papers in his drawer, David continued;

’Anyway we can talk about this tomorrow when we decide on the team. Now let’s get out of here.’

Whilst the two coaches headed home, David went downtown for dinner.

[NDBrennan]

The Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II was the main square in Monopoli and at 6pm on this Thursday afternoon it was starting to bustle into life as the working day was coming to a close. The square had once been the main market in Monopoli but was now consigned to a meeting place for friends and a venue for an open-air cinema. The Piazza was segmented into two main open-air sections with the main walkway bisecting them. Both of these sections of the square were shrouded on all sides by a wall of trees that acted as a form of protection against the hustle and bustle, such as there was, of down-town Monopoli.

David strolled through the Piazza, humming to himself and admiring the scenery. He had walked from the clubs offices here to try and relax after what had been a hectic day. Things were going well so far and he felt that he was starting to piece together a decent team. If the players he had trialed agreed to contracts, and Stefano Lanzellotto proved himself in the game against Castel di Sangro, then his squad was almost complete. All he needed to find then was a goalkeeper.

He had decided that despite what his coaches had said, that Lanzellotto would start against Castel di Sangro on Saturday. He wanted to see the boy in action and believed that he wouldn’t let David down if given the chance. He had felt an affinity for Stefano probably because they had similar backgrounds from a football perspective. Both had been released from their boyhood clubs at 19 and whilst David had been sure he was not good enough to play professionally it was only a family misfortune that had hindered Lanzellotto. Now he was asking for a second chance and David believed he deserved it. Not only was a he a good player but he was a warrior. Just the type of player Monopoli needed.

Fiume Bar was situated just off the Piazza and had been recommended to David by Francesco Bitetto. It served an excellent three course meal consisting of antipasti, cuttlefish and ricotta. The bar was filling up steadily and this was a good sign. Having ordered his meal, David sat back and took a sip of beer enjoying the sultry summer’s evening and the sounds of Charlie Parker’s ‘Laura’ wafting out from the radio in the bar. The setting sun bathed the buildings that flanked the Piazza in an ethereal glow making the scene incredibly picturesque. Almost like a picture postcard.

Several times throughout his meal people had stopped and said hello, wishing him good luck for the season and with good natured banter to try and not get the club relegated. He had a laugh and a joke with them before returning to his meal. In a small town like Monopoli he would have to accept that this was par for the course. It would be fine as long as the team was winning but he could imagine it being a little more difficult if things went the other way.

Once he had finished and paid up he had set out on a stroll around the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. He wandered around the square and saw a group of young people heading off towards the Cinema Etoile di Petruzzi Giovanbattista. He headed over to where they were queuing and saw that there was a Bergman retrospective taking place. Not in the mood for philosophical Swedish musings, David turned around and was about to walk off when a female voice stopped him in his tracks.

’Well if it isn’t my Scottish friend. In the mood for another mint chocolate special?’

His heart leapt a little and he smiled;

’Of course my lovely ice-cream seller slash tourist guide.’

She blushed a little and handed him his ice-cream. Their fingers touched briefly and as with the first time they had met, David felt a surge of electricity through his body. He fished into his pocket and took out a €2 coin. She shook her head and smiled;

’It’s on the house.’

’Thanks. So you work here on the Piazza now?’, David asked

’I work where my brother sends me. Sometimes it’s here, sometimes on the Via Orazzio. It’s his ice-cream business. I only give him a hand during the summer.’

’Ok. I was up on the Via Orazzio looking for you earlier in the week.’

’Looking for me huh? I don’t know if I should be flattered or frightened by that.’, She smiled and raised an eyebrow.

He laughed;

’Well I had actually wanted to thank you. I visited the Lama Belvedere on Sunday. Thanks to your recommendation.’

Her face lit up;

’Really? What did you think of it? It is so beautiful isn’t it?’

’I thought it was incredible to be honest. I’d had a stressful few days and it really helped me to relax. I was lucky it was a fantastic day on Sunday as well. It’s definitely a place I will go back to soon.’, said David.

’I’m so glad you liked it as I was afraid I oversold it to you! It is such a beautiful place. I always bring the kids from my class there at least once a year. It is great for them to get out and experience what nature has to offer. They really enjoy being out of the city for a while.’, she beamed.

’So you’re a teacher?’, he asked.

’I teach primary school in Bari. The ice-cream, is only for the summer. It’s a little business I set up with my brother a few years back. It makes us good money and only needs a few hours work in the evening.’, she blushed and smiled shyly;

Feeling incredibly nervous about what he was going to ask, David spoke;

’That’s good news….because I wanted to ask you something. I was wondering if you would like to…emm..join me for a coffee sometime? Just to allow me show my thanks for your help in directing me to the Lama Belvedere?’

For the first time she hesitated, her brown eyes all apologies;

’Emm.wow. You don’t need to do that. I mean I’m glad you enjoyed the park. Look you seem like a really nice guy. I just…I just don’t date tourists. I’m sorry’

’Ok first of all, it’s not a date. I just wanted to buy you coffee to say thanks for your tip. Secondly I’m not really a tourist. I’ve just signed a two-year contract to work for a company here in Monopoli. Well maybe I am a tourist, but one who is here for the next two years. Hopefully.’

She still looked doubtful;

’I don’t know……’

’Ok a little more information. Emm…you know I’m Scottish-Italian with Genovese roots. Well, my name is David Rigatoni. I’m 32 years old, 33 in November. I am one of the few people in Scotland who can actually stomach Haggis and one of the few who can’t stomach whiskey.’

She smirked a little;

’And judging from your reaction there, I also have a wicked sense of humour.’

’You’re not that good.', she said raising her eyebrow again.

They both laughed a little.

’So what do you say?’, he asked.

She looked off into the distance and sighed. It was obvious she was conflicted and that one part of her wanted to say yes;

’David. You’re a really nice guy but……it’s just not something I do. Please understand….’

