Una Storia Del Calcio

[WLKRAS]

Introduction

Hello and welcome to this story. I will not regale you with a stellar opening. I have tried this approach many times before and found myself unable to keep the same level of quality throughout the rest of the story. Nor could I weave the off-the-field happenings into the football part of the story. Which is why this time, I intend to focus on the footballing aspect. I might fail miserably. Or I might succeed. The story might evolve into greater things than pure football, but for now I intend to keep things simple.

I will start this game as the manager of Italian Serie C2/A side Montechiari, a team that is expected to be in the lower half of the mid-table region, though the board expect me to battle bravely against relegation. The transfer budget is small and likewise, the wage budget is nothing extraordinary. We do have some room to bring in reinforcements, with €3,000 of the wage budget currently going unused. A brief overview of the club reveals that they were founded in 1928 and that they are very much a local team. The home games are set to be played at the 3,000 capacity Romeo Menti stadium. The facilities at the club are fairly basic, but then again, they do play in the Serie C2.

The backroom staff consists of two assistant managers, a coach, a goalkeeping coach, three physiotherapists and one scout. I would expect to make some changes there as I’m not quite happy with that setup.

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

| Pkd | Inf | Name | Position | Morale | Form | Con | Apps | Gls | Av Rat |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Mauro Rosin | GK | Okay | - | 50% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Juan Manuel De la Fuente | GK | Okay | - | 48% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Marco Filippini | D RL | Poor | - | 48% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Dario Dossi | D L, M C | Poor | - | 48% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Mattias Pacciarini | D C | Okay | - | 49% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Daniele Semenzato | D/WB/AM R | Good | - | 50% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | | Alessio Baresi | D/M C | Okay | - | 52% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Fabio Calandrelli | D/M C | Good | - | 46% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Davide Bersi | D/AM R | Very Poor | - | 49% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Stefano Fusari | DM | Poor | - | 51% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Daniele Capelloni | M C | Poor | - | 49% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Stefano Murante | AM RL | Poor | - | 48% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Francesco Cigardi | AM RC | Okay | - | 47% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Paolo Zaccagnini | AM RC | Okay | - | 49% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Diego Daldosso | AM LC, F C | Okay | - | 43% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Riccardo Sardelli | ST | Good | - | 47% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Matteo Simoni | ST | Very Poor | - | 49% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Matteo Scapini | ST | Poor | - | 46% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Marco Pierobon | ST | Poor | - | 49% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

At first glance, the defence looks very thin, so that will be the first place for reinforcements. I intend to employ a 4-4-2 formation with three of the midfielders having an attacking role. I’d like to employ a short passing game, but maybe I need to reconsider that if my squad are unable to cope with it. I guess I should find out sooner or later.

Game information: 7.0.2 patch with no further updates. England, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Scotland and Spain are playable on a large DB.

[WLKRAS]

Introduction

Hello and welcome to this story. I will not regale you with a stellar opening. I have tried this approach many times before and found myself unable to keep the same level of quality throughout the rest of the story. Nor could I weave the off-the-field happenings into the football part of the story. Which is why this time, I intend to focus on the footballing aspect. I might fail miserably. Or I might succeed. The story might evolve into greater things than pure football, but for now I intend to keep things simple.

I will start this game as the manager of Italian Serie C2/A side Montechiari, a team that is expected to be in the lower half of the mid-table region, though the board expect me to battle bravely against relegation. The transfer budget is small and likewise, the wage budget is nothing extraordinary. We do have some room to bring in reinforcements, with €3,000 of the wage budget currently going unused. A brief overview of the club reveals that they were founded in 1928 and that they are very much a local team. The home games are set to be played at the 3,000 capacity Romeo Menti stadium. The facilities at the club are fairly basic, but then again, they do play in the Serie C2.

The backroom staff consists of two assistant managers, a coach, a goalkeeping coach, three physiotherapists and one scout. I would expect to make some changes there as I’m not quite happy with that setup.

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

| Pkd | Inf | Name | Position | Morale | Form | Con | Apps | Gls | Av Rat |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Mauro Rosin | GK | Okay | - | 50% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Juan Manuel De la Fuente | GK | Okay | - | 48% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Marco Filippini | D RL | Poor | - | 48% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Dario Dossi | D L, M C | Poor | - | 48% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Mattias Pacciarini | D C | Okay | - | 49% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Daniele Semenzato | D/WB/AM R | Good | - | 50% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | | Alessio Baresi | D/M C | Okay | - | 52% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Fabio Calandrelli | D/M C | Good | - | 46% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Davide Bersi | D/AM R | Very Poor | - | 49% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Stefano Fusari | DM | Poor | - | 51% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Daniele Capelloni | M C | Poor | - | 49% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Stefano Murante | AM RL | Poor | - | 48% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Francesco Cigardi | AM RC | Okay | - | 47% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Paolo Zaccagnini | AM RC | Okay | - | 49% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Diego Daldosso | AM LC, F C | Okay | - | 43% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Riccardo Sardelli | ST | Good | - | 47% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Matteo Simoni | ST | Very Poor | - | 49% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Matteo Scapini | ST | Poor | - | 46% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| - | Unf | Marco Pierobon | ST | Poor | - | 49% | - | - | - |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

At first glance, the defence looks very thin, so that will be the first place for reinforcements. I intend to employ a 4-4-2 formation with three of the midfielders having an attacking role. I’d like to employ a short passing game, but maybe I need to reconsider that if my squad are unable to cope with it. I guess I should find out sooner or later.

Game information: 7.0.2 patch with no further updates. England, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, Scotland and Spain are playable on a large DB.

[Peacemaker7]

Looks like you're squads a bit unfit

[WLKRAS]

For those of you joining me on this journey, welcome. For those of you who won’t be following this, well, I doubt you’re reading this.

