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JoseRR's FM08 Small Club to Big Club From a Big European Nation Challenge


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absolutely delighted... beat them 2-1 away in first leg then 3-1 at home in 2nd leg.

facing a MASSIVE task now though - have £7m in order to spend in my attemptto keep us up. squad needs strengthening all over the park - especially in defence.

exciting times ahead though!! :D :D :D

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Managed to get going with Rouen in France, newly promoted and newly turned professional ! Backed with a squad of players all on part time contracts, it looks a tough challenge ! However a decent sized stadium means that hopefully the income will come rolling in.

Odds of 33/1 suggest promotion will be tough but made a lot of new signings so lets hope that they gel. Pre season has not stopped any fears of a struggle!

1-3 AARAU

0-7 Servette

0-5 Reulingen

1-1 Hamoir

1-2 Citadella

3-1 Albi

So fingers crossed for the league campaign!

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good luck hyndlegs...

as for me, proving tricky to sign the right players at the mo. players i'm looking at are 2-3 million, and as i have only 7 million, i'm reluctant to take the plunge on a player yet... need to go for it!! we can scout anywhere now too so looking around south america at the moment.....

have a heavy pre-season planned to try out plenty of trialists. we shall see.

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Como - Season Review - Serie B - Season 2015-16

well, as you know, we made it!! Serie A here we come... gotta say that i am absolutely delighted to have made it, but that it's gonna be a real struggle to survive as it seems like it will be a massive step up.

Media Prediction: 10th

Actual Position: 5th - Play-off winners 1st Leg 2nd Leg

League Table

Transfers

Squad

quite possibly the best squad i've had during my time at Como. we had real strength in depth and everyone played their part in our promotion. Special mention must go to the following:

Velimirovic - Who needs Corradini?? He made the no. 1 jersey his own this season, and although we conceded a lot of goals, it wasn't his fault. Hopefully he can make the step up.

De Roo - Club captian, Martin continues to be a rock at the back, and a good supplier of goals from set-pieces. i worry that he may struggle to make the step up, but as the most-capped player, he deserves his chance.

Sevela - Our most high profile player, he missed our play-off camaign to play at the Euro championships. Courting interest from some big clubs. hopefully he will stay.

Antheunis - a Great seaon from the belgian. was the man to make the difference against Parma, a hero to the fans. May play an important part next season.

Dobrev - flying Bulgarian winger, made the shirt his own this season having booted Gragnic from the starting line-up. fully justified my decision to give him a go.

Schumacher - Free signing, and a player i'd chased for a few seasons. performed well as support striker to Sararer. Worried he might not be able to make the step up. time will tell.

Sararer - the star of the team. 30 goals was a great achievement from the Spaniard. hopefully he can make a step up, but nevertheless he'll go down in the history of Como. Fans player of the year.

On the finances front, another profitable season saw the balance reach towards £10 million. will be interesting to see what happens to the finances following a season in Serie A.

I also want to give special mention to our U-20s who dominated their league. averaging over 4 goals a game, they regularly won scoring 7 or 8 goals. a great achievement and reassures me of mine, and my scouts abilities in picking out youngsters. hopefully one or two will make the step up to the first team.

Targets for next season

> SURVIVE

> SURVIVE

> SURVIVE!!

History so far...