He tried to hide how crushed he was;

’Look it’s ok. I understand. Thanks again for the ice-cream and once again for letting me know about the Lama Belvedere. Maybe I’ll see you around while I’m here. After all, I am a big fan of your mint chocolate ice-cream.’

This got a little smile from her although she said nothing. David waved goodbye and feeling pretty sh**ty he started to walk back towards the club offices to pick up his car when he heard her call out;

’David!’

He turned around and she came out from behind the ice-cream cart;

’I am free for a couple of hours on Sunday afternoon. At about 2pm. If you want to buy me a coffee I will be here in the Piazza then.’

He was overjoyed but tried to fight the temptation to punch the air in joy;

’That’s great. I’ll see you then…..emmm what’s your name?’

’You’ll find out on Sunday.’, she smiled coyly

[NDBrennan]

21st July 2007

The journey to Castel di Sangro was roughly 4 hours give or take. At this early hour on a Saturday morning there should be little problem in reaching the town before midday. The scheduled kick-off was 3 o’clock which gave the players time to warm-up, have a light lunch, go through the tactics again and maybe get a little rest before kick-off. Judging from the number of players who were fast asleep on the bus now though, resting wasn’t going to be an issue!

David stared out the coach window, lost in thought about football but also about his encounter ton Thursday night. What a surreal experience that had been. He shook his head and tried to concentrate on football and as he did, he noticed that the coach had hit the motorway taking them off the ring-road that diverted traffic around Bari.

From a football perspective, the good news was that both Juninho Pinheiro and Mario Morfeo had both officially signed 2 year contracts yesterday morning and would officially be unveiled as Monopoli players on Monday morning at a press conference. He had also managed to persuade his reluctant coaches that Stefano Lanzellotto should start the game today. The starting line-up that had been agreed on was again based on a modified 4-2-3-1 system;

starting line-up v Castel di Sangro 21st July, Stadio Teofilo Patini, Castel di Sangro – KO 15.00

GK. Salvatore D’Urso

DRC. Rocco Roberto Paris

DL. Giuseppe Pugliese ©

DC. Fabio de Sole

DLC. Giuseppe Aquino

DLC/DM/AM LC. Stefano Lanzellotto

D/MC. Kris Thackray

AMR. Carlo Cardascio

AM RC. Mario Morfeo

AM RLC. Juninho Pinheiro

SC. Andrea de Florio

David had managed to squeeze all three new players into the starting line-up and was looking forward to seeing what they could do against a Castel di Sangro side that was likely to field a 4-4-2 formation. According to Daniel Striani, their key threat came from veteran midfielder Claudio Bonomi. Bonomi was a product of Castel di Sangro’s youth system and a legend amongst their tifosi. He’d been their top scorer when they’d managed to get promoted to, and survive, Serie B back in the 1990’s and after that had spent a few seasons in Serie A with various clubs.

Ah yes…’The Miracle of Castel di Sangro’.

Having just been promoted from Serie C2 to Serie C1 in 1994/95, nothing much was expected of a club from a town so small it made Monopoli look like a metropolis. However under the magician-like Osvaldo Jaconi, Castel di Sangro had finished 2nd in Serie C1 and qualified for the play-offs where they had first beaten local rivals Gualdo before beating the much bigger, and more heavily fancied Ascoli in a penalty shoot-out. The famous ‘Miracle of Castel di Sangro’ happened in this match. Facing a penalty shoot-out to decide who would win, Jaconi had made a seemingly bizarre decision. He’d substituted his goalkeeper for one who had not played a single minute all season. The shoot-out advanced to sudden death and this goalkeeper, Pietro Spinosa, had pulled off a seemingly impossible save that was dubbed ’The Miracle’. Castel di Sangro had then been promoted and its legend had grown when an American author, Joe McGinniss, had documented their tumultuous first season in Serie B in his book ‘The Miracle of Castel di Sangro’.

Those glory days were long gone for Castel di Sangro though, as they were now languishing in the regional Eccellenza Abruzzo league. They should, on paper, prove to be no match for Monopoli. However given what had happened against Ostuni, David was taking nothing for granted.

Castel di Sangro was a picturesque town nestled in a valley in the Apennine Mountains on the Sangro River. The town was the very definition of a small, with a population of just under 7,000 people. It was hard to believe that the town had once boasted a team in Serie B.

The coach had dropped the Monopoli players directly at the Stadio Teofilo Patini and the players had disembarked, put their gear into the Visitors dressing room, and then taken to the pitch for a quick walk around.

http://www.italianstadiums.com/images/stadio_castelsangro.jpg

As with the town, the stadium was cast in the shadows of the Apennine Mountains, giving a superb view of the surrounding countryside even on this overcast day. It had started to rain almost as soon as the coach had arrived on the outskirts of the town and it showed no signs of abating now. At least, David thought, the temperatures wouldn’t be as high as at Ostuni. As he had wandered around the pitch chatting with Giordano Paoloni, he had noticed two coaches pull up with Monopoli flags hanging out of them.

The Ultras had arrived.

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It was now 2.45pm and all the formalities had been gone through. David stood in the middle of the dressing room and addressed the players for the final time before kick-off;

’Right lads. Today we have a chance to build on the positive result we had last week. It's not as hot and humid out there to play football in, so get on the ball and pass and move. I want you to attack with conviction and get at them early. Get stuck into them in the middle of the park and show them you’re up for a battle today. And if you do that I’m telling you, you can win this game today. So let’s go out and win this game!’

Castel di Sangro v AC Monopoli

First Half

Apart from a brief flurry by Monopoli in the first four minutes, this was one of the poorest halves of football that David could remember seeing for a long time. The deteriorating weather conditions hadn’t helped, but neither side was holding on to the ball and keeping it for any length of time. Passes were going astray or were coming up short and neither side created a single clear-cut chance in the first half. Monopoli’s three new signings were playing ok though, with Juninho Pinheiro and Mario Morfeo showing some nice interplay between themselves. Stefano Lanzellotto was also playing fairly well and showed a lot in terms of honesty of effort, if a little lack of invention on the ball.

