How to make your way in the Primera Liga (or not as the case may be)

[Dixie Flatline]

Thanks for the reply Ghostwriter. To answer your question, the Spanish league doesn't have reserve squads like in England and France per se. Instead, the big teams (Barcelona, Real Madrid, Deportivo, Valencia, etc) have what is known as 'B' teams, which are clubs in the lower divisions, like the Segunda Liga B where we started out. Since we were such a little club, we didn't have a 'B' team, and we don't seem to get one as we get bigger, so unfortunately, I'm almost forced into a squad rotation to give the lesser boys a chance.

Cheers,

Dixie

[Dixie Flatline]

I should have added, ghostwriter and anybody else who is interested, that the rules of Spanish football league mean that the senior squad, for instance, Atletico Madrid, and the B team cannot compete in the same league. So you may recall that when Atletico were relegated a few seasons ago from the Primera Liga, their B team, despite surviving relegation, also had to be relegated to the D2B league to make way for their poor senior side.

[Dixie Flatline]

More setting the stage before we get to the real action!

To round off this hectic day of analysing my squad and spying on the squads of our competitors, I’m informed by national managers of France, Finland, the Netherlands, Croatia, Romania, Denmark and Scotland that Cartagonova players are required for international duties. That reminds me of something… I have to select my first Spanish squad for our first encounter with Denmark!

Before we get to that, let’s congratulate Philippe Mexès, who without even playing a competitive game for Cartagonova has already been picked by Monsieur Jean Tigana to be in the squad against Norway and Turkey. The same goes for Finland’s Jukka Hakala, although his circumstances are different since the Finn went to the World Cup while Philippe organised his move to Cartagena over the summer. Jurica Vucko has the opportunity to add to his collection when Croatia pick him for matches against Moldova and Bulgaria. Kew Jaliens is part of the Dutch squad under the management of Ruud Gullit. Former Cartagonova striker Niels Kokmeijer is also in the squad.

Romanian defender Iulian Filipescu has the opportunity to get two caps closer to the mark of fifty internationals for his country as he is picked to play against Belarus and England. Daniel Jensen is recalled to the Danish squad as they prepare to face my very own Spain and Israel. As one of the hosts of Euro 2008, Scotland doesn’t need to qualify, but they do have a friendly to play against Chile, and Alex Notman will be in the squad for that event.

[Dixie Flatline]

So all that is left to do is sort through the squad that went to the World Cup, discard those who would hold Spain back, and select those that would put Spain’s fortunes on the rise. The severe lack of full-backs in the squad I inherited from my predecessor may have been one reason why Spain failed to do well at the last World Cup - only one player is capable of playing either left or on the right - so that is one area I immediately identify as being something I should rectify immediately. I remedy this problem by calling up Valencia’s Borja, who has already represented his nation six times, and Osasuna’s César, who just moved from Real Madrid and is capable of playing on either the left or the right. If he plays against either Denmark or the Ukraine, it would be his debut for his nation. I remove César of Napoli, a centre-half, from the squad and replace him with César of Mallorca, also a centre-half. I have a sneaking suspicion that Javier Clemente confused the two of them when he named his World Cup squad. The island-based César, however, is a much better defender, at least on the videos that I’ve seen of the two players.

[Dixie Flatline]

Just because Nano happens to come from Barcelona doesn’t warrant him a place in my squad, particularly when he’s hardly played a game for the league champions. So I tell him that he is not required for the training camp and therefore the games. He is not happy about this, but he needs to convince me through solid game time for Barcelona that he is capable of playing well on the big nights.

In the end, I make several alterations to the side I was gifted and add a few players to the mix. Let’s see how the press reacted, shall we?

From that highly respected journal, Sports on Saturday:

“Señor Flatline has made a few interesting selections for his first two matches in charge of Spain, against Denmark and the Ukraine coming next month. For instance, two Cartagonova players join Ballesteros - newly-arrived and former Olympian Jaime Garrido takes a midfield place, while European Player of the Year, José Manuel Redondo is given his chance of showing his pedigree for the first time at international level at the age of 30. In fact, Redondo is one of four potential debutants in this Spanish side, as he joins club teammate Jaime Garrido, Esteban - admittedly the third-choice keeper in the squad - and Osasuna full-back César in the squad. It is indeed an inexperienced squad that Señor Flatline will take to Scandinavia and eastern Europe. Almost half the squad - twelve to be precise - have less than ten caps experience at international football, while PSG’s Raúl has the chance to equal Sergi’s record number of caps as he is presently on 89 international caps for his country.â€

“The squad certainly draws from practically all areas of Spanish football, with the champion Barcelona supplying only the second-choice keeper to the squad, and are in fact beaten by cross-town rival Espanyol, whom will provide Esteban and Francisco Javier Zubizarreta to the squad. Cartagonova, Real Madrid and Valencia are the clubs who are most represented, as each will provide three players to the squad of twenty-six, while players from PSG (Raúl) and Bari (Rubén Navarro) are the only players outside of Spain to be in the Spanish squad.â€

[Dixie Flatline]

“Players like Pedro Munitis have been left out of the squad, obviously to make way for fresher, younger talent particularly in the attacking midfield role, and it is a move to be commended. Overall, the squad appears to blend nicely experience with youthful enthusiasm and of course, not mention the cream of Spanish talent drawn from all corners of the country. Nevertheless, a lot will fall upon the shoulders of captain Raúl to provide the inspiration to his teammates as they face a difficult trip to Denmark and then another tricky tie at home against the Ukraine to kick off their qualifying campaign for Euro 2008. While Señor Flatline has done well in club football, playing for keeps in the games against nations is a whole different ball game and his squad will truly be judged on the basis of these matches. Of course, it would be premature to judge whether appointing a part-time national manager was a success solely on the basis of these games, but they point the way of the future for Spanish football.â€

So, to the squad, and we’ll see some familiar and some not so familiar faces in the twenty-six strong squad I’ve named for the European qualifiers:

Goalkeepers

Esteban (31 y/o, ESP 0 caps, GK): Espanyol

César Laínez (29 y/o, ESP 3 caps, GK): Barcelona

Javier López Vallejo (30 y/o, ESP 35 caps, GK): Villarreal

Defenders

Barselleta (31 y/o, ESP 20 caps, SW/D/DM C): Sporting Gijón

Ballesteros (30 y/o, ESP 1 cap, D/DM RC): Cartagonova

César (26 y/o, ESP 0 caps, D RL): Osasuna

Borja (28 y/o, ESP 6 caps, D LC): Valencia

Quique Ãlvarez (31 y/o, ESP 11 caps, 1 goal, D LC): Celta Vigo

Iván Amaya (27 y/o, ESP 28 caps, 1 goal, D C): Deportivo La Coruña

Joaquín Bornes (31 y/o, ESP 16 caps, D C): Real Madrid

César (28 y/o, ESP 38 caps, 1 goal, D C): Mallorca

Iván Javier Cuadrado (27 y/o, ESP 1 cap, D C): Elche

[Dixie Flatline]

Midfielders

Iván Helguera (31 y/o, ESP 21 caps, D/DM C): Real Madrid

Diego (27 y/o, ESP 6 caps, M/S C): Racing Santander

Miguel Ãngel Angulo (29 y/o, ESP 35 caps, 5 goals, AM/F RC): Valencia

Joseba Etxeberría (28 y/o, ESP 61 caps, 18 goals, AM/F RC): Athletic Bilbao

Jaime Garrido (22 y/o, ESP 0 caps, AM/F RLC): Cartagonova

Francisco Javier Zubizarreta (21 y/o, ESP 0 caps, AM/F RC): Espanyol

Jorge Pérez (30 y/o, ESP 26 caps, 2 goals, AM LC): Athletic Bilbao

Mista (27 y/o, ESP 1 cap, 1 goal, AM/F LC): Deportivo La Coruña

Vicente (25 y/o, ESP 45 caps, 13 goals, AM/F LC): Valencia

Strikers

Raúl (29 y/o, ESP 89 caps, 44 goals, AM/F LC): Paris-Saint-Germain

Diego Ribera (29 y/o, ESP 2 caps, S C): Celta Vigo

Fernando Morientes (30 y/o, ESP 38 caps, 25 goals, S C): Real Madrid

José Manuel Redondo (30 y/o, ESP 0 caps, S C): Cartagonova

Rubén Navarro (28 y/o, ESP 12 caps, 5 goals, S C): Bari

I also name a Spanish U-21 squad to play friendly games against the Danes and the Ukrainians. I haven’t had a lot of time to look them over, so I leave the squad that was in place before the World Cup untouched, but it is a pretty strong squad for the young’uns, so I don’t fear for their sanity when they take the pitch - I don’t think they will be thrashed 5-0 or anything like that. This means that Juan Hernández, Ismael Méndez and Ramón Salas will play games against the Danes and the Ukrainians.

[Dixie Flatline]

Iván Vidal is a little disappointed not to be travelling with the Spanish squad to those important games for our chances of Euro 2008, but I explain to him the situation that he is simply in the top five keepers in Spain, but not yet in the top three, and I only intend to bring three keepers to the games we play. He understands the situation, and I hope it only strengthens his resolve to be a better keeper for Cartagonova.

When I announce the squad, I do cop some flak for naming three Cartagonova players in the squad of 26, but I deflect the criticism away by telling them that Ballesteros has served his dues under the previous administration and is still considered a valued member of the squad. Further, Jaime Garrido has enormous potential talent at all levels of the games and while he is not assured of playing for his country in the opening stages of Euro 2008, Spain’s future depends upon players like him and Zubizarreta so it is important to introduce them to the culture of playing international football as early as possible. And Redondo is the European Player of the Year, and has performed excellently at all levels of club football and despite his relative age compared to some of the other debutants, he deserves at least a chance of proving himself on the international stage.

Keep smiling!

Dixie Flatline

[Dixie Flatline]

Just a quick update before I go out tonight!

20th of August 2006

Spanish Super Cup - 1st leg: Cartagonova v Barcelona

So, we begin our season proper with the visit to the Estádio Municipál de Cartagena by our arch-rival, Barcelona, to once again renew old acquittances. When I step out onto the pitch of the Estádio Municipál de Cartagena, I’m given an almighty roar of approval from the partisan crowd who hail me as the new manager of Spain. When 18,000 people all roar at once in this small stadium, you can really feel the power of their voices reach inside you. Anyway, I digress. I select a few new players for their debuts in this fixture, as we miss Ballesteros through suspension and Gershon through injury. But there is no place for Barcelona old-boy Carles Puyol in the starting eleven as Dutch international Kew Jaliens fills in on the right. Jaime Garrido replaces Fernando Morán in the playmaker role behind the strike partnership of Spanish international José Manuel Redondo and Scottish international Alex Notman.

