Rimini Rimini Rimini Rimini Rimini Rimini Rimini Rimini FC ( The Ages Challenge )

[Brian of Nazareth]

Bloody kids. Fecking R N B, Drum and Bass. Why couldn’t the idiots acquire some decent bloody taste? More pertinently, why did the cretins never bother turning up to training?

Pierluigi Massimo Julian The Apostate Augustus Cicero Magister Leo Titus Bigus Dickus Romulus Remus Allessandro Mariobarbituarati was feeling rather fed up all told. He’d gone into football coaching with the aiming of forming a team for the future, his youthful enthusiasm taking him up the hierarchy with breakneck speed, but with the onset of middle age brought with it a growing feeling of hatred for the youth of the day and their bloody ipods and useless lives. Talent wasted by idiots who felt they had the world against them and committed suicide or turned into a morbid goth. Others too who were just plain lazy and thought they’d lose themselves in some bloody computerised version of the game. Stoners, drunkards, lazy wasters. Kids these days – bloody fools.

He was slowly coming round to taking a slightly more embittered twist to football managing. Let the kids stew until they learn how to be proper goddamn adults. It seemed nowadays almost impossible to hold a sensible conversation with anyone who wasn’t at least in their late twenties. The rest of the time Pierluigi Massimo Julian The Apostate Augustus Cicero Magister Leo Titus Bigus Dickus Romulus Remus Allessandro Mariobarbituarati at 42, was feeling out of his depth.

However he had decided to come to the conclusion that from now on his Rimini side would only have a chance of progressing to the top with men of age, men of goddamn experience, men who would appreciate John Fecking Bonham. The kids could frankly do one. He knew some of the lads were sensing this disconnection between manager and players, but they were too afraid to let him know how they felt.

Before that, he had one more thing to do, and that was head down to that civil servant office place and change his frigging name. His chequebooks were turning into a bloody joke, it seemed every year, his drunken bet with his old friend was getting worse. The bet was an annual affair, placed on the outcome of the Serie A winners. If Pierluigi lost, he added a name by deed poll, with some historical significance, but if his mate lost, he’d lose a letter of his name. Claudius Iovius Casiraghi was know just called Claudius I. The jokes were obvious. Since then, they’d come to an agreement at their last sober encounter, in which they’d start afresh and agree on new parameters. For now though it was back to Pierluigi Barbituarti, and then it was off to cull the kids.

[Brian of Nazareth]

Bloody kids. Fecking R N B, Drum and Bass. Why couldn’t the idiots acquire some decent bloody taste? More pertinently, why did the cretins never bother turning up to training?

Pierluigi Massimo Julian The Apostate Augustus Cicero Magister Leo Titus Bigus Dickus Romulus Remus Allessandro Mariobarbituarati was feeling rather fed up all told. He’d gone into football coaching with the aiming of forming a team for the future, his youthful enthusiasm taking him up the hierarchy with breakneck speed, but with the onset of middle age brought with it a growing feeling of hatred for the youth of the day and their bloody ipods and useless lives. Talent wasted by idiots who felt they had the world against them and committed suicide or turned into a morbid goth. Others too who were just plain lazy and thought they’d lose themselves in some bloody computerised version of the game. Stoners, drunkards, lazy wasters. Kids these days – bloody fools.

He was slowly coming round to taking a slightly more embittered twist to football managing. Let the kids stew until they learn how to be proper goddamn adults. It seemed nowadays almost impossible to hold a sensible conversation with anyone who wasn’t at least in their late twenties. The rest of the time Pierluigi Massimo Julian The Apostate Augustus Cicero Magister Leo Titus Bigus Dickus Romulus Remus Allessandro Mariobarbituarati at 42, was feeling out of his depth.

However he had decided to come to the conclusion that from now on his Rimini side would only have a chance of progressing to the top with men of age, men of goddamn experience, men who would appreciate John Fecking Bonham. The kids could frankly do one. He knew some of the lads were sensing this disconnection between manager and players, but they were too afraid to let him know how they felt.

Before that, he had one more thing to do, and that was head down to that civil servant office place and change his frigging name. His chequebooks were turning into a bloody joke, it seemed every year, his drunken bet with his old friend was getting worse. The bet was an annual affair, placed on the outcome of the Serie A winners. If Pierluigi lost, he added a name by deed poll, with some historical significance, but if his mate lost, he’d lose a letter of his name. Claudius Iovius Casiraghi was know just called Claudius I. The jokes were obvious. Since then, they’d come to an agreement at their last sober encounter, in which they’d start afresh and agree on new parameters. For now though it was back to Pierluigi Barbituarti, and then it was off to cull the kids.

[Gricehead]

\o/

After your funniest writer award again Bri?

[Brian of Nazareth]

ha! cheers, though I suspect there will be much greater field of competition this year!

Pierluigi looked into the skies. Looking up to the stars, hoping some wise old superstition would grant him the ability to systemically eliminate the current generation of youth. The rapscallions had had their day and now, Paulo, Alberto and all the other teeny bopping fools would pay.

As he stared into the night sky, evaluating the most efficient manner of decimating his squad into a hardy set of good old blokes, he all of a sudden felt a chill down his spine. It was a disturbing sensation which caused Pierluigi to freeze. All he seemed able to concentrate on was the sky, illuminated by a bright full moon.

As he did so, all those feelings of loyalty to the old blokes came to the fore, and an overwhelming desire to protect them from the pretensions of youth. Anger clouded and fuelled his mind, and then in an instant he felt his arms snap out uncontrollably. He was having some fit and he couldn’t explain it. The anger had seized him, and he felt physical growth! Closing his eyes fiercely trying to escape this madness he felt possessed by a desperate need to quench his thirst – a thirst for blood.

As he moved slowly out of his foetal position he was shocked by the sight that met him, his clothes were being steadily ripped apart from his body, disproportionately large sinewy muscles were driving through, covered in swathes of hair. Then he realised he was Italian so that wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

His fingernails seemed to extend by two inches, forming a sharp blade on the finger tips, and for some reason his sense of smell seemed particularly focussed. He caught the scent of what he was sure belonged to one of the reserve team players at Rimini.

What was happening to him? Well frankly that was quite obvious, by the time he’d staggered down from his viewpoint to his car, his reflection beamed back a horrifying image. He’d suddenly turned into a 7 foot, beastly werewolf, intent on ravaging the town of Rimini of all its criminal youth. Oh well. Destiny is destiny so they say….

“Ahooooowowowoohooowhwohwohwowhooooooo!†came the ever so original howl and The Italian Werewolf leapt from the bonnet of his car, started growling menacingly at a petrified drunken bum, and began looking for his dindins.

[Brian of Nazareth]

The next morning at training, an erie silence seemed to have befallen the club's training ground. Pierluigi knew it had something to do with the suspicious cicrumstances surrounding the disappearances of 6 of the clubs young reserve players all on one night, but there was more to it than that.

Perhaps it had been his decision to force all the kids to train for 6 hours nonstop without a break, waiting for one of them to crack and give in. They admirably passed that basic fitness test but were all placed on the transfer list anyway.

Initial outcry had been sizeable - the local figures and fans were all disturbed at the Rimini Give Away which seemed to have taken hold over the next couple of days. Youngsters who foolish people thought would live up to their potential and not p*ss away on drugs and alcohol were sold fairly swiftly including Andrea Messoni to Regina for a nice 100k.

The board were both happy and sad- they were loving all the money coming into the side, but thought the complete destruction of the youth team somewhat over the top, despite Pierluigi's insistence that " they're all bloody wasters, none of them will make it anyway and we need experience to go forward."

Some kids seemed intent on bucking the trend and trying to force their way into Pierluigi's plans but they failed at the first test.

" So, you want to play for us? Right then Marco Brighi, name the band members of Deep Purple."

"Who?"

"OUT."

"What! Thats not fair? Judge me on my footballing ability!"

"I am. My footballers must make the right decisions and be capable of staying calm under pressure. It requires a broad knowledge and a general thirst for bl- or intellect.

You clearly don't have that. Who do you listen to?"

"Well I like techno-da -"

"GET OUT. There'll be none of that here, your parents should be ashamed of themselves for bringing up such an imbecile."

"You're crazy!"

"Well you don't want to stick around to find out how, I can tell you that! Now sod off!"

Two days later Marco signed for Varese for 35k. It was a move that puzzled many locals who were aghast at seeing the young talent sold on a whim. Once again Pierluigi had to defend it.

" Marco's got an attitude problem and he'll never make it to the top. I am ruthless and I shan't be wasting my time on all these execrable teenagers. They can come back when they've shown they can do it.

Some people say clubs like us are feeder clubs for the big boys, well ******** to that. I want Rimini to be a success and fighting for the promotion. To do that we need talent, talent borne out of years of hard work and development, combined with a life skill for general knowledge and understanding.

I want intellects, I want men of honour, wisdom and steely determination. So I say to all you parents who think their kids will get a shot at this club:

BUGGER OFF! I don't want them anywhere near the training ground! Call me ageist if you will, but I've had enough of teenagers and young adults who think they can rule the world. For those who stick around for a while, all I can say is, there will be consequences!"

It had made for quite a stirring speech and the rallying cry was printed in the local papers to the dismay of many a Rimini fan.

However, they were appeased somewhat when Pierluigi scored his first actual signing - the arrival of Francesco Passiatore. The midfield attacker was of the perfect age - he had only just turned thirty a week previously and had the talent to continue his career and propel the club into the better leagues. For 230k, the fans were suddenly impressed, and fears of a complete collapse in stability in the club due to a lack of any talent coming through were momentarily allayed.

[Brian of Nazareth]

After a few days the inquiry into the disappearance of 6t of the boys who had been with the club until one fateful evening was gathering apace and Pier was bored stiffless

with the police bothering him every bloody day to check up on their enquiries and add bits and pieces to his well worn out statement. Eventually, after one such time they knocked on the door he replied:

' Hi there, look here's the deal right? I turned into a werewolf, and then chased the kids down the street, eating three of them and mauling the rest into a graphic and violent death.'

'Sir, this is a serious investigation, and this is no time for jokes.'

'I'm not joking, I told you, I ate them. Very nice too."

"Sir if you could be serious for a moment, that was quite the distasteful comment. We'll bring you in if you keep up the act.'

'I'm only trying to help officer.'

'Fine, well seeing as we're not going to be getting anything useful out of you today we'll leave you. Goodday sir.'

Pierluigi was quite bemused as he watched the cops leave his house and walk down the street, he'd only told the truth.

Closing the door he turned back into the kitchen and opened the freezer to get dinner ready. Italian leg, was quite tasty really - though the kneecap was a bit gristly for his liking.

His more pressing thoughts were also who might be involved with the reserve team this year once this cull was over, but to be honest it wasn't that crucial - after all there were a few guys who weren't quite up to Pierluigi's pre-arranged cut off point. By next summer three of the strikers would be eligible to play but for now, they'd just have to make do in the reserves.

As the days went on the atmosphere picked up as the older guys all showed their age and were able to converse freely about important subjects, and displayed a great deal of respect for actual talented musicians, and there was no electrodancetrance turgidness around. It was wonderful. Furthermore the squad had been decimated by about twenty players - most of whom were useless anyway. Saved on money, which could be used to reward those hardy journeymen.

With over a 1 million pounds raised in transfer fees alone, up from the 300k budget he'd been awarded at the beginning of the summer it certainly allowed for the odd investment - but again Pierluigi was going to do this the hardway. He reckoned he'd only need to buy in three or four bigger players - he still didn't want anymore egotisical arseholes at the club. Where possible he wanted desperate raw desire - and that meant scouring the free market.