The Brazilian had linked up well with left back Giuseppe Pugliese to create a shooting opportunity for Morfeo in the 25th minute. The central midfielders shot was charged down and bounced harmlessly into the arms of Gesuele in the Castel di Sangro goal. 3 minutes later and Pinheiro himself had an effort charged down after some good link up, play between Kris Thackray and Stefano Lanzellotto had found the Brazilian on the edge of the Castel di Sangro box.

Thackray himself had a thunderbolt of a shot charged down in the 36th minute after Juninho Pinheiro had carved out a shooting opportunity for him.

As the referee’s whistle blew for half time, you could sense that the crowd of 631 people were pretty bored with what they had just witnessed.

Half-Time – Castel di Sangro 0-0 AC Monopoli

David addressed his players, trying to encourage them;

’We’ve created the better chances out there today so keep your heads up. We are playing the better football so keep it up and keep looking for each other and creating spaces. We’re overrunning them in midfield so there will be space to play into. They’re playing deep so you need to draw them out a little and if you play into space they’ll have to commit men to counter it. You’ve had a few shots already so keep playing as you are and space will come. Keep it up lads and let’s win this game.’

Second Half

Whatever had been said in the Castel di Sangro dressing room at half-time seemed to have worked because the team from Abruzzo started the half much sharper. They seemed to be playing a little higher up the pitch than in the first half and were starting to string a few passes together, culminating in the first chance of the second half. A cross was lifted into the box from the right and Castel di Sangro’s main striker, Marco Vitiello took his shot first time. Luckily it had cannoned off Fabio di Sole and bounced harmlessly away drawing groans from the small crowd. This escape should have been enough to wake Monopoli’s players up. But it didn’t and just 2 minutes later they had paid the price.

Again the danger came from the right when Castel di Sangro’s right winger hadn’t been closed down quickly enough. He’d managed to fire a ball in low towards the near post that had evaded the Monopoli defence and found Castel di Sangro’s second striker Emanuele Cardini. As Salvatore D’Urso had tried to close down the angle in case the striker took a shot, Cardini had looked across the goal where his strike partner Vitiello was screaming for the pass. Cardini had attempted to cross the ball and in doing so it had hit D’Urso and it bounced right into Vitiello’s path allowing the Castel di Sangro striker the simplest of tap-ins.

The Teofilo Patini erupted in a loud roar as the Castel di Sangro players ran to celebrate and the Monopoli defence began an inquiry into how the goal had happened. Something David was also wondering as he swore long and eloquently to himself on the touchline.

’Lads!! Keep the head’s up!! Get at them straight away!, he had roared as the two teams had headed back to the centre circle.

Castel di Sangro then started to drop deep again and allowed Monopoli to take the initiative. Which was to bear fruit five minutes later.

Some slick interplay between Kris Thackray, Stefano Lanzellotto and inevitably, Juninho Pinheiro managed to draw out the Castel di Sangro defence and allow Carlo Cardascio a shot on goal which was blocked and went out for a corner. From the resultant corner, Castel di Sangro cleared but only as far as Monopoli centre-back Giuseppe Aquino. He traded quick one-twos with Stefano Lanzellotto before launching a pass 20 yards to Kris Thackray who had stayed forward. Thackray spotted Juninho Pinheiro free and sent a good ball forward to him.

The Brazilian midfielder took one look up and seeing no-one free in the box, lashed a ferocious 20 yard drive at the Castel di Sangro goal. The keeper never stood a chance and as the back of the net bulged the Brazilian ran towards the Monopoli Ultras to celebrate.

'Get in there!!', shouted David as he punched the air.

For the rest of the game it was all Monopoli as they dominated proceedings.

Carlo Cardascio had two shots saved and generally made a nuisance of himself as Monopoli pushed for a winner. He really should have buried one chance he had with five minutes to go when put free in the box. Instead he had lashed the ball high and over the bar, holding his head in his hands.

The referee blew the final whistle and both teams trudged off the rain soaked pitch, the Castel di Sangro players much happier with the final result.

Full Time

Castel di Sangro 1-1 AC Monopoli

Back in the dressing room there was a great sense of frustration amongst the players as they realized that this was a game they should have won.

‘We were all over them. We should have f*cking buried them out there.’, spat Giuseppe Pugliese as he smashed his boots against the ground to extract the mud compacted between the studs.

’I know mate. We fluffed so many chances today. On another day we could have hit them for four or five.’, replied Andrea de Florio who was seated beside Pugliese.

’I mean they only played for ten f*cking minutes out there. How did we not win this?’, said Mario Morfeo, who was slumped in the corner of the dressing room with an ice-pack on his ankle as a precautionary measure.

Pugliese had finished with his boots and was taking off his jersey;

‘I really, really wish we could play these f*cking guys again and absolutely murder them next time. Did you see them slag off our fans when they scored? Bastards.’

David listened to this and allowed the players vent before he stepped in. He looked around the room, gazing intently into each players eyes;

’Lads, we deserved to win today no question. On another day we could have put five past them. It wasn’t to be today that’s all. We’re all pi**ed off with this result because we outplayed and more importantly we outfought them out there today. Despite the result lads, it was a good performance and you showed plenty of character and plenty of bottle out there today, particularly after we conceded. You didn’t let your heads drop or lose the head. If you continue to play like that then this team is gonna’ go places. Now let’s forget about the result today, concentrate on how well you played and take that level of intensity into the next game.’

He looked around the room again;

'Right lads, let's get sorted and get back to Monopoli.'

As David was leaving the dressing room he stopped next to Stefano Lanzellotto and spoke to him;

'Good game, son. I want to talk to you on Monday about the possibility of a contract, ok? Come and see me first thing.'