2008-09 Serie C2/A: 2nd - Play-off winners

2009-10 Serie C1/A: 3rd - Play-off winners

2010-11 Serie B: 20th - Relegated

2011-12 Serie C1/A: 5th Italian Serie C Cup Winners

2012-13 Serie C1/A: 1st - Champions Serie C1 Super Cup winners

2013-14 Serie B: 17th

2014-15 Serie B: 7th

2015-16 Serie B: 5th - Play-off winners

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Rouen - As mentioned the pre season went poorly and maybe this was because I bought so many player, they maybe need time to gel. I asked the board for a parent club and they could not find one which was a blow, but still managed to sign 20 new players. Please see attached:- http://s425.photobucket.com/albums/pp331/hyndlegs/?action=view&current=Transfers.jpg I put them all one one year deals so that if they struggled then I can release them and hopefully if they do well I can give them a longer deal and therefore not tie up the budget for players not getting a game. Very pleased with the midfield signings and I have high hopes for Vareilles as a forward as he has decent stats and a good record in his career. Defence and keeper look dodgy and if Vareilles gets injured I will struggle as i dont think the backup players are up to it. A mid table finish is expected and probably about right. Managed to get 12 games played and sitting 6th, not a bad start but only a couple of injuries away from worrying times !! Please see table:- http://s425.photobucket.com/albums/pp331/hyndlegs/?action=view&current=Table.jpg

Hope to get a few games played this week and hopefully consolodate our position!

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looking pretty good hyndlegs. solid start. it looks like your league is pretty competitive too which makes the achievements better. keep it up!

thanks for you kind words both of you. i have to say i'm spending more time preparing for this season than i have for a while. money is pretty tight (£7 million?? tight?? i hear you ask!!) so doing some wheeling and dealing. this has meant that a few of our established players have left the club in order to finance moves for some players i'm really excited about. more on that later as i work through pre-season....

as for tactics, haven't changed anything as yet, although i plan to develop a 4-1-3-1-1 formation for the tougher games in the league to try and tighten up the defence a little...

really enjoying planning for Serie A, although i'm having to make some tough calls with regards to players and have speculated to accumulate so to speak a few times. The bookies have given us odds of 2000-1 to win the league, so they don't seem to fancy our chances!!

time will tell.....

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might as well let you know which of the first team squad have departed so far, as i'm a bit bored!! those departed so far are: Vila (£2m), Sevela (£4.9m) & Lukaku (£2m). Was good money for Vila & Lukaku, as were only going to be squad players this season, plus i needed the money. Sevela was a sale on my terms, as i felt it was decent money for him. i have Sahin & Drozd who can come in for him (Drozd is a very similar player to him according to my assistant) and i needed the cash to sign a Brazilian DM who is easily the best player to have worn the Lariani shirt. He cost me £4.6m so was a straight swap really.

i am also debating whether to offload Hemkes after a disappointing season last year. i reckon i can get £5m for him, so it depends on how much i need the cash.

i'll see how i go.

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Belated congrats rlipscombe :thup: .

Great stuff, I was getting pretty lonely at the top, haha :D . Next stop Champions League, eh? ;)

Nice to see some other people taking part in the challenge as well, best of luck guys.

I've finally got round to playing my Champions League qualifier. Drawn against Panathinaikos of Greece.

First leg was a tense affair, goalless until the 80th minute when Panathinaikos scored against the run of play. I had resigned myself to a 1-0 defeat, but Victor Dobrescu had other ideas scoring a priceless away goal in the 93rd minute!

Then came the second leg;

Second Leg

:D

Nocerina are in the group stages for the first time in their history! The implications of this are tremendous, reputation and finances are set for a massive boost.

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congrats dave - you have raised the bar once more!! looking forward to seeing you in champions league group action. finances are set for a big boost with that.

as for me, i'm hopeful of staying up. my squad isn't TOO bad, although ideally i'd like 6 or 7 new players. may have to make do with a couple. looking forward to seeing how i get on.

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I ****ing hate my team and wish they would all die.

We've given up FIVE wins out of the last seven games with a last second goal. We would be BEYOND the extra added time and they would just fall over and let the other team score the equaliser.

*****.

Essentially, that's the reason we're in 15th instead of 10th. Extremely angering, stupid mistakes and I just want to shoot someone right now. I actually screamed out in anguish after the last game when they scored the equaliser in the 95th freaking minute.

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I ****ing hate my team and wish they would all die.

We've given up FIVE wins out of the last seven games with a last second goal. We would be BEYOND the extra added time and they would just fall over and let the other team score the equaliser.