Of course much to his growing annoyance finding the players was a bit of a bitch, and by the time the season came round he had a central midfielder starting in central defence and a winger up front, but the rules and his principles would not be broken. But when even Uwe Rosler was rejecting his advances he had to face facts. That time though he'd gone a little too crazy and attacked the German in a frenzied and bloody attack, though

successfully pinning the blame on an 76 year old passing Granny.

His pre-season ( consisting of no games just angry and menacing death threats against the lingering juveniles who hadn't yet re-allocated themselves elsewhere ) certainly created a newlook squad with his transfer policy decimating the team:

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

************************************************************************************************

Rimini - Sunday 12th August 2001

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

2001/2 Transfers

================================================================================================

Date Player In From Fee

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

31.7.01 Francesco Passiatore Ascoli £210K

31.7.01 Mario Bortolazzi Lecco £20K

1.8.01 Antonio Bucciarelli Palmese Loan

7.8.01 Paolo Ziliani Arezzo £40K

Date Player Out To Fee

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

31.7.01 Marco Brighi Varese £35K

31.7.01 Diego Nanni Pontedera £24K

31.7.01 Andrea Mussoni Reggina £100K

1.8.01 Oscar Vico Pro Vercelli £14K

1.8.01 Luca Dosi Alzano £75K

2.8.01 Lucio Gasperoni Pro Vercelli £35K

3.8.01 Mario Donadoni Alzano £45K

3.8.01 Daniele Bordacconi Livorno £70K

3.8.01 Francesco Lunardini Crotone £50K

4.8.01 Mirko Paglialonga Bellaria £6K

5.8.01 Carlo Cofano Lecco £22K

6.8.01 Daniele Bucchi Verona £55K

6.8.01 Federico Teodorani Tricase £9K

</pre>

In fact ahead of the first match of the season the total squad of acceptable adults was this:

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

************************************************************************************************

Rimini - Sunday 12th August 2001

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

Squad

================================================================================================

No Name Position(s) Nat Born Age Caps Gls Wages Expires Value

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

- Antonioli, Mauro AM LC ITA 27.9.68 32 - - £950 4.6.06 £28K

- Ballanti, Alessio SW/D C ITA 12.7.74 27 - - £950 1.7.03 £45K

- Battistini, Maurizio GK ITA 25.6.68 33 - - £675 8.6.07 £22K

- Bizzarri, Marco GK ITA 4.3.67 34 - - £950 1.7.02 £40K

- Bortolazzi, Mario M C ITA 10.1.65 36 - - £1.8K 28.6.04 £24K

- Bucciarelli, Antonio M C ITA 13.8.70 30 - - £0 28.6.02 £70K

- Caverzan, Diego D C ITA 11.3.69 32 - - £950 1.7.03 £45K

- Cipolli, Andrea M RL ITA 17.3.71 30 - - £950 31.8.03 £30K

- Civolani, Roberto D/M RC ITA 21.11.72 28 - - £900 1.7.03 £20K

- D'Angelo, Luca DM C ITA 26.7.71 30 - - £950 30.6.03 £60K

- Di Nicola, Davide S C ITA 4.4.72 29 - - £950 11.6.03 £150K

- Di Terlizzi, Davide M RC ITA 31.1.76 25 - - £950 1.7.03 £45K

- Favi, Fabio M C ITA 22.12.69 31 - - £950 11.6.04 £45K

- Galli, Luigi D/M L ITA 8.10.69 31 - - £950 1.7.02 £16K

- Luconi, Cristiano F LC ITA 30.3.72 29 - - £950 11.6.02 £24K

- Masini, Mario SW/D C ITA 25.3.73 28 - - £950 28.6.07 £130K

- Mastronicola, Alessandro D C ITA 29.6.74 27 - - £950 26.6.04 £40K

- Micchi, Edoardo S C ITA 29.8.72 28 - - £950 12.6.02 £35K

- Neri, Maurizio S C ITA 21.3.65 36 - - £950 9.6.02 £20K

- Pacassoni, Matteo M RC ITA 13.3.81 20 - - £950 19.6.02 £16K

- Passiatore, Francesco AM/F RL ITA 22.7.71 30 - - £1.1K 28.6.04 £275K

- Ziliani, Paolo SW/D/DM C ITA 10.6.71 30 - - £1.1K 6.6.04 £100K

</pre>

and that just left:

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

************************************************************************************************

Rimini - Sunday 12th August 2001

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

Squad

================================================================================================

No Name Position(s) Nat Born Age Caps Gls Wages Expires Value

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

- Antonioli, Mauro AM LC ITA 27.9.68 32 - - £950 4.6.06 £28K

- Battistini, Maurizio GK ITA 25.6.68 33 - - £675 8.6.07 £22K

- Bizzarri, Marco GK ITA 4.3.67 34 - - £950 1.7.02 £40K

- Bortolazzi, Mario M C ITA 10.1.65 36 - - £1.8K 28.6.04 £24K

- Bucciarelli, Antonio M C ITA 13.8.70 30 - - £0 28.6.02 £70K

- Caverzan, Diego D C ITA 11.3.69 32 - - £950 1.7.03 £45K

- Cipolli, Andrea M RL ITA 17.3.71 30 - - £950 31.8.03 £30K

- D'Angelo, Luca DM C ITA 26.7.71 30 - - £950 30.6.03 £60K

- Favi, Fabio M C ITA 22.12.69 31 - - £950 11.6.04 £45K

- Galli, Luigi D/M L ITA 8.10.69 31 - - £950 1.7.02 £16K

- Neri, Maurizio S C ITA 21.3.65 36 - - £950 9.6.02 £20K

- Pacassoni, Matteo M RC ITA 13.3.81 20 - - £950 19.6.02 £16K

- Passiatore, Francesco AM/F RL ITA 22.7.71 30 - - £1.1K 28.6.04 £275K

- Ziliani, Paolo SW/D/DM C ITA 10.6.71 30 - - £1.1K 6.6.04 £100K

</pre>

as legitimate first team starters. It was not going to be easy, but it was the way Pierluigi was damn well going to cope with his unfortunate monthly disease- the fewer kids in his sight, presumably the lesser the rage would be.

[Brian of Nazareth]

August 2001

Defeat in the pointless cup competition, followed by rejection from Bryan Roy saw PB frequenting the local bars quite heavily over the following days. His bet with Claudius still had to be arranged and what it would involve doing.

However as the days went on a fierce campaign of offering players as much money as possible, including get out clauses and short term contracts seemed to pay off - even Uwe Rosler returned from the dead, whilst the fans ( weirdos as they are ) went absolutely bananas at the signing of the amazing Dean Saunders, a man of the perfect stature, talented, hip replacement on the way and just short of his 400th birthday. The town celebrated with a festival and the mayor even wanted the day marked as a national holiday.

For Dean Saunders.

Oh dear.

Still he was one of a few more players who eventually decided to turn up - including Massimiliano Allegri, a 34 year old winger on speed, rather than possessing it. Uwe Rosler the half dead cannibal, and Davide Mezzanotte who was signed purely for displaying an acute affection for Eric Clapton, and whose actual ability could be rather more appropriately compared to that of a dead skunk. There was one final big old transfer purchase as well. 170k of what was left in the money pot was splashed out on Simone Venturi who joined his former teammate from Arezzo at Rimini's band of mature farts with pleasure.

That all severely knocked the coffers a bit, but it did mean that for the match with Lodigiani in the Cup there was a squad to choose from.

It allowed for the dream strike partnership of Dean Saunders and Uwe Rosler to really flourish, and their selection was vindicated to the delight of Pierluigi when they thrashed their hosts 4-0 with a masterful performance. Dean the former Bradford, Sheffield United, Nottingham Forrest Galatasary, Aston Villa, Liverpool, Derby Oxford, Brighton, Cardiff and Swansea Saunders scored two, whilst Uwe added one of his own on their debuts. The other goal came from Antonio Bucciarelli, the loan signing.

--

Vindicated. That's how Pierluigi felt. What had they said? Where's the future, what about the kids? Ha. An excellent debut saw the legends of yesteryear tear apart their visitors. The board were thrilled, the town jubilated and Claudius defeated.

The signing of any random old bastard went well into overdrive in the succeeding days of August. It brought in the celebrated Cesar Sampaio to the complete disbelief of the fans - who had excellently decided to ostracise all their own kids as well as a show of solidarity with the manager - along with hitherto unknowns Boromir Perkovic a 33 year old Croatian midfielder, who was soon nicknamed Frodo as one heck of a devilishly evil insult, Vasilis Ioannidis a 34 year old Greek central defender whose marvellous heading ability covered up for what must be prothetic legs, and Stephane Dedebant the french girl in the side. 30 years old and a pain in the ass. However, numbers were numbers and Pierluigi could only smugly congratulate himself on a fine recruiting drive.

They all arrived before the intermitted friendlies which seemed to be scattered in amongst the Cup games, and the chance to exercise their wearing but experienced limbs was handy. Just before the game with Turkish randoms Adana Demirspor the icing on the cake was complete as one time Rangers legend Marco Negri signed on. Admittedly the wages were huge and would probably help, along with all the other high priced stars send the club into bankruptcy, but living for the moment that's what its all about.

A trip to Turkey was fairly uneventful, though efforts were made to see if any of the aging locals had some footballing talent, ( they didn't ) but the players all got their work out. The major problem that seemed to arise was just ever so slightly financially related.

All the sales of before had raised an excellent margin for acquiring new players and Pierluigi had full backing from his board to bring in a solid squad. Unfortunately it cost the club wel over a million pounds in the process, and the entire budget had been completely wiped out. Still - it would be worth it, when the side fulfilled their potential.

In between friendlies - Rosler and Negri having helped defeat Demirspor, another striker was added to the books just to provide further insurance - Iranian forward Khododad Azizi a 30 year striker released by FC Koln earlier on. The hard bargaining complete, the squad was now ready, even if there was only one left back and the goalkeepers a bit sh*te, they had DEAN SAUNDERS and ergo were invincible by default.

So the end of the month soon arrived, Anadolu Urkunpronounceable were slaughtered in a friendly with Deano and Aziz the potent duo,

before the home match with Gubbio in the cup ended all square. D'Angelo equalised a goal from their 19 year old upstart Papa and Pierlugi was furious. When the full moon came round again he knew where he was eating out that night. By the months end a 1-0 win over San Marino thanks to Negri's debut goal wasn't enough to see the side qualify but it proved to any further doubters that this side meant business.