[Dixie Flatline]

The referee opens the new season with a lusty blow on his whistle, and we are underway. What happens over the following ninety minutes is nothing short of a miracle, as we proceed to blow Barcelona off the park. We’re all over them for the first 20 minutes without reward, while Verón tries his luck against the run of play on 22 minutes. The ever-dangerous Kluivert flashes a drive wide five minutes later, but we gain our just reward on 34 minutes when Kluivert is called off-side. Hakala finds Gavião lurking with dangerous intent near the Barcelona box and the Finn finds the Brazilian. The midfielder does not hesitate in trying his luck and his howitzer clean-bowls Laínez for the opening goal of our campaign!

We withstand an early second half barrage before again gaining the ascendancy and Redondo does well to find a way past Nesta but unfortunately can’t finish off his good work with a goal. Barcelona ease their way back into the game and Kluivert and Dani spurn a few good chances as the minutes tick by, but the introduction of Daniel Jensen for Redondo is the turning point. The Dane’s first contribution to his new club is to cross truly for Notman to tower over Cannavaro and thunder an unstoppable header into the top corner to double our lead. The safety net of a two goal buffer clearly puts my players at ease and Gavião scores our third goal ten minutes from time to seal victory. A minute later, and Notman has the ball successfully back in the Barcelona net for the fourth time, and we’re dancing on the Moon! However, to sour the game’s result, Notman is forced limping from the field late on and my anxiety about the big Scotsman is confirmed when the physios find he has twisted his knee bad enough to miss a fortnight. But we still take a four goal cushion to Barcelona next week, so another Super Cup is within our grasp!

Cartagonova (4-3-1-2): Vidal ©; Lacruz, Hakala, Ãlvarez, Jaliens; Michel, Gavião, Lua-Lua; Garrido (Morán 63); Redondo (Jensen 63), Notman (Laurie 84).

Barcelona (4-3-2-1): Laínez; Sergi, Cannavaro, Nesta, Zanetti; Davids, Guardiola © (Ortega 80), Astudillo (Gerard 67); Verón (Rivaldo 75), Dani; Kluivert.

Final score: Cartagonova 4:0 Barcelona

MoM - Alex Notman

[Dixie Flatline]

22nd of August 2006

Real Madrid decides that today would be a fine day to offer me £2.8 million for the rebel Sabino. It still isn’t enough to persuade me into letting him go. I want something more like £4 million now plus £1 million after ten league games. I don’t think Real Madrid will go for it, but you never know.

23rd of August 2006

The good news is that we are able to bank £1.8 million just for showing up to the draw for the European Champions’ League first group phase, held in Monaco this evening. It’s a good excuse to take my partner to the famous Monte Carlo casino, and while I take care of the football business, she takes care of the financial side of our lifestyle… Anyway, I do have some business to attend to before I can enjoy the famous Monaco hospitality for a few hours - the draw for the first group phase. And unfortunately, we do not get a kind group to kick off our European odyssey. We’re drawn with Germany’s Borussia Dortmund, Portugal’s Porto and Norway’s Rosenborg. These are all at least competent clubs and there are certainly no minnows amongst these lot. I have until the 12th of September to cook up some tactics, when we start with a home fixture against Borussia Dortmund.

While I’m in my hotel room winding down from a big evening of networking with fellow football management professionals, I take a call from the Spanish FA. They have graciously arranged a friendly match between Spain and Yugoslavia to be held on the 15th of November.

[Dixie Flatline]

24th of August 2006

As I suspected, my terms for Sabino are too much for Real Madrid and they withdraw their offer for the striker.

25th of August 2006

Sevilla think they can tempt me with a ridiculous £3.1 million bid for Gavião, our midfield linchpin. He is worth at least double that, and more, and there is no way I’m selling them one of the best midfielders in Spain.

I hang around in Monaco to watch the European Super Cup between Greek club Panathinaikos and Paris-Saint-Germain. The European champion triumphs in extra-time when Nicolas Anelka scores that decisive goal ten minutes into extra-time. Anelka opened the scoring for the French on 24 minutes and Ducrocq extended their lead on 50 minutes, but the Greeks hit back five minutes later through Makor. They forced the game into extra-time when Michailidis scored with 11 minutes to play, but Anelka had the last laugh to secure another trophy for the French.

26th of August 2006

The situation regarding Sabino grows worse this afternoon as one of my coaches, Hans van Breukelen, tells me that the striker turned up late for training and looked like he had been on a bit of a bender the night before. To be perfectly honest, I feel a little seedy myself after catching the red-eye back from Monaco to be in Cartagena on time to conduct training, but that doesn’t excuse Sabino’s poor attitude to his profession. After training, I have it out with him in my office, culminating in me issuing an official warning. I warn him that he is on very thin ice around the club and that he will have to work very hard to get into my good books. The injury to Notman requires me to find another striker, and he could have been in the running for the job, but his poor attitude has cost him a chance of making the first eleven. He takes this very poorly and twice demands loudly an immediate transfer. I turn them both down, telling the striker to grow up fast and get with the program. I’m not going to tolerate being told what to do by an ex-Coventry and Osasuna player, that’s for sure!

The lesson for all the players to come out of this little incident is simple - don’t cross the boss!

Keep smiling!

Dixie Flatline

[Dixie Flatline]

Let's end the weekend with some action from the Spanish league!

27th of August 2006

Spanish Super Cup - 2nd leg: Barcelona v Cartagonova

A week after we thumped Barcelona 4-0 to the delight of the home fans and the board, we’re in Catalan country, and more specifically the Nou Camp, to play the return leg. I remind the boys before we go out to face the fireworks that we hold a 4 goal cushion over our opponents and we should have another trophy by the end of the 90 minutes - if we don’t screw it up. We indeed begin the match brightly, but with the support of 96,000+ fans in the stadium, Barcelona easily soak up our early pressure and Edgar Davids almost opens their account when he sends a rasping shot just wide of Vidal’s goal on 28 minutes. I notice Lacruz hobbling around on one leg and he motions to be substituted immediately - that means that Carl Laurie slots into left-back. Two minutes later, and a move involving Michel finds Jensen unmarked by the poor Barcelona defence and he has us 1-0 up on 30 minutes! We should have conceded the equaliser on 43 minutes when Verón evaded his marker long enough to send a shot in towards Vidal’s goal, but fortunately it goes over the bar and out for a goal kick. Hakala then breaks up a dangerous play on the stroke of the break, to leave us with the vital away goal and the lead going into the second half.

But Michel goes from hero to villain eight minutes into the second half when he gives away a free kick too close to Vidal for comfort, and we’re punished by Dutch veteran Edgar Davids, who strikes it perfectly to elude the goalkeeper. But Jensen has us back into the lead on 60 minutes when he links up perfectly with Redondo to score from 25 yards to deflate the hopes of the Barcelona faithful. I hoped we could hold onto the victory, but it isn’t to be as Kluivert equalises with 21 minutes to play, and then Dani scores the winner on 76 minutes. Still, we triumph on aggregate to lift the Super Cup in front of the unhappy Barcelona supporters, who are definitely not used to seeing any type of silverware leave the Nou Camp in the possession of another team. It is a good psychological boost heading into the campaign, but we do have to learn how to keep our leads when we’re away to Barcelona, since this is not the first time this has happened.

Barcelona (4-3-2-1): Laínez; Sergi, Cannavaro, Nesta, Zanetti; Davids, Guardiola ©, Vicente; Verón (Rivaldo 68), Dani; Kluivert.

Cartagonova (4-1-2-1-2): Vidal ©; Lacruz (Laurie 28), Hakala, Ballesteros, Jaliens (Puyol 80); Gavião; Michel, Lua-Lua; Garrido (Clegg 69); Redondo, Jensen.

Final score: Barcelona 3:2 Cartagonova

Aggregate: Cartagonova 6:3 Barcelona

MoM - Gavião

[Dixie Flatline]

31st of August 2006

Alavés, our first league opponent of the season, offers me £500,000 for Juan Carlos Castro. Unfortunately, they want to pay the money over 18 months, which is clearly unacceptable to me, and I don’t even bother negotiating this offer.

1st of September 2006

I’m in Copenhagen this evening preparing for my first game in charge of Spain tomorrow. After a good day’s training the boys in anticipation of an excellent game from the Danes, I watch the U-21s go through their paces against their Danish counterparts under my assistant. They triumph 1-0 thanks to the goal from our very own Juan Hernández, coming on the hour mark.

I’m asked by UEFA to select my European Champions’ League squad for the first phase. I do so, selecting 25 players who should be capable of taking us into the next stage:

Goalkeepers

Iván Vidal (27 y/o, ESP, GK): 187(1) apps, 224 conceded, 17 MoMs, av. rating: 7.32

José Francisco Belman (35 y/o, ESP, GK): 1 app, av. rating: 8.00

Christoffer Källkvist (23 y/o, SWE, GK): 0 apps

Defenders

Shimon Gershon (28 y/o, ISR 32 caps, 4 goals, SW/D/S C): 45(4) apps, 2 goals, 2 MoMs, av. rating: 7.29

Ballesteros (30 y/o, ESP 1 cap, D/DM RC): 152(1) apps, 6 goals, 8 assists, 2 MoMs, av. rating: 7.08

Kew Jaliens (27 y/o, NED 9 caps, D RC): 50(9) apps, 1 goal, 7 assists, av. rating: 6.76

José María Lacruz (28 y/o, ESP, D RL): 127(4) apps, 2 goals, 6 assists, 1 MoM, av. rating: 6.69

Carl Laurie (23 y/o, ENG, D/DM RLC): 1(13) apps, 1 assist, av. rating: 6.50

Ismael Méndez (17 y/o, ESP, D R): 0 apps

Carles Puyol (28 y/o, ESP, D R): 0(1) app, av. rating: 6.00

Jukka Hakala (28 y/o, FIN 30 caps, 1 goal, D C): 2 apps, av. rating: 6.50

Óscar Ãlvarez (29 y/o, ESP, D C): 122(4) apps, 4 goals, 2 assists, 4 MoMs, av. rating: 6.94

Midfielders

Gavião (26 y/o, BRA, DM C): 66(2) apps, 15 goals, 11 assists, 5 MoMs, av. rating: 7.34

Kenneth Gustavsson (23 y/o, SWE 12 caps, 1 goal, D/DM C): 19(5) apps, 1 goal, 4 assist, 1 MoM, av. rating: 6.63

Javier Alejandro Villarreal (27 y/o, ARG, DM C): 0 apps

George Clegg (25 y/o, ENG, AM/F RC): 57(17) apps, 17 goals, 11 assists, 3 MoMs, av. rating: 7.10

Jaime Garrido (22 y/o, ESP 4 Olympic caps, 4 goals, AM/F RLC): 2 apps, av. rating: 6.00

Lomano-Tresor Lua-Lua (25 y/o, DCO 9 caps, 2 goals, AM/F RLC): 35(7) apps, 5 goals, 3 assists, 1 MoM, av. rating: 6.81

Fernando Morán (30 y/o, ESP, AM RLC): 180(14) apps, 67 goals, 44 assists, 12 MoMs, av. rating: 7.34