July 2006

My first actions as manager of Montechiari were to offer a coaching contract to one of my assistant managers, Flavio Destro. Next I offered a mutual termination to physio Sebastiano Torrisi. It cost me €60,000, but it would allow me to save money in the long term. And frankly he wasn’t very good anyway. I also put out an advert to find another scout as I like to work with a minimum of two scouts. Merely a case of having eyes everywhere.

I left the first friendly to the hands of my assistant while observing from the stands as we took on German amateurs Heidenheim in front of 142 people at Romeo Menti. Despite the fact that no one on the squad was really ready to play, there were some glimpses of ability. Most notable were the two goals scored by striker Riccardo Sardelli. As I mentioned earlier, the defence was an area of concern and the fact that we let in two goals seemed to further enforce my first impression. The lack of match practice showed as two players picked up injuries, though both were bruises and nothing really serious. Nothing a week or so of rest wouldn’t fix.

Destro was happy to take up a role as coach, meaning that Lamberto Tavelli was now my only assistant. He wasn’t brilliant, but then again this isn’t the Serie A. All I need now is another scout and the backroom staff would be sorted. The same couldn’t be said about the playing squad. I had thrown some offers around both in Italy and my home country of Holland and those moves were starting to show results. The first player to join was one who had played for his national team no less than 13 times and that as a 22-year old. Okay, it was only San Marino he played for, but it was a start. Alex Gasperoni is an attacking midfielder who can play anywhere across the line and he may well become a key player in my attacking 4-4-2 setup.

Lamberto also took control of our second match against Como, which resulted in a 1-2 loss. I myself was not in the stands this time though, I was in Holland, completing the transfer of young left back Jesper Kok for a mere €1,000. And he wasn’t the only player to join. There also was Argentinean hard man Lucas Montero, a central defender in the same mould as his Uruguayan namesake Paolo, who joined from Ternana from the same price. The defence was further strengthened by another international player, this one from Luxembourg. Wing back Mario Mutsch had been capped three times for his country and with the ability to play on either side, he made a welcome addition to the back line for €2,000.

They were all available for the first friendly I took charge of, at home against Neunkirchen. Most of the players were still very unfit though, so I just picked the eleven who seemed in the best physical and got on with it. We conceded three goals in the first half, which wasn’t exactly a good omen for the future. However, with wholesale changes and a much improved performance in the second 45 minutes, we managed to pull it back to a 3-3 draw and could’ve gone on to win it if our shooting had been a bit more accurate.

After the game, I completed another signing from Holland, young defender Robbertino Rafaela joining from ADO Den Haag for €2,000. Another to join, for no fee this time, was German goalkeeper Benjamin Kopp from Unterhaching. The final signing, for the moment at least, was Andrea Alberti, who joined us from parent club Brescia on a season long loan.

The draw for the Serie C Cup was announced towards the end of the month and paired us with Biellese, Legnano, Lumezzane and Pro Sesto. The first three plied their trade in the same division as we did, but Pro Sesto played in the Serie C1/A and would probably be the side to advance from the groups.

Ivrea were far better in our friendly at the end of July, but we managed to keep a clean sheet in the first half, despite their domination. It was wholesale changes again at half time and the new lads certainly didn’t do any worse. In fact, we scored two late goals to steal a bit of an undeserved win. The second of those two goals came when we were a man light as well, after we lost Davide Bersi to injury having made all our substitutes. It wasn’t good news either. Strained knee ligaments would keep Davide out for a month or two.

[WLKRAS]

August 2006

The final pre-season friendly was at home against Teramo. We suffered an early setback when they scored after just two minutes, but the team responded well and got stuck in. Finally after 50 minutes of play Alberti, our loanee striker, levelled the score. We could’ve gone on to win it from there, but Matteo Simoni in particular had problems with his finishing and the score remained at one a piece.

Serie C Cup vs Biellese

18-08-2006, Romeo Menti, Montechiari

Time to get down to business then. Our first competitive game was at hand, a Serie C Cup match, at home against Biellese. They had a decent enough side and the pre-match predictions had them as slight favourites, despite our home advantage.

The eleven names that would set out for my first official match in charge of Montechiari were as follows.

1. Benjamin Kopp; 2. Mario Mutsch, 3. Jasper Kok, 4. Robertino Rafaela, 5. Lucas Montero; 6. Daniele Semenzato, 7. Alex Gasperoni, 8. Stefano Fusari, 9. Francesco Cigardi; 10 Andrea Alberti, 11. Riccardo Sardelli ©.

The bench was made up by Diego Daldosso, Juan Manuel De La Fuente (GK), Dario Dossi, Mattias Pacciarini, Fabio Calandrelli, Stefano Murante and Matteo Scapini.

I was keen to get of to a good start in front of our home fans and with 1,267 of our faithful looking on, we did just that. We first signalled our intentions just two minutes in when Mario Mutsch fired in a shot from distance that was well wide, but it was a warning of things to come.

There were moments though I had to turn away and shake my head in disbelief. Like in the fifteenth minute when Sardelli had all the time in the world to send in a cross from the left, but got it so horribly wrong that it sailed out of play on the far side of the pitch without anyone getting near it.

On 21 minutes, there was the first chance for the visitors, but our German goalkeeper Kopp pulled off an excellent save to Borneo’s close range shot. He repeated the feat six minutes later, this time managing to divert it to Fusari who cleared it.

Things finally kicked off in the 34th minute when Luca Mordenti in the Biellese goal sent out a poor goal kick. Jasper Kok picked it up just inside his own half and sent it forward to Gasperoni. The San Marino international paused for a second, slowing the play and then passed it to his right where Cigardi was waiting. The attacking midfielder took it forward once and then played a great ball into the run of Andrea Alberti. The on loan striker had a look at goal and then fired a rocket of a shot into the top left corner. 1-0 Montechiari.