Full Transfer List

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

================================================================================================

2001/2 Transfers

================================================================================================

Date Player In From Fee

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

31.7.01 Francesco Passiatore Ascoli £210K

31.7.01 Mario Bortolazzi Lecco £20K

1.8.01 Antonio Bucciarelli Palmese Loan

7.8.01 Paolo Ziliani Arezzo £40K

15.8.01 Davide Mezzanotti Free Transfer Free

18.8.01 Massimiliano Allegri Free Transfer Free

19.8.01 Vasilis Ioannidis Free Transfer Free

19.8.01 Simone Venturi Arezzo £170K

19.8.01 César Sampaio Free Transfer Free

19.8.01 Dean Saunders Free Transfer Free

19.8.01 Borimir Perkovic Free Transfer Free

19.8.01 Uwe Rösler Free Transfer Free

20.8.01 Stéphane Dedebant Free Transfer Free

21.8.01 Marco Negri Free Transfer Free

23.8.01 Khodadad Azizi Free Transfer Free

Date Player Out To Fee

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

29.7.01 Davide Vagnetti Released Free

29.7.01 Luca Casadei Released Free

29.7.01 Andrea Bianchi Released Free

29.7.01 Alessandro Angelini Released Free

29.7.01 Mattia Ballarini Released Free

29.7.01 Lorenzo Bernardini Released Free

31.7.01 Marco Brighi Varese £35K

31.7.01 Diego Nanni Pontedera £24K

31.7.01 Andrea Mussoni Reggina £100K

1.8.01 Oscar Vico Pro Vercelli £14K

1.8.01 Luca Dosi Alzano £75K

2.8.01 Lucio Gasperoni Pro Vercelli £35K

3.8.01 Francesco Lunardini Crotone £50K

3.8.01 Mario Donadoni Alzano £45K

3.8.01 Daniele Bordacconi Livorno £70K

4.8.01 Mirko Paglialonga Bellaria £6K

5.8.01 Carlo Cofano Lecco £22K

6.8.01 Federico Teodorani Tricase £9K

6.8.01 Daniele Bucchi Verona £55K

17.8.01 Matteo Pacassoni Prato £16K

25.8.01 Federico Crescentini Bellaria £12K

</pre>

Match Summary

12/08 CUP Rimini v Mestre - Lost 1-0

19/08 CUP Lodigiani v Rimini - won 4-0 - Saunders x2, Rosler, Bucciarelli, Galli m/pen

22/08 FRE Turkish1 v Rimini won 2-1 - Negri, Rosler

24/08 FRE Turkish2 v Rimini won 3-0, Saunders Azizi, O.G

26/08 CUP Rimini v Gubbio - drawn 1-1 - D'Angelo

29/08 CUP San Marino v Rimini - won 1-0 - Negri, Galli s/off

Preferred XI: 442: Battistini; Venturi Galli, Zilliani, Ioannidis; Passiatore, Bortolazzi, Favi, Saunders Negri

[Brian of Nazareth]

September 2001

So for Pierlugi Barbituarti, the first month had been an intriguing success. The side had been successfully assembled, albeit destroying the accounts in the process - no money left at all - and they were clearly able to play well together despite the numerous nationalities, the cops had taken his confession in the spirit it was intended and were still trying to find any mangled remains of the boys - ( still one left, he hoped to make a good stew, goes well with worcester sauce apparently )and he was able to enjoy sane conversation at last.

Luigi Galli's red card in the previous match had proved less irritating than first thought as he remembered the card was specific to the cup competion and he formulated a strong side to kick off the league campaign at home to Gualdo . A half respectable crowd were in attendance and they were left cheering all the way through. Marco Negri became an instant legend with a first half hat-trick as the visitors were battered by the guile of RImini, and though a bit of shocking complacency saw them reduce the arrears just after the interval, sub 'Frodo' Perkovic sealed the win late on.

An excellent start received it's just rewards from the board and fans and the boss was also just as smug. For the trip to Fiorenzuola the only change was bringing Bucciarelli in for Bartolazzi. It ended up being a tighter game than before but the quality was still on show as the side levelled an early concession through Dean Saunders in the first half. When the hosts lost a man to a crude challenge in the second half, the tempo and pressure was upped on their goal but despite Perkovic's best efforts - a header against the bar, they had to settle for a point.

In midweek, the full moon appeared and Pier became FIER and he hit the streets in search of a few unfortunate victims ( not quite snaring that git Papa as intended ) but instead settling for a fine selection of broad women this time - just to prove he had no predilictions one way or other, naturally.

Perhaps it was Karma, perhaps not but the defeat away to Imolese smacked of serious bad luck. Firstly Bucciarelli went off injured in the first half, chanceswere then wasted, before Allegri, himself a sub came on and was promptly fouled back out the ground and to the nearby hospital. He was the third sub and having occured not long after the hosts had taken the lead was bloody typical. In the final quarter Marco Negri then had a goal disallowed for god knows what and Pierluigi wrote down the linesmans' name is his little black book of bastards.

In midweek, he started to hear back from his scouts about possible futures for next summer. By futures, he of course meant players who were 28/29 and worth keeping an eye on when they came of age. What Carmelo Cristiano did, was to suggest 16 year old Norwegian kid Havard Kleven was a player to keep an eye on.

Pierluigi went ballistic. He threatened to fire the idiot if he came back with any player younger than 28, before plotting a night out on the Norwegian towns for one weekend. Foreign food always does you a world of good.

Despite the return of central defender Caravan he didn't displace Ioannidis for the home tie with Sassulo. The injured pair were dropped as were Rosler and Azizi for Saunders and Negri.An open game was kicked off with a goal from Bortolazzi quite early on, though an immediate response pegged it square, to the chagrin of Pier. 'Schooboy error' he'd muttered. Against decent opponents it seemed as if the match could go either way, but just after the break a header from good old Paulo Zilliani handed Rimini the lead, and mater on as it looked as though the three points might have been dropped, Marco Negri seized on a fine cross from sub Azizi to seal the win.

The month ended in terrific fashion for the side as a trip to Alto Aldige a side who'd started the season well themselves, providing the best away performance of the season so far. Initially the dominance in the first half seemed to be going nowhere until Dean Saunders forced in a loose ball just before half time. In the second half it was more of the same but a shock goal from the hosts threatened to steal the three points away from Rimini for a moment. However, the side recovered and thanks to a stunningly great strike from central defender Ioannidis and another Saunders effort the win was sealed - and a good opening month to the league campaign had critics surprisingly quiet at the lack of youth.

Match Summary

02/09 C2/B Rimini v Gualdo - won 4-1, Negri x3, Perkovic

09/09 c2/B Fiorenzuola v Rimini - drew 1-1 - Saunders

16/09 c2/B Imolese v Rimini - lost 1-0,

23/09 C2/B Rimini v Sassulo - won 3-1, - Bortolazzi, Zilliani, Negri

30/09 C2/B Alto Aldige v Rimini - won 3-1, Saunders x2, Ioannidis

[Spav]

Fine start, BoN. Glad to see another person going for the 30+ challenge.

[Brian of Nazareth]

cheers, Spav, certainly seemed the more appealing challenge to play for me No upper age limit helps!

--

October 2001

With one month gone, the first test of his sides physical capabilities came against the very youthful Poggese side. It was a home game and winnable but there were a couple of players whose bodies were a little tired. The match began well enough when the recently returned Allegri fired in an excellent opener, but the lead didn't last too long as the visitors responded within minutes. Poggesse, then kept at it for a while, trying to force another goal but the old bastards held on well, and indeed in the second half, fought back themselves, finding energy from within to force an excellent late winner courtesy of Marco Negri with Cesar Sampaio a wonderful workhorse throughout.

It was a good start, but one that was punctuated somewhat by a poor defeat away to Grubbio days later. The hosts were top of the table, but after having already played them in the Cup it was clear they weren.t miles better, so the fact they were outfought, performed and classed on the day was a dissapointment to the side. They only lost 1-0 but it could have been much worse and the rivalry between the two sides was turned up a notch to the dismay of the board.

Still, before the critics began rounding up on him for the display citing a need for an injection of youth, his side responded terrifically as all mature sensible grown men do and thrashed San Marino 3-0. Admittedly the cause was slightly helped when the visitors had their goalkeeper sent off in the first half, but for Pierluigi it was merely a symbolic reflection of their capitulation to the greater team. Marco notched another one to his tally as did Allegri from the spot with Bucciarelli getting the killer3rd before the first half was even over.

Who needs kids? That was the question on everyones lips after that match and it spawned a brief spate of late abortions, depatrifiying of children and a few crazy abandonments. Some handy runaway kids to chew over later thought Pierluigi. Even he though conceded it was an overreaction if people couldn't see the ever so slight downfall of wiping all children off the map. It seemed though that faced with the choice of educating them properly into decent music or ways of life, they preferred to leave out calling cards for the beast who'd run off with the Seedy Six in the summer - a case that interestingly the police had decided to abandon investigating.

A few days later a slightly scared Caramel Christy rang up with a scouting recommendation. However he had nothing to fear this time since he'd actually done his job properly this time. Lars Bakerud a 30 year old Norwegian was the offer and at a reasonable price. It would have been a tempting offer certainly had Pierluigi not already bankrupted the club with his old man love in. Sadly he signed his own death warrant when he also chucked in a few allegedly talented youngsters too. It enraged Pierluigi so much he flew straight out to Norway, killed his scout, then brought him back in several pieces to be eaten as an when the next full moon arrived. His fridge was getting a little full at the moment.

When asked as to Caramel's whereabouts a few days later, he simply told the chairman he had completed his search of Scandinavia- which was true was it not? Footballing matters ended for the month with a somewhat frustrating draw at Faenza . The first half had been bossed by Rimini but Negri and Rosler had either found the keeper or wasted numerous chances. Both were forced to listen to trance music at half time as a punishment. However it clearly went too far, and neither player was able to retain any sense of balance and had to be subbed off as the home side were beginning to come back into the match. It ended 0-0 though with Battistini in fine form in goal and the recently returned Caravan enjoying a decent spell in the backline.

Match Summary

07/10 C2/B Rimini v Poggese - won 2-1, Allegri, Negri

14/10 C2/B Grubbio v Rimini - lost 1-0

21/10 C2/B Rimini v San Marino - won 3-0, Allegri pen, Negri, Bucciarelli

28/10 C2/B Faenza v Rimini - drew 0-0

[Brian of Nazareth]

November 2001

As the month turned a few journalists who'd become emboldened merely by being old and hence not the target of Pierluigi's scathing tongue, inquired about how amazing Marco Negri was? With 7 goals in 7 starts he was tipped to end up being a top scorer by the seasons end. The remark was greeted with pronounced sarcasm.

Pierluigi Barbituarti was astonished, no truly astonished, that a striker who led the goal scoring charts so far into the season could be tipped to be 'among there' come the seasons end. What an insightful prediction that was. He did despair sometimes of humanities IQ, often wondering if it was a little tooreactionary to hope for a purge of the stupids.

The first match of the month pitched them at home to Trento a side with promotion pretensions of their own and along with Rimini had the tightest defence in the league thus far, a stat which seemed to be borne out in the opening exchanges. The sides were both trying to attack with fluency but were met with a stubborn and solid backline.

Though Trento had had the better of the chances in the first half, PB's side seemed to be coming back into the latter stages of the match, but the striking prolificacy of the forwards was bloody awol. Uwe was utterly useless at the moment, and when he was subbed Pierluigi kicked him hard in the testicles to express his frustration. If that didn't send a warning to him to buck his trend, then surely nothing would? Anyway the game was fecking lost in the 87th minute when Germano Ciech exploited Stephane Dedabontes lack of talent to push past him and score.

The board were narked off and so were the fans. Chants of 'Sod off Granddad' weren't particularly welcome either. For Pierluigi, he regretted instantly giving the frenchman a chanceto shine, realising that in his career he had if anything regressed in all aspects of his life into a boiled potato. Bald, fat and good for nothing. He was transfer listed and paganly castrated soon afterwards in a gesture of good will to the board after having raped their resources a few months ago.

For some annoying reason though his strikers seemed to be going awol of late, as Marco Negri conspired to miss all 6 of his shots away to Menstre the following week. He was joined in the ******** striking category by Antonioli and Neri when he came on late on. 12 shots in all, 1 on target, and that was a save from a drivelling naff Dean Saunders toe poke. Thankfully the defence at least did their job properly inspite of Vassilis Ioannidis' apparent allergy to actually keeping the ball for more than 1/2 second underfoot.