Jurica Vucko (29 y/o, HSV 22 caps, AM/F RC): 62(18) apps, 5 goals, 16 assists, 3 MoMs, av. rating: 6.84

Michel (30 y/o, ESP, AM L): 183(8) apps, 28 goals, 45 assists, 5 MoMs, av. rating: 7.18

Strikers

Juan Hernández (21 y/o, ESP, AM/F C): 0 apps

Daniel Jensen (27 y/o, DEN 24 caps, 3 goals, AM/F C): 1(1) apps, 2 goals, 1 assist, av. rating: 7.50

Alex Notman (26 y/o, SCO 11 caps, 6 goals, AM/F C): 24(4) apps, 17 goals, 13 assists, 5 MoMs, av. rating: 8.11

Alberto Rivera (28 y/o, ESP, AM/F C): 51(3) apps, 15 goals, 12 assists, 3 MoMs, av. rating: 7.32

José Manuel Redondo (30 y/o, ESP, S C): 176(5) apps, 102 goals, 47 assists, 29 MoMs, av. rating: 7.84

[Dixie Flatline]

2nd of September 2006

Before we kick off the Spanish campaign to qualify for Euro 2008, let’s take a look at the countries we need to beat in order to book tickets for the contest. We’ll start with Denmark, our first opponent in qualifying. Under the stewardship of former Manchester United and Danish goalkeeper, Peter Schmeichel, the Danes will look to repeat their heroic efforts of 1992 when they surprised everybody to lift the trophy. But they will rely heavily upon Leeds midfielder Martin Jørgensen to provide the creative influence that Celtic’s Peter Madsen and Fiorentina’s Mads Timm rely upon. Inter Milan’s Martin Laursen is an important cog in the Danes’ defence, along with Mallorca’s recent acquisition, Martin Smith. But in a difficult group also boasting the Ukrainians and the Spaniards, it will be a tough task for Schmeichel to guide his charges into Euro 2008.

Israel will find it tough to compete with the likes of Denmark, Spain and the Ukraine, but they will rely upon Cartagonova’s defender Shimon Gershon to play a large role in their campaign. Auxerre striker Eli Biton will need to fire often in order to give Israel the firepower in front of goal that a successful campaign requires. He will look to support from Cesena veteran, Eyal Berkovic, who with 77 caps to his name is Israel’s most experienced player at international level. He will be joined in midfield by Newcastle United’s exciting midfielder Yossi Benayoun.

Malta is undoubtedly a minnow in this group, as the country is mostly composed of amateurs from the little country. They will rely heavily upon the professional experience of Middlesbrough forward Chucks Nwoko and PSV striker Michael Mifsud in order to limit potential blow-out scores.

Like Malta, San Marino will again find it extremely difficult to compete with the likes of Spain and the Ukraine with a team entirely comprised of amateurs who work at different jobs during the week. It is highly likely that San Marino could indeed go through the entire qualifying campaign without picking up a single point, such is the lack of professional players that call San Marino home.

Under new management since the World Cup, Spain must be considered the favoured nation to qualify automatically for Euro 2008. However, their qualifying campaign for the World Cup was less than easy, and everybody is sure that Señor Flatline will be drumming into his players the requirement of concentrating for the full 90 minutes against every other side in the group. But with players like Raúl, Diego Ribera and Jorge Pérez, the expectations are high that Spain will go straight into the draw for Euro 2008.

The Ukraine is perhaps the only country in the group that has the pedigree to challenge Spain for top spot. With a stout experienced defence built around players with at least forty caps experience each and a dynamic forward line boasting one of the best strikers in the world, Andriy Shevchenko, the Ukrainians ought to feel confident that they have the package to take on and defeat everybody in the group, if they play to their full potential through the game.

[Dixie Flatline]

Euro 2008 Qualifier - Group 9, Game 1: Denmark v Spain

So, I take charge of Spain for the first time in a crucial game. We want to get off to a good start, particularly with a match against our closest competitor, the Ukraine, to come in Valencia in four days’ time. I adopt the same formation I use away from home with Cartagonova, which Ballesteros will be used to, as he begins at right-back. Garrido and Redondo sit on the bench. We begin well, with Vicente hitting a shot just over the bar on 5 minutes, while Barselleta then breaks up a dangerous-looking Danish attack with relative ease a few moments later. López Vallejo touches the ball for the first time on 9 minutes when Fiorentina’s Mads Timm thumps a volley towards the Villarreal keeper’s goal, but he does well to turn it away for a corner. However, he is left absolutely stranded by Ballesteros’ uncharacteristically poor control of the ball - he picks up Jensen’s corner, but can’t control it and lets it in through his legs into our goal. The poor man lets his head hang while the Danish fans heap it on him as the Danes celebrate their good fortune.

But justice is recognised as three minutes later, we’re back on level terms thanks to an absolutely superb goal from Athletic Bilbao’s Jorge Pérez. The playmaker turns Timm, Martin Jørgensen, Madsen and Gronkjær inside out before thumping a low drive past Hyldgaard into the bottom corner! What a goal to kick off my reign in charge of Spain! This is international football, so chances should be few and far between, and we fail to take advantage of those we do fashion for ourselves in the next ten minutes. Cartagonova’s Daniel Jensen tries his luck on 45 minutes, but López Vallejo preserves the equality with a good save.

I’m fairly happy at the break with the way we played, while Ballesteros maintains a low profile and tries to distance the connection between the gaffer and himself. I would like a victory, though, and I look to Raúl, as the country’s captain, to come up with something to give us that win. We all congratulate Pérez on his terrific goal, but the job is only half-completed, and we need to get another goal at least. Pérez is unlucky not to score the second goal ten minutes into the second half when Hyldgaard reads the flick from the outside of the Basque midfielder’s foot well to save the shot. A quick Danish break culminates in Madsen trying his luck, but López Vallejo pushes it away for a corner that Jensen wastes. When John Jensen slides through César on 68 minutes, we take our opportunity in both hands and run away with it, as Vicente beautifully converts the free kick from 25 yards! After López Vallejo saves Jensen’s free kick, we go berserk and besiege the Danes, camping inside their penalty box. It’s only a matter of time before we score for a third time, and it is Pérez who scores it when he pounces on the spilled free kick by Diego Ribera. With the points in the bag, I decide to put on Redondo to gain his first cap for Spain, and acquits himself rather well, but doesn’t score.

Denmark (4-4-2): Hyldgaard; Vigh, Smith, Laursen, Jensen; Jørgensen, Jensen, Tomasson ©, Grønkjær; Madsen, Timm.

Spain (4-1-2-1-2): López Vallejo; César, César, Amaya, Ballesteros; Barselleta (Iván Helguera 65); Vicente, Etxeberría; Jorge Pérez (Angulo 80); Raúl ©, Diego Ribera (Redondo 87).

Final score: Denmark 1:3 Spain

MoM - Raúl

[Dixie Flatline]

Unfortunately, even though it was a good victory and the Spanish FA congratulate me on the size of the victory, it is not enough to claim top spot as the Ukraine thump minnows San Marino 4-0. In other matches, Northern Ireland surprise Portugal 1-0 in Belfast with a goal to Spurs’ striker Andy Morrow. The world champion Germany was pushed all the way by plucky Estonia, but the Germans’ class won through in the end as they triumphed 2-1 in Berlin. Turkey will be unhappy only to win 1-0 against the Faeroe Islands, while Finland thumped Armenia 5-0 in Helsinki. Cartagonova’s Jukka Hakala scored one of the goals in the romp. But the fall from grace by France seems almost complete as Jean Tigana’s side crashed 3-0 in Paris to Norway. From Group 3, Croatia defeated Moldova 3-1 in a comfortable victory, while Bulgaria triumphed 2-1 on the road against Slovakia.

Group 4 sees Georgia as the surprise table-toppers, as they defeated Cyprus 3-0 at home, as Italy was held to a 0-0 draw by Russia in Rome. A brace from Milan Osterc gave Slovenia a 2-0 victory over Andorra. Former Cartagonova striker Niels Kokmeijer scored his first goal for his country as the Netherlands defeated Lithuania 1-0 in Amsterdam. Belgium will be very unhappy to have lost to Latvia 2-1 in Riga. In Group 6, England were tested by a dangerous Luxembourg but still triumphed 2-1 on the road. Joe Cole of Fiorentina scored the winner on 60 minutes. Belarus came away with all three points from a visit to Bucharest as they defeated Romania, including Cartagonova’s Iulian Filipescu, 1-0 on the road.

Group 7 saw the identical scoresheet repeated three times as Albania, Greece and Sweden defeated Iceland, Liechtenstein and the Czech Republic 2-0. In Group 8, Yugoslavia comprehensively thrashed Azerbaijan on the road, winning 5-1 in an impressive performance, particularly from Mateja Kezman. Switzerland needed a late winner to take the points against FYROM. Apart from victories to Spain and the Ukraine in Group 9, Israel triumphed on the road against Malta 2-1, with Cartagonova’s Shimon Gershon involved.

4th of September 2006

Cartagonova is struck a big blow when Gavião badly twists an ankle in training under the supervision of Luis Sosa, who has taken over while I’m with the Spanish squad. Unfortunately, the Brazilian midfielder will miss a month of football. He will be joined on the treatment table by Óscar Ãlvarez, who will miss about a fortnight of football after he bruises his thigh in training. I’m also forced to issue an official warning to Kenneth Gustavsson after Enzo Francescoli reported that he turned up to training late and looked very seedy indeed. I don’t like dealing these problems from a long distance, but it’s better to strike now than not at all. To his credit, Kenneth holds up his hands and admits that he did wrong. Hopefully there will be an attitude change for the better from the lad.

[Dixie Flatline]

5th of September 2006

Juan Hernández obtains further international experience as he participates in Spain U-21’s 2-0 win over their Ukrainian colleagues.

6th of September 2006

Euro 2008 qualifier - Group 9, game 2: Spain v the Ukraine

This is the game that all the pundits have been talking about since the qualifying groups were released. Quite obviously, we are the two best countries in the group and whoever takes the three points out of this encounter will take a big step towards automatic qualification. That is not to denigrate the likes of Denmark, but our last game against them showed that we can control the match against them when we want to. The big test is to control the likes of Shevchenko, Rebrov and Ajax Amsterdam’s Ruslan Valeev.