*****.

Essentially, that's the reason we're in 15th instead of 10th. Extremely angering, stupid mistakes and I just want to shoot someone right now. I actually screamed out in anguish after the last game when they scored the equaliser in the 95th freaking minute.

that's not good... i know how it feels, although not as bad. can be really frustrating. just gotta keep battling...

as for you dave, to have 3 players from C2 still in the team is pretty impressive!! i'll have to check back on mine and see if i have anyone who compares. definately some from C1 but not sure about C2.......

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that's not good... i know how it feels, although not as bad. can be really frustrating. just gotta keep battling...

as for you dave, to have 3 players from C2 still in the team is pretty impressive!! i'll have to check back on mine and see if i have anyone who compares. definately some from C1 but not sure about C2.......

Yeah, I only really noticed this season that they'd been playing since C2.

Ancelotti, Kras and Mariani are the players. Ancelotti signed in my first season and the other two were signed in the second season. I've grown an attachment to all three, so they'll all be with me until they retire! :D . They'll all be clocking up at least 30 appearances this season, hopefully :thup:

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they all look pretty decent players especially Ancelotti and Kras. good stuff!! i think i've had Rincon, a RB since the beginning although initially he was on loan. De Roo and Kyeremateng have been with us a long time too. same goes for Sararer. i'll check tonight.

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Unione Sportiva Alessandria Calcio 1912, Serie C2/A, Season 2008-2009

The Grigi were predicted to finish 17th out of 18 in the Serie C2/A at the beginning of the season, with the board looking for a mid-table finish. There were no expectations for the Serie C Cup.

The side had no contracted fist-team players, just a bunch of youngsters, 10 of which had a Youth contract, and no back-room staff. So I moved quickly, signing on an assistant, two coaches, two scouts and a physio, before turning my attention to players.

A fierce battle raged throughout the season for the starting position under the bar between 23 year old Belgian amateur Kevin Castermans and former AC Milan youth, 19-year old Gianmarco Campironi, eventually won by the Italian, who started 28 out of 39, doing a respectable job.

Other notable pre-season signings were Nigerian PSV right-back Paul Roux (19), Belgian attacking midfielder Raf Lenaerts (24), who provided 11 goals and 7 assists in 33 matches, Serie C veterans Massimo Epifani (34) and Filippo Pensalfini (32) who anchored the midfield, and exciting young Belgian striker Mauro Simone (24), who was the team's top scorer with 14 goals in 34 games. As well as experienced Moroccan midfielder Mustapha Hadji (37), who played an important utility role.

However, not all signings worked out as well, Venezuelan right winger Rafael Acosta (20) and defenders Daniele Delli Carri (37), Matteo Gentili (19) and Dario Teso (23), who all failed to hold down a first team place.

During the winter break we were hovering between 16th and 18th, so I brought in loanees Rivaldo (DM, 21) and Guiseppe Serao (DC, 21) from my parent club Genoa, who seemed to provide exactly the boost we needed.

There were many painful games where we gave up points for no reason in the dying seconds of games, but after snagging 22 points in the last 14 games of the season, including valuable wins over direct competitors Pro Vercelli, Caravaggese, Bassano Virtus and Boca San Lazzaro we managed to finish in 13th place for the season.

At the end of the season, Mustapha Hadji retired, and Delli Carri was released due to a dispute over first team football, and I will gladly distribute the salary I pay him to someone that isn't over the hill.

Team

League Table

Now for next season, we'll be looking to build on what we have now.

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No Problem Rancer, just have played there a lot and got used to it, worst one for me I had the best goal difference in the competition, but I came 2nd not first purely because the team i was tied with had beaten me once and we had tied once :(

Oh and an Away draw counts for more than a home draw if you only play a team once ;)

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We've raised the stakes for this year, going for a top-half finish. Raf Lenaerts, aside from being our fan favorite was also voted best signing of the year in the Serie C2/A.

The media is predicting a 15th place finish, personally I'm hoping top-10. We'll see, I have three signings lined up. The youth coming through the ranks is pitiful, only one player had the potential to become a good Serie C2 player, rating a four out of seven in potential ability according to my assistant.

Fingers crossed, 2010 here we come.