Three games without scoring was irritating and it was fuelling calls for some of the reserve team kids who hadn't yet been mauled to death or eaten to be given a chance, but that was off the menu - though ironically they were on the menu at home. If you see wha - yeah you do. It was especially annoying when they singled out one player for criticism - the barefaced cheek! Admittedly Francesco Passiatore hadn't actually done anything of note since his move, but at 210k he was a hefty price player and he wasn't going to let them attack his winger like that as he issued an angry responses condemning journalists as spawns of satan, containing the intelligence levels of a Baldrick.

In midweek there was the perversely enjoyable reserve fixture with Montichiari which ended all square. Of interest though was that Rimini lost three players to injuries. Their left back hd both legs broken, whilst 28 year old defender Mario Masini would have his interim period excited further

by having to undergo surgery after a stud in his face displaced his left eye somewhat. French waster Stephane was also the victim of another nasty challenge and would be out for two months. This was more problematic than enjoyable though as now he couldn't be at all sold in that time whatsoever.

The home clash with the senior Montichiari side proved more enjoyable for the right reasons though as against a demoralised and currently winless bottom placed

side, Rimini recovered their goalscoring touch by playing with more directness, focusing their attacks down the middle of the pitch. A one way first half which saw goals for Negri, a first for Sampaio and a first for the now ultra determined Passiatore was followed up by a merciless second half. Negri notched another, as did Sampaio before Deano came off the bench to complete a lovely annihilation of their visitors. Winning 6-0 certainly seemed like a good way of banishing those striking demons.

The hopes of having a little more widespread attention on what the golden oldies were doing that afternoon were somewhat spoiled by an even greedier Milan who slaughtered Piacenza 9-0 in their league game. Twats. The win did keep the club comfortably in the play-off zone which was the expected achievement of this club usually, if not promotion so the fans were happy enough.

With the tactic having worked out so excellently before, the side was more or less unchanged, although Saunders played in the withdrawn strikers role, whilst Azizi took a rare start against another top side Sambenedettese. It certainly started off well as the Iranian grabbed his first goal for the club, before Negri added his tenth of the season to stop the hosts getting a foothold in the game before half time. However, they pulled one back moments afterwards and it became a nervy affair as the tired legs seemed to be clinging on until Cesar Sampaio sent the travelling hordes home happy with a clinical strike towards the end. Special mention must also be made for Passiatore - ever since receiving that criticism he responded as any mature adult would do and played another blinding match on the left.

Match Summary

04/11 C2/B Rimini v Trento - lost 1-0

11/11 C2/B Menstre v Rimini - drew 0-0

18/11 C2/B Rimini v Montichiari - won 6-0, Negri x2, Sampaio x2, Passiatore, Saunders

25/11 C2/B Sambenedettese v Rimini - won 3-1, Azizi, Negri, Sampaio

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

Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

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

1st Trento 13 5 0 1 11 4 4 1 2 8 4 28

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

2nd Gubbio 13 3 3 1 11 6 4 1 1 14 8 25

3rd Rimini 13 5 0 1 18 4 2 3 2 7 5 24

4th Mantova 13 4 1 2 12 11 2 3 1 9 7 22

5th Brescello 13 4 2 0 11 4 1 4 2 12 14 21

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

6th Mestre 13 3 4 0 19 14 2 2 2 7 9 21

</pre>

[Brian of Nazareth]

December 2001

As the new month broke out, 25 year old Davide di Terlizzi inquired about his first team prospects in the immediate future. However, seeing as he managed to name all the bandmembers of Steps and had displayed a lack of patience he was transfer listed. Cheeky bugger couldn't even wait 5 years for his chance. Idiot.

He clearly wasn't in the line up for the weekend's match at home to Thiene , but Rosler and Allegri, the former being given another chance to prove his competence and the latter to hand a breather to Perkovic. The same vivacious tempo saw the fans just assuming a goal was just round the corner as they controlled for large parts the game, and the defence tidying up where necessary marshalled superbly by Diego Caravan. Eventually, one arrived when sub Bucciarelli set up Negri, the clubs talisman to slot home what seemed a 78th minute winner. Sadly not

though as the visitors went gung ho and got lucky through Ivan Moretto almost immediately.

Thankfully the fact they had been really quite gash for most of the game didn't go unnoticed by The Fates, and in the 94th minute, with the ref about to blow up Passiatore received a shove in the area and a penalty was awarded. Last kick of the match, and it went to the only player who'd enjoyed every minute of the league campaign so far, Luigi Galli. He converted, the players forgot their age and displayed a level of appropriate youthful enthusiasm and

Pierluigi had no problem with that. After all, he allowed a caged beast within him to exercise fairly regularly didn't he?

The confidence was quite clearly back in the side, and it showed easily in the trip to Montova a side just outside the play off spots, where Dean Saunders was in magnificent form setting up both goals in the 2-0 victory. Firstly, he laid the ball off for Cesar Sampaio to continue his own run of good form, before heading a corner on for Marco Negri to lash in just before the half hour mark. The game thereafter was a smidge more competitive but as usual those oldies knew what they were doing. No lapses in concentration, another professional performance.

If there was a downside to that game it was the injury sustained by on loan midfielder Antonio Bucciarelli who was forced off in the first half with knee damage. However,given the upcoming winter break, his injury would only keep him out of action for one, rather than three matches.

For that final home match with Teramo though his spot was more than adequately filled as the side recorded a fine victory which due to some late sloppy defender made the scoreline much closer than it should have done. A dominant performance saw the Welsh Wizard set up Negri for yet another goal and a half time lead, before Azizi played in Sampaio whose own form was just as impressive to double the advantage. A rampant Rimini were then well rewarded a few minutes later as the Saunders-Negri combination worked a treat to set up the Italian for his 14th goal this season. Subs were made to offer a few fringe players a chance, and D'Angelo, being less than half the man Sampaio was, watched on guility as Teramo scored twice in the final 5 minutes.

So onto the holidays and Pierluigi was delighted. His side were well placed and the aging hipsters were clearly looking to go out with a bang. Many of their contracts were up in the summer, but renewal would be a last minute thing, especially with the current finances of the club weighing heavily on the board. As for Pierluigi Barbituarti, well he'd decided he needed a change of scenery, perhaps London, he wasn't too sure, but he figured he'd probably just trust to luck and enjoy the local cuisine wherever he ended up dining out.

Match Summary

02/12 C2/B Rimini v Thiene - won 2-1, Negri, Galli

09/12 C2/B Monteva v Rimini - 2-0, Sampaio Negri

16/12 C2/B Rimini v Teramo - won 3-2, Negri x2, Sampaio

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

************************************************************************************************

Rimini - Wednesday 26th December 2001

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

2001/2 Senior Club Stats

================================================================================================

No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R

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

- Allegri, Massimiliano 13 (1) 2 0 1 (1) 4 0 0 0 6.71

- Antonioli, Mauro 5 (3) 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 6.50

- Azizi, Khodadad 5 (6) 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 7.00

- Battistini, Maurizio 20 0 14 0 0 0 0 2 7.45

- Bizzarri, Marco 0 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.00

- Bortolazzi, Mario 5 (2) 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 7.14

- Bucciarelli, Antonio 8 (1) 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 7.00

- Caverzan, Diego 12 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 7.58

- César Sampaio 10 5 0 0 1 3 0 0 7.40

- Cipolli, Andrea 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.00

- D'Angelo, Luca 4 (5) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.22

- Dedebant, Stéphane 1 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.50

- Favi, Fabio 6 (7) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.69

- Galli, Luigi 20 1 0 2 (1) 0 2 1 1 7.35

- Ioannidis, Vasilis 13 (1) 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 6.71

- Mezzanotti, Davide 6 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.75

- Negri, Marco 14 (3) 14 0 0 2 0 0 5 7.94

- Neri, Maurizio 1 (3) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.00

- Passiatore, Francesco 19 1 0 0 5 0 0 1 6.84

- Perkovic, Borimir 5 (8) 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 6.85

- Rösler, Uwe 10 (4) 1 0 0 4 1 0 0 7.00

- Saunders, Dean 13 (5) 6 0 0 9 0 0 3 7.56

- Venturi, Simone 13 (1) 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 6.86

- Ziliani, Paolo 15 (1) 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 7.13

</pre>

[Brian of Nazareth]

January 2002

The new year brought with it an invigorated sense of hope. The guys had all taken a much needed break from the action to rest up those limbs and now it was time to get back to the gritty work of grounding out results. Pierluigi, was feeling very satisfied, having enjoyed the tastes of an overcooked Chinese, a new english cuisine called Chavi, and a few nicely done Indians.

The first return to action saw a fresh burst initially but the shock of a break had actually proved a little hindrance as a lead provided by who else but Negri was cancelled out by a late strike from Brescello who gained a deserved point. A chance to share top spot had been wasted but Pierluigi was happy enough - once they were back in the motions they'd be able to see out games like this in the future.

Excellent news arrived within a day of that Thursday draw though as left back Luigi Galli signed a new contract to keep him in beyond the summer. His performances had been excellent and the 32 year old had proved himself an integral part of the side having mercifully avoided injury. It was even followed by approaches from other sides to loan out 27 year old defender Alessio Ballanti. It would be an excellent chance for the player to get some match experience under his belt as he continued his journey to adulthood and maturity.

After having picked up a yellow card in the previous match, Sampaio had notched up the suspension level and was absent from the trip to Guadio . In his place went Favi, with Bortolazzi coming in after a break for an out of sorts Allegri. Fears over how the side would hold up in midfield were eradicated within seconds of taking to the pitch - a masterful effort including a brilliant performance by Bortolazzi combined in a well earned 3-0 win. Negri, as is now custom scored twice, whilst Deano turned finisher for once to add gloss to an all round success.

In what turned out to be an overly generous move, Uwe Rosler was awarded for the start for the visit of 15th placed strugglers. Also starting would be back up goalie Marco Bizarri for the first time after patiently waiting his turn. Sampaio had also returned too as they looked to put pressure on Trento. As it turned out despite dominating the match, the ills of having a fat German in a position of responsibilty were all too evident. Miss after miss, the masochist clearly wanted a literal bollocking. Negri was trying, but after his riduculous exploits he was forgiven for not being inspiration this one time. It ended 0-0 and annoying points were dropped.

Still, on the positive side, Bizarri had performed very well, and was certainly a player Pierluigi felt confident enough to play again the following week against Imolese at home. Rosler unsurprisingly was dropped but the rest of the team were as normal. Bizarri though had a shocking start as he conceded a 5th minute penalty and was lucky to stay on the pitch as the play off hopefuls seized the initiative and took

the game to Rimini, but with the defence coping with the strain well enough, the home team fought back well, and Negri returned to form to equalise before half time. It was a crucial goal and turned the game, with the second half a one team game, and with pressure, goals soon arrived to win it, with Azizi and man of the match Bortolazzi capping fine individual games in the 3-1 win.

A massive downfall to that game though would be the loss of right back Simone Venturi. He'd broken his ankle in three places and would need at least three months to recover. With the side now only having one full back for either side, they were exceptionally vulnerable.

Match Summary

03/01 C2/B Brescello v Rimini drew 1-1, Negri

13/01 C2/B Guadio v Rimini - won 3-0, Negri x2, Saunders

20/01 C2/B Rimini v Fiorenzuol - drew 0-0

27/01 C2/B Rimini v Imolese - won 3-1, Negri, Azizi

[Brian of Nazareth]

February 2002

Still sitting on the coat tails of Trento going into the next month Pierluigi strengthened the defence with the acquisition of free agent Gianluca Colavitto, a 30 year old right back. He was crap, but he knew what he was talking about, and would be reliable enough if the need arose - and he would be willing to play for a packet of crisps and a can of coke each week.