After a slow start to the game, it explodes into life on 16 minutes when we work an intricate play that sees Ballesteros advancing from deep to cross accurately for Celta Vigo’s Diego Ribera to head home his first goal for his country. Then Diego coolly dispossesses Valeev on 25 minutes to set free Vicente, and the winger finds Ribera unmarked in the box. The striker unselfishly tees up Raúl and the captain gleefully bangs home the volley to have us cruising. Diego Ribera is riding high on the confidence he gained from scoring the first goal and he tests the Ukrainian keeper time and again as the half wears on, but unfortunately, he doesn’t break through. Then on 38 minutes, the Ukrainians strike back, as the always dangerous Valeev and Shevchenko combine to allow Rebrov to score his 30th career international goal. But we really should have restored the two-goal cushion when Diego is left with a simple tap-in from Raúl’s spilt shot, but the midfielder somehow contrives to miss the golden opportunity. Injury time is a whirlwind of feverish activity and after López Vallejo does well to save twice from Rebrov and Kormiltsev, we swing into action. A brilliant team move culminates in Jorge Pérez trying his luck, but the Ukrainian keeper manages to keep that shot out, while Vicente forces a corner with a vicious drive that the keeper does brilliantly to get his finger-tips to.

At the break, I replace the disappointing Osasuna full-back César with Valencia’s Borja in the only change I make. Again we dominate the possession and territory, but we can’t strike that killer blow that would dismiss the Ukrainians’ ever-present threat of pinching an equaliser. Diego even hits the cross-bar from distance on 76 minutes, as the time ticks away. But Diego Ribera caps an astonishing night for the Celta Vigo striker when he waltzes practically unhindered through the heart of the Ukrainian defence to thunder a drive beyond the reach of the keeper to seal the victory with 10 minutes to go. He almost seals his hat-trick on 86 minutes, but Dikhtiar manages this time to scramble across in time to hold onto the searing shot, but in the end the points are safe, and I’m two wins from two attempts at this caper.

Spain (4-3-1-2): López Vallejo; César (Borja 46), César, Iván Amaya (Iván Helguera 65), Ballesteros; Vicente, Diego, Joseba Etxeberría; Jorge Pérez (Angulo 79); Raúl ©, Diego Ribera.

The Ukraine (5-3-2): Dikhtiar; Yakovenko, Vashchuk, Mor, Datsenko (Yevtushenko 68), Parfenov; M. Kormiltsev (S. Kormiltsev 82), Valeev, Onichtenchenko (Gatilov 62); Shevchenko ©, Rebrov.

Final score: Spain 3:1 the Ukraine

MoM - Diego Ribera

[Dixie Flatline]

In other Euro 2008 qualifying action, Northern Ireland crashed away from home to Bosnia 3-1, while Germany sank Portugal 2-1 in Lisbon. A first half brace from Alexander Zickler did the damage to the Portuguese, with Nuno Gomes’ 53rd minute strike not enough to score Portugal its first point of the campaign. Germany’s 100% record so far leaves them in top spot in Group 1, ahead of Bosnia and Northern Ireland. In Group 2, France bounced back from its awful start to trounce Turkey 4-1 in Istanbul. After Emre gave the Turks the lead before half-time, the second half belonged to France as Anelka with two goals, and Delaye and Zidane with the other goals blew the Turks off the pitch. Finland triumphed in the “Battle of the Northâ€, winning 2-0 away to losing World Cup finalist Norway. Two goals in the space of four minutes to Bologna’s Jussi Rouhikko and Ipswich winger Jani Aaltonen sealed the victory for the Finns. Cartagonova’s Jukka Hakala was a giant in the defence for Finland. Armenia defeated the Faeroe Islands 2-1 in Yerevan, with the winner coming in the 90th minute. Finland lead Group 2 with two wins from two matches, while Norway, France, Armenia and Turkey all have three points to their name.

To Group 3 now, and Bulgaria was held to a 0-0 draw in Sofia by Croatia, while Slovakia overcome the early hurdle of conceding in the first minute against Hungary to win 3-1 on the road. Croatia top Group 3 on goal difference from Bulgaria. Group 4 saw Cyprus thrash Andorra 4-2 in Nicosia, while Russia defeated eastern European comrades Georgia 2-0 in Moskva. However, Italy went to the top of the standings after trouncing Slovenia 3-1 in Ljubljana. Christian Vieri, Gennaro Gattuso and Vincenzo Iaquinta all were on the scoreboard for the Italians. Italy lead Group 4 on goal difference from Russia, while Georgia, Slovenia and Cyprus are a further point back.

Group 5 saw Belgium defeat Low Country rival the Netherlands 2-0 in Brussels. Goals to Steed Malbranque and Joos Valgaeren sealed the victory for Belgium. Cartagonova’s Kew Jaliens took part in the game for the Netherlands. Poland defeated Latvia 3-1 in Warsaw to top the group on goal difference. Poland, Belgium, Latvia and the Netherlands all have three points - Lithuania has none. In Group 6, Ireland travelled successfully to Minsk where they needed two late goals to overcome the determined Belarusians 2-1. Andrei Vjajevich put Belarus in the lead on 76 minutes, but the flares hadn’t even gone out before Ireland was back on level terms thanks to Liverpool’s Damien Duff. Bradford’s Alan Henry capped his debut with his first goal for his country to win the game late in proceedings. But England’s 2-0 victory over Romania, featuring Cartagonova’s Iulian Filipescu, means that the English are top of Group 6. The victory was masterminded by Sunderland’s Jamie McMaster, who created the opportunity for Arsenal’s Graham Birch to tuck away the opening goal on 62 minutes, and then sealed victory himself in injury time with a superb goal - his twelfth in eighteen caps for England.

The Czech Republic opened their points tally with a 1-1 draw against Greece in Prague, but Albania are the surprise early leader in Group 8 after they defeated Liechtenstein 3-1 on the road. However, a four goal haul to Watford’s Andri Sigþórsson helped Iceland stun Sweden 5-2 in Reykjavik. In Group 8, Yugoslavia maintained their 100% record to top the group, after they defeated Switzerland 2-1 in Belgrade. But once again, they were indebted to Mateja Kezman’s late, late strike to seal victory. Austria enjoyed success on the road after they defeated FYROM 2-0. Finally to Group 9, and Spain defeated the Ukraine 3-1 in Valencia to take top position in the group with the only 100% record of those teams. Denmark bounced back from their opening day loss against Spain to defeat Israel 2-1 in Tel-Aviv. Shimon Gershon and Daniel Jensen, club teammates at Cartagonova, were on the opposite sides in this fixture. San Marino lost 3-1 to Malta in a match unlikely to disturb the other countries in the group.

Keep smiling!

Dixie Flatline

[Savi]

I always like to pop my head in to remind you what a superb story this is, but also to say that you are now just 15 posts away from this being the longest thread in recent CMS forum history, well done!

*applause*

[Dixie Flatline]

Thanks, Saviola!

I'm glad I'm not the person who trawled through all the story threads in the CMS forum to find out which is the longest thread!

Cheers,

Dixie

[ghostwriter]

It looks like you have taken to this International management lark like a duck to water, Dixie .

Qualification for the Euro2008 and a Spanish League Championship, it would make a good combination, don't you think?!?

[Savi]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Dixie Flatline:

Thanks, Saviola!

I'm glad I'm not the person who trawled through all the story threads in the CMS forum to find out which is the longest thread!

Cheers,

Dixie<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It was actually Raptor who posted the amount of replies every story on this board had had during the runup to the CMS awards and PM7's and Rap's combined Old Firm effort came out on top with 630 and when I saw how many this one had I went back to check how many more it needed to break a board record. Keep it up

[Dixie Flatline]

G'day ghostwriter!

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ghostwriter:

It looks like you have taken to this International management lark like a duck to water, Dixie .

Qualification for the Euro2008 and a Spanish League Championship, it would make a good combination, don't you think?!? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Woah, woah, woah. Hold on just a minute, there! After all, it's only been two games and Denmark are a shadow of their former selves without the Laudrup brothers and Peter Schmeichel playing for them. Peter Madsen would have been dangerous if he had stayed in Spain, but now that he is in Scotland and finding it easier to score goals, he isn't as dangerous now. I thought the Ukraine tested us pretty well and with a little more luck, the score line would have been closer than it ended up being. The return match in Kyiv will be the crucial point of this qualification group, though, because I seriously can't see us slipping up against San Marino or Malta!

And I haven't even started the league campaign yet - too busy settling into my new full-time job at the moment to contemplate even switching on the computer!

Cheers,

Dixie

[Dixie Flatline]

G'day Saviola!

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Saviola for Caley*:

Quote: "Originally posted by Dixie Flatline:

Thanks, Saviola!

I'm glad I'm not the person who trawled through all the story threads in the CMS forum to find out which is the longest thread!

Cheers,

Dixie"

It was actually Raptor who posted the amount of replies every story on this board had had during the runup to the CMS awards and PM7's and Rap's combined Old Firm effort came out on top with 630 and when I saw how many this one had I went back to check how many more it needed to break a board record. Keep it up <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well, I still feel sorry for the poor guy anyway. And technically, I should already hold the record because the Old Firm story was written by two people, not just myself - although I have to admit that these posts at the moment may not be counted, for fairness' sake, because they don't have any story in them!

Cheers,

Dixie

[Dixie Flatline]

After a long break away, let's come back to Cartagena and check out what's been happening!

9th of September 2006

Primera Liga - Game 1: Cartagonova v Alavés

Our first match of the season is against a club that was promoted from the Segunda Liga this season, so it should be a game from which we can expect three points. But apart from an early flurry from Garrido and Michel inside the first ten minutes, our first half is disappointing. Not that Alavés had anything to celebrate, with Epitié and Pérez missing their only chances for the half.

Things livened up on 57 minutes when Garrido breaks up an Alavés attack and sets free Michel who gallops away from his full-back down the left. Looking up, the winger sees Jensen motoring into the area and floats the cross over the penalty dot. The Dane calculates the angles perfectly and throws himself into the air to perform a spectacular bicycle kick to score his first league goal for the club! The crowd is on their feet saluting their new hero, while the rest of the team rush over to congratulate him. But our joy is shortlived as captain and keeper Iván Vidal is forced from the field with what I’m sad to say looks a very serious injury to his knee. His injury brings on Belman into goal and the captain’s armband around Gershon’s arm. But when Rasovic fouls Lua-Lua and the Congan midfielder converts the free kick from 25 yards on 70 minutes, I begin to relax slightly, thinking that the points are in the bag. But I’m still indebted to Belman to preserving the points and the clean sheet as the veteran keeper, making just his second appearance for the club in his second season, pulls off a couple of important saves to deny Alavés the chance of grabbing a point.

Cartagonova (4-3-1-2): Vidal © (Belman 63); Livermore (Laurie 87), Gershon, Hakala, Ballesteros; Michel, Gustavsson, Lua-Lua; Garrido; Redondo, Jensen.

Alavés (4-4-2): Dudek; Rasovic, José, Sandy, Contra; Figueroa (Giuly 58), Emerson (Ismael Ruiz 58), Ãlvarez, Lara (McManaman 63); Iván Pérez, Epitié.

Final score: Cartagonova 2:0 Alavés

MoM - José Francisco Belman

[Dixie Flatline]

Appearing on our new subscriber-only television channel, I and the chief physio explain that Iván Vidal’s knee injury isn’t as serious as first feared. It is still a serious injury that will keep him out for about two months, but fortunately there appears to be no damage to his cruciate or anterior ligaments, which is a relief.