David then left and went out to the team bus.

[NDBrennan]

Sunday in Monopoli was a day where the citizens would have relaxed and rested before the start of the week, and in this regard David would have been no different to any of the locals.

However today…today was different.

Sitting on a bench in the Piazza, waiting, and praying that she would turn up, his found his stomach was in knots and his mouth was dry. He hadn’t felt this nervous about meeting a girl since he had been a callow youth at his first school disco back in Glasgow all those years ago. Hell, he hadn’t felt this nervous even before a football match!

He looked down at his watch. 1.55pm. He felt even more nervous.

’Calm down mate. Take it easy. She’ll be here. She said she would.’, he said to himself

The Piazza was teeming with life as families congregated to meet each other before heading to lunch, their children playing around the adults’ feet. He saw young couples walking hand in hand, laughing and giggling together and he smiled. Ah……Young love.

His attention was drawn to an impromptu game of football taking place between a group of kids who were belting a tennis ball around the Piazza. They were playing 5-a-side and David watched them as with deft control they flicked the tennis ball to each other with ease, stopping it dead no matter what speed it came at them. All except one kid who missed the tennis ball as it was passed to him and the ball flew past him and over to where David was sitting. One of the kids shouted to him;

’Hey Mister! Pass it back!’

David smiled and stood up. Flicking the ball up with one foot, he juggled it twice with each foot, did a quick one-two and then flicked it over to the boys who were waiting;

’Thanks Mister!’

’So I guess I have to add great footballer to your list of attributes.’

He smiled and turned around to face her. She looked incredible in a white summer dress, sandals and dark black sun glasses. Her long, black hair was tied with a pretty red bow. She just looked so amazing that it literally took his breath away.

’Well you could add that….but I’m a modest enough guy to leave it off the list.’, he smiled and winked.

‘I’m sure.’, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Her smile showing she didn’t really mean it.

They kissed each other’s cheeks and David smelt the flowery aroma of her perfume. He’d no idea what brand it was, but it smelt very good whatever it was.

’Ok…now can you please tell me your name?’

’Hmmm. I dunno. I kind of like this keeping you in suspense act we have going on.’, she giggled a little, gesturing back and forth between him and herself;

’You mean the act that YOU have going on.’

’Yeah it’s great isn’t it? Well for me anyway, I guess.’

He shook his head and smiled a little to which she held her hands up and said;

’Ok, Ok. You’ve waited long enough. My name is Chiara.’

’Well Chiara. It is great to finally put a name to the very pretty face.’

’Wow…he’s also a charmer. That list of your attributes just gets longer and longer by the minute.’ she said as she blushed a little and fiddled with her sunglasses.

They looked at each other for a second until she dropped her gaze.

’So Chiara, where would you suggest we get coffee?’, said David.

’I know a little place near here that does an excellent coffee and pastry combo special on a Sunday.’

The little café was a few minute’s walk from the Piazza and was shaded from the sun by several olive trees that grew nearby. Over a coffee and cannoli special, they had talked and as the afternoon had grown a little later they had become more comfortable in each other’s company.

Chiara was a 28 year old teacher who had been born in Monopoli but currently divided her time between her term-time activities which saw her live in Bari and her summer vacation time which she spent in Monopoli. She helped her older brother, Davide, out with the ice-cream business they had set-up when they were teenagers because it was good money and because it kept her busy in the summer. She was the youngest of three children in her family and both of her parents had retired and lived in Monopoli. Her father had been a fisherman when he was younger and in later years had opened a bait shop which he had sold to Chiara’s eldest brother Giovanni.

They had left the café and had started walking back towards the Piazza, headed towards the coast. On the way David had spoken a little more about his life. How he'd grown up an only child of Genovese immigrants in Glasgow. How his father had at first opened a Fish n'Chip shop before eventually opening an Italian Restaurant. By the time they had made it to the coast, near the Castle of King Charles V where they had first met, he had mentioned his short footballing career.

She had stopped and sliding her sunglasses on top of her head she had turned to him;

'David. When we met on the Piazza the other night, why did you not tell me that you were going to be working as the Manager of AC Monopoli? In fact when were you going to tell me?'

'Well I could ask you the same question about why you wouldn't tell me your name on the Piazza the other night.', he grinned

Seeing that his attempt at humour had not been well recieved judging from the scowl on her face, he got serious;

'Honestly Chiara? I really didn't think you'd believe me. I mean I am a 32 year old Scottish guy who meets you one night, and who you think is a tourist by the way, and suddenly when I meet you again I declare I'm the manager of the local football club. I mean it sounds like a really cheesy pick-up line doesn't it? 'Hi I'm David Rigatoni and I am a football manager.', he sighed 'I guess...I guess I didn't want to ruin a chance to get to know you better by coming across as for all intents and purposes, a liar, and have you tell me to get lost. I really didn't think you would believe me if I had told you then. As for when I was going to tell you? Well I was leading up to that just before you asked me. I was about to say that when my playing career ended I coached for 10 years in Scotland with Partick Thistle and another three at Udinese.'

She said nothing but had stopped scowling. He continued;

'Chiara, I have really, really enjoyed this afternoon with you. It's been the best time I've had since I arrived in Monopoli. I...I just hope that you can accept my explanation and that if nothing else, it makes some sense to you.'

For a moment she said nothing and David had feared the worst. Then she had smiled and reaching across squeezed his arm. He felt relief wash over his body. They walked and talked for another ten minutes or so before Chiara looked at her watch and exclaimed;

'Manoche! Is that the time? I am late for work! David, I am so sorry but I have to go.'

'No problem, Chiara. I'll walk back with you.'

It didn't take them long to reach her small, white Fiat which was parked near the Via Conte di Torino.

She turned to him and smiled;

'Thank you Mister Scotland for a lovely afternoon.'

'No, thank you Miss Chiara for a really great time. Like I said it was the best time I've had since I've been here.'