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No Problem Rancer, just have played there a lot and got used to it, worst one for me I had the best goal difference in the competition, but I came 2nd not first purely because the team i was tied with had beaten me once and we had tied once

Oh and an Away draw counts for more than a home draw if you only play a team once ;)

Ah, Italians and their weird rules. And they say Americans are confusing!:p

This challenge looks pretty cool, might try this sometime. Maybe Italy. If they're nice.:D

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thought i'd post screenies of my three main signings so far - three brazilians!!

Ivan Alves - young Brazilian striker signed for £400,000 from Panathianikos. will most likely provide cover this season, though may well become a more important player should we get relegated...........

Adriel - DM was one area i felt i needed to strengthen this year, as i may well play a player there for first time. Adriel was signed for £1.9 million from Fluminense. He will battle for the position with.............

Adilson - on paper, the best player to ever pull on the famous blue shirt.... Debated long and hard over whether to spend nearly £5 million on him, and i gambled on selling Sevela to fund the deal. hopefully he will justify the faith and the gamble i have taken in him. time will tell.

there have been a few other signings, but these are the main ones so far. i am still looking for maybe a LB, CB and CM. it's also possible i might sign another striker too, although i have plenty at present...

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08/09 Darfo Boario Serie C Cup Round 1 Update

November 5th 2008

Well after qualifying for the first round Darfo Boario was just waiting to see the draw. When it came out they had drawn Serie C1 side Albino Leffe. While I knew this was going to be a tough game I thought over two legs we might be able to beat them. But first there were several rounds of the Serie C2/C to compete in. The local media were delighted with Church's Good Start.

Serie C2/C Update

09-07   C2C  at Giugliano      0-1  HT: 0-1		
5.00

09-14   C2C  vs Castellarano   4-0  HT: 3-0  Att:  1060  MoM: Rinaldi
3.25    Rinaldi (4, 37), Diagne (14), Pietribiasi (55)

09-21   C2C  at Celano         1-1  HT: 0-0              MoM: Palumbo
4.00    Pietribiasi (90)

09-28   C2C  vs Noicattaro     6-2  HT: 5-0  Att:  1429  MoM: Coda
2.00(F)	Diagne (16), Pietribiasi (22, 38), Coda (24), Rinaldi (33), Martina (89)

10-05   C2C  at Vigor Lamezia  2-0  HT: 1-0              MoM: Rinaldi
4.50    Rinaldi (17), Diagne (71)

10-12   C2C  vs Sangiuseppese  5-0  HT: 2-0  Att:  1775  MoM: Diagne
1.80(F) Diagne (7, 45, 71), Pietribiasi (pen 57, 87)

10-19   C2C  at Potenza	       3-1  HT: 1-0              MoM: Momente
11.00   Diagne (45), Pietribiasi (77), Momente (87)

10-26   C2C  vs Monopoli       4-1  HT: 2-0  Att:  1810  MoM: Pietribiasi
2.50(F)	Pietribiasi (26, 84), Rinaldi (30), Momente (48)

11-02   C2C  at Carpendolo     1-1  HT: 0-0
3.25    Pietribiasi (73)

This effort left Darfo Boario sitting in 3rd in the Serie C2/C only 3 points off the leaders and looking like one of the clubs to be beaten on the season, an excellent run was on, and the stars of the team were putting it together week after week. The best part of this period being a victory over Potenza the current league leaders. This great run also resulted in a large number of players making it into the Team of the Week.

Team of the Week

ToW Sep 15th

ToW Sep 29th

ToW Oct 6th

ToW Oct 13th

ToW Oct 20th

ToW Oct 27th

And Sept Goal of the Month went to Rinaldi with the below effort. Frame by Frame & Downloadable Game.

Sept Goal of the Month Highlight 1

Sept Goal of the Month Highlight 2

Sept Goal of the Month Highlight 3

Sept Goal of the Month Highlight 4

Sept Goal of the Month Highlight 5

Full Clip

The Darfo Boario Under 20s also put on a show being able to almost score at will.