Did I tell you about our subscriber-only television channel? That’s right, we launched it a week or so ago, while I was away dealing with Spain’s qualification campaign. Following in the footsteps of Manchester United, Roma and Bayern München, we are the first Spanish club to open up a dedicated 24-hour television channel, which will feature exclusive interviews with players and staff from Cartagonova and excerpts of key games, current and historical. The terms of the licence agreement forbids ‘CTV’ from broadcasting Cartagonova’s games live on television, but we do feature plenty of score updates and the highlights of each game after every match. It should be a fantastic investment for Cartagonova, and you should catch up with it very soon!

However, the injury to the captain worsens an already deep injury crisis that Cartagonova is suffering through at the moment. In addition to Vidal, Ballesteros is suspended for our first Champions’ League game, while Gavião is a month from full fitness, Ãlvarez is doubtful for Tuesday night against Borussia Dortmund, and Vucko returned from Croatian national duty with a deeply slashed leg that will restrict him from playing for a week.

[Dixie Flatline]

12th of September 2006

Not content to sit astride the division early in the season, Celta Vigo proudly unveil their latest acquisition - former Parma, Barcelona and France defender Lilian Thuram, who will join the club on a free transfer on the 15th of December. I tried to sign the experienced Frenchman, but our small stadium and the fact I couldn’t offer more than £18,000/week to him meant that he was always going to sign for another club.

However, that announcement is only a hiccup in my plans for the European Champions’ League, which kicks off properly tonight with the first match day in Phase 1. Let’s quickly take a look at the teams participating in Group D. This time, we’ll start with my very own club, Cartagonova. Losing semi-finalists last season, Cartagonova and its staff will aim to go one step further this year and make the final for the first time in their short history. Under the expert guidance of Señor Dixie Flatline, the club has emerged in Spain as one of the new forces of Spanish and European football and with international-class players like Ballesteros, Shimon Gershon, Lomano-Tresor Lua-Lua, José Manuel Redondo and Alex Notman all at the forefront of the club’s drive to success, it is an imposing team that the Spanish manager can call upon at any one time. But the club relied heavily upon Dutch international striker Niels Kokmeijer last season to provide firepower, and his departure last season could wreak havoc upon even the most carefully laid plans of the club. It will be interesting to see how Cartagonova fares in a tough, challenging group.

Borussia Dortmund is a club that will be heavily favoured to advance to the next stage of the European Champions’ League, at the very least. The German club brings to the table plenty of experience and talent. It can boast a midfield containing Italian international Luigi di Biagio, and French international Patrick Viera, while Sávio and Alessandro del Piero provide the attacking options from midfield. The forward line is formidable too, with Colombian international striker Juan Pablo Angel and Yugoslav striker Mateja Kezmen combining together to strike fear into the hearts of opposition defences all over the continent. Defence could be their vulnerable area, though, particularly with German international Christoph Metzelder suspended for their first match against Cartagonova tonight. Christian Nerlinger provides some steel and experience to the inexperienced backline, but Borussia will obviously look to its strikers and midfielders to contain the opposition’s attacking thrusts.

From Portugal, Porto hopes to claim one of the two spots that advance into the second group phase. And they have a strong team to stake a claim on one of those positions. With Brazilians Roni, França and Fabrício leading the attack, Porto has a strong attacking flair about their side. Able support is given by central midfielders, Paraguayan international Carlos Paredes and Cândido Costa, but defence again could be a weak point, with Michaël Silvestre and Jorge Andrade perhaps the most dependable of the defenders. Unless the strikers can fire early and often, Porto could struggle to keep up with Cartagonova and Borussia Dortmund.

To complete the group, we go to Norway and perennial European Champions’ League representative, Rosenborg Trondheim. The club has long been associated with producing Norway’s best players, particularly Bayern München star, Christer George, but they still boast a handy side that will threaten the complacency of the other three teams in the group. Thanks to the organisation of Jan Tore Ophaug, Rosenborg can always be relied upon to be tight at the back, while Kim Nystedt and Kenneth Giske are potent forwards who can always surprise an unprepared opponent. Furthermore, some Latin flair has been imported into Rosenborg, with Óscar del Pino and Hernan Zamora both capable of playing up front for the Norwegians.

[Dixie Flatline]

European Champions’ League - Phase 1, Group D, Game 1: Cartagonova v Borussia Dortmund

“…Cartagonova blew a big chance to take an early, important lead in the race towards qualification for the second phase after Borussia Dortmund fought back to salvage a 1-1 draw in the Estádio Municipál de Cartagena this evening. Missing several key players, including club captain Iván Vidal, Spanish international defender Ballesteros and Brazilian midfielder Gavião, Cartagonova boss recalled Fernando Morán to the starting eleven in place of Jaime Garrido, and the veteran midfielder didn’t let his manager down, scoring Cartagonova’s goal on 27 minutes, scoring spectacularly to cap a great Cartagonova team move. But defensive frailties were exposed time and again by Borussia Dortmund and it was only a matter of time before captain Lars Ricken scored the equaliser just a moment before half-time when he lost his marker before converting Schneider’s low cross. There was a moment of controversy in the second half when Daniel Jensen appeared to be fouled inside the Dortmund box by Rost, but the referee turned down the home side’s vigorous penalty appeals. After the match, Dortmund boss Herr Matthias Sammer admitted that his side had been lucky in not conceding the penalty. Cartagonova had a few key opportunities to break the deadlock after the penalty appeal was rejected, but they could not convert the chances and Señor Flatline was clearly disappointed by the loss of the two points at the end of the game.â€

We certainly did miss a few key players, with the back-line almost unrecognisable, and José Belman starting just his second match in Cartagonova colours. I decided that Jaime Garrido needed a moment out of the spotlight so he could recapture the scintillating form of the pre-season, while I mentioned slyly in José Redondo’s ear that an improved performance would be essential for him keeping his place ahead of Alex Notman, who is fidgeting to get off the bench. But our cobbled-together team couldn’t take the points at home and with two difficult away trips to come in the Champions’ League, it could be very hard to move into the next stage. At least Ballesteros, who was suspended for this game, will be back for the next. But I desperately need Gavião back in the middle of the park - we’ve missed his drive and inspiration.

Cartagonova (4-3-1-2): Belman; Laurie, Gershon ©, Jaliens; Michel, Gustavsson (Notman 83), Lua-Lua; Morán; Redondo, Jensen.

Borussia Dortmund (1-2-5-2): Rost; Böhm (Meyer 81), Keller (Kuhn 59); Nerlinger, Lisztes (Epureanu 81), Ricken ©, Viera, Schneider; Kezman, Edú.

Final score: Cartagonova 1:1 Borussia Dortmund

MoM - Rainer Schneider

[Dixie Flatline]

In the other Group D match, Rosenborg defeated Porto 1-0 thanks to a goal to Kim Nystedt on 17 minutes.

14th of September 2006

At last, some good news from the treatment rooms with the physios clearing Óscar Ãlvarez to rejoin full training ahead of our trip to Celta Vigo on the weekend.

16th of September 2006

Just in time for consideration for Sunday’s match, Jurica Vucko also rejoins the squad in full training.

Primera Liga - Game 2: Celta Vigo v Cartagonova

We’ve met today’s opponent eight times, for a record of five victories, two draws and one loss. That sounds pretty good - and, indeed it is - until you realise that the loss was the 1-0 loss at Vigo which turfed us out of the Champions’ League last season at the semi-final stage on the away goals rule. So this match is our first chance to wreak some revenge on Celta and also boost our league campaign. But of course, with two key players out of the side, the rest will have to step up to fill the breach.

Celta Vigo come out looking for the early goal and we’re lucky to escape when McCarthy tears through our defence before finding Diego Ribera, but the Spanish international misses the chance, much to my relief, although I bellow angry instructions at my defence to keep a closer eye on both players. Then again, my counterpart has his own problems when Redondo finds Jensen with a defence-splitting pass, but the Danish international’s shot is well-saved by Asper. Redondo then goes very close himself a moment or so later when he beats Marchena, a player I’m considering to call up to the Spanish squad, to Ballesteros’ cross, but Asper is again well-placed to deal with the shot. Ballesteros’ header from the Jensen corner hits the bar and goes over. Belman is called into action on 14 minutes to stop Gustavo López and then Casquero opening the scoring. However, I’m very disappointed to see Michelini pick up the pieces of López’s shot on goal and find new recruit Marcelo Gallardo, and the Argentine midfielder beats Belman with a well-placed drive. Morán almost equalises on 37 minutes, but again Asper is in the right place to stop the shot going in, and Celta’s confidence grows as the half draws to a close with Diego Ribera misses a couple of chances by scant inches.

Despite my motivating words to the contrary, Celta’s pressure continues early in the second half and we’re lucky to escape going 2-0 down when Gallardo’s half-volley is partially smothered by Belman, and Jaliens tackles Diego Ribera in the nick of time. After Morán misses a clear-cut opportunity on 50 minutes, I replace him with Jaime Garrido, and it turns out to be an inspired substitution. Freed from the shackles of having to play from the beginning, the young international shows just why I was willing to pay so much to bring him to Cartagena, and after Redondo is again foiled twice by Asper in the space of a minute, he latches onto Ballesteros’ pinpoint cross with a brilliant overhead volley to end a great Cartagonova team move! It was a rollicking game, and I guess a share of the points is not too wide of the mark, but I would have liked the victory, though.

Celta Vigo (4-3-1-2): Asper; Sorín (Wörns 79), Quique Ãlvarez, Marchena, Michelini; Gustavo López (De Pedro 55), Guerrero ©, Gallardo; Casquero (Xavi 61); McCarthy, Diego Ribera.

Cartagonova (4-1-2-1-2): Belman; Laurie, Gershon ©, Hakala, Jaliens; Ballesteros; Michel, Lua-Lua; Morán (Garrido 51); Redondo, Jensen (Notman 51).

Final score: Celta Vigo 1:1 Cartagonova

MoM - Ballesteros

[Dixie Flatline]

20th of September 2006

European Champions’ League - Phase 1, Group D, Game 2: Porto v Cartagonova

I recall Alex Notman to the first team in the place of Daniel Jensen, and as you will see, I’m very glad the big, powerful Scotsman is in the side. We begin very poorly when Fabrício takes Ricardo Jorge’s cross in his stride, sidesteps his marker and blasts an unstoppable shot past Belman. I’m absolutely furious for all of thirty seconds, then absolutely delighted as Morán cuts through the Porto defence with a precision pass that finds Notman and the Scotsman shows that his time without first team football had no effect on his finishing ability as he coolly rounds off the move with a 25 yard rocket. We earn a corner on 17 minutes which Morán orchestrates, and it is memorable for giving the opportunity to Redondo to score his first goal of the season. The international striker is fouled inside the area by Athirson and the striker calmly converts the penalty to give us a 2-1 lead. Belman does well to preserve the lead when our defence goes AWOL a moment later, saving our blushes against Postiga’s drive and then Mancine is left shaking his head as the veteran pulls off a spectacular save on 22 minutes. A minute after hitting the post, Notman makes the score 3-1 in our favour when he holds off Athirson and blasts a drive that finishes inside the top corner of the Porto net! But it gets better when Redondo sees the adventurous Ballesteros advancing unhindered into the Porto penalty area and the striker finds the defender/midfielder with a perfect pass. Ballesteros doesn’t let him down and we enter the break with the crowd absolutely stunned as they read the score seeing Porto 1, Cartagonova 4!

