nerf Posted May 6, 2003 Author Share Posted May 6, 2003 Thursday 21st August 2003 There's a double blow in training this week as two players fall foul of bad luck. Stefano Guastella has sprained his ankle badly and will be out for 3 weeks, whilst Franco Chiavarini's good start to his Ragusa career is interrupted by strained knee ligaments that will take at least a fortnight to heal. Our squad is already tiny enough without these injuries and it is only making a tough group more difficult. Saturday 23rd August 2003 Serie C2/C champions Brindisi began their cup campaign with a surprising loss to Gladiator but recovered sufficiently to beat Palmese in their second fixture. Last season Brindisi inflicted our heaviest defeat on us by winning 5-3 at their ground, but we gained some revenge by beating them 2-0 here in Ragusa later on in the season. With Tamburro, Guastella and Chiavarini all restricted to Salvatore's treatment table, Alessandro Bonaffini will again be asked to fill in at full back with Manolo Manoni the beneficiary of the gap in midfield. As Brindisi run out onto the pitch for kick-off, I'm surprised to notice a certain former Ravenna player Nazzareno Scopelliti amongst their number. Serie C Cup Group O Ragusa v Brindisi Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Bonaffini, Attewell, Italia, Sabellini; Cirillo, Pellegrino©, Manoni; Caramel; Fonseca, Gallicchio. If the last match had got off to a good start, this time we went one better by taking the lead inside 5 minutes. Fonseca's delightfully curling corner was met by the flying Gaspare Pellegrino, who came steaming towards goal to climb and force home a header from 6 yards. Brindisi tried to get back into the match but we held the lead through to the half-time break, when Lupo replaced the uninvolved Gallicchio. On 61 minutes Pellegrino picks the ball up deep in mifield and is put under pressure, so he decides to play a long but seemingly innocuous pass back to Giuseppe Lenea... for whatever reason, there's a lack of communication and the ball bounces over the young keeper's foot and rolls tragically into the net. The own goal is credited to the mortified captain Gaspare, who has the dubious privilege of a goal at both ends. Brindisi gain confidence from their fluke equaliser and the game is pretty even for the remainder, but with Attewell looking strong at the back we keep them at bay. Final score: Ragusa 1 - 1 Brindisi Sunday 24th August 2003 With the growing list of injuries, 51 year old physio Guido Ferraris arrives from Valenzana in exchange for £6,000 compensation. I hadn't intended to bring a second physio in but Salvatore clearly has his work cut out at the moment, so hopefully having Guido will relieve his workload and enable the players to make quicker recoveries. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 6, 2003 Author Share Posted May 6, 2003 Wednesday 27th August 2003 We arrive to face Palmese as the group leaders, with a point looking likely to confirm our spot as group champions. Palmese however are no walkover, banging in plenty of goals last season and only missing out on promotion by the narrowest of margins. That said, we did have the pleasure of somehow managing to take 6 points by doing the double over them in the league. Marco Cirillo added to the woes of our injury-ravaged team this week by bruising a shin in training and will be lucky to make the league opener, never mind this match today. Down to the bare bones now, Carmelo Bonarrigo finds himself on the first team sheet as a result. Serie C Cup Group O Palmese v Ragusa Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Bonaffini, Attewell, Italia, Sabellini; Fonseca, Manoni, Caramel, Pellegrino©, Bonarrigo; Gallicchio. During the first half we are successful in our attempts to keep it tight. Giuseppe Lenea is forced into a couple of saves but in general I'm happy with the way things stand at half-time. 10 minutes after the break that all changes. Our achilles heel is exposed again when a simple corner routine ends up with a Palmese forward nodding the ball into our net, and everything is looking less pleasing. Being a goal down I know that we have to at least get a draw to ensure qualification, and change to a more attacking formation. Unfortunately it doesn't pay off and Palmese have the quality to extend their lead, when Verolino gets to the byline and cuts it back for Puglisi to finish across Lenea. Final score: Palmese 2 - 0 Ragusa Palmese gain revenge on us for last season, but worse than that it has surprisingly worked out to dump us out of the cup. Despite being in the deceptive position of remaining top of the group with 7 points, we have no games left to play while Palmese will face Gladiator next week. Both of these teams are on 6 points and have a superior goal difference to us, so a win or a draw for either team will raise them above us. Basically, unless both teams impossibly lose against each other, we cannot qualify! It is am abrupt and disappointing end to a group campaign that had been looking successful. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 7, 2003 Author Share Posted May 7, 2003 - New faces at Ragusa - As the beginning of a new league season approaches, the summer transfer window has yielded four new signings for Ragusa. Stuart Attewell Position: Central Defender Age: 17 Nationality: English Transfer fee: (Free) Previous clubs: West Bromwich Albion. Stuart was picked up as a free agent after being released by West Brom, when the club chose not to keep him on as a full professional. He is a brave lad who is strong in the air, and what he lacks in pace he can usually make up for with some intelligent positioning. Assuming that he is able to settle at the club and not get home-sick, he should be one for the future and has certainly made a respectable start so far. Daniel Fonseca Position: Forward Age: 33 Nationality: Uruguayan Transfer fee: (Free) Previous clubs: Nacional, Cagliari, Napoli, AS Roma, Juventus, River, Como. After beginning his career at Nacional in Uruguay in 1988, Daniel went on to become a successful and well known player in Italian football, enjoying several successful seasons at Napoli and Roma before fading out during his time with Juventus. Over the course of his career he has made almost 250 club appearances and scored 10 goals in 28 international appearances for his country. After spending a couple of years drifting between roles at smaller clubs, his signing for Ragusa should bring us plenty of quality and creativity, not least from his ability with set pieces. Franco Chiavarini Position: Right Midfielder Age: 23 Nationality: Argentinian Transfer fee: £9,000 Previous clubs: Sangiovannese. Franco spent 1 season at Serie C2/B club Sangiovannese after moving over from South America, making 27 appearances. He can stroke passes around as well as anyone and is very quick and agile, being particularly sharp over short distances. Pietro Alderuccio Position: Central Defender or Right Back Age: 21 Nationality: Italian Transfer fee: (Free) Previous clubs: Reggina. Pietro joined us on loan a year ago but his career was soon brought to a temporary halt when he suffered an accident on his moped here in Ragusa. The damaged spine kept him hospitalised for months and he did not return to training until the end of last season, by which time his club Reggina had unfeelingly placed him on the transfer list. Pietro is a capable defender, tough in the tackle, adept at marking and good in the air, and he will join up with us when his contract expires in September. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 7, 2003 Share Posted May 7, 2003 Great story Nerf, I'm looking forward to seeing Ragusa competing in Serie A Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 7, 2003 Author Share Posted May 7, 2003 Thanks very much Dan1111 . Me too, though it might take a while! Sunday 31st August 2003 Our 2003/2004 league campaign begins with a home fixture against newly relegated L'Aquila, the side that finished bottom of the C1/B last season and who will no doubt be looking for a speedy return to Serie C1. Marco Cirillo has been able to shake off his knock to pass a fitness test and return to the team, but we are still without Tamburro, Guastella and Chiavarini. Bonaffini continues in his makeshift full back role. Serie C2/C Ragusa v L'Aquila Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Bonaffin, Attewell, Italia, Sabellini; Cirillo, Pellegrino©, Manoni; Caramel; Fonseca, Gallicchio. L'Aquila did little to show that they had been a Serie C1 outfit last season, in fact it was us who looked like the better club. We dominated the match from start to finish, with Gaspare Pellegrino being completely unfazed by the captain's responsibilities and putting in the most dominating performance of all. The return of Cirillo boosted our midfield, but some woeful shooting saw Fonseca and Gallicchio each spurn a hatful of chances and the visitors escaped with a lucky point. Final score: Ragusa 0 - 0 L'Aquila Wednesday 3rd September 2003 In a goal-laden final Group O fixture, a 90th minute equaliser from Gerardo Alfano gives Gladiator a 4-4 draw at Palmese. Surprisingly this puts group underdogs Gladiator through on goal difference to qualify as the group winners, upsetting all predictions in a group that they were expected to finish bottom of. They narrowly pipped Brindisi and ourselves to qualification, and Palmese must be wondering what they have done to deserve another 90th minute denial after their promotion playoff heartache. It seems that even Serie A clubs are not safe from the current financial difficulties plaguing Italian football, as Como announce that receivers have been brought in to deal with their debts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 7, 2003 Author Share Posted May 7, 2003 Wednesday 10th September 2003 The west coast of Italy welcomes us again for our visit to Nocerina. Nocerina struggled last season and lost their opening game of this season 2-0, so after doing the double over them last year we should be fairly confident approaching this fixture. Both Simone Tamburro and Franco Chiavarini have used last week's break in the schedule to get themselves fit enough to start. Serie C2/C Nocerina v Ragusa Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Tamburro©, Attewell, Italia, Sabellini; Cirillo, Pellegrino, Chiavarini; Caramel; Fonseca, Gallicchio. The first half is quite evenly balanced, Lenea called into action and both Fonseca and Gallicchio wasting good chances. At half-time Lupo comes on to replace the latter. Early in the second half, a Nocerina cross finds Chietti wide open at the far post and he has time to bring it down and finish into the roof of the net. Marco Cirillo later scraped the crossbar, but that's the best we can muster and the game drifts away from us. Final score: Nocerina 1 - 0 Ragusa Friday 12th September 2003 Following Como's announcement just over a week ago, Cosenza of Serie B and Sassuolo of Serie C2/C join the ever growing list of Italian clubs in financial receivership. Another list that seemingly never stops getting bigger is our injury list, as key players Cirillo and Caramel extend our injury hell. Marco will be out for 3 weeks with knee ligament problems and Vladi's damaged shoulder will sideline him for 2 weeks. I'm beginning to wonder if there was something seriously wrong with our pre-season training that has caused us to suffer this sudden influx of injuries, or whether we are having an unlucky start to the season and were just lucky to have relatively few injuries last year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 8, 2003 Author Share Posted May 8, 2003 Sunday 14th September 2003 The familiar sight of the Gladiator team returns to Ragusa today for our second meeting in a month and our fifth in a year. Fortunately we can claim three wins and a draw from those matches, so we should have the psychological edge and hope to continue our good record against them. Fonseca will take over Caramel's position in the hole, and Lupo finally gets a start in attack. Serie C2/C Ragusa v Gladiator Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Tamburro©, Attewell, Italia, Sabellini; Manoni, Pellegrino, Chiavarini; Fonseca; Lupo, Gallicchio. With 10 minutes remaining in the first half, Pellegrino slipped the ball to Chiavarini just inside the Gladiator half, who spotted Claudio Gallicchio making a diagonal run through the defence. The perfect pass plays Claudio in on goal and he finishes powerfully across the keeper to make it 1-0. Although I felt on the balance of things we were looking worthy for the 1-0 win, Gladiator had gradually been getting into the game in the second half and Giuseppe Lenea had made a few saves to keep them out. I had a bad feeling when the number 4 was held up on the board indicating the amount of injury time, and the away side only needed one of those four minutes; Di Maio found himself wide open inside our area to put a late equaliser past Lenea. Final score: Ragusa 1 - 1 Gladiator Again I felt that we deserved better. We had not entirely dominated the game, but I think we had done enough for three points and were denied by a lapse of concentration in the 91st minute. Tuesday 16th September 2003 Pietro Alderuccio arrived in town today as his contract at Reggina finally expired. We are very pleased to have him back and I will be looking to introduce him into our starting lineup as soon as possible - I have a feeling that he and Attewell could strike up a strong partnership at the back, assuming they can both settle in without problems. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 8, 2003 Author Share Posted May 8, 2003 - September 2003 roundup - Sunday 21st - Serie C2/C - Palmese v Ragusa Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Tamburro©, Attewell, Italia, Sabellini; Manoni, Bonaffini, Fonseca, Pellegrino, Chiavarini; Gallicchio. Fonseca notched his first league goal of the season, but it wasn't enough and we went down 2-1 to last season's playoff finallists. It took an 82nd minute goal to win it for them but in truth it was no less than they deserved as they played us off the park. Pietro Alderuccio made his debut as a second half substitute. Final score: Palmese 2 - 1 Ragusa Wednesday 24th - Serie C2/C - Ragusa v Olbia Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Tamburro©, Italia, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Manoni, Pellegrino, Chiavarini; Fonseca; Lupo, Gallicchio. Our tired and injury hit team were second best again to Olbia, who produced good performances all over the pitch. Their first gave them a comfortable lead and a late second gave the score a more realistic look. Final score: Ragusa 0 - 2 Olbia Sunday 28th - Serie C2/C - Tricase v Ragusa Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Tamburro©, Attewell, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Manoni, Bonaffini, Caramel, Pellegrino, Chiavarini; Fonseca. The first time we get to see the Attewell-Alderuccio combination it gives us a clean sheet, but even though Tricase go down to 10 men in the second half we cannot find the creativity to break through at the other end. Caramel returns from injury but even he cannot create the spark, and it ends in a stalemate. Final score: Tricase 0 - 0 Ragusa Injury problems continue, as one returns we lose another. Franco Chiavarini picked up a groin strain in the Tricase match that could see him miss most if not all of October. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 8, 2003 Author Share Posted May 8, 2003 Sunday 5th October 2003 Marco Cirillo gives us a boost with his return to fitness from the knee injury in time for the visit of Sassuolo. Serie C2/C Ragusa v Sassuolo Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Tamburro©, Attewell, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Cirillo, Pellegrino, Bonaffini; Caramel; Fonseca, Gallicchio. Finally we find some sort of ability in possession and gradually begin to control the game. The longer the match went on the more and more we threatened Sassuolo, only to be let down by some frankly shocking finishing. Our woeful shooting saw the ball flying over the bar or wide of the post on a regular basis, with just about everybody in attack and midfield guilty of missing chances. Sassuolo ride their luck and our ineptitude to an undeserved point. Final score: Ragusa 0 - 0 Sassuolo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 8, 2003 Author Share Posted May 8, 2003 Thursday 9th October 2003 Former world footballer of the year Ronaldo has publicly issued a plea for first team football to the world's press. Real Madrid's adopted 4-5-1 formation features Spanish superstar Raul as the front man, and Raul's sparkling form has consigned a disgruntled Ronaldo to the bench where he has begun to ponder his options. The Madrid giants are the early leaders in this season's La Liga as they attempt to wrestle their crown back from last season's surprise champions Real Betis. Saturday 11th October 2003 It is an Internationals weekend and the European Championship qualifications continue for the right to compete in Portugal next summer. Italy's cruise through their qualifying group carries on smoothly as they destroy Azerbaijan 4-0, with a brace each from Juventus' Marco Di Vaio and Roma's Vincenzo Montella sealing a match that the Italians dominated with the utmost ease. They will qualify top of Group 9 after winning 7 and drawing 1 of their 8 matches. England boast an identical record in Group 7, and France, Denmark, Holland, Sweden, Germany, Spain, Belgium and the Republic of Ireland each top the other groups. In domestic news, Serie C1/A side Treviso are the latest club to announce going into receivership. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
veelhousen Posted May 9, 2003 Share Posted May 9, 2003 This is really very good. Good luck with it. Missing that striker this year hey? Ferrera is it? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 9, 2003 Author Share Posted May 9, 2003 Thanks veelhousen And yes, we're missing Ferrara hugely. He was the only one at the club with decent finishing ability and we could really do with some of his goals right now Saturday 18th October 2003 3347 people are in the 9000-seater Flaminio stadium in Rome for our visit to Lodigiani. Serie C2/C Lodigiani v Ragusa Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Tamburro©, Attewell, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Fonseca, Cirillo, Caramel, Pellegrino, Bonaffini; Gallicchio. The first half is all Lodigiani and it is a miracle that we manage to escape into half-time with the score still 0-0. Giuseppe Lenea makes save after save during the 45 minutes, including standing up well in a 1v1 situation to deny Orlando Fanasca. At the break Manoni replaces the poor Bonaffini and I tell the lads to keep it tight, hoping we can ride out the storm. On 68 minutes Lodigiani finally find the goal that they deserved. De Cecco got up to nod the ball down on the right flank, Luciani picked it up 40 yards out and tried to slip Fanasca in. Alderuccio lunges to intercept the pass but can only deflect it, and Fanasca gathers in the loose ball to fire a powerful shot through Lenea. The keeper manages to get a piece of it but is unable to keep it out, and Fanasca's 4th of the season puts the home side 1-0 up. I immediately give the instruction to switch to 4-3-1-2 and push Fonseca up front with Gallicchio, giving Manoni encouragement to get forward from midfield and have a pop whenever he can. A few minutes later Tamburro curls the ball down the left wing and Daniel Fonseca gets the step on his marker to chase after it. The Uruguayan spots Claudio Gallicchio haring into the box and whips in a cross at pace, but it goes behind Claudio to the edge of the box... fortunately Manolo Manoni is racing up from midfield, and as the ball sits up in the D he adjusts to unleash a difficult first time volley. The ball screams into the top corner of the net, leaving Lodigiani keeper Santoro rooted to the spot. Our dugout goes crazy as the crowd are dumbstruck - Manolo doesn't score many, but when he does they are always worth seeing. In the 90th minute Lodigiani launch a last attack, Vezzosi's cross from the right is turned toward goal on the volley by D'Astolfo, but the ball deflects off Marco Cirillo and Lenea is alive to save and hold the ball. It is the last action of the game as the referee immediately blows the final whistle. Final score: Lodigiani 1 - 1 Ragusa Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 9, 2003 Author Share Posted May 9, 2003 Sunday 19th October 2003 It was a lucky point in truth, because Lodigiani had far more of the play and many more shots on goal. Our two shots in the match both hit the target and one of those was Manoni's belter, so we can be fairly happy to take a point from this away game. Pellegrino and Cirillo had rare off days by their standards - Lodigiani's direct style meant getting the ball up to their three attackers and two wide midfielders as quickly as possible, so the centre of midfield was often skipped entirely and the pair were unable to stamp their usual authority on the game. Fortunately Attewell and particularly Lenea were both superb at the back. The point lifts us a place to 16th, while Lodigiani go 5th. The Italian football financial crisis continues its march towards epidemic status by claiming Serie B outfit Salernitana. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 10, 2003 Author Share Posted May 10, 2003 Sunday 26th October 2003 Today we are away to Catanzaro, the team currently lying 11th in the table. Last season the honours were shared between our two clubs as both fixtures ended in draws. Franco Chiavarini is fit enough to return from injury to be named amongst the substitutes, and at the risk of tempting fate I note that it is unusual for us to be able to fill the bench with healthy players. Serie C2/C Catanzaro v Ragusa Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Tamburro©, Attewell, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Cirillo, Pellegrino, Manoni; Caramel; Fonseca, Gallicchio. I decide to take a more attacking stance to this away fixture and it seems to catch Catanzaro unawares. Inside 2 minutes, Caramel played a one-two with Cirillo in midfield and advanced into the Catanzaro half to slide a ball through to Fonseca. Fonseca slipped a diagonal ball through the defence, Gallicchio's first touch of the game is to control the ball in the area, and then his second is to stab it past the advancing goalkeeper into the net. 1-0, a dream start. Catanzaro quickly attempt to reply. Corazzini's good work down the left results in a cross swung to the edge of our area, where number 8 Ascoli turns a powerful header towards goal from 18 yards. The ball beats Lenea but cannons back off the crossbar, and although Silvi gets to the rebound he is ushered away and crowded out by Attewell and Alderuccio. Wanting to keep our lead intact and not risk a quick equaliser, I send Antonio out to give the order to switch to the more defensive 4-5-1 formation. In the 26th minute, Moscelli's cross from the right deflects off Tamburro towards the near post where Bertuccelli and Alderuccio tussle for the ball... the Catanzaro foward goes down with arms flailing, and the ref awards a penalty against Alderuccio for shirt tugging. Lenea shifts nervously on his line in preparation for facing Ascoli, but the younger keeper only has to stand and watch as the Catanzaro midfielder hooks the ball right footed wide of the post - a real let off. Ten minutes later Moscelli is involved in the Catanzaro build up again, playing a great diagonal ball to find Silvi bearing down on goal, but Giuseppe Lenea is out quickly to deny the striker. The resulting corner is headed away by Caramel, but Zanutto whips the ball straight back in to the danger area and Bertuccelli is there to guide the ball home at the near post, 1-1. At half-time Franco Chiavarini comes on for the invisible Manoni. The second half is less eventful than the first, until Fonseca goes close on 84 minutes with a shot past the post. Shortly afterwards Catanzaro's Bertuccelli hobbles off with an injury with no substitutes left, and then when Gallicchio races on to a Fonseca through ball he is held back by the last defender. Giuseppe Zappella is shown the red card and given his marching orders for the professional foul, but the free-kick comes to nothing and it is too late in the day to capitalise on Catanzaro's reduction to 9 men. Final score: Catanzaro 1 - 1 Ragusa Despite the extra helping of controversy in this match, the story is a similar one to the Lodigiani game in that we were outplayed and can be considered fortunate to come away with a draw. Our one shot on target in the entire 90 minutes was our early goal, and only Giuseppe Lenea's relexes and a missed penalty stopped Catanzaro from condemning us to defeat. We are relying on the kid more than ever lately but he's coming through and putting in strong performances. A point keeps us languishing in 16th position, the only team in the division with a zero in the win column. Our next match is with league leaders Acireale at home. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 11, 2003 Author Share Posted May 11, 2003 Wednesday 29th October 2003 As the UEFA Champions League reaches the penultimate fixtures of the group stage, the game of the week is a cracker in Spain between Real Betis and Bayern Munich. Pizarro and Santa Cruz give Bayern a shock 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes, but 2 more goals from Henrik Larsson sandwiching another from Brazilian maestro Denilson help Betis come back and take the lead to the delight of 50,000 fans. It wasn't to be though, as in the 89th minute an absolute rocket from the corner of the area by Michael Ballack's right foot sends the ball screaming into the roof of the net for a late equaliser, 3-3. The European Championship playoff first legs are also going on, and a goal from former Aston Villa striker Savo Milosevic sends Yugoslavia on their way to a 2-1 victory over Scotland at Hampden Park. It will be tough for the Scots to turn that deficit around in Yugoslavia at the weekend. Thursday 30th October 2003 There is massive success for English clubs in the UEFA Cup 2nd Round 1st Legs tonight. In Madrid there is a tight match between Atletico and Aston Villa, a repeat of a fixture in this tournament a few seasons ago. Movilla equalised for the home side after Marcus Allback's opener, but England striker Darius Vassell pounces on a 90th minute rebound to give Villa a 2-1 lead to take home for the 2nd leg. Last time these teams met in this competition a Stan Collymore screamer in off the bar at an electric Villa Park was not enough to stop the Spaniards progressing, but the Premiership club look to have a better chance this time around. Over in Holland a five-star and five-goal performance from Robbie Keane, including 4 goals in 15 incredible second half minutes, provides Tottenham with a stunning 6-0 away win over Feyenoord. Even that is eclipsed by a raucous evening in the north-east of England, as 35,000 Middlesbrough fans roar their team to a shock 4-1 victory over a full strength Barcelona. Patrick Kluivert cancelled out Juninho's opener, but Ricketts, Maccarone and Christie all beat Bonano in the 2nd half to give Boro an unlikely lead in the tie. It will be interesting in the Nou Camp in a fortnight's time. The Italian football press have more important issues closer to home to deal with, as the financial collapse sucks in a second Serie A club. Torino are next to announce the arrival of the receivers; things are really starting to get out of control. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 12, 2003 Author Share Posted May 12, 2003 Sunday 2nd November 2003 Acireale arrive at the Aldo Campo Selvaggio perched atop the Serie C2/C table, having won 7 of their first 9 games. Last season their 3rd place finish saw them knocked out in the promotion playoffs, and they also had the edge in our meetings by beating us once and drawing the other. We are able to name what I feel is our strongest eleven, so we will see what kind of damage we are potentially capable of doing to one of the early title contenders. Serie C2/C Ragusa v Acireale Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Tamburro©, Attewell, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Cirillo, Pellegrino, Chiavarini; Caramel; Fonseca, Gallicchio. In the first half we have a lot of the early possession without really creating anything. Acireale managed a couple of half-chances, one saved by Lenea and one flying wide. In the 42nd minute, Caramel swept the ball out to the left and Fonseca and Gallicchio found themselves in a 2v2 situation with Acireale defenders Aloisi and Di Salvatore. Fonseca dragged wide to collect and advance the ball while Claudio Gallicchio sprinted down the centre, and a well timed pass by the Uruguayan found Claudio wide open ahead of his marker but onside. Acireale goalkeeper Granata advanced off his line, but with all the time in the world Gallicchio hit his shot straight at the keeper to waste a glorious chance. At the half I'm fairly pleased with the way things are going so make no alterations. Five minutes after the break, Acireale left back Suriano attempts a low pass to teammate Delle Vedove which is intercepted brightly by Franco Chiavarini. The Argentinian midfielder gets his head up and looks straight for Gallicchio, threading a nice pass through for the striker to run on to. Inside the box slightly right of centre, Gallicchio connects with a powerful strike across the keeper to score his third league goal of the season, 1-0. Acireale immediately go onto the attack to try and get back on level terms. Delle Vedove picks the ball up on the left and curls a floating cross in towards striker Ventura, and just as his header looks to be travelling into the net with Giuseppe Lenea off balance and moving in the opposite direction, the young keeper desperately reaches back to claw the ball away with his fingertips. It is a quite magnificent save, reminiscent of one I remember seeing David Seaman make against Sheffield United. As Tamburro happily launches the ball safely into touch, Ventura can't believe that it isn't already nestling in the net. Shortly before Lupo replaces the subdued Daniel Fonseca, Lenea tips another effort over the bar. A minute later he is called into action yet again, when Cutrufello's cross from the right is nodded into the mix by Vegna on the edge of the box, and Acireale's Marino diverts a volley towards goal from just 8 yards. At point blank range, Lenea blocks with an impressive reflex stop and Pellegrino hoofs the ball clear. Unfortunately, whoever is in control of our fate appears to have a sense of humour. In the 88th minute of the match, Delle Vedove gets to the byline and crosses to the edge of the 6 yard box. Lenea checks and then sinks to the grass as his foot slips and gives way beneath him, leaving him stumbling to the ground while Ventura dives full stretch at the ball to get there first and nod it into the open net. As Giuseppe limps off on a twisted ankle to be replaced by Nicolas Cinalli for the last couple of minutes, it is an incredibly unlucky end to an impressive performance by the 18 year old. Final score: Ragusa 1 - 1 Acireale Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 12, 2003 Author Share Posted May 12, 2003 Monday 3rd November 2003 After the first 10 games the table looks like THIS. Yet another draw leaves us sitting in 17th, still with no wins to our name, whilst Acireale lose their spot at the top to Varese. There can be differing opinions about our start to the season depending on which angle you look at it from. On the one hand, 17th is 17th and a big fat lonely zero in the wins column is not something to boast about. Our average of 1 goal every 2 games makes us the lowest scorers in the division, and at this point last year our 'poor start' had already given us 14 goals and 12 points, compared to an even worse 5 and 7 now. On the other hand we have not lost in the last 5 matches, coinciding with the first 5 matches that Attewell and Alderuccio have played together at the back. We also have one of the better defensive records in the division, conceding just 9 goals. Injuries to important players like Tamburro, Chiavarini, Cirillo, Caramel, and Chiavarini again have hampered us, meaning that yesterday was the very first time that my intended first-choice eleven had appeared together this season, and with that eleven we came within a whisker of beating the (then) division leaders. In summary we have made a disappointing start and the table does not lie, but I am far from panicking or expecting a relegation fight. Although my initial hope of mounting a challenge for the promotion playoff spots is rapidly looking more and more difficult and heading towards impossible, last season's finish of 8th is well within our reach if we are able to stay relatively injury free. I'm confident that with our best team on the pitch we can start to put some wins together and prove that we are absolutely not a 17th-place team. As if we need a difficult test to do that, we have to travel to free-scoring Gela in 2 weeks. Gela striker Francesco Erbini is continuing the intentions of his 42-goal haul last season by netting 11 times in his 14 appearances so far this term. The good news is that Giuseppe's ankle is not as bad as it might have been, and after a bit of swelling he should easily be back in more than enough time to face off with Signor Erbini. This weekend the European Championship Qualifiers came to an end. Scotland were unable to overturn their first leg playoff deficit as a single goal from Real Sociedad forward Darko Kovacevic sends Yugoslavia through 3-1 on aggregate; Croatia, Greece, Russia and Slovenia win the other playoffs to join hosts Portugal and the group winners on the finalised list of qualifiers for Euro 2004. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 12, 2003 Author Share Posted May 12, 2003 Wednesday 5th November 2003 After some fairly smooth and easy discussions Danilo Sabellini has signed a new contract at the club. The new full-time deal keeps him here until July 2006 and more accurately reflects his standing in the squad, as we have been very happy with his individual performances this year, showing the kind of form that he hinted at during an injury plagued campaign last season. I have also been tipped off that clubs such as Sampdoria and Reggiana have been keeping tabs on the 20 year old right back, but we have not had any contact from them and are not interested in selling unless they come with silly money. Thursday 13th November 2003 The UEFA Cup 2nd round 2nd legs took place tonight across Europe. In England, Aston Villa completed their revenge over Atletico Madrid with a 2-0 victory sealing their passage through to round 3, Vassell again claiming the second. Tottenham played out a 2-2 draw with Feyenoord; Robbie Keane was absent from the 2nd leg but had done enough in his 1st leg heroics to put his side through already. The Nou Camp was indeed interesting, as Middlesbrough travelled to Spain looking to use their 4-1 lead to produce an upset. Barcelona were in no mood for messing around though, and after going 1-0 up Patrick Kluivert offered a second half brace to change that to 3-0. The Spanish giants dominated the entire game, barely giving Middlesbrough a look in, and will progress through to the third round on the away goal rule. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 12, 2003 Author Share Posted May 12, 2003 Sunday 16th November 2003 Gela lie 9th at the time of our meeting, having a much less explosive start than last season when they went out in front as the early pace setters. In this fixture last season they beat us 3-2, and in the home fixture Stephen Cooke's only goal for Ragusa was our contribution to a 1-1 draw. Serie C2/C Gela v Ragusa Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Tamburro©, Alderuccio, Attewell, Sabellini; Fonseca, Cirillo, Caramel, Pellegrino, Chiavarini; Gallicchio. Claudio Gallicchio wastes two reasonably good chances in the first half, putting one over the bar and the other well wide after Caramel had created both. On the stroke of half-time an Erbini cross is poked away from Albano by Caramel, but the ball falls for Gela number 8 Santo Matinella who almost takes the back of the net out with a furious strike from 10 yards. A goal down at half-time, we switch to 4-3-1-2 in the hope of clawing a goal back quickly. Five minutes after the break disaster strikes again, with dire consequences. Another ball into our box causes a melee and the ball bobbles towards the far post, where Lenea looks to scramble it wide to safety, but Gela's Albano comes sliding in feet first to try and hook the ball in before it leaves the pitch. He's unsuccessfull, but there's a crunching collision and a cry of pain splits the air... immediately fearing the worst I go running across the pitch with Salvatore trailing me, to find Giuseppe Lenea writhing on the floor in serious agony. He had been caught in the collision between player and post and the poor kid's shin was bent in an unnatural way. As he is carefully stretchered off one or two of our players have something to say to Albano, but it wasn't really a malicious challenge, and after Nicolas Cinalli has taken up his place in goal the game is able to resume. On 64 minutes things continue to go badly, when Commandatore's free-kick somehow finds Albano on the edge of our six yard box. Attewell and Tamburro both dive in to block as he swings to shoot from close range, but the ball cannons off Tamburro into the corner of the net and it's 2-0 to the home side. Daniel Fonseca grabs a goal back just two minutes later, showing his dead-ball prowess with a wickedly dipping 30 yard free-kick into the bottom corner, but we are unable to get back into the game to threaten Gela's lead. Final score: Gela 2 - 1 Ragusa Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 12, 2003 Author Share Posted May 12, 2003 Sunday 16th November 2003 Gela lie 9th at the time of our meeting, having a much less explosive start than last season when they went out in front as the early pace setters. In this fixture last season they beat us 3-2, and in the home fixture Stephen Cooke's only goal for Ragusa was our contribution to a 1-1 draw. Serie C2/C Gela v Ragusa Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Tamburro©, Alderuccio, Attewell, Sabellini; Fonseca, Cirillo, Caramel, Pellegrino, Chiavarini; Gallicchio. Claudio Gallicchio wastes two reasonably good chances in the first half, putting one over the bar and the other well wide after Caramel had created both. On the stroke of half-time an Erbini cross is poked away from Albano by Caramel, but the ball falls for Gela number 8 Santo Matinella who almost takes the back of the net out with a furious strike from 10 yards. A goal down at half-time, we switch to 4-3-1-2 in the hope of clawing a goal back quickly. Five minutes after the break disaster strikes again, with dire consequences. Another ball into our box causes a melee and the ball bobbles towards the far post, where Lenea looks to scramble it wide to safety, but Gela's Albano comes sliding in feet first to try and hook the ball in before it leaves the pitch. He's unsuccessfull, but there's a crunching collision and a cry of pain splits the air... immediately fearing the worst I go running across the pitch with Salvatore trailing me, to find Giuseppe Lenea writhing on the floor in serious agony. He had been caught in the collision between player and post and the poor kid's shin was bent in an unnatural way. As he is carefully stretchered off one or two of our players have something to say to Albano, but it wasn't really a malicious challenge, and after Nicolas Cinalli has taken up his place in goal the game is able to resume. On 64 minutes things continue to go badly, when Commandatore's free-kick somehow finds Albano on the edge of our six yard box. Attewell and Tamburro both dive in to block as he swings to shoot from close range, but the ball cannons off Tamburro into the corner of the net and it's 2-0 to the home side. Daniel Fonseca grabs a goal back just two minutes later, showing his dead-ball prowess with a wickedly dipping 30 yard free-kick into the bottom corner, but we are unable to get back into the game to threaten Gela's lead. Final score: Gela 2 - 1 Ragusa Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 12, 2003 Author Share Posted May 12, 2003 Monday 17th November 2003 Giuseppe was rushed to hospital and x-rays confirmed that he has broken his leg, and the doctors' early prediction is that he will be out of action for around 7 months. Not only do we lose our starting goalkeeper for the season but the loss to Gela sinks us to 18th and bottom of the division. I think I can safely say that we have struck our lowest point since I took over as manager some 17 months ago. The team spirit that had been so high last season has dissipated this season and we've hit rock bottom in the league. Still, now is not the time for depression or regret, we have to get back in the saddle and get back on track, and any other motivational cliche you can come up with. I came here to do a job and there is no way that this club is going to even be involved in the relegation fight come the end of this season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 13, 2003 Author Share Posted May 13, 2003 Sunday 23rd November 2003 Our rehabilitation must start with the visit of Giugliano, a team who we exchanged 1-0 results with last season. Serie C2/C Ragusa v Giugliano Ragusa lineup - Cinalli; Tamburro©, Attewell, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Cirillo, Pellegrino, Chiavarini; Caramel; Fonseca, Gallicchio. It is important that we begin brightly and we do that with Gallicchio thumping the upright on 11 minutes. Sabellini's chip forward was laid off by Fonseca, and Gallicchio's swerving right foot drive from 25 yards rattled the outside of the woodwork. Daniel Fonseca wasted a good chance 5 minutes later, producing a dismal effort after Caramel had played him in, but he redeemed himself on 20 minutes. A free-kick was won 25 yards out, slightly right of centre, and Fonseca's spectacular curling effort sailed into the top corner for 1-0. Just two minutes later Simone Tamburro's long ball from the left found Fonseca in behind his marker Veronese, and as the ball bounced in the area the Uruguayan let it drop and swept it low under the keeper on the half-volley. 2-0. It only took him until the 34th minute to complete a clinical first half hat-trick, again from a Tamburro pass and this time confidently slotting home through the keeper's legs. The second half was relatively quiet, with Cinalli making a couple of decent saves to protect his clean sheet, and although Chiavarini and Gallicchio both went close there was no further scoring. Final score: Ragusa 3 - 0 Guigliano Oh how we needed that! A thumping 3-0 victory in front of a home crowd, and no sooner had we hit the bottom of the league then we have sprung up to 15th. Daniel can be accused of occasional laziness, but he stepped up at the most crucial time to give us a comfortable lead and ease our worries for a bit. Chairman Giuseppe Antoci did his bit for team morale by coming into the changing room straight after the game with a big smile on his face, declaring himself extremely pleased with the result. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 13, 2003 Author Share Posted May 13, 2003 Sunday 30th November 2003 Frosinone away will be a tough test for us after the Giugliano win. I resist the usual more defensive formation for an away match, instead keeping the same approach that we took to the home game and gambling on us being able to continue some momentum. Marco Cirillo picked up a chest injury this week so Manolo Manoni takes his place. Serie C2/C Frosinone v Ragusa Ragusa lineup - Cinalli; Tamburro©, Attewell, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Manoni, Pellegrino, Chiavarini; Caramel; Fonseca, Gallicchio. We make a bad start as Frosinone's Sossio Aruta gets ahead of Alderuccio to nod home a cross from the left in the 12th minute, and it is 2-0 to the home side just after the half hour. A rare mix-up between Tamburro and Attewell results in Luca Galuppi taking advantage of the hestitation to nip in a find the top corner with his finish. The second half never really gets going, and although substitute Lupo has the ball in the net on 70 minutes it is disallowed for offside. Final score: Frosinone 2 - 0 Ragusa Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 13, 2003 Author Share Posted May 13, 2003 Wednesday 3rd December 2003 Despite it being winter, today the sun is out in force and the weather is bright, much brighter than my mood as I sit outside the Caffè Trieste with a drink and the sports pages. I am lifted out of my reverie by the throbbing sound of a sleek white sports car, with the registration plate 'G4B1 P', that pulls to the side of the road and parks on the edge of the piazza. My fading attention is quickly snatched back by the only things sleeker and prettier than the car; a pair of perfect bronzed legs that appear from the opened driver's door to grace the cobbled piazza. Like something out of a tv commercial, the legs are followed by a stunning raven-haired beauty, whose adorning jewellry is put to shame by an even more dazzling smile. A smile aimed in my direction. As I splutter into my drink, she veritably purrs "Good luck for this season" in heavily accented Italian-English and turns to cross the street. Two youths in a rusty old Fiat brake to let her cross and give her a beep of their horn, which she returns with another gorgeous smile and a wave before disappearing into a shop on the opposite side of the street. I discovered later that the woman in question was in fact Gabriella Pitino, the much younger wife of Marcello, our so called Director of Football. I suddenly understood why Marcello had been spending so little time at the club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 13, 2003 Author Share Posted May 13, 2003 Sunday 7th December 2003 Marco Cirillo returns to fitness for the battle at the bottom of the table. Our loss to Frosinone sent us back down to 17th, only above Montichiari, our visitors today. Serie C2/C Ragusa v Montichiari Ragusa lineup - Cinalli; Tamburro©, Attewell, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Cirillo, Pellegrino, Chiavarini; Caramel; Fonseca, Gallicchio. In the 19th minute Vladimiro Caramel drifts out to the left wing and recieves the ball, dribbles forward and crosses into the box. Unusually for him the cross fails to find anyone and drifts past the far post, but Gallicchio is able to retrive it and stick it back into the danger area where Franco Chiavarini runs in to volley it goalwards. The ball takes a deflection off Corrado and finds the net, 1-0. With half an hour gone Marco Cirillo is left in a crumpled heap on the edge of our area following a collision, but Montichiari don't give a thought to kicking the ball into touch and instead play on. Galli held the ball up on the halfway and swept it wide right to Dossi, and his whipped ball across the 6 yard box provided Sarli with an easy chance to tuck away. Our bench is up in anger at the manner of the equaliser after Sarli had literally had to step around the striken Cirillo on his way into the box, but there is nothing we can do and the score stands at 1-1. Manoni comes on to replace Cirillo in midfield. Claudio Gallicchio puts a shot wide 10 minutes later after some tricky work by Franco Chiavarini, but the striker is given another chance just before half-time. From Cinalli's goal kick, Vladimiro Caramel rises to flick the ball on and Gallicchio gets in behind the Montichiari defence to finish over the keeper, 2-1 at the break. Three minutes into the second half Caramel clips the ball forward to Daniel Fonseca's feet. The Uruguayan turns to pass to his strike partner Gallicchio and goes for the return, completing a smooth one-two and finishing accurately past the keeper to the far post to put us 3-1 up. Montichiari aren't done yet though, and in the 67th minute Cosimo Sarli showed good pace to sprint away from Alderuccio and Sabellini to fire an excellent shot across Cinalli. Fortunately we manage to subdue the away side after that and protect our lead, with Chiavarini, Fonseca and Gallicchio all going close with half-chances before Vladimiro Caramel almost caps off a lovely move with a wonder goal in injury time. Pellegrino knocked the ball to Vladi at halfway, who flicked the ball first time to Manoni. Manoni's return pass is sloppy but Caramel gets there before Montichiari defender Andrea Ferrante and pokes it to Fonseca, skipping around the defender and receiving Fonseca's nonchalant pass slid back into his path. The 35 year old took the ball to just outside the box and blasted a powerful drive on goal, only to watch it cannon back off the crossbar. Final score: Ragusa 3 - 2 Montichiari It was a bit closer than I would have liked but we took the win. We actually played well, displaying some nice football and creating far more shots on goal than Montichiari did, but we still conceded two at home. The good news is that we bounce back up to 15th position in the table, although the repeat of Marco Cirillo's injury will put him back on the sidelines for another 3 weeks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 13, 2003 Author Share Posted May 13, 2003 Thursday 11th December I received my first bit of bad press as Ragusa manager this week, as it was mentioned in the local paper that a growing number of Ragusa fans are not seeing eye to eye with me recently. Earlier in the week I had made the mistake of singling out unhappy goalkeeper Nicolas Cinalli for praise, with the intention that it might cheer him up and raise his spirits for the run of first-team appearances that he will surely get following Lenea's broken leg. Unfortunately the general concensus seems to be that my dogged persistence in praising under-performing players like Cinalli is one of the reasons for the club's dismal run of recent form. The article finished by stating that fans are hoping many of the out of form players will be dropped to allow other players a chance to take their place. I don't disagree, but there is of course the slight problem that there are no replacements at the moment, with injuries in such a tiny squad meaning that the team often picks itself. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 14, 2003 Author Share Posted May 14, 2003 Sunday 14th December 2003 With Franco Chiavarini picking up another lengthy injury this week and Simone Tamburro suspended for reaching four yellow cards, we are missing four first-team regulars for our trip to high-flying Foggia. Last season we were only capable of taking one point from our two meetings with them, a 0-0 draw following a 3-2 defeat. Experimenting with a slightly different formation for this one, Pellegrino will sit in front of the back four while Fonseca will be the link between a midfield trio and Gallicchio up front. Serie C2/C Foggia v Ragusa Ragusa lineup - Cinalli; Guastella, Attewell, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Pellegrino©; Manoni, Bonaffini, Caramel; Fonseca; Gallicchio. In the 16th minute a cross from the left wing found Foggia striker Del Coro all alone at the near post for an easy header, but to our relief the goal was disallowed for offside. At the other end Gallicchio's left foot struck a shot wide of the post, and then later a second successive corner saw Gallicchio nodding into the net only for our effort to be disallowed too, this time for a push by the scorer. On the hour Carmelo Bonarrigo came on to replace the disappointing Manoni, but 10 minutes later Foggia finally broke the deadlock when Da Silva got to a near post corner and turned to divert it home. That goal knocked us back and in the 82nd minute we conspired to allow the home side a second far too easily, when Vantaggiato was left in absolutely acres of space with the simple task of nodding in Bonatti's long ball. Final score: Foggia 2 - 0 Ragusa Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 14, 2003 Author Share Posted May 14, 2003 Thursday 18th December 2003 The injury list is getting ever longer and nastier looking. Adding to the names of Giuseppe Lenea, Marco Cirillo and Franco Chiavarini already on the list, Nicolas Cinalli will be out for 4 weeks with a groin strain and Stuart Attewell will need 2 weeks off with strained knee ligaments. I have cancelled some training sessions and will be looking at revising the entire schedule to a less strenuous one, because these injuries are really starting to cause a big problem. Monday 22nd December 2003 I noticed in the paper that our former striker Giancarlo Ferrara has spoken out against his new club, revealing his concerns about their financial situation. Giancarlo has netted 8 goals in 19 appearances for Monza, who currently stand 4th in Serie C2/A. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 14, 2003 Author Share Posted May 14, 2003 Tuesday 23rd December 2003 Varese are a club who were relegated from Serie C1/A last season. Their quest to make a swift return has been going well thus far and they hold down second place heading into the Christmas break, but they have some injury problems of their own and have started to falter a bit recently. On top of our list of injuries Alessandro Bonaffini picked up his fourth booking and is suspended, although captain Simone Tamburro returns from his own ban. With the new formation proving to be unsuccessful last time, I have a new one in store for today that is a variation on the 4-5-1 we have used in the past. Pellegrino will stay as the anchor man with two central midfielders in front of him, and two attacking wingers will hover high up on the flanks to hopefully provide the lone striker with ammunition. 20 year old third-choice goalkeeper Antonio Di Giovanni will make his first ever start for the club with both Lenea and Cinalli out injured. Serie C2/C Ragusa v Varese Ragusa lineup - Di Giovanni; Tamburro©, Italia, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Pellegrino; Manoni, Caramel; Fonseca, Bonarrigo; Gallicchio. 35 minutes into the first half Pellegrino searched out Bonarrigo on the right, who took it forward to the corner of the penalty area and dinked it into the middle. Claudio Gallicchio controlled the ball in the centre and fired a shot into the net off the goalkeeper's arm, but his celebrations were cut short by the linesman's flag. Right on the stroke of half-time we had another chance to take the lead during a scramble from a corner. Daniel Fonseca's dangerously inswinging corner sailed over Gallicchio's head and found Bonarrigo running in from the penalty spot, but his header from 6 yards was blocked brilliantly by goalkeeper Emiliano Dei. Varese defender Brognoli attemped to clear it, only for Pellegrino to get his head in the way from 12 yards and Dei was forced to spring up and make an even better save low to his right. This time Brandirali hacked it into touch and the referee blew for half-time. At the break I make no changes, we had been doing okay. We had made the better chances, and while Varese's sole effort had sailed over the bar we had hit the target with all three of ours. 10 minutes into the second half Danilo Sabellini rose to head clear but only sent it as far as Gentilini, who worked it back into the box to Lorieri via substitute Zirafa, and as Lorieri tried to turn on Sabellini in the area he was bundled to the ground. The referee deemed it was an infringement and awarded the penalty, so Lorieri dusted himself off to take the spot kick only to hook it wide of Di Giovanni's left post. With two minutes remaining on the clock Simone Tamburro floated a long ball from the edge of our area across to Daniel Fonseca out on the left touchline. Behind the Varese right back there was space to run into, and as Nanu and Brandiralli closed in on him he whipped a cross towards the penalty spot. Vladimiro Caramel, who had sprinted from the halfway line in a great effort to join in, left his midfield opponent trailing and roared onto the end of the cross. Dei was wrong footed by the downward header to the near post and we'd found a winner, 1-0. Final score: Ragusa 1 - 0 Varese A great result to go into the Christmas break with. Varese had a better second half and looked like they might get the goal, but once they had missed the penalty we were able to take advantage. Vladimiro Caramel rounded off a man of the match performance with a determined goal, not bad for a 35 year old. From 15th we move one place to 14th, while Varese drop to 3rd. Surprisingly we also got through 90 minutes without an injury! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 14, 2003 Author Share Posted May 14, 2003 Saturday 27th December 2003 As with last year I am back home in England to meet up with friends and family for the Christmas period. There isn't a great deal unusual going on in the Premiership, with Newcastle United, Manchester United and Arsenal vying for the top just like last season. Gerard Houllier's Christmas gift is his appointment as Southampton boss; The 56 year old had been out of management for over 7 months since Liverpool sacked him at the end of last season. Gordon Strachan had resigned shortly before Christmas, with Southampton sat in 16th position on the brink of the relegation zone at the halfway point in the campaign. Thursday 1st January 2004 Unsurprisingly AC Milan and Real Betis, winners of their domestic leagues and both major European trophies between them, feature prominently in the annual FIFA awards: World Player of the Year - Alessandro Nesta (AC Milan) World Footballer of the Year - Marchena (Valencia) European Footballer of the Year - Shay Given (Newcastle) European Goalkeeper of the Year - Dida (AC Milan) European Defender of the Year - Fernando Varela (Real Betis) European Midfielder of the Year - Clarence Seedorf (AC Milan) European Striker of the Year - Henrik Larsson (Real Betis) Saturday 10th January 2004 With our first action of the newly opened transfer window, Vicenza gave us permission to talk to young defensive midfielder Paolo Zanetti. Unfortunately Napoli have also bid for the player and are able tempt Paolo away with wages in excess of £5,000 per week, only a mere 10 times what we were offering! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 15, 2003 Author Share Posted May 15, 2003 Sunday 11th January 2004 Nocerina arrive in Ragusa feeling rightly pleased with themselves, their current 5th place a vast improvement over their depressing season in the relegation mire last year. Marco Cirillo and Stuart Attewell benefited from the Christmas rest and return to the bench, and I decided to stick with the new formation that saw us beat Varese. Serie C2/C Ragusa v Nocerina Ragusa lineup - Di Giovanni; Tamburro©, Italia, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Pellegrino; Manoni, Caramel; Fonseca, Bonarrigo; Gallicchio. 32 minutes into the half we put together the swiftest and smoothest passing move you're likely to see. Caramel picked it up on the halfway line and drove forward with the ball, then slipped a pass inside to Gallicchio who had checked inside his marker. He knocked it wide first time to Bonarrigo who had managed to get in behind Nocerina left back Pagano, and he took a touch to control and fired it across towards the penalty area. Claudio Gallicchio had continued his movement into the area, and he got across centre back Eddy Mengo to turn a powerful header down into the near corner. 1-0. A few minutes later Fonseca grazed the top of the crossbar with a viciously curling free kick but the half ended with no further additions to the scoreline. Just after the hour mark, a free-kick from the right by Nocerina number 8 Giordano was chipped straight into the mixer, and somewhere in the penalty area melee the referee spotted a push on Belmonte by Dario Italia. Despite our protestations the penalty was awarded, but Belmonte attempted to smash the ball straight down the middle and Di Giovanni stood up strong to save. I made some changes shortly afterwards - Attewell and Cirillo on for Italia and Caramel - and the game swung back in our favour. In the 80th minute, Fonseca pressured Toscano into a loose pass on the left wing and Gallicchio showed determination to win a fifty-fifty tackle with centre back D'Angelo, and leaving D'Angelo in a heap on the turf he sprung up to chase the loose ball. Another defender and the keeper narrowed the angle and forced Galliccio wide, but he held on to the ball and turned to cut it back into the area. Manoni had made a great run up from midfield, and as the keeper tried to scramble back into position he was able to finish easily with a cushioned volley from 14 yards for 2-0. Not his usual 35 yard spectacular, but just as vital. 5 minutes later the game was sewn up, when Gallicchio intercepted another loose pass and raced in on goal. With D'Angelo trailing, Gallicchio curled the ball into the corner from 15 yards to make it 3-0 and bag his 6th in the league. Final score: Ragusa 3 - 0 Nocerina At the halfway point in the season the table looks like THIS. Another win delighted the chairman and raised us up to 13th in the division, with Nocerina dropping to 7th. Our next fixture is away to 15th placed Tivoli, although Vladimiro Caramel will miss that game through suspension due to picking up his fourth yellow card yesterday. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 15, 2003 Author Share Posted May 15, 2003 Wednesday 14th January 2004 22 year old midfielder Alessandro Bonaffini has put pen to paper on a new contract at the club, keeping him here as a full-time professional until 2007. He is far from being our most important player, but the squad is already small and it saves us having to search for a replacement if we let his contract expire. Although I don't expect him to be earning a first team spot, I like the professional attitude that he has taken to being very much a squad player, and he has also become quite a favourite with the fans. In training today, Claudio Gallicchio twisted his knee and will be out of action for a week. Over in the Premiership there are rumours circling of Blackburn Rovers midfielder David Dunn being involved in a feud with new manager David O'Leary, just like he had done with previous manager Graeme Souness. The stories suggest that with Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Deportivo and Real Betis keeping tabs on him, if the right offer was to come in then it could well see David moving abroad. Friday 16th January 2004 Antonio Di Giovanni becomes the second player to extend his contract until 2007. The 20 year old goalkeeper has only made two appearances but he has plenty of time on his side and looks like a capable backup for Lenea when he returns. Serie D side Fanfulla Lodi have offered us a whopping £20,000 for Carmelo Bonarrigo. They approached earlier in the week asking for our valuation, and I told them that we can only consider reducing our squad further if the money made it worthwhile. I didn't expect £20,000 and I have to accept that sort of cash for a backup player, even though Carmelo has done far better in his last two starts than he had shown in the previous 18 months. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 15, 2003 Author Share Posted May 15, 2003 Saturday 17th January 2004 After I told him that I cannot promise him an extended run in the first team and that the club could really do with the money, Carmelo spoke to Fanfulla and settled on personal terms with the club quite quickly. With £20,000 about to seep into our coffers at any second, I immediately get on the phone to Gela with the ambition in mind to enquire about a certain Francesco Erbini. Our first offer is deemed not good enough, but to my surprise Gela inform us that they would be willing to accept £3,000 up front with a further £11,000 arriving over the next 12 months. We accept, but I'm trying not to get overly excited about it - personal terms are often the biggest sticking point. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 15, 2003 Author Share Posted May 15, 2003 Monday 19th January 2004 We met with Francesco Erbini today to discuss personal terms. We are unable to offer him a pay rise on his previous contract but will be setting higher bonuses, and clauses beneficial to him. It is hard to get a good idea of how keen he was, but he has taken a few days to mull it over and has promised to let us know before the end of the week. Vladimiro Caramel will miss a further 2 weeks after picking up a knock during training. Thursday 22nd January 2004 Deportivo la Coruna have announced the signing of Brazilian midfielder Gilberto Silva for £10.5 million. Gilberto made over 60 appearances in an Arsenal shirt, collecting one FA Cup winners medal, and has been capped 21 times by his country. Reigning European champions AC Milan have gone one better by spending £10.75 million on Leeds United's Australian forward Harry Kewell, beating Barcelona and Liverpool to the 25 year old's signature. The Milan supporters were in buoyant mood after manager Carlo Ancelotti confirmed the completion of the transfer and turned out in force to welcome Kewell, who thanked them: "It's great, y'know, I hope I can repay their enthusiasm through my performances on the pitch. It's a massive club, the fans are great as you can see and I'm looking forward to meeting my new team-mates. Getting the opportunity to work with top quality players was a major factor in my decision to come here". In more important news, Serie C1/B side Catania have accepted our £1,000 bid for their want-away striker Eddy Baggio. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 15, 2003 Author Share Posted May 15, 2003 Sunday 18th January 2004 Tivoli are having a much less successful season than the last, down in 15th place. Carmelo Bonarrigo departed for his new club this very morning, so Manoni takes up his place on the right wing and Bonaffini fills in in midfield. Lupo replaces the injured Gallicchio as the lone striker. Serie C2/C Tivoli v Ragusa Ragusa lineup - Di Giovanni; Tamburro©, Attewell, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Pellegrino; Bonaffini, Cirillo; Fonseca, Manoni; Lupo. We get off to the worst possible start. In the 5th minute Galluzo's 20 yard free kick is deflected by Bonaffini in the wall, and although Di Giovanni gets down to parry the deflected shot it is turned in from close range by Bernardini following in. Bonaffini went close at the other end, and after 30 minutes Gaspare Pellegrino was harshly booked for a deliberate hand ball. A few minutes later Tivoli got their second goal at the expense of young Di Giovanni, who fumbled a shot that was heading wide of the post and Gatti had the simple task of sticking it into the net. As if two wasn't bad enough, with the last kick of the half the home side put themselves 3-0 up. Tivoli's Di Vincenzo crossed the ball into the box and Di Giovanni stepped out to claim it, but Scichilone got there first at the near post to nod into a gaping net. Three down and the changing room is not a happy place, especially with me in it. I lay off poor Antonio though, because he already knows he was at fault for two of the goals and he's not the only reason why we are down by three goals already. We switch to 4-3-1-2, with Marco Cirillo asked to play in the hole behind Fonseca and Lupo. In the 52nd minute we get one back, with Lupo flicking home Fonseca's near post corner for 3-1. It lasts an entire 120 seconds before Di Vincenzo's corner is forced home by Tivoli number 3 Toursel to make it 4-1. As an already unusual game descended to the ridiculous, a minute later Gaspare Pellegrino badly overhit a long ball forward from the halfway line that caught out the Tivoli keeper, and as it bounced back off the crossbar Lupo was following up well to tap in a freakish goal. On 70 minutes there is disbelief of a different kind, when Pellegrino is whistled for an inch perfect tackle on Martini that the referee decided was somehow a foul. Gaspare is shown his second yellow followed by a red much to our incredulous dismay, and Bonaffini almost talked himself into the book during the protests. In the 77th minute Fonseca was played into the area by Manoni but deliberated for far too long and was tackled, only for the referee to get it wrong again and award us a penalty. The Uruguyan did not complain and stepped up to take it, and in keeping with the bizarre nature of this match his penalty struck the inside of the post, hit the keeper and came out, only to drop for Fonseca to stick home the rebound and make it 4-3 to Tivoli. Two minutes later Tivoli forward Coppola got up to head at goal from Bernardini's cross, and Di Giovanni made a mess of it by allowing it to bounce of him and into the net. Fortunately the goal is disallowed due to a push by Coppola on his marker, but the kid in goal is looking shakey so I drag him off and put Nicolas Cinalli on in his place. It doesn't help though; we could have had both goalkeepers in simultaneously and they still wouldn't have stopped Tivoli substitute Matrone rocketing a 25 yard screamer into the roof of the net five minutes from time. Final score: Tivoli 5 - 3 Ragusa Just a crazy, crazy match. Antonio Di Giovanni did not cover himself in glory and we will be without Pellegrino now for 2 matches, thanks to the ref's incompetence. We drop to 15th again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 16, 2003 Author Share Posted May 16, 2003 Friday 23rd January 2004 There's a cause for double celebration today as we complete the signings of two new players: Francesco Erbini and Eddy Baggio. Francesco accepted our offer and officially becomes a Ragusa player. Having scored 42 goals for Gela last season and 23 already this season, he should certainly be the solution to our difficulty in front of goal. £14,000 is quite a lot for a club of our size, especially for a 32 year old and when we are £150,000 in debt, but if he lives up to expectation and easily bangs in over 50 goals in the next couple of years then it should be worth it. Eddy agreed to a substantial cut in wages to join us after an unhappy time at Catania. Last season he went on loan to Salernitana where he managed to score 18 goals in Serie B, but was forced to return to Catania where he was not enjoying himself despite bagging 8 goals in 9 starts this season. He is a very good all-round striker, strong, decent in the air and able to find the net. This is a massive boost for the club and I'm excited by the prospect of our new starting strike partnership. Both strikers should settle in well, with Eddy's previous club Catania on the east coast of Sicily, and Francesco's former club Gela even closer on the south coast of sicily, so neither will have to move house and that should help. Saturday 24th January 2004 Our head physio Salvatore Rinzillo came to me today telling me that he has been offered a job at Serie C2/B Baracca, who would be willing to pay us £1,000 in compensation. I assure Salvatore that we do not wish him to leave and I immediately advise the chairman that we should offer him a new contract. Salvatore will double his money and extend his stay here for 2 years, but with all the injuries we have had this year he has been working extra hard and deserves it. Elsewhere the transfer window activity continues when Serie A giants Juventus sign Mario Melchiot for £5.5 million. The versatile Dutch defender spent 4 years at Chelsea since moving from Ajax. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 16, 2003 Author Share Posted May 16, 2003 Sunday 25th January 2004 It was touch and go but Eddy Baggio was just about registered in time to be eligible for our match away to L'Aquila, but due to not having spent any time with the other players he will only make the bench. L'Aquila, based in central Italy, are currently in 16th place and managed to hold us to a draw at the Aldo Campo Selvaggio in the season's opener. We will be trying out an attacking 5-3-2 formation for this one, which we have not used since way back at the start of last season. Erbini will begin his Ragusa career by linking up with Claudio Gallicchio in attack with Daniel Fonseca in the hole behind them. Franco Chiavarini's injury has healed enough to return to the bench but key midfielder Gaspare Pellegrino starts his suspendion, and finally Di Giovanni's mistakes at Tivoli mean that I have little choice but to drop him and reinstate Nicolas Cinalli in goal. Serie C2/C L'Aquila v Ragusa Ragusa lineup - Cinalli; Italia, Attewell, Alderuccio; Tamburro©, Sabellini; Cirillo, Manoni; Fonseca; Erbini, Gallicchio. At half-time we are 1-0 down from an early L'Aquila goal, another typical near post header from a corner on 10 minutes. Our best chance of the half had fallen to Manoni as he got onto the end of Fonseca's free kick, but his header was saved and held. During the break I switch back to 4-3-1-2, bringing Chiavarini and Eddy Baggio on to replace Italia and Gallicchio. It doesn't do much good and the home side extend their lead less than five minutes after kick off, Tatomir climbing highest again at a corner to score a second header. We struggled to keep possession all match and whimper to a defeat. Final score: L'Aquila 2 - 0 Ragusa Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 16, 2003 Author Share Posted May 16, 2003 Wednesday 28th January 2004 Emerging England U-21 star John Welsh has joined Arsenal from Liverpool for £7 million. The 20 year old scouser has exploded from nowhere in the last 12 months to become one of England's hottest young prospects, tempting Arsenal into taking a gamble on him. He is a versatile defensive midfielder who is also just as comfortable on the right of defence. Saturday 31st January 2004 The last day of the winter transfer window has been hectic to say the least. The shock of the day is Henrik Larsson's move to Barcelona