Darfo Boario U20s

09-05 U20L vs Giugliano         3-2  HT: 2-2  Att:  157  MoM: Esposito	
     Esposito (13,61), Sassi (22)

09-12 U20L at Castellarano      2-3  HT: 2-0	
     Momente (33), Masturzo (45)

09-19 U20L vs Celano            2-0  HT: 0-0  Att:  112  MoM: Momente
     Momente (32, 75)

09-23 U20C vs Bassano Virtus    2-1  HT: 1-1  Att:   55
     Masturzo (12,) Veneruso (87)

09-26 U20L at Noicattaro        0-1  HT: 0-1	


10-03 U20L vs Vigor Lamezia     4-3  HT: 3-1  Att:   90
5.00  Masturzo (23, 43), Sassi (pen 29), Momente (69)

10-10 U20L at Sangiuseppese     4-2  HT: 3-1		
2.63  Veneruso (5), Momente (19), OG (45), Esposito (90)

10-17 U20L vs Potenza           2-1  HT: 1-1  Att:  173  MoM: Masturzo
5.00  Espostio (37), Masturzo (70)

10-21 U20C at Foggia            2-2  HT: 1-1  ET: 2-2
13.00 Beccaria (26), Momente (99)
     Pen: 4-3 – Momente, Domeniconi, Sassi, Vivaldi

10-24 U20L at Monopoli          1-0  HT: 1-0             MoM: Momente
2.63	Momente (7)

10-29 U20L at Benevento         2-3  HT: 2-0		 
     Masturzo (9), Ripa (42)

10-31 U20L vs Carpendolo        6-1  HT: 1-1  Att:   91  MoM: Beccaria
     Crotti (34), Masturzo (69, 89), Perna (82), Beccaria (90, 90)

U20s League Table

And then there was the Serie C Cup First Round.

Leg 1

10-29  SCC  at Albino Leffe    1-5  HT: 0-2		
13.00  Pietribiasi (70)

Down by a lot at this point I was hoping for a big game at home

Leg 2

11-05  SCC    vs Albino Leffe  (6) 5-2 (7)  HT: 2-2  Att:  1839  MoM: Rinaldi
10.00  Diagne (32), Coda (40), Rinaldi (51, 53), Pietribiasi (pen 90)

Well a big game I got just not quite enough knocked out 7-6 on Aggregate.

Some Stats for the people

U20 Player Stats

Serie C2/C Stats

Serie C Cup Player Stats

Players to Watch

Rinaldi

Diagne

Pietribiasi

Coda

Darfo Youth Project

Player 1: Bassoli - WB/AML

First Day

Sept 3rd 08

Nov 5th 08

| Year  | Squad | Games | Goals | Assists | MoM | Rating |
|-------|-------|-------|-------|---------|-----|--------|
| 08/09 |  U20  |  6(4) |   0   |    3    |  0  |  6.80  |
|_______|_______|_______|_______|_________|_____|________|

So I was pleased with the way Bassoli was coming along and on the whole my team was performing pretty well all around, lets hope it can continue. Aim from here is to push on and try to gain promotion seen as my team seems able to stay near the top of the league at near the halfway point.

Edit: Wow that was a long update for not much of the season

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Well I was going to do a big Update after the January Transfer Window, but as I made no changes to my squad I decided to continue towards the end of the season. I am currently in a playoff position it is very tight from 1st-5th, but we are clearing out from the rest. I am a little worried as I currently have 6 injuries and am struggling to win games, draws coming in numerous quantities.

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having a great first season again Des... fingers crossed for the play-offs. i look forward to good news...

As for Como, we have just played our first Serie A game, at home to Napoli. the result?? 2-1 home win!! :D

Congrats again rlipscombe, that is an excellent result. I have all my fingers crossed down to 6 games left it is going to be tight, but I should be in, then I hope to gain promotion. No problems with players leaving everyone signed on for 2-3 years.

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Well its going to be way too close to call for me 5 games left I am in 6th 1 point outside the playoffs, I fell apart over a 4 week period facing 3 of the top 6. It could come down to the final week. I need to get 5 wins I think to wrap up a place, but we will see.