But Morán, our master string-puller in the first half, is forced from the field with a twisted ankle just three minutes into the second half, and despite the best efforts of Garrido, his replacement, we struggle to string together any creative momentum. To make matters worse, my defence collapses spectacularly and Porto fight their way back into a game they have no right to. I’m fuming when Postiga makes it 4-2 on the hour mark, finishing off Ricardo Jorge’s excellent work. On 73 minutes, Paredes starts giving me a real reason to worry when he cuts our lead to a single goal and the partisan crowd are really supporting their team now. Garrido scores against the run of play on 77 minutes, and I hope our fifth goal will deflate Porto in the last stanza of the game. But it doesn’t and on 89 minutes, Roni forces a frantic finish when he ends Postiga’s well-orchestrated move. We hold on, but I sit my team down in the dressing rooms for an hour after the conclusion of the game and roast them severely for being so poor in defence. I don’t want a repeat of this game again so long as I manage Cartagonova. To put it bluntly, most of the team was carried by several key players, and those that I expect to perform better, didn’t. They will learn on the training track this coming week.

Porto (4-2-4): Moreira; Athirson (Andrade 64), Argel, Jorge Costa, Mancine; Beto, Maric (Paredes 48); Ricardo Jorge, Husaín (Roni 58), Fabrício, Postiga.

Cartagonova (4-1-2-1-2): Belman; Lacruz, Gershon ©, Hakala, Jaliens (Laurie 67); Ballesteros (Gustavsson 73); Michel, Lua-Lua; Morán (Garrido 48); Redondo, Notman.

Final score: Porto 4:5 Cartagonova

MoM - Alex Notman

Keep smiling!

Dixie Flatline

[Dixie Flatline]

The odyssey continues...

21st of September 2006

There is big news in La Coruña as former Spanish international striker Diego Tristán looks to reignite his international career by moving to Bayern München for £9.25 million.

23rd of September 2006

Finally, there is some good news from the treatment tables as Gavião is cleared to rejoin light training sessions. It should be about a fortnight before he can return to active duty. And, boy, do we need him back!

With another Euro 2008 qualifying round in a fortnight, it’s time to announce the national call-ups. Jukka Hakala is given the nod by Finland for matches against Turkey and the Faeroe Islands, Philippe Mexès is called up by France for games against the Faeroe Islands and Armenia. Yet to play a game for us this season, Jurica Vucko is recalled to the Croatian national side for games against Hungary and Slovakia. The Dutch include Kew Jaliens in the squad for matches against Poland and Latvia, while Niels Kokmeijer also will be in the squad. I’m very surprised to hear the cheery voice of Kevin Keegan on the other end of the phone as he requests that George Clegg comes to England to prepare for games against Ireland and Belarus. The Romanians continue to turn to Iulian Filipescu as he will play against Luxembourg. I’ll probably come two caps closer to paying Osasuna money for the Shimon Gershon transfer as he will play for Israel against the Ukraine and San Marino.

[Dixie Flatline]

I’m requested to name my Spanish squad for games against San Marino and Malta. I respond by making two changes to the squad that played against Denmark and the Ukraine. Out of the squad go Real Madrid’s Joaquín Bornes and Deportivo La Coruña’s Mista. They are replaced by defender Sergio from Sporting Gijón and debutant Artur from Villarreal. The full squad is:

Goalkeepers

Esteban (31 y/o, ESP 0 caps, GK): Espanyol

César Laínez (29 y/o, ESP 3 caps, GK): Barcelona

Javier López Vallejo (30 y/o, ESP 35 caps, GK): Villarreal

Defenders

Barselleta (31 y/o, ESP 20 caps, SW/D/DM C): Sporting Gijón

Sergio (29 y/o, ESP 23 caps, SW/D C): Sporting Gijón

Ballesteros (30 y/o, ESP 1 cap, D/DM RC): Cartagonova

César (26 y/o, ESP 0 caps, D RL): Osasuna

Borja (28 y/o, ESP 6 caps, D LC): Valencia

Quique Ãlvarez (31 y/o, ESP 11 caps, 1 goal, D LC): Celta Vigo

Iván Amaya (27 y/o, ESP 28 caps, 1 goal, D C): Deportivo La Coruña

César (28 y/o, ESP 38 caps, 1 goal, D C): Mallorca

Iván Javier Cuadrado (27 y/o, ESP 1 cap, D C): Elche

Midfielders

Iván Helguera (31 y/o, ESP 21 caps, D/DM C): Real Madrid

Artur (25 y/o, ESP 0 caps, DM RC): Villarrea

Diego (27 y/o, ESP 6 caps, M/S C): Racing Santander

Miguel Ãngel Angulo (29 y/o, ESP 35 caps, 5 goals, AM/F RC): Valencia

Joseba Etxeberría (28 y/o, ESP 61 caps, 18 goals, AM/F RC): Athletic Bilbao

Jaime Garrido (22 y/o, ESP 0 caps, AM/F RLC): Cartagonova

Francisco Javier Zubizarreta (21 y/o, ESP 0 caps, AM/F RC): Espanyol

Jorge Pérez (30 y/o, ESP 26 caps, 2 goals, AM LC): Athletic Bilbao

Vicente (25 y/o, ESP 45 caps, 13 goals, AM/F LC): Valencia

Strikers

Raúl (29 y/o, ESP 89 caps, 44 goals, AM/F LC): Paris-Saint-Germain

Diego Ribera (29 y/o, ESP 2 caps, S C): Celta Vigo

Fernando Morientes (30 y/o, ESP 38 caps, 25 goals, S C): Real Madrid

José Manuel Redondo (30 y/o, ESP 0 caps, S C): Cartagonova

Rubén Navarro (28 y/o, ESP 12 caps, 5 goals, S C): Bari

Daniel Jensen will represent Denmark in their games against Malta and the Ukraine. As a host of the competition, Scotland doesn’t need to qualify, but they have a friendly game against Morocco, and Alex Notman will be required to go to Glasgow. As you may have gathered, Jaime Garrido, José Manuel Redondo and Ballesteros will have the chance to represent Spain.

[Dixie Flatline]

24th of September 2006

“… Good morning and welcome to Cartagonova TV. Over the next few hours we will preview Cartagonova’s forthcoming game against Elche here at the Estádio Municipál de Cartagena and talk football and the club’s future direction with Cartagonova vice-chairman Señor Antonio Manzano. We take a look at the Spanish squad named by our manager, Señor Dixie Flatline and have a chat with Juan Hernández, the up and coming striker tipped for great things by everybody connected with the club.â€

“But we kick off today’s coverage of Spanish football with the shocking news that, hard on the heels of the sale of Raúl to PSG for £20 million, Real Madrid have sold Francesco Totti, the Italian captain, to Fiorentina for £25.5 million. The quintessential Roman was signed from Roma for £32.5 million in the summer of 2005, but only played one full season with Real Madrid before moving back to Italy. He is unlikely to be rushed into Fiorentina’s Italian Cup match against Inter Milan in Milan, and he will be unavailable for the first phase of the Champions’ League, so his debut will likely to be the 1st of October on the road to Pistoiese. He joins England’s Joe Cole, Denmark’s Mads Timm and Cristian Bardaro from Argentina in a star-studded side…â€

I have to say that I’m very happy to hear this piece of news. Hot on the heels of selling Raúl, selling Francesco Totti really weakens the attacking side of your team and not even the presence of Brazilians Alex and Ronaldinho would make up for that, in my opinion. This is great news for the rest of the league.

Primera Liga - Game 3: Cartagonova v Elche

Two away games in succession leaves me pining for the comforts of the Estádio Municipál de Cartagena and today we have the opportunity to move up the ladder with a match against Elche. Before today’s game, we have played each other eight times. We’ve triumphed twice, lost twice and drawn four times with our opponents. We’ve scored nine goals against them and conceded six. I decide that after last Wednesday’s debacle against Porto, somebody in the back five (including keeper) must pay, so I give a debut today to our Swedish keeper, Christoffer Källkvist, who replaces Belman between the posts. George Clegg takes the AMC position ahead of Jaime Garrido to fill in for the injured Fernando Morán, while Jurica Vucko sits on the bench.

We control this game from start to finish and after a few early shots are fired across Elche’s bows, we set the radar right and Alex Notman finishes off a good team move with a clean header that Dorronsoro had no chance of saving. From limited opportunities this season, the big Scotsman already has five goals and the name Niels Kokmeijer is slowly being expunged from the culture of Cartagonova, much like Stan Collymore before him. Just before half-time, José Manuel Redondo takes Notman’s flick-on in his stride and bursts into the Elche box before sliding a perfect shot between Dorronsoro’s legs for our second goal of the game. Elche try hard in the second half but they are outclassed, outwitted and from 72 minutes with the dismissal of Vágner for a red card offence, outmanned. We have this one in the bag with a comfortable 2-0 victory. While Notman is the man of the match, Michel makes it to the team of the week for his great work down the left.

Cartagonova (4-3-1-2): Källkvist; Lacruz, Gershon ©, Hakala, Jaliens; Michel, Ballesteros, Lua-Lua (Vucko 67); Clegg; Redondo, Notman.

Elche (4-2-4): Dorronsoro; Almqvist, Mascorro, Cuadrado, Zé Maria; Boskovic, Vágner; Roy González (Juanjo 50), Nano, Guede ©, Grønkjær (Pablo 56).

Final score: Cartagonova 2:0 Elche

MoM - Alex Notman

[Dixie Flatline]

27th of September 2006

European Champions’ League - Phase 1, Group D, Game 3: Rosenborg v Cartagonova

Pleased with how my team played on the weekend, I don’t make any changes to the squad which travels to Norway, despite the fact that Notman isn’t quite fully fit. We start brightly, but Notman’s shot goes wide of the mark on 18 minutes. Rosenborg force Källkvist into a good save on 24 minutes, but we sweep the ball away and Notman is unlucky not to open the scoring when Kristiansen pushes away his sharp volley. But we’re brought undone on 41 minutes when Gershon gives away a free kick for shirt-tugging on Nystedt and Ludvigsen converts the free kick wonderfully well. To their credit, Rosenborg concentrate on defending stoutly in the second half and despite the best efforts of Clegg, who sees a few shots saved in the last ten minutes, they look fairly comfortable holding onto their one goal lead and they take the victory in front of their home fans. At least we have the chance for revenge in mid-October when they visit the Estádio Municipál de Cartagena.