As we went into the changing rooms at half time, both my wingers indicated that they were carrying slight injuries and as precaution, I brought both Semenzato and Gasperoni off to be replaced by Murante and Daldosso.

Five minutes into the second half, Alberti was on form again. This time, he picked up a lose ball around the halfway line and fed it forward to his striking partner Sardelli. The captain ran with it before firing in a fierce shot form twelve yards out. I daresay that the Biellese keeper merely heard it as it fizzed past him into the back of the net. 2-0 and we were well in control.

We continued to pile on the pressure, Alberti heading just over and substitute Daldosso putting his effort wide. On 61 minutes, we struck again and once more, Brescia man Alberti was involved. Goalkeeper Kopp fired a clearance upfield and down the left, where Sardelli picked it up. He turned inside looking for a forward run, but since there was no one going forward, he played it into the feet of Alberti. The youngster used the outside of his boot to take it past his marker before unleashing a 20-yard thunderbolt that soared into the net for his second goal of the evening.

The team calmly played out the remaining minutes and it wasn’t until injury time that Biellese got another chance, but striker Borneo scuffed his shot and it sailed harmlessly over the bar.

Final Score: Montechiari 3 (Alberti 2, Sardelli) Biellese 0

[WLKRAS]

It wasn’t all good news after the game. Alberti had fallen heavily during the closing minutes of the match and twisted his ankle. It would keep him out for somewhere between three weeks and a month. What was good news was the final addition to the backroom staff being made when 36-year old Alberto Bertaccini signed up as a scout. There was no time to dwell on it all though as the next game was up straight away.

Serie C Cup vs Legnano

20-08-2006, Giovanni Mari, Legnano

Alberti had been involved in all three goals in our first match and missing him would make it a difficult proposition to win against Legnano. I decided to keep pretty much the same lineup, despite only a day of rest since the previous match. It was Kopp in goal, with Mutsch, Rafaela, Montero and Kok in front of him in an all-foreign defensive line from right to left. In midfield, Semenzato was on the right with Gasperoni on the left. Fusari would play the defensive role while Cigardi would roam forward and join the two strikers, captain Sardelli and Matteo Scapini.

The home side were keen to live up to their pre-match billing of favourites and they got the best chances in the first half. In just the fourth minute Lumbilla Kand headed over from a corner kick. The next chance fell to his strike partner Moscelli, but a crucial sliding tackle by Mutsch prevented the goal and put it out for a corner.

But in the 16th minute, Legnano got their deserved lead. The ball was hoofed forward from defence and Moscelli ran with it down the left. His cross floated into the penalty area, beyond the stranded Montero, giving Kand a free shot at goal. His first effort was fantastically saved by our German goalkeeper Kopp, but the rebound fell straight back to the striker. With Kopp stranded, he had an easy tap in to make it 1-0.

Three minutes later, the home side further compounded our worries with a well worked free kick, something that clearly came from the training ground. Legati looked like he was going to strike it, but at the last moment passed it to Pedro Kamata. The midfielder was unmarked and fired a long range shot in at an angle, beating Kopp comfortably in the near corner. 2-0 and the game looked over.

It wasn’t. Jasper Kok played a brilliant long pass towards the right where Daniele Semenzato was making a run forward. The winger picked up the pass and ran with it into the penalty area. Just as he was going to fire his shot, Zaccardo tripped him from behind. Penalty! Semenzato himself stepped up and fired it hard and high into the net. Our celebration was short lived, because moments after, Fusari was forced to leave the field injured and Calandrelli came on to replace him.

At half time, I subbed off the tiring captain Sardelli and replaced him with Marco Pierobon. The second half couldn’t live up to the first though. There were a couple of chances either way, the best of them coming for Legnano, but neither side managed to score. Mainly thanks to excellent interventions by Montero and Rafaela, we kept a clean sheet in the second half.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t reward our good defensive work with a goal the other end. The best chance we got for an equaliser was two minutes from the end, through a passing move between Mutsch and Calandrelli, but the latter put his shot over the bar and even four minutes of injury time couldn’t bring any respite.

Final Score: Legnano 2 (Ludmilla Kand, Kamata) Montechiari 1 (Semenzato pen)

[WLKRAS]

A first loss, straight after the first win of my career. It felt even worse when physio Alberto Cortili announced that Fusari had suffered damaged knee cartilage and that he would have to see a specialist for treatment. It would keep him out of the team for at least a month. In addition to Fusari’s injury, Robertino Rafaela had picked up his second yellow card in two games and would be out for the next Serie C Cup game against Lumezzane. We were in luck though, that game wouldn’t be until the 30th of August, after our first match in the league. Because our group had five sides, we’d get a crucial rest before the opening league game while most other teams had to play.

Our first opponents in the league Valenzana were also playing on Wednesday, so I took the opportunity to join scout Frederico Rossetti to watch them play. It was a dull and drab game they played out with Padova, ending in 0-0. From what I could tell, they play a slow passing game, mainly through the middle. Hopefully this will allow our wingers to create some space out wide.

[WLKRAS]

Serie C2/A vs Valenzana

27-08-2006, Romeo Menit, Montechiari

Valenzana were expected to do well this season and with a bit of luck, they might even join the fight for promotion. No easy game then to get us started. I made just the one change to our starting line-up, hoping that consistency would get us the necessary points. Our all foreign back line still consisted of Kopp in goal, Mutsch (who had been called up to the Luxembourg squad the day before), Rafaela, Montero and Kok at the back. Semenzato and Gasperoni would be on the wings while Cigardi took up his usual role of attacking midfielder. Fabio Calandrelli was the only new name in the XI, replacing the injured Fusari in midfield. Up front it was Sardelli as captain with Scapini.