Against 4th placed Sassuoso was the knowledge that top spot could be attained with a win here and the gap to 4th would be enlarged even further and the side seemed to take that into the game initially as Azizi made a perfect start scoring inside three minutes, and could indeed have had further goals. Bortolazzi was proving a revelation on the right wing for a 37 year old, showing granddads really do know it best, though Perkovic was struggling in the Saunders holding role slot. The dropping of the Welshman had a rather evident effect on the creativity upfront. Still at 1-0, the game seemed to be in Rimini's hands, until they conceded not all that long into the second half. It was slightly unfortunate as Zilliani had tackled Isobella superbly on the edge of the area, but the loose ball was smashed in regardless. At 1-1, the hosts grew in confidence, whilst Rimini showed signs of fatigue once more. Subs were made to freshen up the side but it didn't prevent the home side scoring a winning goal. Caravan, a normally excellent performer in the centre of defence was beaten to a loose ball and the game was lost. With Trento also slipping up, a golden chance had gone begging.

Positives could always be taken from a defeat though, and Azizi was certainly developing into a fine strike partner for Negri, and compensated for Uwe being, well, Uwe. As he munched wistfully on 'lamb' shoulder, he realised defence was still his only serious concern right now.

As for the fans, their appreciation for the old style approach was finding favour in wider circles too, and other managers it seemed, put out by the ravages of youth were turning in ever larger numbers to a policy which seemed to be de rigeur in lower league football right now. A bit ironic then, that the 'instigators' of the policy seemed to have a a bit of a dip in form, highlighted by the scrappy 1-1 home draw with Alto Aldige . More poiints were dropped in this clash, which saw Sampaio pick up yet more yellow cards and another suspension, and he put through his own net inside 25 seconds too. It took a late strike from the saviour Marco Negri to salvage a point from the affair.

The dip now was a pain in the arse, given that it allowed Trento to create a 4 point gap at the top, but in general he could find little fault with any of the players on a serious level. Luck and fitness was the key issue here, and experience only helped so much it seemed. Right back Davide Mezzanotte has been slightly struggling, whilst the Caravan was a touch off form.

For Pierluigi petulance was an attribute only the young took control of, yet it seemed his french midfielder had thrown a hissy ift. Despite being transfer listed, and then given time off to adjust to his lack of football, he was now refusing to come back home, having sent a fax to the chairman, citing 'idleness' and 'there's something good on the telly so I'll get the next flight out' instead. Not a tack that went down too well with Pierluigi. He wasn't averseto a bit of prime meat, and he'd get his teeth stuck into the midfielder in more ways than one if the shenanigans continued much longer.

Thankfully the following week allowed for a more focussed return to football, and although the match was in every sense of the word a smash and grab win, it kept the side in touch at the top. Poggese were the hosts and were in control for most of the match, defied only by the brilliance of Maurizio Battistini in goal. They slipped up for two minutes and the game went away from them, to Pierluigi's delight. Two goals, one from Negri - his 20th of the season, and another from Azizi were sucker punches. As much as the home side tried, they couldn't get past Maurizio until it was too late, an 87th minute strike not enough to get them anything from a game they shouldn't have lost.

It was games like those which reminded all the fans why it was experience counted. Despite being under pressure the whole game, all the players knew they could win it and they did. No crumbling, no 'oh f*ck we're in for it now', just solid persistence and coolness under pressure.

Match Summary

10/02 C2/B Sassuso v Rimini - lost 2-1, Azizi

17/02 C2 B Rimini v Alto Aldige - drew 1-1, Negri

24/02 C2 B Poggese v Rimini - won 2-1, Negri, Azizi

[Brian of Nazareth]

March 2002

On the first day of March, my great board said to me: "Hey we're f*cked, we have no money but a whip round has given us an extra 1.2 million quid to ensure we don't go bust - and to be honest, you deserve it as it's great to see all those men of honour doing the business."

Well, that was nice thought Pierluigi. Essential, but still a nice gesture all the same and a welcome boost ahead of the home match with Gubbio who were placed directly below them in 3rd spot so a win would offer a decent buffet as well. Random new guy Gianluca Colavitto started at right back, and performed well as the side were fairly dominant over their visitors. It was to be a frustrating evening though as despite the forwards best efforts, this time, it was the opposing goalkeeper who would be taking the plaudits in a 0-0 draw. Trento's win extended their lead to 6 points and taking the title was looking ever increasingly unlikely.

Back at the club, and Stephanie had decided to come back after all, to play a bit of footy, but Pierluigi still fined him anyway, for being an obnoxious prat, and moved on to soothing the concerns of reserve strikers Christiano Lucoli and Davide di Nicola. Both were 29, and the former would only have to wait 26 more days until he could be selected for first team duty, and Nicola about another month after that. He was as kind as possible, but despite his best efforts they simply couldn't get past the irrefutable logic they still weren't ready enough for the rigours of C2 football.

They were in the stands though, as the games got nearer until their eligibility, to watch Rimini obliterate San Marino , in a game where the school could easily and fairly hit double figures, so as it was just the 3-0 seemed slightly flattering for the hosts. Magic Negri got his 20th league goal in it, whilst on loan midfielder Bucciarelli added another brace and Pierluigi was certainly hoping a more permanent arrangement could be sorted in time for the following season.

That win was followed up with an important home victory against Faenza , who were sporting their supposed prodigy striker, and it was the old Iranian Azizi who won out that battle, thanks to the evergreen Negri to secure the points, and with Trento slipping the gap was back within reach again, and guess who the next opponents were?

The big match away to Trento was eagerly anticipated by all the locals and media as a pivotal clash in the title race. Should the home side win, the league was really there's to lose, but if they lost, a 1 point margin meant bugger all with still plenty of games to play. Tactically, though he was tempted to exercise caution, Pierluigi kept the team unchanged from the previous match. This was no time for experiments, and the side which were unbeaten in 5 and hadn't conceded in three started off full of confidence, it was surprising how one sided the first half seemed to be as Trento were slow out the blocks.

The attacks were coming furiously, and on 31 minutes, Negri's snapshot was pushed out to Sampaio on the edge of the box, his pass found Bucciarelli and it was 1-0 and the least the game deserved. Trento improved slightly though and ensured that the damage wasn't any worse by half time. Colavitto the new right back was still doing a sturdy job and he certainly wasn't overawed by the task facing him, as Caravan had made a merciful return to form too, aptly demonstrated in the immediate minutes after the re-start, when the hosts were desperate to get back on level terms. After surviving that onslaught, they regained their cool and went looking for a second. Marco and Bucciarelli both forced fine saves, and then as the game entered its final minutes a free kick was won just outside the Trento penalty area. Swung in by Bortolazzi, headed in by Negri and the points were safe. An excellent victory had just re-ignited the title race and Pierluigi's feeling of utter vindication had never felt quite so sweet until now.

The good news kept coming too, as the day before the following match with Menstre, Master Cristiano Luconi turned 30. There were many congratulations and celebrations for the forward, who though he wouldn't be in the squad for the match with Menstre, he was assured consideration for the final run in. Davide di Nicola looked on enviously, but only a week later, the players would soon be welcoming him into the fold as well. Two new players for no extra cost - it was such a wonderful policy thought Pierluigi.

As for that match with Menstre on the final day of the month, well it almost threatened to go pear shaped. Despite dominating the game again in the early period, the players still weren't scoring, and the visitors desperate to try and steal one of the play-off spots were proving their tenacity, shocking the home fans by scoring just before half time through their talisman Ponisel. As per usual though, the wisened heads didn't worry too greatly, and a few minutes into the second half Negri equalised from a Bucciarelli pass. From there it was the home side in control - and sub Rosler, incredibly and to the amazement of crowd and players alike, came on for Azizi and scored not once but twice - setting up an unassailable lead and a vital three points. A perfect month then for the team, more or less, and now the heat really was on.

Match Summary

03/03 C2/B Rimini v Gubbio - drew 0-0

10/03 C2/B San Marino v Rimini - won 3-0 Negri, Bucciarelli x2

17/03 C2/B Rimini v Faenza - won 1-0 Azizi

24/03 C2/B Trento v Rimini - won 2-0, Negri,Bucciarelli

31/03 C2/B Rimini v Mestre - won 3-2, Negri, Rosler x2

[Brian of Nazareth]

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

================================================================================================

2001/2 Table

================================================================================================

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

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

1st Trento 28 11 0 3 24 10 7 5 2 19 9 59

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

2nd Rimini 28 10 3 1 31 11 7 4 3 21 9 58

3rd Gubbio 28 8 4 2 22 10 6 5 3 23 16 51

4th Sassuolo 28 8 3 3 23 12 6 4 4 16 15 49

5th Mantova 28 7 3 5 25 24 5 4 4 19 17 43

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

6th Imolese 28 7 5 2 27 20 4 4 6 24 27 42

7th Teramo 28 6 5 3 19 17 6 1 7 19 25 42

8th Mestre 28 5 5 4 31 27 5 4 5 22 24 39

9th Sambenedettese 28 6 2 6 16 14 2 10 2 19 20 36

</pre>

[Brian of Nazareth]

April 2002

Excitement was brewing around town as the locals could sense this really was going to be a promotion year. Both Trento and Rimini had been by far the better sides over the season and whoever missed out on the automatic spot would certainly feel unlucky - but the growing sentiment was that Trento perhaps had peaked too soon. Their 6 point lead had crumbled to one, and the midweek fixture which pitted them at San Marino, with Rimini away to bottom side Montichiari was being seen as a chance for places to swap round.

For Pierluigi he made a couple of changes, Luconi made it onto the bench, whilst Rosler got a start after his amazing effort beforehand, but he didn't get much of a sniff in the opening period as the worst side in the league were really taking the game to Rimini and threatening to put a late spanner in the works for PB's side. Bizarri in goal was having a storming performance as the hosts with their slightly more youthful squad were running the old men ragged, and it was frustrating to watch. In first half stoppage time though Marco Negri continued to press his claim for legendary status at the club by handing Rimini an undeserved lead. For the duration of the second half, including the debut of sub Cristiano Luconi, it seemed as if the storm would be weathered, and a sneaky win was about to be grabbed. Sadly though, albeit deservedly, Montichiari scored in the 88th minute and a point had to be settled for.

The point did not turn out to be disastrous though, San Marino had beaten Trento and goal difference saw Rimini top for the first time this season. The players were suffering a bit with general tiredness now, but hopefully adrenaline would keep them pumped up for the final five league games of the season. If they did well enough, hopefully that would then be the end of it. It was tough going, and tense, even the kids who hadn't quite left yet were putting their personal woes behind them in support of the side.

In light of that, it was perhaps slightly surprisingly that Pierluigi handed a starting debut to Luconi, and a sub start to fellow new boy and latest entrant to the 30 year old plus club, Davide di Nicola at home to Sambenedettese who were probably unlikely to grab a play off spot, but would be trying hard enough nonetheless. The start though was terrific, Azizi crossed for Negri to score inside two minutes, and then Sampaio received a ball from Negri to double the lead only a few minutes later on, the visitors hit back on 19 minutes to reduce the lead before a revitalised Luconi sent in an excellent, mature cross for Sampaio to head in his second of the match. At 3-1, the explosive match began to calm down a bit thankfully, the defence sorted themselves out, and for a good half hour at least the heart beats were given a chance to slow down. Of course the visitors had to go and reduce the lead themselves to set tensions running again, especially with Sampaio also picking up a slight injury but mercifully the win was ground out, with time even for di Nicola to get his debut minutes on the pitch too.