from Real Betis for a knockdown price of a mere £3.8 million. Larsson cost Betis £10 million just 18 months ago, a time period during which he scored 43 goals in 76 appearances and picked up the European Striker of the Year award to go with his Primera Liga and UEFA Cup winners medals. Perhaps the Swede's 32nd birthday was an influence on Betis cashing in when they could. The sale might also have been necessary for Betis to secure funding for the incoming transfer of £8.25 million man Claudio Lopez from Lazio, announced shortly afterwards. The 29 year old Argentinian with the cultured left foot returns to Spain after leaving Valencia in 2000. One striker leaving Spain is Roy Makaay, who departs from Deportivo to link up with Bayern Munich for £6.75 million pounds. The 28 year old Dutch forward made a good start to his Deportivo career but has faded out in the last season or two, clearly hoping that a move to Germany will revive his career. Serie A team AS Roma have swooped to buy Dutch midfielder Edgar Davids from Juventus. The 30 year old was in his 7th season in Turin, but now takes his goggles to Rome for £8.5 million. Inter Milan have signed Arsenal's Cameroon international Lauren for £8 million. Lauren had more than 3 years at Arsenal, winning the Premiership title and 2 FA Cups, but has clearly become expendable with the recent acquisition of John Welsh. It looks likely that Welsh will fill Lauren's right-back spot, a good business move for Arsenal as they gain £1 million in profit and find a player 7 years younger. Unfortunately for Arsenal the other squad members don't see it that way, and club captain Patrick Vieira has voiced concerns on behalf of the other players that the club cannot hope to achieve success if they continue to sell their star players. This unrest has been building since the sale of Gilberto Silva to Deportivo last week, although Arsenal did then move for a direct replacement for the Brazilian by signing yet another Frenchman in Olivier Dacourt. The 29 year old midfielder cost £4 million from Leeds United. Louis van Gaal's Arsenal are currently third in the Premiership, hot on the heels of Manchester United and Newcastle United in what looks like a similar three horse race to last season. Liverpool decide to spend the John Welsh money on strengthening their midfield, by signing 25 year old former Manchester United youngster Jonathan Greening from Middlesbrough for £7 million. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 17, 2003 Author Share Posted May 17, 2003 Sunday 1st February 2004 Europe relaxes again as the transfer window comes to a close, which has even seen two new faces arrive at Ragusa: Francesco Erbini Position: Striker Age: 32 Nationality: Italian Transfer fee: £14,000 Previous clubs: Marsala, Sora, Gela. Francesco's goalscoring record speaks for itself. Last season he netted 42 times in 39 appearances for Gela, and he has been doing more of the same this time round with 23 goals in 22 appearances. Over his career he is officially credited with a nice round 100 goals in 182 appearances, an exceptional achievement. He is a cultured striker with very good technique, who can hold the ball up effectively and who obviously knows all too well where the goal is. Eddy Baggio Position: Striker Age: 29 Nationality: Italian Transfer fee: £1,000 Previous clubs: Fiorentina, Prato, Giorione, Ancona, Ascoli, Catania. Eddy's strike-rate is not quite as good as Francesco's but is still very respectable, and he is a steal at this price. He has also proven that he can score goals at a higher level when he bagged 18 on loan at Salernitana in Serie B. He is sound in the air and physically strong, and gives us two strikers very capable of holding the ball up to link play. Despite all of the millions of pounds flying around European football these last few weeks, Cesena of Serie B announce that they have gone into receivership. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 17, 2003 Author Share Posted May 17, 2003 - February 2004 roundup - Part I - Wednesday 4th - Serie C2/C - Gladiator v Ragusa Pellegrino is still suspended and Caramel and Baggio are both unfit. After the lack of success with recent formations we switch to a more conventional 4-4-2. Ragusa lineup - Cinalli; Tamburro©, Attewell, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Manoni, Cirillo, Bonaffini, Chiavarini; Fonseca, Erbini. After Sabellini had headed off the line and Cinalli had made a great save to keep it level, Pierleoni was adjudged to have been pushed by Alderuccio in the area. Fortunately D'Onghia put the penalty kick wide of Cinalli's left post, and on 33 minutes we paid them pay for the miss by taking the lead. Manoni crossed and Erbini showed why he was the ultimate poacher, being in exactly the right place for an easy finish to score his first goal for the club. In the second half Gladiator keeper Di Muro made two fantastic saves to keep Erbini from getting a second, and then Pierleoni was left wide open in our area to equalise in the 77th minute. Final score: Gladiator 1 - 1 Ragusa Sunday 8th - Serie C2/C - Ragusa v Palmese Pellegrino returns from suspension and Caramel is fit enough to make the bench, but Chiavarini picked up his 4th yellow against Gladiator and is suspended. Palmese sit in 2nd place at the time of their visit. Ragusa lineup - Cinalli; Tamburro©, Attewell, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Manoni, Cirillo, Pellegrino, Bonaffini; Fonseca, Erbini. We are given the advantage as early as the second minute when Erbini is put clear and Balestrino is sent off for holding him back with a clear run on goal. 20 minutes later we edge in front, Fonseca linking with Tamburro again to finish with a delightful chip over Criscuolo for the Uruguayan's 7th league goal of the season. Midway through the second half Erbini makes it 2-0 with his second for the club, a diving header after some great work down the right by substitute Vladimiro Caramel. Final score: Ragusa 2 - 0 Palmese Saturday 14th February Speaking to a national newspaper, our Argentinian goalkeeper Nicolas Cinalli has claimed that his personal problems are a thing of the past. He is back in the team and has regained his happiness, which in turn seems to have lifted the mood of the entire squad. I know that Nicolas has been trudging around looking glum for the last 12 months, but I admit I hadn't appreciated how much it could unsettle the rest of the squad. Sunday 15th - Serie C2/C - Olbia v Ragusa Olbia lie a point behind us, in 16th place. With all of our injuries clearing up we are for once able to name a full bench and more, so Lupo is the unlucky one to miss out entirely. Ragusa lineup - Cinalli; Tamburro©, Attewell, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Caramel, Cirillo, Pellegrino, Chiavarini; Fonseca, Erbini. Yet again, despite the time we spend in training working on defending set pieces, we are undone by two headers from two corners. In the second half, a near post header by Davide Bolognesi and a diving header by Nicola Manunza are enough to give Olbia all three points. Final score: Olbia 2 - 0 Ragusa Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 17, 2003 Author Share Posted May 17, 2003 - February 2004 roundup - Part II - Sunday 22nd - Serie C2/C - Ragusa v Tricase Just as all the injuries cleared up we are hit by another batch. Pellegrino damaged his elbow and Erbini twisted his knee so they will both be out for a week, and Baggio's introduction is delayed ever further by a shoulder injury putting him out for a fortnight. Ragusa lineup - Cinalli; Tamburro©, Attewell, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Manoni, Cirillo, Caramel, Chiavarini; Fonseca, Gallicchio. Daniel Fonseca's penalty kick and Marco Cirillo's close range header put us 2-0 up at half time. Tricase's goalkeeper is former Napoli and Fiorentina keeper Giuseppe Taglialatela, who spent the 1993/94 season as Fonseca's teammate at Napoli before Daniel moved to Roma. He couldn't stop the penalty though, which was dispatched into the top corner emphatically by the Uruguayan. In the 65th minute Fonseca got his second, collecting Manoni's deft cross to skip around his former teammate and pass into the open net. With 10 minutes remaining he then completed his hattrick, when Gallicchio was fouled 20 yards out and Fonseca whipped a low free-kick around the wall into the corner. Final score: Ragusa 4 - 0 Tricase Man-of-the-match Fonseca had obviously chosen to be in a good mood against Tricase, oozing confidence and showing why he spent most of his career in Serie A. It was a good team performance too, although Tricase were poor and didn't look like a 9th-placed side. We climb to 12th off the back of that win, finally jumping out of the relegation playoff zone to the expressed delight of the chairman. Wednesday 25th February The Champions League resumed with the new-look second round knockout rather than the old second group stage format. Goals from Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Diego Forlan put Manchester United 3-0 up in Amsterdam by half-time, and although Ajax fought back to 2-3 it is looking good for United going into the 2nd leg. The news is not so encouraging for Liverpool and Arsenal, who go down 3-0 at Roma and 2-0 at Betis respectively. The surprise result of the 1st leg involves AC Milan, who suffer a bruising night in Istanbul. Dida, Maldini and Nesta all hobble off injured as over 40,000 Turkish fans cheer Fenerbahce onto a 1-0 win, thanks to Akin Serhat's 2nd half strike. Sunday 29th - Serie C2/C - Sassuolo v Ragusa Sassuolo, based in northern Italy not far from Bologna, are up in 5th position in the table. Eddy Baggio and Manolo Manoni are both missing with injuries, though Pellegrino and Erbini make it back to full fitness in time. Ragusa lineup - Cinalli; Tamburro©, Attewell, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Caramel, Cirillo, Pellegrino, Chiavarini; Fonseca, Erbini. We get off to a terrible start, conceding a goal in the first three minutes to go 1-0 down. Fortunately the on-form Fonseca manages to bring it back to 1-1 before the half, making Sassuolo defender Fiumana look stupid by nutmegging him and spinning to fire a shot into the roof of the net. Sadly we fall to pieces in defence in the second half. Riberto grabs his second to make it 2-1 to the home side, then some disgraceful defending allows them to extend the lead to 3-1. With 15 minutes left Sassuolo add another and we drift to yet another away defeat. Final score: Sassuolo 4 - 1 Ragusa Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 18, 2003 Author Share Posted May 18, 2003 Saturday 6th March 2004 Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy is causing the pundits to run out of superlatives, scoring an impressive hat-trick on top of recent good form as United win 4-0 to stretch their lead at the head of the Premiership table to 4 points. In Italy, Roberto Mancini has been sacked by Lazio. Lazio are only slightly above midtable and by all accounts there has been unrest amongst the playing staff for a while. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 18, 2003 Author Share Posted May 18, 2003 Sunday 7th March 2004 We return to our more familiar 4-3-1-2 formation as 9th placed Catanzaro come to the Aldo Campo Selvaggio. New signings Francesco Erbini and Eddy Baggio finally get to make their long awaited first full start as a partnership, with Daniel Fonseca in the hole behind. Serie C2/C Ragusa v Catanzaro Ragusa lineup - Cinalli; Tamburro©, Attewell, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Cirillo, Pellegrino, Caramel; Fonseca; Erbini, Baggio. In the 4th minute Marco Cirillo won the ball in midfield and laid it off to Fonseca, who sent a searching ball forward for Baggio and Caramel to chase in behind Catanzaro centre back Ciardiello. Caramel got there first, drew the keeper, jinked around him and finished well from a tight angle. 1-0 and an early goal is ours. Our joy was short lived, when little over 5 minutes later Moscelli dribbled into our box and cut across the front of Pellegrino who was tracking back, and the referee awarded a penalty. Catanzaro number 8 Ascoli stepped up once more, the same player who had missed from the spot against us earlier in the season, and this time he blasted the penalty over the crossbar. Unbelievable! Catanzaro began to apply pressure and Cinalli did well to deal with a 1v1 against Moscelli, but it was us who were in the more lethal mood. In the 24th minute Cinalli's low kick found Baggio wide open in the centre circle, who turned and ran at the away defence. A threaded diagonal pass through the middle of the two centre backs allowed Erbini to get in behind, and his calmly stroked a low shot with the inside of his right foot into the far corner. 