We may have been touted as underdogs before the match, but we signalled our intention to attack in the first minute. Mario Mutsch took a quick throw in and Semenzato thundered down the right before sending a low cross in. It cannoned of a defender and out for a corner, but the tone had been set.

On fourteen minutes, we made good on our early threat. Central defender Rafaela put a clearance forward and found the head of Sardelli. The captain beat Franchi in the air and nodded it down for Calandrelli. With a first-time pass, the midfielder sought out Scapini. The striker went clear of the defence and when goalkeeper Fumagalli came storming out of his net, he calmly placed it past the stranded keeper to put Montechiari 1-0 up.

Five minutes later, the home crowd erupted again. Matteo Melani fouled Scapini just outside the area and Dutch defender Rafaela came forward to take the free kick. His effort thundered off the crossbar and the defence could only clear it out for a throw in. Like in the first minute, Mutsch found Semenzato, who fired in a cross from the right wing. Scapini and Valenzana defender Melani both missed it, but it hit the guest’s midfielder Davide Lodi who had tracked back to defend and bounced into the net off him. An own goal and Montechiari were two to the good.

The favourites couldn’t afford to hang back now and streamed forward. Just before the break, a smart play by Foglia found Francesco Erbini unmarked and the forward coolly put it away to limit the damage to 2-1 at half time.

You’d expect Valenzana to come out all guns blazing, looking for an equaliser in the second half, but there was none of that. They were rather subdued which was probably best illustrated by goalkeeper Fumagalli just past the hour. He failed to clear Rafaela’s long ball properly and hit it straight to Sardelli instead. With the goalkeeper well off his line, the striker took one touch to size up the gap and the fired his shot past the goalkeeper and into the net.

Immediately after, I took off some of the tired legs and brought on fresh players. One of them, Alessio Baresi had a decent shot in the 77th minute, but it wasn’t good enough to trouble Fumagalli. The best chance in the end came in front of our goal, but Benjamin Kopp pulled off a fantastic save to deny Serao’s diving header. By then, the guests had been reduced to ten men after Melani had been giving his marching orders for a second bookable offence.

Final Score: Montechiari 3 (Scapini, Sardelli, Own Goal) Valenzana 1 (Erbini)

[Amaroq]

Nice writeups, WLKRAS!

You must have either a great vocabulary or a great thesaurus; I don't see a single adjective repeated.

[WLKRAS]

Cheers Amaroq. It must be the vocabulary as I don't think I have a thesaurus

Serie C Cup vs Lumezzane

30-08-2006, Nuovo Stadio Communale, Lumezzane

There was little respite for the team as we travelled to Lumenzzane in midweek for the Serie C Cup. Once more we were billed as the underdogs and this time, we would probably live up to that tag as I decided to rest some of the players. Kopp remained in goal, but the back four this time consisted of Mutsch, Mattias Pacciarini, Montero and young Marco Filippini. In midfield, Semenzato was a familiar name on the right, but Stefano Murante would take over form Gasperoni on the left. In the middle it was Calandrelli with Diego Daldosso. Finally, there were two new strikers up front with Marco Pierobon and Matteo Simoni. Central defender Pacciarini was handed the captain’s armband in absence of Sardelli.

It looked ominous when Kopp was called into action twice in the first minute. First he did well to push Morini’s shot away to safety before making a tidy save from a deflected free kick.

The home side continued to pepper the goal with shots, but Kopp stood firm and kept out anything on target. To be fair though, Lumenzzane’s shooting wasn’t of the highest order and a lot of it was wide or high of the mark and we held comfortably.

On 24 minutes, Lucas Montero did well to intercept a long ball forward, heading it straight at Murante’s feet. The winger looked up and saw Matteo Simoni stride forward and sent over the pass. With a deft touch, the 21-year old striker took it round his marker before slotting it into the far corner of the goal. It was very much against the run of play, but we didn’t care. Montechiari were 1-0 up.

Seven minutes later, Kopp sent a pass over to the right where Semenzato set off on a run. He skipped past left back Bruni and sent a low cross over to the near post. With a with a careful deflection, Simoni put it in the back of the net for his second of the game.

Lumenzzane grew frustrated quickly and fired a shot in anger every time they caught a glimpse of the goal. It left Kopp with very little to do apart from waiting for the supporters behind his goal to throw back the ball.

With a good lead at halftime, we were keen to keep the home side under the cosh in the second half and we played well in defence for the first fifteen minutes or so. But then, concentration began to falter, especially with young fullback Filippini. Twice his wavering gave our opponents good chances to get back into the game. First he let Morini slip past him on the inside, but Pinamonte headed over from the cross. Then he played a poor pass back into no man’s land which sent Pinamonte clean through. The striker missed horribly though, sending his shot over.

It was my cue to make some substitutions. It worked wonders when four minutes after being introduced, Baresi found Scapini with a clever pass and the striker had all the time in the world to pick his corner and put it away. That he did and at 3-0, we couldn’t give this away surely?

Well, maybe not, but we sure tried our hardest. Instead of hoofing anything to safety in typical cattenacio fashion, we allowed them in with chance after chance. At first we were helped by the linesman who ruled Paghera’s effort as offside, but the entire defence froze when the same player made his way to Kopp unchallenged. His effort was turned away by the German keeper, but only as far as Pinamonte who made it 3-1.

We looked to restore the margin towards the end, but Scapini was ruled offside as well before an injury time goal by Pangera gave me a jangle of nerves. We managed to play out the remaining time though to go exactly level with our opponents in the group tables with one game to play.