Elsewhere, Pierluigi could have picked up and kissed Faenza's Thomas Testa as his late goal away to Trento earned his side a draw and handed Rimini a two point cushion. What he was also relieved about was the lack of wild talk about promotion - all of them knew the pitfalls of arrogance and complacency, as the same side were put out to face a tough match at Thiene . Their hosts had little to play for this season but would eager nonetheless to finish the season as strong as possible.

That determination showed to the horrified face of Pierluigi as within twenty minutes they were 2-0 down and sadly it had to be said that Bizarri had to be held to account for conceding the two goals. Perhaps the attacking emphasis had been overdone for such an important game, but he couldn't change that now especially as the side needed to get back into it as soon as possible. Negri duly finished another smart pass from Azizi to reduce arrears, and then fortuitously just before half time another Azizi cross found Bucciarelli and it was back to 2-2.

The comeback was only 50% there of course, and there was still along way to go. With news that Trento were losing to Sambenedettese, Pierluigi personally relaxed though he didn't tell the players the news, he needed them out there fighting for victory. A few minutes later though and it was 3-2 to the hosts, and agonisingly this time it was left back Gulli who was at fault, his first mistake of the entire season so far, and it set the hosts up to take charge of the second half as the same player Carlo Cunegato then made it 4-2 with twenty minutes to go. Defeat was inevitable, now and only an offside flag prevented it being any worse.

A strong comfort of course arrived with the knowledge that Trento had already lost, even if Sassuolo's victory meant that at just 4 points behind, they couldn't be discounted from making a late charge either. In training, the Caravan broke down sadly and would be out for the next game or two, but generally everyone was fit. Luconi was eager to keep his newly acquired place in the side, but PB was concerned his lack of guile in the Dean Saunders mould might hinder the side's promotion prospects.

At home to Mantova a side eager to confirm their play off status, Battistini and Saunders did return to the starting line up. The formers presence was especially felt in the early stages ad the visitors tried to capitalise on a perceived lack of confidence at the back. They didn't get through and Rimini were back up and running with their attacking play creating numerous chances in the half, Dean's incisive balls causing havoc, and moments before half time, his ball to Sampaio on the right was pulled back across goal and who else? Negri scored.

The 1-0 was fair enough so far, but no one was taking the foot off just yet. In the second half there were more chances to add to the lead, but despite growing weariness amongst some of the players Pierluigi refused to make any subs, not wanting to unsettle the delicateness of the game. As it was the game continued on edge throughout the second half, and eventually after what seemed an eternity the ref blew the full time whistle. The result was huge - elsewhere both Trento and Sassuolo had drawn their home games.

The table:

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

Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

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

1st Pl Rimini 32 12 3 1 35 13 7 5 4 24 14 65

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

2nd Pl Trento 32 11 2 3 26 12 7 5 4 19 13 61

3rd Pl Sassuolo 32 9 4 3 26 14 8 4 4 21 18 59

4th Pl Gubbio 32 9 5 2 27 14 6 5 5 25 20 55

5th Teramo 32 8 5 3 24 20 6 1 9 23 32 48

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

6th Mantova 32 7 3 6 27 27 6 5 5 23 21 47

7th Imolese 32 8 5 3 32 24 4 5 7 26 31 46

8th Mestre 32 5 7 4 33 29 6 5 5 25 26 45

</pre>

[Brian of Nazareth]

With two more matches to play, Rimini would be away to Teramo, Trento away to Mantova, and Sassuolo ( more or less out now ) were at Menstre. There was so much to play for, for all the sides involved, not least Rimini - victory - or results elsewhere... and it was party time.

That match at Teramo saw three changes, with Bortolazzi returning to the midfield in place of Allegri, and Saunders, for reasons of tiredness dropped for Perkovic. Rosler also came in for another start. As the games all kicked off, and the fans whispering through results from elsewhere the players were soon made aware of the fact that Teramo had scored twice in the opening ten minutes. The team who had slid so dramatically from their top spot were not giving up just yet. Around about that moment though Luca Pelusi was spotted tugging Negri's shirt in the area... penalty!

Luca Galli stepped up, and Luca Galli scored! 1-0 and the fans were making tremendous noise in the crowd, they were so close now. Elsewhere, the late pretenders Sassuolo were being eliminated systematically from the title chase as Mestre were 3-0 up inside twenty minutes. It was back down to the two horse race. Just shy of the half hour and after some tetchy midfield battles, Bucciarelli broke free and found Rosler down the left flank of the penalty area... the German looked up chipped the ball across and there was Cesar Sampaio to head in a tension breaking second!

The hand was clasping firmly onto that title trophy now. It was all in their own hands and Pierluigi was getting rather excited. it stayed that way until half time, but he didn't need a team talk. The players knew what they had to, and so five minutes after the re-start it was suddenly 1-2. Caught cold by a counter attack, Massimilliano Zazetta scored, and that hand just threatened to lose its grip a moment. It was so nervy out there, and it increased when Trento scored a third - though of course it was also good news for Teramo. Azizi came on for Rosler to keep the attack fresh, as all the players were busting every gut and muscle to hold the score as it was.

In the closing stages though, the fans started singing - more subs were made as Saunders was brought on to warm applause, he deserved to be on the pitch at the title winning moment. Teramo kept pressing but their spirit was flagging. Imolese were also losing, so they didn't seem quite on edge and then suddenly, a sharp toot of a small whistle saw Pierluigi leap from the dug out in unconfined joy! They'd won the match and won the title! It had been a fantastic season for his seasoned warriors but they'd earned their just rewards as he hugged all the players, but especially making a point of congratulating Marco Negri. He may not have scored on the day, but it was his reward, his season and his glory. What a day.

Match Summary

03/04 C2/B Montchiari v Rimini - drew 1-1, Negri

07/04 C2/B Rimini v Sambenedettese - won 3-2, Negri, Sampaio x2

14/04 C2/B Thiene v Rimini - lost 4-2, Negri, Bucciarelli

21/04 C2/B Rimini v Mantova - won 1-0, Negri

28/04 C2/B Teramo v Rimini - won 2-1, Galli pen, Sampaio

[Brian of Nazareth]

May 2002

With the celebrations still not having died down, and the fans still in exuberant voice after having won promotion, there was of course the small

matter of one more league match to play. Being a home game all the fans had packed into the ground to cheer on their veteran heroes, and they didn't stop

singing all afternoon. As for the side, well there were changes, and the two 'new' forwards were given a chance to play, warmly encouraged by all the

regulars. Bizzarri too started in goal, whilst there were other rare starts for Mezzanotti, Antonioli, D'Angelo, and Favi.

The fans were prefectly happy to see these guys get a run out what with the result being academic though the quality and lack of urgency was clearly in display as the visitors scored once in either half to secure a 2-0 win. Cipoli, Perkovic and the highly cheered Negri all came on as second half subs, but it was clear they weren't going to be getting a result out of the match. Elsewhere, it was Imolese who nicked the final play off spot for promotion, though Pierluigi had enough respect to hope that Trento would also make it up. They'd been fierce competitors but mercifully had peaked just too soon, as Rimini

made that wonderful late charge to the top of the table.

The issue now was forming a side for the next season ahead, contracts were up in the summer, and many of the players despite promotion wanted to consider their options as they were entitled to do so, but Pierluigi decided that could wait. He was off to Mexico for a two week vacation, sun sea, and masochistic sex.

05/05 C2/B Rimini v Brescello - lost 2-0

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

***********************************************************************************************

Rimini - Sunday 12th May 2002

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

2001/2 Senior Club Stats

================================================================================================

No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R

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

- Allegri, Massimiliano 15 (1) 2 0 1 (1) 4 0 0 0 6.63

- Antonioli, Mauro 6 (4) 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 6.40

- Azizi, Khodadad 19 (9) 5 0 0 6 1 0 1 7.04

- Ballanti, Alessio 16 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 7.88

- Battistini, Maurizio 32 0 22 0 0 0 0 3 7.44

- Bizzarri, Marco 6 (1) 0 10 0 0 1 0 1 7.14

- Bortolazzi, Mario 17 (5) 2 0 0 9 0 0 2 7.09

- Bucciarelli, Antonio 23 (1) 6 0 0 4 0 0 2 7.08

- Caverzan, Diego 23 (1) 0 0 0 0 4 0 2 7.54

- César Sampaio 25 8 0 0 3 8 0 0 7.24

- Cipolli, Andrea 2 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.00

- Colavitto, Gianluca 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.00

- D'Angelo, Luca 5 (9) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.21

- Dedebant, Stéphane 1 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.50

- Di Nicola, Davide 1 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7.00

- Favi, Fabio 9 (10) 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 6.63

- Galli, Luigi 38 2 0 3 (2) 0 2 1 2 7.16

- Ioannidis, Vasilis 20 (4) 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 6.83

- Luconi, Cristiano 3 (2) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.40

- Mezzanotti, Davide 11 (2) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.31

- Negri, Marco 31 (4) 27 0 0 7 0 0 10 7.89

- Neri, Maurizio 1 (5) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.67

- Passiatore, Francesco 24 (1) 1 0 0 6 0 0 1 6.80

- Perkovic, Borimir 7 (16) 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 6.70

- Rösler, Uwe 14 (10) 3 0 0 5 1 0 0 6.88

- Saunders, Dean 26 (9) 7 0 0 12 0 0 3 7.26

- Venturi, Simone 22 (1) 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 6.83

- Ziliani, Paolo 33 (1) 1 0 0 0 3 0 1 7.35

************************************************************************************************

Italian Serie C2/B - Sunday 12th May 2002

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

2001/2 Table

================================================================================================

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

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

1st C Rimini 34 12 3 2 35 15 8 5 4 26 15 68

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

2nd Pl Trento 34 11 3 3 26 12 8 5 4 22 13 65

3rd Pl Sassuolo 34 9 4 4 27 16 8 4 5 21 22 59

4th Pl Gubbio 34 9 6 2 28 15 6 5 6 26 22 56

5th Pl Imolese 34 9 5 3 33 24 4 6 7 27 32 50

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

6th Sambenedettese 34 9 2 6 23 15 3 11 3 24 25 49

7th Teramo 34 8 5 4 25 22 6 2 9 23 32 49

8th Mestre 34 6 7 4 37 29 6 5 6 25 28 48

9th Mantova 34 7 3 7 27 30 6 6 5 26 24 48

10th Thiene 34 9 3 5 32 23 4 3 10 16 33 45

11th Fiorenzuola 34 6 6 5 17 14 5 5 7 16 21 44

12th Brescello 34 7 8 2 29 20 2 8 7 23 33 43

13th Faenza 34 6 5 6 29 22 5 3 9 24 29 41

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

14th Pl Gualdo 34 8 2 7 26 23 4 3 10 22 29 41

15th Pl Poggese 34 4 7 6 16 19 6 3 8 18 18 40

16th Pl San Marino 34 6 3 8 22 27 2 5 10 12 32 32

17th Pl Alto Adige 34 5 5 7 22 29 2 4 11 23 34 30

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

18th R Montichiari 34 0 10 7 18 30 3 4 10 11 30 23

</pre>

[Brian of Nazareth]

Awards Won

C2/B Manager of The Year - Pierluigi Barbituarti

C2/B Top Goalscorer - Marco Negri - 30 starts, 4 subs, 26 goals

C2/B Team Of The Year: Gk, Maurizio Battistini, SC, Marco Negri, Sub DF, Paulo Zilliani

European Round Up

Uefa Cup

Milan defeated Ajax on pens

Champions League

Roma defeated Man United 1-0 thanks to Batigol

Serie A Winners - Roma

Relegated: Piacenza, Torino, Verona, Chievo

Serie B Winners - Sampdoria, also Promoted:Vicenza, Reggina, Napoli

Relegated:Como Modena,. Siena, Messina

Serie C2/B Play Off Winners - Trento

English Premier League Winners - Aston Villa ( I kid you not )

2nd - 6th: Liverpool, Man Utd, Chelsea Fulham, Leeds

Relegated: Bolton, Everton, Leicester

Scottish Premier League Winners - Rangers

( Celtic finished 5th )

relegated: Dunfermline - by 19 points

World Cup 2002 Review

Winners = Argentina - over Brazil thanks to a penalty shoot out.