They both looked at each other and David spoke, placing one hand on the roof of her car;

'Soooo. Would it be possible to meet up with you again sometime? Maybe this coming week?'

Chiara placed a smooth, soft hand on David's and with a shy smile, nodded;

'I'd really like that.'

David's heart leapt and it sounded like a chorus of Hallelujah! was being sung in his head. Chiara reached into her purse and took out a pen and notepad, scribbling down a number and handed it to David. As she did she leant in and planted a soft kiss on his cheek, before opening the door of her car and getting in.

As David watched her drive off he looked down at the note;

Chiara Massella

876512345

Smiling he slipped the note into his pocket and almost skipped all the way home.

[NDBrennan]

25th July 2007

It was less than 30 minutes away from the kick-off to his home debut as manager of Monopoli and David was starting to feel his nerves jangling. It didn’t help matters that this match was against local rivals Martina who were based 33km down the road in Martina Franca. It also didn’t help that Martina had a good squad that had been strengthened considerably to compete in Serie C1, according to his scout Daniel Striani. There was no question that this was going to be a biggest test of the character of the AC Monopoli squad since David had arrived. And his biggest test as a manager.

The days leading up to this Wednesday derby had been very busy, although David had hardly noticed as he was still on a high from Sunday’s afternoon meeting with Chiara. They’d exchanged texts several times and had agreed to go out again tomorrow night. It was the feast of Saint Anne and there would be several events taking place in the town during the evening and into the night.

His weekly Monday meeting with the Monopoli Board of Directors had been quite productive. The board had given him a choice of local clubs to choose from as potential feeder clubs and David had plumped for lower league club Virtus Locorotondo who were based 27km away in the small town of Locorotondo. It would be easier to get players to move there given its proximity to Monopoli and the ease with which scouts could keep David updated on player’s progress. David had also managed to arrange a friendly with Virtus Locorotondo for later in the summer.

From a player’s perspective, Stefano Lanzellotto had been offered and had accepted a two year contract with the club and had been absolutely over the moon about it. The club had also just signed a new goalkeeper 26 year old Paolo Codognola on a free transfer. Codognola had been out of football for a year with a bad back injury, but had fully recovered and was raring to get back into football. He looked a good signing and David had decided that, much like Stefano Lanzellotto, he would throw Codognola in at the deep end tonight against Martina.

And so to Martina and the game at hand.

Having analysed Daniel Striani’s scout report on the opposition it became obvious that they were going to be a tough nut to crack. They normally played a 4-4-2 formation with two good wingers where they relied on getting the ball into the strikers quickly. They relied on Argentinian forward Federico Arias for their creativity and he was a bit of a livewire truth be told.

However, having seen the Martina team once it had been announced David saw that they had changed their formation slightly. They were playing a modified 4-3-3 formation with one central striker flanked on either side by two forwards playing a little behind him in the wing position. This would require a reshuffle of David’s original chosen tactic.

He sat down with Giordano and discussed his proposed changes;

’Given that they have tweaked their formation slightly, it looks set up to hit us on the break by firing balls in behind our full-backs as they go forward. We probably need to keep our fullbacks withdrawn a little and stop them charging forward at every opportunity.’

’Yeah, that makes sense. I’d also say we should ask one of our defensive midfielders to stay slightly withdrawn as well. At least he can then help out one of the fullbacks if they are in trouble.’, Giordano nodded.

’That would be a good idea because Arias is going to drift inside from the right. He’s not going to stay wide right for the whole game.’, David had agreed.

He looked through the line-up that had been agreed on;

starting line-up v Martina - 25st July, Stadio Vito Simone Veneziani, Monopoli – KO 19.30

GK. Paolo Codognola

DRC. Rocco Roberto Paris

DC. Fabio di Sole

DLC. Giuseppe Aquino

DL. Giuseppe Pugliese ©

DLC/DM/AM LC. Stefano Lanzellotto

D/MC. Kris Thackray

AMR. Alessio Cossu

AM RC. Mario Morfeo

AM RLC. Juninho Pinheiro

SC. Francesco Caracciolese

Several changes had been made to the team including the addition of new signing Paolo Codognola. Francesco Caracciolese also got his first start of the pre-season and David hoped his strength and determination could unsettle the Martina defence.

It was all in the lap of the gods now as David submitted his team to referee Mario Mazzoleni.

As he left the referees changing room and headed back to the Home changing room at the Vito Simone Veneziani, his mobile beeped. He took it out and saw he’d received a text message.

Good luck tonight Mister Scotland. x C

He smiled and went into the dressing room to address the team.

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A crowd of 700 supporters greeted the two teams as they took the pitch. David looked around the stadium on this dry summer’s evening and saw that the supporters were not grouped together in any one area. The grand-stand was half full and the curva, the home of the Bad Boys ‘87 Ultras was also filling up, although it was not even half-full itself.

’I suppose it is only a friendly game’, David thought to himself as he stood on the touchline while the referee blew the whistle to start the game.

AC Monopoli v Martina

First Half

If ever there was the definition of a dream start, it was what happened next.

Monopoli had kicked off and straight away the ball had been passed back to Giuseppe Aquino who spotted Rocco Roberto Paris free on the right and passed the ball to him. Paris had moved forward with the ball unopposed until confronted by Martina left winger Salvatore Sullo. Feigning to pass, Paris had jinked past the left winger and strode on over the half-way line until he had offloaded the ball to Alessio Cossu.

As Martina backed off him, Cossu spotted Stefano Lanzellotto in space and slotted the ball to the midfielder who took the ball on a few strides before laying on a beautiful pass to Mario Morfeo. Morfeo was under immediate pressure from the Martina midfield and observing Francesco Caracciolese had dropped a little deeper to lose his marker, Morfeo passed it to the striker.