Final Score: Lumenzzane 2 (Pinamonte, Paghera) Montechiari 3 (Simoni 2, Scapini)

[WLKRAS]

September 2006

We made no further additions to our squad before the deadline closed, but there were some remarkable transfers going on around the country. Florent Malouda had made his way to Inter for €22M while Milan had landed Andrea Barzagli and Andres Guardado for a combined fee of under €10M.

At the start of the month, a short note from the chairman let me know that he was still sure that I was the right choice for the job. It was good to know, though I (and he too probably) was somewhat concerned with the fact that we had lost over €53,000 for the past month.

On Saturday the 2nd there was good news from Luxembourg, where Mario Mutsch had become the first player during my short reign to gain an international cap, his fourth, for Luxembourg against Holland. He and his team mates offered no surprises though and went down 3-0, Roy Makaay scoring two of the goals. Earlier at San Siro, Italy had run through Lithuania with considerable ease, winning 4-0.

Myself, I’d been getting ready for our encounter with Serie C1/A side Pro Sesto. With one game left to play in the group stages of the Serie C cup, we still had chances of going top of the group and qualifying for the next stage. But in order to achieve that, we’d have to do better than Lumenzzane against Biellese. And Pro Sesto too could still go top if they won by a margin of two greater than a Lumenzzane win. It looked set for a classic finish to the group.

[WLKRAS]

Serie C Cup vs Pro Sesto

06-09-2006, Romeo Menti, Montechiari

I sent out the best possible line-up that was fit. It meant that Benjamin Kopp was in goal, hoping to continue his good form. In front of him, the back four were formed by Mutsch, in high spirits after his weekend international appearance, Montero, Rafaela and Kok. In midfield, Cigardi and Gasperoni returned to take place along side Semenzato and Calandrelli. Up front Matteo Simoni kept his place after his two goals against Lumezzane while captain Sardelli returned alongside him.

Frankly, I was surprised by the effort put in by the higher division side. They seemed unconcerned and perhaps a bit complacent as they sat back and allowed us time on the ball. It nearly cost them in the 14th minute when Sardelli leaped above Gregori to head Semenzato’s cross on goal. Unluckily, the striker hit the post with his effort and Pro Sesto got away with just a scare.

They didn’t take the hint though and Cigardi spelled danger for them twice. The first attempt foiled by a last ditch tackle, which had the attacking midfielder pleading for a penalty. The second attempt was ruled out for offside and rightly so as Cigardi was well in front of the last man when Japser Kok sent in his cross.

The next minute though we finally struck home. Semenzato was again the provider of a dangerous cross and this time Alex Gasperoni met it with a diving header that left Sesto goalkeeper Borghetto stranded.

Finally then, the guests stared to show some spirit and it needed a good save from Kopp to deny them in the 36th minute. Their chances increased when Lucas Montero had to leave the field injured just before halftime with Pacciarini coming on to replace him.

In first half injury time, Pro Sesto showed why they are a higher league team. We failed to clear our lines properly and with only their second shot of the day, striker Araboni put them level. It was a close call on whether he’d been offside, but the linesman offered him the benefit of the doubt and the goal stood.

The second half was a much more open affair with chances at either end. We got away with a couple though, as poor Pro Sesto finishing was unable to find the target, even when Kopp helped them a bit by scuffing his clearance straight to an attacker. At the other end, Borghetto was forced into a diving saved by Rafaela’s free kick and Sardelli marginally put one wide.

Neither side though were able to find the net again, not even when both managers threw on their final substitutions.

Now the wait was on, we’d kept Pro Sesto behind us in the standings, but a draw or a win to Lumezzane would see them through ahead of us. Slowly news filtered through and when a loud cheer went up from the 2,646 strong crowd it became clear that we were through. Biellese had done their sporting job and beaten Lumezzane. We were through to the knockout stages!

Final Score: Montechiari 1 (Gasperoni) Pro Sesto (Araboni)

[WLKRAS]

Lucas Montero’s injury turned out to be a damaged elbow and he would be out for a couple of weeks at least. It’d give Pacciarini a chance to impress. After the game, there was a lot of talk about the penalty appeal by Cigarini, but I refused to comment on it, instead focussing on our progression to the next round.

The knock-out stages wouldn’t be easy though. Many of the surviving teams were from the Serie C1 and we ended up drawing one from the B half of that division, Taranto. They look a tough prospect, a side that is expected to compete for promotion to the Serie B and at the moment, they’re second in their league, living up to that reputation. For the moment though, we’d have to focus our attention back on the league.

Serie C2/A vs Sanremese

10-09-2006, Romeo Menti, Montechiari

We’d had little rest since the Pro Sesto game, but rotation isn’t really my thing so I stuck with the my preferred XI. Kopp in goal, back four of Mutsch, Pacciarini (for the injured Montero), Rafaela and Kok. Midfield was formed by Semenzato, Gasperoni, Calandrelli and Cigardi and up front, Sardelli and Simoni continued their partnership.

Keeping the same players had the advantage of them knowing each other’s style of play and it was just such a thing that got us off to a dream start. Two minutes in, a poor pass from Sanremese defender Santarelli bounced off Cigardi and found it’s way to Sardelli up front. With a deft touch, he slid it into the feet of Calandrelli who didn’t need to look to know that Semenzato would be charging down the right side. The winger ran with it for just a few yards and then sent another good pass forward to Sardelli. The captain jinked past his man and fired the ball across the goal. At the far post, his strike partner Matteo Simoni was waiting to apply the finish and Montechiari were 1-0 up.

The guests were momentarily stunned, but slowly gained a foothold back into the game. Campi forced a save from Kopp while Pacciarini was called upon to make a couple of crucial interceptions before our opponents could create dangerous situations. Midfielder Simon Laner also had a good opportunity, but despite being unmarked, his put his shot well over.

Our only replies came from Matteo Simoni, running with the ball before shooting, but both his efforts late in the first half were off target as tiredness started to show.