Haha so clearly you got through by just a bit of luck, but that can make the difference between being in a higher league and stuck where you were.

3 Games left -

Pos              Pts
4th Igea Virtus  53
5th Carpendolo   53
-------------------
6th Darfo Boario 53

I am missing out purely on my results against the two teams above me.

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it wasn't all luck.. Velimirovic had a great game in goal and i did concede after i'd turned defensive. attacking again got us the win. crashed out of the Coppa Italia in the 3rd qual round to Serie A Mantova. was a shame, but it's all about the league and i did tinker with the team a little....

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Unione Sportiva Alessandria Calcio 1912, Serie C2/A, Season 2009-2010

The prediction was a disappointing 15th place, while the board expected a mid-table position. Our odds of winning were put at a dismal 80-1, while I felt like we could improve on our last season.

To that end, I brought in Serie C veteran Pietro Mariniello (D LC, 33), former Como, Ascoli and Modena man Roberto Colacone (AM/F C, 35), Serie C1 regular Andrea Bussi (DM, 33), former Perugia and Palermo player Giovanni Tedesco (DM, 37) and free agent Vincenzo Calcopietro (AM L, 20), while Genoa sent us youngsters Antonino Ferri (AM C, 17) and Alessandro Ippolito (GK, 20).

During preseason in addition to Mustapha Hadji, Dario Teso and Filippo Pensalfini were both let go to lower the strain on our budget a spot, while Vincezo Crisci was sold to Morro d'Oro. Dario Teso and Pensalfini both retired from football, while Hadji got his license and is now an assistant manager (and one I'd love to hire, but he's too expensive for me presently), while Crisci had a decent season and finished 4th in the C2/B with Morro.

The season started well, and by the winter break we were hovering around sixth place in the league. We managed to hold on to that place until mere weeks before the end of the season, when a slight dip saw us fall to 8th place. We managed to get one spot back, and finished the season in an inspired 7th position, much to the delight of the board, despite our financial situation, which I have grave concerns over. The strain of signing high-class players in an effort to force my way up the table is taking it's toll, and with no prize money coming in it's going to be do or die this next season I'm affraid. Perhaps if we can put up a bit of a cup run we'll get some money. (Do you?)

Hosts Switzerland have won the World Cup, going 3-0-0 in a group with Germany (3-1), Cameroon (3-2) and South Korea (5-2), then defeating Argentina 1-0 in round 2, eliminating Senegal 2-1 in the quarters and upsetting England 2-1 in the semi's, before beating Sweden by 1-0 in the finals.

For the '10-'11 season the expectations are looking better. The media predicts 10th place and I've confidently told the board I'd reach a top-half finish.

Elderlies Mariniello, Affatigato, Epifani and Braca found themselves out of a club after their contracts expired in favor of some new blood.

Sebastien Roch (ST, 20), Raffaele Mazza (D L, 20), Vincent Buquet (D/DM C, 19) and Sekou Kouadio (M C, 21) were all snapped up on free transfers, while Genoa generously supplied Loris Damonte (AM RL, 19), Nicholas Costantini (M R, 20), Giacomo Troiano (D LC, 18) and returnee Antonino Ferri (AM C, 18).

Especially Torino's left back Mazza and Ivory Coast center midfielder Kouadio were well-received by fans and players alike.

Triestina enquired about Paul Roux (D R, 21), but the price-tag of two-hundred and fifty thousand pounds was too rich for their blood, and I'll be more than happy to keep the talented right-back around.

Striker Mauro Simone (ST, 25) was voted fan's favorite for this past year, bagging 11 in 33 and 7 assists, as well as 7 MoM awards and a close-to 7.0 average. The former Fortuna Sittard man was understandably delighted. In the mean time, Raf Lenaerts has become an official Alessandria legend, as a spokesperson declared he has been added to the list of favored personnel.

So, hopefully we can take it to the Serie C1 this year!

League

2008/09: Serie C2/A - 13th

2009/10: Serie C2/A - 7th

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