Caracciolese was on the edge of the box and as his marker closed in on him, he turned on a sixpence and hammered an Excocet missile of a shot at the Martina goal. The keeper had absolutely no chance of saving the shot and as the net bulged the stadium erupted in cheering and clapping. Caracciolese was mobbed by his teammates and David celebrated by punching the air in joy.

What a start for Monopoli!

As if things weren’t difficult enough for Martina after that, they got a lot, lot worse two minutes later.

Alessio Cossu was put free of the last defender by a lovely weighted pass from Caracciolese following some neat interplay between the striker and Mario Morfeo. As he charged through on goal, Cossu was hauled back by the hand of Martina’s Brazilian centre-back Vanderson tugging on his jersey. Cossu fell to the ground and the ball was cleared. The referee blew his whistle and was surrounded by players from both teams. Dismissing them, he walked over to Vanderson and flashed a straight red card at the Brazilian.

Martina’s manager Andrea Campione was apoplectic with rage and gesticulated wildly at the referee for the decision;

'Referee. For f*cks sake! That was never a red card!!!! He took a f*cking dive!!'

He was cautioned by the fourth official and was lucky to escape a booking from Mario Mazzoleni.

The game had swung in Monopoli’s favour and Martina now switched to a more defensive formation. This didn’t stop Monopoli having another good attempt on goal. From a direct free kick, Mario Morfeo fired in a shot which took a deflection off the wall that had Martina goalkeeper Marco Murriero scrambling to make a save. The Martina keeper also pulled off another good save in the 29th minute when dealing with another free kick. Mario Morfeo had rolled the ball to Kris Thackray, who hit a solid shot straight at the keeper.

But it was Francesco Carraciolese who had a gilt-edged chance to finish the game off.

After nice build-up play around the box, Juninho Pinheiro had spotted the striker had gotten free of his marker and slided the ball through to him. Carraciolese was free in the area and really should have scored. However, he drilled the ball wide of the target to groans of frustration from the Monopoli fans.

When the referee had blown for half time the Monopoli players had been cheered and clapped off the pitch by the supporters.

Half-Time –AC Monopoli 1 –0 Martina

The mood in the dressing room was ebuillent and the players knew they had Martina on the ropes. David let them talk amongst themselves for a minute as he readied what he was going to say;

’Ok lads, great performance so far. We are on top of them and totally in control. But don’t let your concentration levels drop. They still have the players who can make us pay if we get sloppy. So keep it tight, keep hold of the ball and keep playing it into the spaces. Get it into Francesco when you can because he’s got the beating of his man. If we continue to push, we’ll get another goal. They’re down to ten men and will tire in the second half. But keep your concentration and make sure you complete your passes.’

He walked over to where Kris Thackray and Stefano Lanzellotto were sitting;

’Kris, Stefano. I know it’s tempting to bomb forward now they’re down to ten men but don’t over commit yourselves. Keep an eye out for any potential counter-attacks. The same goes for you Rocco and you Giuseppe. Be clever going forward and pick your times. I’m not saying stay back all the time, just be aware when they have possession and be ready for the counter.’

He returned to the centre of the room;

’Alright lads. Let’s go out there and finish the game off.’

Second Half

The crowd had settled down and were waiting expectantly for the resumption of the match. In truth, they were undoubtedly disappointed by a drab affair that saw a litany of substitutions by both sides and the creation of only one decent chance. Martina had set there stall out to defend and as with the second half, they didn’t have one shot on goal.

The only chance of note in the second came when club captain Francesco Bitetto had a good shot saved by Martina’s substitute keep Montresor.

With little extra time needing to be played, the referee blew the full time whistle to end the game.

Full Time

AC Monopoli 1-0 Martina

Having congratulated his players on a good win, David had met with the Monopoli board for a post-match drink. Floriana Ladisa was delighted with the result;

’ Congratulations David. It was a great win tonight. I can tell you that the fans were delighted with the result. Particularly our more ehem…vocal supporters.’

David laughed.

’Yeah…I met Gianni just there and he was delighted with the result. It was a good win but I’m not going to get too carried away with it. The red card changed the game. They’re still a decent side. And they will be itching for revenge when they play us in the Serie C Cup.’

’Well. At least we have the confidence to know we can compete with them.’, she said.

’Definitely it will give the squad more confidence. That’s what they need right now.’

As they chatted for a few more moments, they had been joined by Giovanni Manzari who vigorously shook David’s hand;

’Congratulations David! A great result for us. I have to say the new signings we have made look very, very good.’

’Yes, I was impressed by Mario Morfeo and Juninho Pinheiro today. They look to be players who can play a big part in the future of this club.’, Floriana added.

’I hope so. I think they give us that little bit of quality we need in this division to set us apart from the rest.’, said David as he took another sip of wine.

‘David, the board members are heading out to dinner now and I was wondering if you would like to join us?’, Floriana asked.

’That would be great.’, David smiled.

As soon as David had extricated himself from talking to the board, he had checked his mobile phone. A message from Chiara.

Did you win?

He smiled and keyed in his reply.

[NDBrennan]

The day after the Martina game and the mood around the club was buoyant. David had arrived into the clubs offices early to be greeted by a very happy Sandra on reception;

’Congratulations on the result, David.’

’Thanks Sandra. Were you at the game?’, he had asked.

She frowned;

’But of course! I am a die-hard Biancoverde. Have you seen the paper this morning?’, she pointed at a copy of Il Meridiano that was lying on the table in reception.

’Not yet. Was about to have a look over a coffee. Anything about the match in it?’, he asked.

’You’ll see.’, she winked at him.

Having reached his office he turned on his laptop, grabbed a cup of coffee, and turned his attention to the papers.

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/5797/vsmartina.jpg

It was a pretty accurate picture of the game and David hoped that the win would inspire confidence in the team. They had certainly held onto the ball a lot better than in previous games and he felt that they were starting to gel a little better. The proof of this would hopefully be evident next Tuesday when they played Pro Vasto away.