I decided on two substitutions at half time, withdrawing both my strikers from the game and replacing them like for like with Matteo Scapini and Diego Daldosso.

After the break, we were looking shaky at the back, for no particular reason. It started when Mutsch was beaten in the air five minutes after the restart, but Procopio put his header over. Rafaela followed with a lapse of concentration, sending a poor back pass out for a corner, which thankfully came to nothing. It climaxed in the 63rd minute. Gasperoni lost possession cheaply out on the left and a quick passing move by the guests gave Federici a chance to shoot from distance. It hit Pacciarini and seemed to sail out harmlessly, but suddenly Piovanelli popped up behind the defence and had a clear shot at goal. He fired from just outside the six yard box, but a fantastic reflex save from Benjamin Kopp saw it take to the sky and over the bar for a corner.

I roared instructions from the touchline telling the lads to get forward in a combination of English, Italian and sign language. They must’ve understood because we started creating chances right away. Scapini snuck in behind the defence from Calandrelli’s pinpoint pass, but dragged his effort to the left of the goal. Minutes later, Daldosso skipped past his man and fired in a shot that narrowly streaked over the bar.

With Sanremese on the backfoot, we really should’ve scored more goals, but Matteo Scapini in particular missed a couple of chances. He should’ve scored when he was one-on-one with their goalkeeper, but was hauled back by a defender at the last moment. To be fair to him though, his audacious 30-yard chip nearly went in, landing on the roof of the goal. The guests never got back into the game and 1-0 was a fair result in the end.

Final Score: Montechiari 1 (Simoni) Sanremese 0

[Ric]

Hey great story so far.

I want to know how the season ends...

[WLKRAS]

Cheers Ric. To tell you the truth, I have no idea how the season ends as I'm not that far ahead of my writing just yet.

Serie C2/A vs Oblia

13-09-2006, Piero Spano, Olbia

Our next game, away at Olbia followed just three days later and forced me to rest players as the tired legs were starting to give out. Our opponents had so far played out two scoreless draws, meaning they’d be hard to break down, but probably create little themselves.

As for our line-up, Kopp remained in goal, with a defensive line of Marco Fillipini, Rafaela, Alessio Baresi and Dario Dossi in front of him. An untried defence, but against Olbia that doesn’t worry me too much. Plenty of changes in midfield as well, where Cigardi was the only regular starter, with Murante and Daldosso on the wings and Daniele Capelloni in his first start of the season. Up front it was the familiar faces of Sardelli and Simoni who’d lead the line.

My initial estimation of Olbia was proven wrong fairly quickly as they created chance after chance in the opening half. Their strikers, Giordano Meloni and Roberto Chiaria, were well serviced by a tough tackling midfield and ran riot in our unfamiliar defence.

Just 9 minutes in, Meloni cracked a shot against the crossbar after a poor pass by Cigardi had been intercepted in midfield. Not much later, right back Dei Rossi fired a shot just over from a well worked free kick.

Sure enough, we had chances of our own, mainly through Matteo Simoni, but we didn’t seem quite as threatening as our hosts. Part of that may have been down to the commanding presence of Federico Orlandi in the Olbia goal. The 25-year old had kept two clean sheets so far this season and was keen to add to that.

I kept faith with the same XI that started for the second half and was nearly rewarded straight after the break when Orlandi had plenty of trouble with Capelloni’s wicked shot from distance, but managed to just tip it over. At the other end, Meloni forced Kopp into a diving save with another shot from distance.

On 61 minutes, we finally saw a chance that wasn’t from a long shot and behold, it was a goal straight away. Cigardi intercepted the ball in midfield from a goal kick and played it forward to Simoni. Between three defenders, he still found the space to turn and play a lovely pass for Sardelli, who was kept onside by their left back. Orlandi came out, but the captain took it ‘round him and passed it into the back of the net. 1-0.

The home side came straight back at us from the restart and a tough challenge by midfielder Soro saw Dario Dossi collapse in a heap. He signalled that he was unable to continue and I brought on regular left back Jasper Kok in his stead. Diego Daldosso was also replaced by San Marino international Alex Gasperoni. The latter nearly made an immediate impact by dribbling clear of the defence, but then put his shot three miles wide of the target.

Olbia were keen to hang on to their unbeaten record and started pouring people forward. But rather than lump the ball upfield, they remained patient, playing a passing game to get their goals. And I must admit, it worked wonders for them on 73 minutes. A move through midfield left Cigardi spinning on his heels and found dangerous striker Meloni. Instead of selfishly shooting, he squared his for his strike partner, but Kopp pulled off another great reflex save. He couldn’t hang on to it though and with Cigardi still dizzy from the early midfield play, Meloni had all the time in the world to get to the rebound and put it away for an equaliser.

We kicked off again and the ball went out to the right to Murante. But he misplaced his pass and put it straight into the feet of Fina. The Olbia substitute played a glorious 45-yard pass forward that split Rafaela and Kopp and left Meloni with a simple tap in to give the home side the lead.

They nearly made it three as well with a shot from distance, but much to our relief it thundered of the crossbar. To compound our misery, we ended the game with ten men when substitute Scapini was forced of injured in injury time with a dead leg.

Final Score: Olbia 2 (Meloni 2) Montechiari 1 (Sardelli)

[WLKRAS]

Serie C2/A vs Bassano Virtus

17-09-2006, Rino Mercante, Bassano

Our gruelling schedule of three games in seven days came to an end with an away game at Bassano Virtus. After that, we’d have a whole week off before our final game of the month was up. I returned to my usual line-up. So, Kopp in goal, Mutsch, Pacciarini, Rafaela and Kok at the back. Semenzato and Gasperoni were to play on the wings, while Calandrelli and Cigardi filled the places in the middle. Up front, it was Sardelli and Matteo Simoni.