Rosenborg (5-3-2): Kristiansen; Heggelund, Soma, Tronseth ©, Ophaug, SirevÃ¥g (Talberg 55); NygÃ¥rd, Giske (Berget 9), Berg (Jacobsen 55); Ludvigsen, Nystedt.

Cartagonova (4-1-2-1-2): Källkvist; Lacruz, Gershon ©, Hakala (Ãlvarez 64), Jaliens; Ballesteros; Michel, Lua-Lua (Garrido 64); Clegg; Redondo, Notman.

Final score: Rosenborg 1:0 Cartagonova

MoM - Per Morten Kristiansen

But thanks to Porto defeating Borussia Dortmund 1-0 in Oporto, we still manage to cling onto second spot in Group D. It is fast becoming the predicted Group of Death, with Rosenborg on top with six points, Cartagonova and Dortmund split by goal difference on four points, and Porto bringing up the rear a point behind.

There is further bad news on the injury front as Kew Jaliens manages to strain a groin muscle in the warm-down procedures and he is ruled out for a month. That takes him out of the Dutch squad and gives me another headache to contend with.

[Dixie Flatline]

29th of September 2006

“…Making news this hour from Cartagonova is the announcement made just moments ago by Cartagonova manager Señor Dixie Flatline that the club will sign experienced Senegalese international defender Djibril Diawara from Belgium’s Lierse for an outlay of £1.2 million. The strong, tough-tackling defender appeared beside his new boss, anxious to get his career with his new club underway, but the Spanish transfer window does not reopen until the 15th of December, meaning that the defender will not be officially ready to play until then. Señor Flatline said the acquisition of Diawara strengthens the depth in the squad and that he expects the former Torino and Ascoli defender to challenge strongly for a place in the starting eleven. The defender made himself unavailable for Senegal’s recent African Cup of Nations, but is looking to return to the national squad if he is still required. At 31 years old, Diawara is certainly no investment in the future, with Señor Flatline looking at other players to fit that bill, but his experience, strength and attitude should complement the team’s philosophy and strategy as they focus on winning more trophies this season.â€

1st of October 2006

Primera Liga - Game 4: Athletic Bilbao v Cartagonova

After the disappointment in Norway, I can feel it in my bones that this will be tough match. Again, we begin the stronger of the two teams with Lua-Lua forcing Etxeberría into an impressive save from a good free kick. But after that early flurry, things quieten down a lot, until the 26th minute of the game when Notman and Redondo combine to start the ball rolling for a meaningful attack. Redondo looks left and seeks out Michel with a good pass, and the experienced winger does what he does best - turning his full-back inside out and then floating over the pinpoint cross for Notman to smash home! But our joy is short-lived - only seven minutes in fact - as Athletic Bilbao conjure up an equaliser, much to my dismay. Again, the defence goes missing in action as they allow Idiákez to pick up a loose ball inside the box and chip the onrushing Källkvist. Bang on half-time, the crowd believes the home side has taken the lead when Solaun has the ball in our net, but fortunately the referee comes to our rescue by pointing to the linesman’s flag for off-side. I then see that Redondo is limping badly with blood gushing from a wound in his leg. The physios spend the half time break stitching him back up but advise me that it wouldn’t be wise to send him back into the fray in the second half. So on comes young Juan Hernández for his debut in Cartagonova colours.

And he has an excellent debut. He almost volleys home brilliantly Hakala’s long ball on 52 minutes, but the shot hits the post and ricochets away unluckily for the young Spaniard. But five minutes later, he has much more success when he accepts Ballesteros’ pass, sidesteps Roberto Ríos and then neatly tucks away the chance for his first goal and our second. Athletic Bilbao turn up the wick looking for another equaliser and for a time there, Källkvist is a very busy keeper. But just when I think we’re going to leave Bilbao with all three points, he spills an admittedly hot shot at the feet of Solaun and the striker doesn’t miss those chances. Yet, there’s heartbreak in store for Athletic and great joy and relief for me as that man, the Hitman, Alex Notman bobs up to head home Clegg’s exquisite cross right at the end of the game to give us all three points and a place in the top three of the Primera Liga!

Athletic Bilbao (1-2-5-2): I. Etxeberría; Aitor (Pablo Orbaiz 38); Karanka, Roberto Ríos; Aitor, Jorge Pérez, Puñal, Solaun, Idiákez; J. Etxeberría, Ion (Kaiku 81).

Cartagonova (4-1-2-1-2): Källkvist; Lacruz (Laurie 64), Gershon ©, Hakala, Puyol; Ballesteros; Michel, Lua-Lua; Clegg; Redondo (Hernández 46), Notman.

Final score: Athletic Bilbao 2:3 Cartagonova

MoM - Alex Notman

[Dixie Flatline]

José Manuel Redondo is ruled out for two weeks by his gashed leg, which means that I am required to select a replacement for the Spanish squad. In the end, I turn to Real Sociedad’s Joseba Llorente to fill the breach. The 26 year old could make his debut against either San Marino or Malta and I think it is just reward for a very good season last season and a good start to the current campaign.

2nd of October 2006

“…On Cartagonova TV this evening, we discuss the news that negotiations with Swedish international wing-back, Per Haldén. Cartagonova offered Venezia £1.7 million for the left-sided wing-back, an offer that Venezia found too good to refuse. But the Swedish international named terms that were not acceptable to Cartagonova’s manager, Señor Dixie Flatline, and the transfer has been placed on hold for the time being. Señor Flatline still stressed that he hoped that there is still a way to do the deal in a manner beneficial to both parties, but that he would look at other options to strengthen the squad if this avenue was closed.â€

“Also making news this hour is the announcement by Athletic Bilbao that they will sign former Cartagonova defender Francisco Javier Jusué for £2.1 million from Real Zaragoza. The 26 year old Basque-born defender played only one season for Cartagonova back in 2002/03, when the club was still in the Segunda Liga, before moving to Zaragoza for the paltry sum of just £500,000. Señor Dixie Flatline still describes that deal as one of the worse deals he’s ever participated in. However, Jusué was not as attractive to the club as he was back in 2002/03, and Cartagonova decided to remain out of the negotiations for this player.â€

“Finally for this hour, before we return you to our studio host, we can reveal exclusively here on Cartagonova TV that increasing rumours of a bidding frenzy over Spanish U-21 star full-back David Oliva is in fact true. Señor Dixie Flatline attempted to sign the full-back, who can play on both the left or right of defence, during the summer, but not even £5 million could change the minds of the Rayo Vallecano hierarchy. In fact, Rayo manager, Señor Irureta issued a ‘hands off’ warning to other clubs to remain away from his prized asset. But Señor Flatline has moved back into the market, seeking to prise the defender away from Rayo Vallecano. The last word is that Cartagonova has again reached the £5 million mark without much success, and the speculation centres upon whether Señor Dixie Flatline will increase the money offered to the club.â€

[Guest]

This must be one of the lngest threads I've seen in here

[Dixie Flatline]

7th of October 2006

Euro 2008 Qualifier - Group 9, Game 3: San Marino v Spain

Against a team of schoolteachers, accountants, lawyers, carpenters and butchers, I would expect my side to run up a cricket score. I give a debut to Artur in the defensive midfield position, but otherwise, it’s a fairly standard-looking Spain side that runs out onto the teeny-tiny pitch in the teeny-tiny ground in Serravalle. It takes us 11 minutes to open the scoring - Celta Vigo’s irrepressible striker Diego Ribera takes a bow after driving home Amaya’s perfect pass. Raúl celebrates his record-breaking 92nd appearance for his country with a goal on 38 minutes after controlling well Jorge Pérez’s hurriedly lofted clearance. On 69 minutes, the captain doubles his personal tally for the game and makes it 3-0 in our favour, but with 12 minutes to go, our recent history of conceding a goal a game continues when Lupini, a butcher, I believe, manages to fend off Amaya and then slide a shot between López Vallejo’s legs. I’m not happy about that at all, and I drag off César the central defender to replace him with César the full-back. The former César hadn’t even tried a tackle for the time he had been on the pitch, which wasn’t good enough for me. Raúl almost completes his hat-trick in the dying stages, but Pagliuca, the San Marino keeper, does well to keep him out.

San Marino (5-3-1-1): Pagliuca ©; Onestini (Vanucchi 56), D’Aniello, Indricchi (Piccinni 56), Musso, Iaboni; Moccia, Sardone, Monari; Beghetto; Bottarelli (Lupini 56).

Spain (4-1-2-1-2): López Vallejo; Borja, César (César 82), Iván Amaya, Ballesteros; Artur (Iván Helguera 57); Vicente, Etxeberría; Jorge Pérez (Zubizarreta 57); Raúl ©, Diego Ribera.

Final score: San Marino 1:3 Spain

MoM - Raúl

Keep smiling!

Dixie Flatline

[Dixie Flatline]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Banana Man:

This must be one of the lngest threads I've seen in here <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks for the post Banana Man. Yes, I believe it's coming close to the all-time CMS record for number of posts!

Cheers,

Dixie

[Guest]

Ive just finished reading ur whole story, 4.5 hours its taken me, its f*****g brilliant.

i think i will start a game with a team in spanish lower division and see if i can emulate ur success!

[Dixie Flatline]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by nbarron:

Ive just finished reading ur whole story, 4.5 hours its taken me, its f*****g brilliant.

i think i will start a game with a team in spanish lower division and see if i can emulate ur success!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks very much for the words of praise, nbarron, and I wish you luck with your own game!

Dixie

[Dixie Flatline]

The fall-out of the latest Euro 2008 qualifiers and more!

I have to say that I’m not altogether happy with the way we played against San Marino this afternoon. I think that too many of the players coasted blithely through the 90 minutes, waiting for things to happen against the minnow rather than taking the initiative and making things happen. If it weren’t for Raúl and Diego Ribera, we wouldn’t have done as well as we did. So I’m going to have to review our policy for the next match against Malta in four days’ time. But I suppose that three points is three points, no matter how you cut it, so I’m grateful for that, at least.

At least there is some good news from Cartagena, with Gavião allowed to rejoin training on a full-time basis, which puts him in contention for our crunch game against Barcelona at the Estádio Municipál de Cartagena in a week. But we still have four key players unavailable for the game, and I defy you to take four important players like Vidal (captain and first choice keeper), Jaliens (current right back), Morán (club’s leading league appearance record-holder) and Redondo (experienced, historically prolific striker) out of your team and see how you go.