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

Following the mornings training session, David met with Riccardo Mazantini who was the clubs groundskeeper. A gruff, grizzled man in his late fifties, he had worked as the groundskeeper at AC Monopoli for twenty-five years.

’So, what size do you want this pitch for the new season? The maximum the ground can accommodate is 114x68.’

David looked out over the pitch;

’I need it 102x65, standard length. We’re not going to be playing traditional wingers so we don’t need it too wide.’

Mazantini grunted and nodded.

’I have to say the pitch is in great condition. You’ve done a great job on it.’, David added.

Again Mazantini just grunted, nodded and headed off to tend his pitch.

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The Feast of Saint Anne had the whole of Monopoli buzzing and the town was alive as David walked to the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II where he was due to meet Chiara. Several times along the journey he was stopped and congratulated by Monopoli fans and after accepting their congratulations, he had hurried on. It looked like he was going to be late.

When he met her they had kissed in greeting. She was wearing her hair down for the first time since he had met her and even though she was wearing a simple ensemble of cut-off cargo pants and a loose shirt, she looked ravishing.

’Chiara, you look amazing.’

She smiled, tapped her watch and raised an eyebrow in a disproving manner;

’Flattery will not grant you forgiveness for being late…..Just because you are the new town hero.’

’Will getting down on bended knee and asking forgiveness do it?’, he replied

’Only asking? A truly penitent man would surely try harder.’, she said, raising an eyebrow again;

’Ok..Ok. How about if I got down on my knees and begged you for forgiveness then?’, he asked.

She looked at David in an appraising manner and tapped two fingers against her chin, as if contemplating his offer.

’I will consider forgiving you if we can dine at my favourite restaurant. Do we have a deal?’, she said as she held out her hand. Leaning down David kissed it lightly;

’Deal.’

La Mia Terra was situated on the outskirts of Monopoli near the part of the town where the white-stone and conically shaped homes built during the Middle-Ages could be found. The restaurant had a great reputation locally and as such was fairly bustling. As they perused the menu, Chiara and David chatted before ordering a bottle of wine and their food. Over a delicious four course meal they laughed and joked as if they’d known each other for years. David had never felt so content and the three hour meal flew by.

They had gotten a cab back to Monopoli and gone for a stroll along the sea-front. There Chiara had slipped her hand into David’s and squeezed it gently. Neither of them said anything as David stopped and turned to face her. There was a cool breeze coming in from the sea that blew some loose strands of hair into her face. He delicately brushed them off her cheek and she sighed a little as his fingers ghosted her cheek. He lowered his lips to hers and they kissed. Softly at first, their lips barely grazing each other and then a little harder as he moved his body closer to hers. They stayed wrapped in this embrace for God only knew how long before Chiara had broken off the kiss, a dreamy smile on her face. She fiddled with the top button of his shirt and looked up at him;

’So is that what you meant when you sent me that text the other night?’

’What text was that?’, he asked puzzled.

’When I sent you the one asking you if you had won the other night. Do you remember your reply?’

’I vaguely recall it.’, he grinned before planting a quick kiss on her lips ’Well let me put it like this, what happened just now, makes it a lot clearer for me that I may have been right.’

’Only that you may have been right. Looks like I’m going to have to try harder to confirm it for you.’, she said as she kissed him

’I’ll tell you what Mister Scotland. If you come out with me to Bari on Saturday night, I’ll see what I can come up with to leave you in no doubt that your text was correct.’

’I don’t know, Chiara. Getting back from Bari late on a Saturday night would be impossible. I’d really need a place to stay.’, said David with frown of mock concern.

’I’m sure we could sort something out.’, Chiara winked, before they kissed again.

[NDBrennan]

31st July 2007

It was hard to believe that the match day had rolled around again so quickly. After the Martina game time had been eaten up between training, board meetings and of course, more importantly, time spent with Chiara.

The Saturday night in Bari had been unforgettable. They’d had dinner in the evening, a few drinks at a local disco bar where Chiara regularly hung out and then danced, well Chiara had danced David had tried, at a place called La Parrilla de Juan. They’d stumbled back to Chiara’s apartment at around 3am and made love with passion until dawn.

Before they’d drifted off to sleep Chiara had whispered in his ear;

’So does this confirm for you what you said in the text.’

He looked into her eyes and said;

’From the moment I first saw you there was never any doubt.’

They had kissed again before drifting off to sleep…….

As he sat and thought about this, he shivered a little at the memory and smiled to himself. He hadn’t even noticed that the bus had stopped and the player’s had started to disembark. It was Paolo Codognola who woke him from his daydream with a tap on his shoulder;

’Eh..Boss. We’re here.’

Vasto was situated near Pescara in the Abruzzo region of Italy, on the coastline overlooking the Adriatic Sea. With a population of under 40,000 it was similar to Monopoli in terms of size and proximity to a larger regional city.

The local club were Pro Vasto who, like previous opponents Castel di Sangro, played in the regional Eccellenza Abruzzo league. Also like Castel di Sangro this match was going to be played in wet conditions as it had been raining steadily for several hours. Conditions were humid which wasn’t likely to help matters.

As he stepped off the coach, David refocused his mind on the task at hand; getting a win today. He walked into the dressing room and announced the starting eleven to the players.

starting line-up v Pro Vasto - 31st July, Stadio Aragona, Vasto – KO 19.30

GK. Paolo Codognola

DRC. Francesco Colella

DC. Fabio di Sole

DLC. Nathanaël Scozzari

DL. Giuseppe Pugliese ©

DLC/DM/AM LC. Stefano Lanzellotto

D/MC. Kris Thackray

AMR. Francesco Procentese

AM RC. Mario Morfeo

AM RLC. Juninho Pinheiro

SC. Francesco Caracciolese

He had wanted to play Alessio Cossu again as the youngster had really impressed against Martina. Unfortunately, Cossu had stubbed a toe very badly in training the previous Friday and would not be fit for a few more days. His place was taken by an 18 year old Neapolitan right winger called Francesco Procentese, the first signing to arrive from Monopoli’s new parent club SSC Napoli.