Notable Mentions: Syria[/] qualifying for it in the first place, however no goals scored and twelve conceded saw them leave rather swiftly. Russia and Paraguay both made strong runs to the semis - the former defeating Italy on the way through but it was the latter who ended up claiming third spot.

Notable Failures: Spain and Czech Republic finished bottom in their groups. Portugal were thrashed 6-2 by Nigeria in the freak result of the group stages. Brazil went out in the quarters to France.

[axeman]

Brilliant BoN

Congratulations on the promotion.

Now onto the next level

[NICK_GIFF]

What a name.

[Brian of Nazareth]

thanks chaps progress is going to be slow going until the uni break arrives ( 10 days or so ) but I will be cracking on with this in due time

----

Summer 2002

After an exhausting season, the holidays had been well deserved for all but it soon got back to the matter in hand of preparing the team for another round in the next league up and this would be all the more difficult. For one, the popular and fantastic midfielder Cesar Sampaio had left after his year to join Bordeaux, a move no-one could fault him for, most people just appreciative of having been able to see him witness him at the club in the first place.

Still for the C2/B Manager of the Season he was sure he could work his magic again - if the board weren't quite so broke. That was, until on the 17th June, having released a few of the oldies from their rolling contracts, Pierluigi received a most wonderful email from the chairman:

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

To: Pierluigi Barbituarti

Cc:

Re: Club Takeover

Hi, Pierluigi,

I feel it is best I inform you first before you hear the news tomorrow. As you know, we have had financial difficulties in coping with the excessive wage structure we imposed on our club, and though we achieved an excellent promotion - for which I congratulate you again, we have not been able to formulate a successful strategy with the current set up.

It is therefore with mixed feelings, regret and delight that I am letting you know we have sold our control of the club to a consortium of fans whose wealth is based on the IT industry. Their finance is solid and it is estimated you will be provided with a budget in the region of 4 million pounds for transfers. Good luck for the season ahead,

spend wisely

Dirk Rodgers

</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Brian of Nazareth]

Pierluigi started jumping for joy. What a feeling, the `crisis solved just like that and within moments he was suddenly asking round as many old people's homes as possible. It aided the resigning of a few players a bit easier, as Ioannidis and Venturi were quick to re-affirm their commitment to the cause.

The chase for new players began in earnest soon after, with loan signing Bucciarelli turning his move permanent for one, as again Pierluigi looked to limit the money spent in full on fees, a lesson perhaps learnt from the previous season. A couple of futures were added in this collection of players, like Alessandro Galli, a 29 year old midfielder, who arrived on a bosman, fully aware he'd spend the vast majority of the campaign in the reserves.

Another 29 year old Nicola Bosselli arrived for 220k, though given his birthday was merely later on in July meant he'd be thrown right into the thick of it, along with Stefano De Agostini from Trento, the 37 year old midfielder added in for a bit of depth to the midfield area.

Finding solid players for the solid positions was the key, the central midfield position was packed with players, such was it's importance, as was the centre of defence, but Negri aside, the strike force was still very much untested, it included Eduardo Michi who only turned 30 in the first week of August, thus missing the initial friendly set up. The left back position was supported by the loan acquisition of Marco Pennachietti, a 30 year old resident of Foggia. The coup of the season was undoubtedly the signing of 33year old Alessandro Mezzola from Verona. The midfielder was expensive, and rounded off his limited quota of signings, but he was damn talented, and perhaps would be the 'Sampaio' of the side this year.

Amid all the prolonged negotiations and re-negotiations there was still plenty of time to just about eliminate signs of youth from his side. A couple of the lucky ones were sold on, whilst Luca Vampa and Mirko Zanotti helped to ensure his freezer was stocked up on food supplies.

This time around the team even bothered to have warmed up matches to the useless Serie C Cup competition though, even if it was just a plain run out for all the players. A **** poor 2-0 home defeat to Halesowen proved to be a complete waste of everybody’s time, and as it turned out one of those players, Mauro Antonoli had had enough, as he announced his retirement from the game. It got him off the wage bill which had to be a good thing as in practical terms he had never really offered the side anything worthwile.

In the meantime, not wanting to spend any more cash and with defender Belloti taking himself out of action for 3 months after skewering himself in the eye, Pierluigi enjoyed success in the loan market, and Piacenza's 33 year old centre half Roberto Maltagliati arrived on a season long deal, along with Foggia's Luigi Molino , a winger, who'd at least provide some cover, and Cosimo Barbano a 30 year old striker from Pescara, who'd add options to a probably quite weak attacking array.

Also leaving was right back Gianluca Convalitto who superbly pressed his claim for a new contract by quitting. What an exceptional attitude, he wasn't missed either in that fantabulous opening defeat to non leaguers Ferentino which highlighted serious shortcomings in the side's attacking proficiency which had got worse over the summer - not good once you've got yourself promoted.

At least there were some positives before the old Cup competition kicked off in August. Stephane Dedebant had buggered off to Dunfermline for a few bob, as had a couple of other kids, whilst the 'not quite there folk' in the reserves still seemed mature enough to wait until that magical birthday arrived for them.

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

************************************************************************************************

Rimini - Sunday 11th August 2002

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

2002/3 Transfers

================================================================================================

Date Player In From Fee

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

1.7.02 Giulio Giacomin Cittadella £85K

1.7.02 Vasilis Ioannidis Free Transfer Bos

1.7.02 Fabio Bellotti Messina £250K

1.7.02 Nicola Boselli Piacenza £230K

1.7.02 Stefano De Agostini Trento Bos

5.7.02 Marco Pennacchietti Foggia Loan

15.7.02 Alessandro Mazzola Verona £500K

16.7.02 Simone Venturi Free Transfer Free

19.7.02 Edoardo Micchi Free Transfer Bos

25.7.02 Roberto Maltagliati Piacenza Loan

25.7.02 Luigi Molino Foggia Loan

26.7.02 Cosimo Barnabo Pescara Loan

Date Player Out To Fee

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

10.6.02 Maurizio Neri Released Free

14.6.02 Khodadad Azizi Released Free

14.6.02 Uwe Rösler Released Free

15.6.02 Massimiliano Allegri Released Free

15.6.02 Edoardo Micchi Released Free

15.6.02 Vasilis Ioannidis Released Free

15.6.02 César Sampaio Bordeaux Bos

16.6.02 Simone Venturi Released Free

5.7.02 Mauro Gilardi Turris £12K

2.8.02 Michele Santini Villacidrese £14K

2.8.02 Stéphane Dedebant Dunfermline £60K

</pre>

[Brian of Nazareth]

August 2002 - Stepping Up A Gear?

With Pierluigi more concerned with stabilising a side which had seen quite a hefty turnover to it's first eleven, he decided to adopt a slightly more cautious approach in midfield - protecting the battle axe central area, to ease the players into the matches first. For the first Cup match against Alzano at home, a new look side started terrifically, though it was old boy Perkovic who fired in a 2nd minute lead from the edge of the area. As the game progressed, fitness was an issue with one or two players still not quite ready and the visitors levelled. An inspired change from Pierluigi saw loan striker Cosimo Barnabo come on and change the game again, scoring one of his own and setting up Perkovic's second amid an all round terrific show.

It was a confidence booster more than anything and Pier was now licking his lips with anticipation for the season proper to kick off.

Furthermore in that game, Davide Mezzanotte filled in at left back better than he had ever done with his favoured right the previous season. A few days later midfielder Fedderico Smanio was brought in on trial. The balding tackler had been released by Terrasa in the summer and Pierluigi had been keeping an eye on him for a while. A real bruiser, yet popular with the fans and players, but he was just shy of his 30th birthday by a few months.

Another young'un, was Allessio Bolletti. The previous year he went out on loan for the second half of the season, now the 28 year old has joined Sambenedettese on a year long deal, taking him right past his 29th birthday. He would be so much closer. That was just a few days before the trip to Gualdo for match two of the Cup, and a Luca D'Angelo strike combined with a superb goalkeeping from Battistini helped put the side in with a chance of going through to the next stage of the cup.

Such good luck didn't extend to the home with Teramo where tired legs, and some individual woeful performances contrived a 2-0 defeat, and qualification placed firmly in the balance. That balance tipped all the other way with defeat at Sambanedettese highlighting the clear shortcomings in the side without Sampaio et al. This season was going to be tough and the players would have to use every ounce of their limited talent to hold hopes of a decent finish this year.

The defeat certainly left tongues wagging again, and more kids popped out the closet with their hypothetical certainty that kids would have coped better in the raging sun. Their comments were soon cut short, when Pierluigi didn't exactly make them eat their words so much as eat their own tongue, before he ritually slaughtered them and got his winter stock piled up nicely ahead of the seasons start - it was indeed an easy way to forget the fact Marco Negri hadn't even looked like finding the target so far.

Match Summary

Sun 11/08 Rimini v Alzano - won 3-1, Perkovic x2, Barnabo

Sun 18/08 Gualdo v Rimini - won 1-0, D'Angelo

Wed 21/08 Rimini v Teramo - lost 2-0

Sun 25/08 Sambenedettese v Rimini 0 lost 1-0

[Brian of Nazareth]

September 2002

Pierluigi was slightly down in the dumps after the past few results, both of which, according to his friend Claudius meant he'd have to add two Disney characters into his name by deed poll, but he picked up instantly after receiving two wonderful calls from out of work strikers. The players? Step up Dean Saunders and Azizi ! The stars were back and the mood in town lifted in one short swoop, as both professed to missing the beautiful locality and the camaraderie of the old buggers.

When Gianluca Vitali ran away from home, unfortunately into the path of Pierluigi Goofy Mickey Barbituarti a day later, it was almost party time in the Barbituarti house. Of course the police came sniffing round soon after, but fed the usual 'sarcastic' response about ritual cannibalism they soon left. 34-year-old Lorenzo Battaglia formerly of Treviso became the latest signing - a creative midfield talent and went straight into the side that faced Reggiana away.

The debut match in Serie C1/A began a little shakily for the side as they began in a comfortable 4-4-2 formation, reading their counterparts early on. The longer the game went on though, the more the side realised they were competitive at this step up as well, and unsurprisingly when Rimini did take the lead it was good old Negri heading in a corner. Of note was the debutant Battaglia who took the corner - and his class was definitely showing. Shortly before half time another fine move from a now in-control Rimini side saw Azizi on his 'second debut' slide a ball across goal for midfielder Mazzola to sweep in. It proved to be a decisive killer goal, as the hosts struggled to come back into the match in the second half. Even when defender Nicola Boselli who had played well on his league debut, got sent off for two yellows they didn't break through and an excellent win kicked off season two.