2-0. The second half seemed to be a formality, until in the 75th minute Catanzaro built up a move that culminated in Amrbosini turning Pellegrino and being tripped by Alderuccio in the area. This time Ascoli sensibley declined the chance and defender Zanutto stepped up to take the responsibility, but he did no better and scuffed the kick wide of the post! Final score: Ragusa 2 - 0 Catanzaro Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 18, 2003 Author Share Posted May 18, 2003 Monday 8th March 2004 It was a good performance aside from the suicidal penalties conceded, why can't we play like that every week? Our charmed life with penalties this season is quite amazing, we have seen our various opponents miss a total of six penalties against us this season... if it wasn't so nerve wracking I would probably laugh about it. Chairman Giuseppe Antoci again expressed how pleased he was with the win and we are back up to 12th position. After 25 matches, the table looks like THIS. We are not the only ones who are having a less successful year than last time, as last season's divisional runner up Tivoli are languishing in 16th with 16 losses to their name, compared to 6 in the whole of last season. In direct contrast, Nocerina are enjoying themselves this year in 4th place after finishing 17th and avoiding relegation by the skin of their teeth last time round. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 19, 2003 Author Share Posted May 19, 2003 Wednesday 10th March 2004 Alessandro Bonaffini picked up a groin strain in training and will be out for the next 3 weeks. In Serie B, Hellas Verona's dominating record of 25 wins from 27 league games means that they have already secured automatic promotion to Serie A for next season. The 2nd legs of the Champions League Second Round took place tonight. A first goal for new boy Harry Kewell levelled the tie between AC Milan and Fenerbahce, but the Turkish side immediately struck back when former Argentinian international Ariel Ortega skipped around Dida to gain a vital away goal. A late penalty from Shevchenko made it 2-1 on the night and gave the 70,000 fans in the San Siro a glimmer of hope for the dying minutes, but it was too little too late and Fenerbahce eliminated the trophy holders on the away goals rule. Almost as much as a shock was Arsenal's turn around at Highbury. After losing the first leg 2-0 in Spain to Real Betis, an early goal from Freddie Ljungberg sent the north London side on to an outstanding 5-0 victory including a brace from Dennis Bergkamp. They will join Fenerbahce, Dortmund, Inter, Roma, Manchester United, PSV Eindhoven and Valencia in the Champions League Quarter Finals. Thursday 11th March 2004 On the same day that Lazio appoint Italian goalkeeping legend Dino Zoff as their new manager to replace Roberto Mancini, another famous ex-player has found a new role in his management career. Leeds United install former Newcastle and Chelsea boss Ruud Gullit at the helm. The UEFA Cup Quarter Final 1st legs were played this evening. Robbie Keane maintained his standing as the top goalscorer in European competitions this season, bagging his 12th and 13th of the tournament to give Tottenham a 2-0 first leg lead over Celta Vigo at White Hart Lane. Elsewhere, Belgian forward Emile Mpenza earned Schalke 04 a very respectable 1-1 draw with Barcelona in the Nou Camp. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 19, 2003 Author Share Posted May 19, 2003 Sunday 14th March 2004 Lodigiani visit Ragusa whilst in 8th place in the table, and we name an unchanged side from the win over Catanzaro. Serie C2/C Ragusa v Lodigiani Ragusa lineup - Cinalli; Tamburro©, Attewell, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Cirillo, Pellegrino, Caramel; Fonseca; Erbini, Baggio. In the 27th minute a Vladimiro Caramel cross was headed clear, but when Lodigiani's De Vizzi miscontrolled the ball Fonseca was alive to nip in and steal it from him. 30 yards out he shifted it onto his left and struck an unstoppable shot into the top corner, giving goalkeeper Antonio Ricci no chance. 1-0 Ragusa. Two minutes later Fonseca repeated his trick by catching D'Astolfo dallying in midfield, and Eddy Baggio knocked the ball first time to Francesco Erbini. With the defence caught off-guard Erbini raced in and fired past Ricci. He wasn't done there and on 33 minutes grabbed his 5th goal since arriving at the club. Caramel ran down the right, dragging Lodigiani captain Finetti out of position, played a one-two with Baggio and centered from the corner of the area, and Erbini turned and curled a right footed shot inside the near post. Being 3-0 up at halftime I decided to make no changes, and just told the lads to carry on their excellent first half. Francesco seemed to take this literally and completed his hattrick on the hour, after Baggio had instinctively known where to find him with a clever flick, and Erbini sidefooted accurately past the keeper. As if that wasn't enough he bagged goal number four just a couple of minutes afterwards, climbing to nod home Fonseca's cross. Final score: Ragusa 5 - 0 Lodigiani Another good performance, we were superb and more importantly lethal in front of goal. Francesco's 4 goals is a new club record for most goals in a game and gives us our biggest win since I arrived, and his partnership with Eddy Baggio is looking very lively indeed; they are both bright and seem to work well off each other. Vladimiro Caramel felt a twinge in his back and has been advised by Salvatore to rest for a week. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 19, 2003 Author Share Posted May 19, 2003 Thursday 18th March 2004 Arsene Wenger has been sacked by Liverpool after 10 months in the job. Following a dismal run of form that has seen them gain just 1 win from 11 matches, they have slipped down to 12th in the Premiership. In Europe, Schalke 04 use their battling draw in the Nou Camp to go on and defeat Barcelona 2-0 at home, putting them through to the UEFA Cup Semi Finals alongside Parma, Juventus and Tottenham. After finishing rock bottom of the Premiership last season, manager Klaus Toppmoller has Tottenham almost dead certs for at least a playoff position in the Nationwide Division One. They have also made full use of their UEFA Cup place, gained by finishing runner up in last season's FA Cup to Champions League competitors Arsenal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 19, 2003 Author Share Posted May 19, 2003 Sunday 21st March 2004 We visit the east coast of Sicily for a local clash with Acireale, who we drew 1-1 with in our previous meeting this season. Unfortunately for Vladi, his back strain has not cleared up sufficiently and he will be forced to sit out the match against his former club. The 4-3-1-2 formation has been fairly successful in recent games so we will continue with it away from home, tweaked slightly so that the midfielders are playing more defensively. Serie C2/C Acireale v Ragusa Ragusa lineup - Cinalli; Tamburro©, Attewell, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Cirillo, Pellegrino, Chiavarini; Fonseca; Erbini, Baggio. Cinalli makes a couple of good saves in the first half but his resistance is ended when we concede a penalty. Acireale striker Francesco Marino is able to break our penalty luck and find the net to put the home side a goal up. We are unable to get going on the attacking front and are finding it difficult to forge chances against a strong Acireale defence, and they complete the victory when we concede a second in true Ragusa style, Marino heading home a simple corner for his second. Final score: Acireale 2 - 0 Ragusa Back down to earth after two straight wins are followed by a customary away loss. Gaspare Pellegrino and Marco Cirillo played well in midfield but Acireale defended expertly, and we simply couldn't get a sniff of goal. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 19, 2003 Author Share Posted May 19, 2003 Sunday 28th March 2004 Carlo Ancelotti, the man who gave Milan the Serie A title and Champions League double last season, has been sacked by chairman Silvio Berlusconi. Milan are through to the Italian Cup final, but 5th in the league and an early exit from the Champions League has obviously dimmed Signor Berlusconi's view of the manager. In Serie B, David Platt's former club Bari have announced that they have gone into receivership. Saturday 3rd April 2004 You would think that a fortnight off with no matches would enable the players to rest and recouperate, but in fact the training ground has represented more of a hospital ward during the break. Vladimiro Caramel recovered from his back strain only to injure his neck to keep him sidelined for a further two weeks, Daniel Fonseca somehow managed to fracture his cheekbone and put himself out for three weeks, Pietro Alderuccio picked up a groin strain and will miss four weeks, and finally goalkeeper Nicolas Cinalli will miss an entire two months with a dislocated shoulder. Fabio Capello has been appointed as the new AC Milan manager, for his third spell at the club. Capello lead the reknowned Milan of the early nineties, winning four Serie A titles and a European Cup. The news is not so good for Frank Rijkaard, who has been sacked by Newcastle United just shy of a year into the job. Last year's title winners are currently third in the Premiership title race and are in danger of slipping out of reach of Manchester United and Arsenal. The Magpies also suffered a bad European campaign by failing to qualify from their Champions League group, and were then knocked out early in the UEFA Cup. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerf Posted May 20, 2003 Author Share Posted May 20, 2003 Sunday 4th April 2004 Francesco Erbini's former club, Gela, arrive in Ragusa standing in 10th place, and a win for us could potentially see us sitting on their heels in 11th by the end of today. Caramel, Fonseca, Alderuccio and Cinalli are all injured, so we switch to 4-4-2 and Alessandro Bonaffini, Dario Italia and Antonio Di Giovanni will fill the gaps. Di Giovanni will especially be looking to impress, after the young keeper has not seen first team action since being substituted during the defeat at Tivoli back in December. Serie C2/C Ragusa v Gela Ragusa lineup - Di Giovanni; Tamburro©, Attewell, Italia, Sabellini; Bonaffini, Cirillo, Pellegrino, Chiavarini; Erbini, Baggio. Eddy Baggio flashed an early chance wide of the post, but hard work from Chiavarini and Pellegrino worked another opportunity for him on 6 minutes. This one went closer, thunking back off the upright, but Erbini showed him how to do it by pouncing on the rebound ahead of two Gela defenders and sticking it away at the first time of asking. With just 12 minutes gone we are two up, again thanks to Francesco Erbini. Marco Cirillo slid the ball to the edge of the area, Erbini turned, faked to shoot, then blasted a shot between two defenders into the roof of the net. At the break Manoni came on for Bonaffini and we continued our domination in the second half. In the 68th minute Marco Cirillo made an interception and sprayed a pass wide to Baggio, whose excellent swirling cross found Erbini and Manoni coming in at the far post. Erbini's shot was saved well by Gela keeper Panico, only for the ball to fall to Franco Chiavarini's feet for an easy finish. Final score: Ragusa 3 - 0 Gela Another pleasing performance, we really dominated the game and Di Giovanni only had to make one save of note, albeit a good one. Danilo Sabellini finally picked up a man of the match award. Francesco Erbini has now scored 9 goals in 9 appearances for us so far, but his fourth yellow card means that he will miss the next game at Giugliano on Sunday. Also unfortunately, L'Aquila's 1-0 win at Gladiator stops us from overtaking them and going 11th, although we do jump Frosinone into 12th place. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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