At a hastily convened board meeting on Saturday morning, David had been given a choice of club to be Monopoli’s new Parent club, either Napoli or Livorno. David had plumped for Napoli and almost immediately the Partenopei had sent Procentese on loan. He was a decent young player who possessed good pace and David hoped he could use it to terrorise the Pro Vasto defence tonight. Napoli had also indicated that they would like to send another young player on loan called Massimiliano Esposito and would be in touch with Monopoli about this in the next few days.

According to Daniel Striani’s scout report, Pro Vasto would likely play a 4-4-2 formation and look to exploit the wings, even though the pitch at the Stadio Aragona was quite narrow. Situated in the middle of the city, the Aragona had a capacity of 5,200 with 3,000 seats. The expected attendance for the game tonight was just north of 200.

http://vastocalcio.jimdo.com/s/cc_images/cache_1300313414.jpg

Before the players took to the pitch David addressed them;

’Ok lads, gather around. Tonight is a game we can win. But I need you to stay focused and take the intensity of last Wednesday’s performance against Martina and do the same tonight. We’ve spoken about this in training - intensity and commitment. With those two ingredients, you can win this game tonight. So let’s go do it.’

As the players were walking out the door onto the pitch, David stopped an obviously nervous Francesco Procentese and with his hand on the young man’s shoulder David looked him in the eye;

’Francesco. Keep it simple out there tonight. Look for the ball and when you get it, run with it and look to offload it to another green and white jersey. Whatever you do son, enjoy the game and remember you’ve only just joined us so I’m not expecting miracles from you tonight. Express yourself with the ball and show us what you can do.’

’Ok boss.’, Procentese looked relieved;

’Good lad.’, said David ’Now off you go.’

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Pro Vasto v AC Monopoli

First Half

The rain was pelting out of the heavens as Monopoli started the game in the ascendancy. The slick interplay between the defensive midfield and attacking midfield trident was leading Pro Vasto a merry dance. For all the possession Monopoli had, it wasn’t until the 8th minute when they created their first chance.

Kris Thackray had received a short pass from Giuseppe Pugliese and strode forward as the rain pelted down on the pitch. As he had crossed the half-way line, he had unloaded the ball to juninho Pinheiro who had come deep to lose his marker. The Brazilian had taken the ball forward and then slid a pass to Mario Morfeo. Morfeo had turned on the ball and moved forward leaving his marker for dead. Looking up he saw Francesco Caracciolese was level with the last defender and Morfeo had executed a perfect slide-rule pass to put the striker through on goal. One-on-one with the keeper Caracciolese had miss-hit the shot and it had been saved.

It was a portent of things to come.

Francesco Caracciolese had taken the ball just outside the area on the left side and had seen his way blocked by two defenders. He’d fired a ball into the area looking for Kris Thackray who had bombed forward from midfield. The pass was intercepted by the Pro Vasto defence and looked like it would be cleared easily. Unaware of Thackray’s presence in the box , the Pro Casto defender had attempted to pass the ball back to his keeper on for it to be robbed by the gangly Geordie. Kris Thackray had steadied himself and then rifled a shot into the net.

GOAL!!!!

14 minutes gone and Monopoli were one up.

As Monopoli continued to dominate the remainder of the first-half, Francesco Procentese was starting to come more and more into the game. The young midfielder had the last great chance of the first half when on receiving an inviting lay-off from Mario Morfeo, he had blasted the ball towards the net. It had been going wide until it took a deflection and spun wildly towards the net. Only a brilliant save by Panico in the Pro Vasto goal saved them.

As the referee blew the whistle for halt-time, two drenched teams trudged off the field.

Half-Time – Pro Vasto 0 – 1 AC Monopoli

David didn’t really need to say much at half-time except that he wanted the players to continue to play the way they had been and go in for the kill;

’I know the conditions are dreadful out there lads, but let’s forget about that and score some more. We haven’t been putting the games to bed when we’ve been dominating so let’s put that right.’

Second Half

Monopoli dominated the game from the off in the second half and finally doubled their advantage in the 58th minute.

A superb series of one-touch passes from the attacking quartet of Procentese, Morfeo, Carraciolese and Juninho Pinheiro saw the latter receive a lovely pass and wriggle free of his marker just inside the box and blast a shot past Panico in the Pro Vasto goal.

As the players and fans had celebrated David turned to Giordano and laughed;

’That was f*cking beautiful!!!’

’Absolute quality from beginning to end’, said the Assistant Manager, as he beamed.

The only save Paolo Codognola had to make in the whole match was in the 67th minute when a direct freekick was deflected off the defensive wall and the Monopoli keeper had had to dive left sharpish.

It was Monopoli team who were to finally kill the game off in the 74th minute and it was two of the clubs old timers who were involved. Monopoli had made several substitutes and two of these were 35 year old Argentinian striker Fernando Alberto Galetti who had come on for Francesco Caracciolese and Francesco Bitetto who had come on for Mario Morfeo.

Bitetto was the architect of the goal through and outrageous piece of skill which saw the veteran winger leave two men for dead before he slid a fantastic pass through to the Argentinian. Galetti had hit the shot first time past Panico in the Pro Vasto goal.

Game, effectively, Over.

All the fight went out of Pro vasto then and for the rest of the match Monopoli pinged passes around to each other as if in a training match. In truth conditions were atrocious, and it was some relief to the Pro Vasto players and those 200 plus brave souls in the Stadio Aragona when the referee blew the final whistle.

Full Time

Pro Vasto 0 - 3 AC Monopoli

Back in the dressing room David congratulated the players and left the dressing room for the team bus. He was already mentally preparing for Monopoli’s biggest challenge to date.

Two home games in three days one of which was against Serie B side Ternana.