The high spirits continued as another player signed on days later, right sided midfielder Gianluca Petrarchi adding some balance to the midfield. The squad was also of such a size that some of the golden oldies were relegated to the reserve team level just to get games in. What did annoy Pierluigi though was when he was told of a young talent who'd been whoring his abilities out amongst local clubs in search of a contract. When he saw the kid play he was gutted. The 16 year old was bloody talented, and from the nearby academy too - so he signed him up to a lifetime contract with the club... if he had to wait 14 years to see him play then by god he'd wait 14 years. Failing that, he certainly had a tender look to him.

Also coming in would be Federico Smanio - a 29 year old midfielder, with a bit of potential - though he was made fully aware that he would not be considered for the first team for at least 5 months ( ie his birthday ). Neither obviously were in the squad to face Lucchese where a very tight game between two good sides ended all square at 0-0. There were chances aplenty for both sides but as Pierluigi and his team discovered you had to be far more ruthless higher up the pyramid if you want results.

That was shown too in a tough match away to a very well organised Modena side. The hosts had plenty in their arsenal and certainly gave it their all against Rimini in an end to end match. The resulting 2-2 draw probably favoured Rimini more than the hosts, but Luigi Molino, from the left flank and Cosimo Barbano up front provided hope for the future as the loan signings both scored.

Out of the blue, Pierluigi was suddenly hit by the outrageously random retirement of Dean Saunders just a couple of weeks after signing on. At getting on for 39 he was probably within his rights, but there wasn't even a warning - a fact which seriously disappointed Pierlugi. It just wasn't done. He presumed other issues were at hand, such as the disappearance of his teenage son, but that was beside the point.

The following match at home to Carrese was a subdued affair and the visitors were much the better side throughout cutting edge wise and only a fine performance from Battistini ensured a draw resulted.

Match Summary

Sun 08/09 C1/A Reggiana v Rimini - won 2-0, Negri, Mazzola

Sun 15/09 C1/A Rimini v Lucchese - drew 0-0

Sun 22/09 C1/A Modena v Rimini - drew 2-2, Molino, Barnabo,

Sun 29/09 C1/A Rimini v Carrarese - drew 0-0

[Brian of Nazareth]

October 2002

A solid start, at least unbeaten wise, then for Rimini and for a step up it wasn't to be scoffed at, but the forwards would need to be rewarding the defenders for doing their jobs more regularly. Of course when they did find the net again, away to Lecco , it was just the one goal, and with the opponents scoring twice, a bit useless really. The team's cause hadn't been helped by an injury to Battistini before the match, but Bizarri wasn't at fault for the goals, his defence ironically being a bit useless. Azizi had levelled deservedly in the second half, before the hosts beat a poor offside trap effort to steal the points and inflict the first defeat of the league season on the side.

In midweek the team were boosted though with the free signing of Davide Olivares a 31 year old midfielder, formerly of Como who would perhaps be able to offer better service to the frontmen and he certainly showed signs of it in the home match with Treviso a week later, but sadly despite a good all round effort from the team including tight defending and some quicker footwork upfront, the luck wasn't quite there and another draw had to be settled for.

Only one defeat in 6 could now also be seen as only one win in 6, but Pierluigi remained optimistic and in truth the performance in the last match at least merited more than just the one point, and with the trip to Albinoleffe the players righted that fact. After a tough start in which the hosts tried to assert their superiority

Cosimo Barnabo hit the team on the break and after that goal went in, Rimini stepped it up a gear, and belatedly earned their just rewards, with Negri converting another goal in the second half to seal the points.

The downside though was an injury to left back Galli. For so long he had seemed indestructible the previous year, as he had to be, but this time he finally picked up a knock which would sideline him for a month. Pennachietti duly returned to the side as they took on Vis Pesaro at home. By some quirk it seemed all three of the

0-0's this season had come in all the home matches so the fans hadn't enjoyed any goals to speak of so far in the season and after a frustrating afternoon of dominance without the cutting edge it became 4.

Match Summary

Sun 06/10 C1/A Lecco v Rimini - lost 2-1, Azizi

Sun 13/10 C1/A Rimini v Treviso - drew 0-0

Sun 20/10 C1/A Albinoleffe v Rimini - won 2-0, Negri, Barnabo

Sun 27/10 C1/A Rimini v Vis Pesaro - drew 0-0

[Brian of Nazareth]

November 2002

The problem on the pitch was slightly evident, but still of no cause for alarm, as a good mid table finish would represent progress enough in Pierluigi's eyes, and once the players were up and running fully with the improved opponents, the results would come - as they did at home to Cesena.

After waiting a good long time for goals and action, the home fans were finally rewarded, with a 3-2 thriller of a victory. It saw the return of Battistini in goal, whilst

Ioannidis was given a rare start in defence, with Azizi scoring twice, and a third arriving from the outstanding Davide Olivares. The team went a goal behind early on before the Iranian notched his first goal from an Olivares cross before Pennachietti sent in a ball for Olivares to head in the goal. Azizi blasted in a third in the second half, before the visitors set up a tense finale in the closing moments of the game.

Another defender arrived during the month with 31 year old Vincenzo Pandulio signed on a free and he was put straight into the starting line up for the trip to Como . In what proved to be a poor game all round, the side never recovered from conceding an early goal, eventually losing 2-0, with defender Nicola Beselli's discipline cropping up again as an issue as he picked up his second red card of the season already.

That 2-0 score line was mirrored again in the side’s rubbish capitulation at home to Trento the following week, where two penalties condemned the side to another loss and goalkeeper Battistini was sent off for his troubles late on.

It didn’t help either that back up goalkeeper Bizarri now had thrown a spanner in the works by getting all hissyfittish about the little run, clearly disregarding the side having been promoted the year before, and as such Pierluigi bit one of his fingers off and told him to quit moaning. It seemed to work, even if the now 7 fingered player needed a trip to A & E.

He recovered in time of course to play in the match at 4th placed Cremonese but still light headed from the loss of blood he immediately conceded a goal from kick off. As Pierluigi thought of the worst, his side proved they were more capable than he’d previously thought and Marco Negri converted a fine Gianluca Petrarchi cross to level up. However for all the side’s efforts thereafter a winning goal was to prove elusive.

A decent draw was marred though by the few weeks off injured Azizi would have to take and the resulting whingebucket Francesco Passiatore complaining about not being an automatic pick – despite having played appalling both previous starts he’d been awarded. The bloody nerve.

Match Summary

Sun 03/11 C1/A Rimini v Cesena – won 3-2 – Azizi x2, Olivares

Sun 10/11 C1/A Como v[ b] Rimini [/b] – lost 2-0

Sun 17/11 C1/A Rimini v Trento – lost 2-0

Sun 24/11 C1/A Cremonose v Rimini – a tie – 1-1 - Negri

[Brian of Nazareth]

December 2002

After a week of having to deal with complaints from the local hospital that he was causing them far more work than was duly necessary, ( three young kids in various stages of mutilation on the Wednesday for example ), he looked forward to the match with Varese as a chance to build on the useful win the previous week.

The subsequent 2-2 draw proved to be bloody annoying, not least because his side were 2-0 to the good with only ten minutes remaining. A fine strike from Alessandro Mezzola and a penalty from the same player after Negri had been hacked down seemed to set the side on their way. However, once Mezzola left the field injured in the first half, the midfield lost a bit of it’s bite, and Varese pulled one back on 81 minutes break. Despite all the warnings about not wasting chances and defending solidly, the team obviously couldn’t be arsed to listen to that maxim and gift wrapped the visitors’ second goal in gold tinted tape.

The massive two game unbeaten run had to come to an end soon and it did so in infuriating fashion at lowly Pavia . In a spectacular match neither side had much control on the match, as it ended 4-3 to the hosts, but the fact that Rimini kept equalising and then conceding that leader within minutes sent Pierluigi’s blood pressure through the roof. Negri, Petrarchi and Mazzola were the goal scorers, whilst the defence ****ed away the opportunities with ease – as the winless streak continued.

In midweek with the atmosphere frustrated and subdued a whole string of players decided to announce their impending retirement all on the same day at the same time. Was this planned? Pierluigi wondered if they were trying to test his patience. Stefano di Agostini ( crap anyway ), Azizi ( disappointing ) , Luigi Galli ( horrible news ) Giulio Giacomin, ( really could have done without that ), Gianluca Petrachi ( bugger ), Lorenzo Bottaglia ( shame ), Fabio Favi ( AH NO – er nah no loss ), Perkovic ( bit of a shame ), Bortolazzi ( no surprise he can hardly move ), Ioannidis ( not playing much right now ), and Franceso Passiatore ( moaning git quitting I see ) - decided to quit.

In the final home game before the break it was another crap loss as the side really struggled to cope with Padova’s quality offence. Having gone 2-0 done early on the side did well to recover and two goals from Marco Negri at least emphasised the fact one part of the side was doing ok, sadly the back end was helping Rimini to spiral back down towards the bottom. However that weekend also brought some good news. Loan striker Cosimo Barnabo agreed to make his move permanent whilst Bari’s back up goalkeeper Graziano Battistini would be joining in the summer as well. At that latest news, Marco Bizarri turned an even paler shade of white.

Later on in the week Pierluigi went on another transfer binge and scooped any old crap that fell his way, including Scottish striker Gary McSwegan recently released by Hearts. Vincenzo Esposito a 31 year old full back on both sides, before Argentinean Hernan Diaz

The final match of December away to league leaders Monza was never going to be anything other than an defeat, although it was precipitated by the excellent news that ******** reject Davide di Nicoli had found a club to move to in the summer and there was much rejoicing and dancing gaily in the fields by the local <STRIKE> river </STRIKE> cesspit. That said the match did produce a welcome draw as Olivares struck an early goal. The team couldn’t hold on but the spirit was encouraging for the new year.

Match Summary

Sun 01/12 C1/A Rimini v Varese drew 2-2 – Mazzola x2

Sun08/12 C1/A Pavia v Rimini – screwed up 4-3, Negri, Mazzola, Petrarchi

Sun 15/12 C1/A Rimini v Padova – lost again 3-2 Negri x2

Sun 22/12 C1/A Monza v Rimini – drew 1-1. Olivares.

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

************************************************************************************************

Italian Serie C1/A - Friday 27th December 2002

************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================

2002/3 Table

================================================================================================

Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts

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

1st Monza 16 6 1 1 14 8 3 2 3 15 13 30

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

2nd Padova 16 7 1 0 16 6 2 2 4 9 12 30

3rd Treviso 16 4 3 1 14 8 4 2 2 10 8 29

4th Como 16 5 2 1 16 7 3 2 3 14 11 28

5th Modena 16 4 2 2 17 14 4 1 3 10 8 27

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

6th Cremonese 16 3 5 0 11 7 4 1 3 10 9 27

7th Trento 16 3 2 3 14 12 5 0 3 11 9 26

8th Reggiana 16 4 2 2 10 8 2 5 1 20 18 25

9th Lecco 16 3 1 4 9 10 3 3 2 10 8 22

10th Lucchese 16 5 1 2 11 7 1 3 4 6 12 22

11th Spezia 16 3 3 2 10 8 2 3 3 11 14 21

12th Albinoleffe 16 4 3 1 14 10 1 3 4 12 21 21

13th Carrarese 16 3 3 2 14 10 2 2 4 8 11 20

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

14th Rimini 16 1 5 2 7 9 2 3 3 12 12 17

15th Vis Pesaro 16 3 2 3 11 14 0 2 6 1 11 13

16th Varese 16 1 4 3 11 15 0 3 5 10 16 10

17th Cesena 16 0 4 4 11 16 1 3 4 8 14 10

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

18th Pavia 16 2 0 6 8 13 0 4 4 5 11 10

</pre>