The home side came out with a very attacking 4-2-4 formation. However it didn’t help them any as we put them under pressure for the entire first half. Just five minutes in, Alex Gasperoni had a good opportunity, but couldn’t get it past the goalkeeper. Cigardi was unable to put his effort on target a minute earlier.

We continued our pressure with two more chances in the first fifteen minutes, but both our strikers put their efforts wide of the target. Both times, Gasperoni was the one that put them in the position to get a shot off and he was having a good game indeed. He was a little hot headed in the 20th minute when he roughly shoved Basso out of the way and was lucky to escape with just a yellow card.

Slowly as the first half wore on the hosts started to get back into the game and it needed a good reflex save from Kopp to keep out Minardi’s bullet header. A shot form distance from Mazzoleni went just over the bar.

Just as the first half injury time commenced, Bassano defender Abate was forced back under pressure from Sardelli. He tried to square it for his partner Minardi, but Matteo Simoni nipped in and intercepted the pass. Instead of shooting himself, he waited for Sardelli to catch up and offered him a chance that he couldn’t miss. The captain obliged and Montechiari took a narrow lead going into halftime.

The second half started off as a bit of a yellow card fest with a few chances in between. On 56 minutes Kopp made a great save on Cesca’s shot from close range. The ball fell free at the feet of striker Dalla Nogare, but he blazed his effort over with the goal. I decided on some substitutions after that as our players legs were visibly starting to tire. Both strikers came off as well as Cigardi to be replaced by Daldosso, Cappeloni and Pierobon.

The latter made an immediate impact. Only on the pitch for six minutes he received a beautifully flighted pass from the rightback Mario Mutsch. Clear of the defence, Pierobon made no mistake and doubled the margin to 2-0. The home supporters were angered by suspicions of offside, but frankly I could care less.

Towards the end of the game, Gasperoni’s temper flared again and he pushed an opponent out of the way. This time he didn’t get away with it, receiving his second yellow of the match and a resulting sending off. It didn’t hurt us any though, as Cappeloni sent Pierobon clear of the Bassano Virtus defence. Again, the substitute striker made no mistake and scored his second goal of the day and our third.

Final Score: Bassano Virtus 0 Montechiari 3 (Sardelli, Pierobon 2)

With four games played, we were second in the table, only a point behind leaders Lecco. Surprisingly enough, none of the teams in the league had a perfect record, though 3 teams were still unbeaten.

[WLKRAS]

Serie C2/A vs Portosummaga

24-09-2006, Romeo Menti, Montechiari

We had a whole week to recover from our exertions against Bassano Virtus and it finally gave me some time to bring across some finer points of the game during practice. Also, our injured players returned to full training, though none of them was yet fit enough to be in the match squad for the game against sub-topper Portosummaga.

I started with the strongest eleven I had. Kopp was in goal with a backline of Mutsch, Pacciarini, Rafaela and Kok in front of him. In midfield, Semenzato was in his usual berth on the right while Diego Daldosso filled in for the suspended Gasperoni on the left wing. In the middle, Calandrelli and Cigardi completed the four-man midfield. Simoni and captain Sardelli were up front.

The first half was a turgid affair. Both sides tried their luck from distance, but none of those effort forced the goalkeepers into action. Typical of the first half was what occurred in the 33rd minute.

Mutsch played a long ball forward which was helped on somewhat fortuitously by Francesco Cigardi. It fell straight to Portosummaga defender Voria, who wasn’t challenged by any of our strikers. He tried to play a pass back to his goalkeeper, but completely mis-hit it and only a brilliant reflex save from the guests’ keeper prevented an own goal.

With the scores still level at half time, I decided to bring off Daniele Semenzato who had picked up a minor knock. Murante came on in his place.

Having given my side an earful during the break about their inability to make the opposing goalkeeper work, we came out firing. In the space of five minutes after the break, we had three opportunities.

The first fell to our captain, Riccardo Sardelli, when he picked up a long ball from Cigardi looking for the counter. He was clear of the defence, but then fired his shot from eighteen yards into orbit. Suffice to say, I wasn’t best pleased and the striker hung his head in shame.

His strike partner Matteo Simoni didn’t do much better, scuffing his shot wide of the mark a minute later. We kept the pressure on and Cigardi fired a shot at the end of a good passing move, but again it was off target and we let our opponents off the hook.

We continued to waste chances, Sardelli tackled at the last moment and Simoni shooting wide once more. It was inevitable then that the goal would come at the other end. Thankfully it didn’t, but not through a lack of opportunities. Nine minutes from the end, Kok slipped and allowed Pietranera in, but the striker had obviously taken after our example and missed the goal.

The game bled out from there and in the end, it was a share of the points, due to woeful shooting.

Final Score: Montechiari 0 Portasummaga 0

[Spav]

WLKRAS, good luck with getting out of Serie C. KUTGW

[WLKRAS]

Cheers Spav

October 2006

Taking off Semenzato at half time had prevented further injury and he would be fit for the next match. The real bad news came during the week when Fabio Calandrelli dislocated his jaw in a training ground collision. The midfielder, who had done well so far, would be out for up to a month. Then a day later, defender Pacciarini was struck down with the flu and it seemed unlikely he would be fit in time to face Pro Vercelli.

Serie C2/A vs Pro Vercelli

01-10-2006, Silvio Piola, Vercelli

And indeed, Pacciarini was not back in time for our opening match of October, away at Pro Vercelli. As a result, Lucas Montero returned to form the central defensive partnership with Rafaela, flanked by Mutsch on the right and Kok on the left. German goalkeeper Benjamin Kopp completed the defensive five. In midfield Stefano Fusari returned despite a lack of match fitness. Gasperoni was also back, he returned from his suspension. Semenzato and Cigardi completed midfield and they would support regular starting strikers Sardelli and Simoni.

The hosts kicked off to get us underway, but it wasn’t long before we took control of the game. Our first chance came just six minutes in. Fusari showed none of his rustiness as he took possession of the ball in midfield and passed it forward to Simoni. The striker turned deftly and played it through the defence to the right for Semenzato to run onto. The winger shaped up to whip in the cross and then pulled it back to the edge of the area where Mario Mutsch came charging in. He fired off a shot, but it went narrowly over.

Five minutes later, Gasperoni got on the end of a Rafaela long ball, but put his shot wide, to the left of the goal. On twenty-five minutes we got a well deserved opening goal. Once again, Fusari was influential, taking the ball away from the opposition in midfield and playing it forward. He found Sardelli in the area, but the captain was crowded out by two defenders and couldn’t get a shot off. But he did find the space to play it off to the left where a wild waving Matteo Simoni was wide open. The youngster made no mistake and it was 1-0 Montechiari.

We continued to dominate the play and our hosts only managed one shot, a wild one at that, which sailed harmlessly over the bar. On our part, we created some good chances, with Simoni narrowly missing out on his second and Rafaela firing a free kick just over.

The second half was much of the same and it looked like we’d extended our lead just after half time, but Matteo Simoni’s effort was ruled out for offside. Not that it mattered much as three minutes later, Simoni ran clear of the defence and squared the ball for Riccardo Sardelli. The captain side-footed it home for his fifth of the season and our second of the game.

Having come no closer than an errant free kick going wide during regular play for the entire second half, it was somewhat surprising that Pro Vercelli managed to get a late consolation goal in injury time. Kopp was to blame, letting go of a saveable shot from Serafini and Alberto Bernardi made no mistake with the rebound. Thankfully though, it was all they could manage and frankly, we deserved the win we got.

Final Score: Pro Vercelli 1 (Bernardi) Montechiari 2 (Simoni, Sardelli)

[Dixie Flatline]

Good luck, Terk!

I enjoy the extra detail in the match reports, too. Reminds me of a certain writer who used to adopt that style once upon a time.

[WLKRAS]

Having recovered from the shock at being called Terk, I decided to give you all a next installment.

Oh and thanks Dixie. I think

The board were impressed with our win at Pro Vercelli and announced that they were encouraged by the start I’d made as a manager, despite a hefty loss of €77,000 over the past month. The lower league press meanwhile were falling over themselves to praise Dutch central defender Rafaela, who had played well in the match and indeed the season to date.

We had some time off until the next game, a whole fourteen days between the two matches, but it didn’t help our injury list any. Alessio Baresi suffered strained knee ligaments, which would keep him out upwards of a month. Stefano Fusari, who’d just returned from injury, suffered a damaged foot after jumping for a header in practice and was out for up to four weeks. All together, it seriously limited our options in defensive midfield.

And while Mattias Pacciarini returned from his illness, our hailed defender Rafaela suffered a set of fractures ribs after a collision. Looks like lady luck isn’t on our side at the moment. It wasn’t all doom and gloom though. Mario Mutsch added two more caps to his tally though Luxembourg lost both games without much of a struggle. And the Montechiari Under-20 side notched up two good wins, 3-1 over Monopoli in the U20 cup followed by a 3-0 over Legnano U20.

[WLKRAS]

Serie C2/A vs Legnano

15-10-2006, Romeo Menti, Montechiari

Beating Legnano would not be an easy task. As we experienced during our meeting in the Serie C cup, they have a good side and only one of two teams that have beaten us in a competitive game this season (Olbia being the other). Obviously we were keen to get some revenge for losing our previous match against them.

The starting line-up was once again changed as we rearranged the side to cope with our injuries. Benjamin Kopp remained in goal, with the defence in front of him formed by Mutsch, Montero, Pacciarini and Kok. In midfield, Daniele Capelloni returned to replace Fusari alongside Cigardi in the middle. The wingers were the usual names of Semenzato and Gasperoni and up front it was another set of familiars with Sardelli and Simoni keeping loan signing Alberti on the bench.

The guests got the game underway, but it was Montechiari who got the first real chance. Legnano goalkeeper Ferrari played a poor ball forward and Mario Mutsch hit it straight back, over the top of the defence. Riccardo Sardelli ran after it and fired off a shot, but it was wild and didn’t threaten the Legnano goal. Three minutes later, the captain had another chance, courtesy of a Semenzato cross, but again his effort wasn’t controlled enough and ended up flying over the bar.

After the promising start, we slowed down a bit and Legnano were given a chance to get back into the game. Avogardi saw his effort go just over, while Moscelli’s acrobatic overhead effort was wide. Late in the half, Kopp was called upon to make two much needed saves. First he made a full stretch save to deny Moscelli in a one-on-one, before managing to fingertip Giordano’s effort over the bar. In between we had a penalty shout, which wasn’t given, much to the displeasure of Pacciarini. I couldn’t really see it properly, but it was probably a 50-50 call.

The scores were still tied at 0-0 when we went into half time, though the guests had already been forced to make a substitution, taking off Moscelli after a painful collision with Mutsch. On my part, I introduced Andrea Alberti at half time, hoping that the loanee would give us an edge up front. Matteo Simoni was the one to stay behind in the dressing room.

But the new man couldn’t bring the impulse the game needed. In fact, the game seemed to die as soon as the second half started and the only incidents throughout the second half were a yellow card to Kamata of Legnano and a Semenzato cross hitting the side netting rather unexpectedly. You could say it wasn’t much to look at and you’d be dead right. A bore draw in the end, keeping us near the top of the table in third.

Final Score: Montechiari 0 Legnano 0.