Let’s wrap up the other results in the Euro 2008 qualifiers. In Group 1, Portugal’s horror start to the campaign took a turn for the worse when they lost 2-1 on the road to Estonia. Germany maintained top spot in the group despite being held to a 1-1 draw in Berlin by second-placed Bosnia. Former Cartagonova and current Mallorca defender Misrad Hibic took part in the game for the Bosnians. In Group 2, the Turks remain fourth despite winning on the road to top-placed Finland 2-1. A brace to Osasuna’s Oktay was too much for the Finns to haul back, despite the best efforts of Kujala who halved the Turks’ lead on 76 minutes. France and Norway did it rather easy at home against weak opponents. They defeated the Faeroe Islands and Armenia 3-0 respectively.

Despite playing as a striker, Jurica Vucko earned his 24th cap for Croatia without hitting the back of the net. But fortunately for his country, four other players managed a better fist of the task, as Croatia thumped Hungary 4-0 in Osijek. Bulgaria kept up the pressure on the Croats after defeating Moldova 3-1. In Group 4, Italy slaughtered Andorra 5-0 in Rome, with Torino’s Emanuele Calaiò scoring a hat-trick. Russia maintained their challenge for top spot by defeating Cyprus 3-0 in Moskva. Georgia withstood the disadvantage of playing with ten men for almost 85 minutes to draw 1-1 with Slovenia in Tbilisi.

[Dixie Flatline]

Group 5 saw the Dutch, without the injured Kew Jaliens, efficiently dispose of the Poles 3-0 in Amsterdam thanks to a hat-trick for Barcelona’s Patrick Kluivert. His hat-trick came within a 12 minute period. The other game saw Belgium drop two valuable points on the road when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Lithuania. In a result sure to delight Irish eyes all around the world, Ireland upset England 3-1 in Dublin. Spurs’ winger Adam Fleming kicked off the scoring on 27 minutes and the Irish extended their lead on 33 minutes through Bradford’s Alan Henry. West Ham’s Jimmy Bullard halved Ireland’s lead on 39 minutes. But Ireland killed off the game on 79 minutes when Fleming converted a penalty he earned when he was clipped by Richard Wright. Romania put their first points of the campaign on the board when, with Iulian Filipescu involved, they defeated Luxembourg 3-1 in Bucharest.

Group 7 saw Sweden’s horror campaign continue when they lost 2-0 to surprise group leader Albania. Second-placed Greece would be disappointed to draw 1-1 with Iceland in Athens, while the Czechs hammered Liechtenstein 5-0. In Group 8, Austria overcame an early setback of a Mateja Kezman goal to win 2-1 in Vienna. In the meantime, Azerbaijan upset Switzerland 3-2 in Berne. Finally, to Group 9, and apart from Spain’s 3-1 victory over San Marino, Malta held Denmark to a disappointing (for the Danes) 1-1 draw in Malta. Cartagonova’s Daniel Jensen was involved in the game. The Ukraine kept up pressure on Spain by winning 3-2 against Israel in Kyiv. The Ukraine jumped out to a 3-0 lead by half-time, but two second-half goals to Katan made it a nail-biting conclusion to the game. However, the Ukrainians held on to score the win. Cartagonova’s Shimon Gershon played for the Israelis, but was injured in the game and will not participate in Wednesday’s game and is doubtful for Cartagonova’s game against Barcelona next weekend.

[Dixie Flatline]

11th of October 2006

Euro 2008 Qualifier - Group 9, Game 4: Spain v Malta

After the disappointing performance against San Marino last weekend, I hope that the boys are a little more fired up against Malta tonight in front of around 60,000 supporters at Valencia’s La Mestalla stadium. We begin very brightly with Raúl and César go very close inside the first four minutes. But we then fall asleep and the next attack, some 35 minutes later mind you, is when Malta string together a couple of passes that ends up with the ball at Michael Misfud’s feet, and the striker silences the parochial home crowd with his 20th career goal for Malta. This wakes up Spain and after Joseba Etxeberría drifts past a couple of Maltese defenders before firing wide, up pops Diego Ribera to volley home Diego’s sublime pass right on the half-time break.

But the equaliser doesn’t exempt the players from being roasted at the break. We really should be dominating the game, but we’ve hardly extended ourselves in the first 45 minutes and as a result, we had to play catch-up football - never the best situation to be in. I demand much better in the second half while I’m already inwardly planning wholesale changes to the squad for our friendly against Yugoslavia in a month. We spend the second half camped in the Maltese penalty box looking for that second goal to put us in the league, and on 74 minutes Diego Ribera gives us the lead, knocking in the rebound from debutant Joseba Llorente’s curling shot that was too much for the Maltese keeper to hold on to. A win is a win, but I’m still not happy with the way we played this evening.

Spain (4-3-1-2): López Vallejo; Borja, César, Iván Amaya, Ballesteros; Vicente, Diego, Etxeberría; Jorge Pérez (Llorente 60); Raúl ©, Diego Ribera (Navarro 83).

Malta (5-3-1): Haber ©; Lannacone (Kask 61), Tavcar, Villegas, Heamed (Capria 55), Maloney (Kamagate 50); Muscat, Hermínio, Giglio; Nwoko, Mifsud.

Final score: Spain 2:1 Malta

MoM - Diego Ribera

[Dixie Flatline]

11th of October 2006

Euro 2008 Qualifier - Group 9, Game 4: Spain v Malta

After the disappointing performance against San Marino last weekend, I hope that the boys are a little more fired up against Malta tonight in front of around 60,000 supporters at Valencia’s La Mestalla stadium. We begin very brightly with Raúl and César go very close inside the first four minutes. But we then fall asleep and the next attack, some 35 minutes later mind you, is when Malta string together a couple of passes that ends up with the ball at Michael Misfud’s feet, and the striker silences the parochial home crowd with his 20th career goal for Malta. This wakes up Spain and after Joseba Etxeberría drifts past a couple of Maltese defenders before firing wide, up pops Diego Ribera to volley home Diego’s sublime pass right on the half-time break.

But the equaliser doesn’t exempt the players from being roasted at the break. We really should be dominating the game, but we’ve hardly extended ourselves in the first 45 minutes and as a result, we had to play catch-up football - never the best situation to be in. I demand much better in the second half while I’m already inwardly planning wholesale changes to the squad for our friendly against Yugoslavia in a month. We spend the second half camped in the Maltese penalty box looking for that second goal to put us in the league, and on 74 minutes Diego Ribera gives us the lead, knocking in the rebound from debutant Joseba Llorente’s curling shot that was too much for the Maltese keeper to hold on to. A win is a win, but I’m still not happy with the way we played this evening.

Spain (4-3-1-2): López Vallejo; Borja, César, Iván Amaya, Ballesteros; Vicente, Diego, Etxeberría; Jorge Pérez (Llorente 60); Raúl ©, Diego Ribera (Navarro 83).

Malta (5-3-1): Haber ©; Lannacone (Kask 61), Tavcar, Villegas, Heamed (Capria 55), Maloney (Kamagate 50); Muscat, Hermínio, Giglio; Nwoko, Mifsud.

Final score: Spain 2:1 Malta

MoM - Diego Ribera

[Dixie Flatline]

So we take a look at the other results in the Euro 2008 qualifiers. In Group 1, Germany continued winning ways by defeating Northern Ireland 2-0 in Belfast thanks to an Aaron Hughes own goal on 5 minutes and an 89th minute goal to Bruns. Estonia remained in second place, some four points behind Germany but with a game in hand, after defeating a poor Bosnia 3-0 in Sarajevo. Former Cartagonova defender Misrad Hibic was again selected for the Bosnians. In Group 2, both France and Finland racked up the goals against minnows with the French winning 5-1 against Armenia and Finland also winning 5-1 against Faeroe Isles. Jukka Hakala played for Finland. In the meantime, the Turks crashed 2-1 at home to a Christer George-inspired Norway. Finland, Norway and France are all locked together on 9 points.

To Group 3 now and Hungary bounced back from its mauling at the hands of the Croats to dish out its own football lesson to Moldova 4-1 in Budapest. Croatia however kept up its winning ways by defeating Slovakia 1-0 on the road. Substitute Jurica Vucko created the winner for Igor Biscan on 79 minutes. The victory puts Croatia 3 points ahead of Bulgaria, but the Bulgarians have a game in hand. In Group 4, Russia dropped precious points when they drew 2-2 on the road with Slovenia, and Italy took advantage by winning 3-1 against Cyprus. Georgia’s challenge is already slipping after they were held to a 0-0 draw by minnow Andorra.

[Dixie Flatline]

Big scores characterised the results in Group 5 as the Dutch defeated Latvia 5-2 in Riga. Poland smashed Lithuania for six by winning 6-1 against their eastern European cousins in Chorzow. In front of almost 90,000 at the redeveloped Wembley Stadium, England came back from the dead against a determined Belarus to win 4-3 in an exciting game. West Ham’s Jimmy Bullard opened England’s account on 12 minutes while Jamie McMaster kept up his impressive scoring rate with his 13th goal in 20 appearances for his country put England 2-0 to the good on 17 minutes. But 2 minutes before half-time, Vyajevich halved England’s lead and then Ogorodnik silenced the partisan crowd a minute after half-time. Despite going a man down on 59 minutes, Belarus took the lead when Ogorodnik scored his second goal of the game. But just as the disappointed crowd began filtering out of the stadium, McMaster equalised for England on 89 minutes and then Gary Birch of Arsenal robbed Belarus of the point they deserved when he scored the winner deep into injury time. The Belarusians protested heavily against the amount of time added on, but to no avail and England had escaped from the jail. George Clegg sat on the bench for the 90 minutes. However, England still trail Ireland on goal difference after the Irish prevailed 2-1 against Luxembourg.

In Group 7, a 70th minute strike to Albania’s Erjon Bogdani settled the contest between the Czechs and the Albanians to put the Albanians five points clear of second-placed Iceland, despite the Icelandics defeating Liechtenstein 5-0 in Reykjavik. In the third match in Group 7, Sweden and Greece shared the spoils in a 3-3 draw in Stockholm. Man of the match Kennedy Bakircioglü rescued the Swedes with an 84th minute equaliser. In Group 8, Austria kept up its perfect record with its third victory, this time over Azerbaijan 1-0 in Baku. Yugoslavia joined Austria on 9 points but from 4 games after it thrashed FYROM 4-1 in Belgrade. In addition to Spain’s 2-1 victory over Malta to maintain its perfect record under new manager Señor Dixie Flatline, Denmark and the Ukraine shared the points in a 1-1 draw in Copenhagen, while Israel defeated San Marino 3-0 in Tel Aviv. Daniel Jensen appeared for the Danes while Shimon Gershon played for Israel.

[Dixie Flatline]

14th of October 2006

Primera Liga - Game 5: Cartagonova v Barcelona

“… We bring you this morning three uninterrupted hours of news, previews and analysis of today’s crunch match between these great rivals. Since Cartagonova arrived in the Primera Liga just over three seasons ago, the two clubs have fought out some epic battles on the pitch, none more memorable than the Copa del Rey final of 2004 when Cartagonova’s Stan Collymore, now retired from professional football, scored a hat-trick but his club was defeated by Barcelona 4-3 in extra-time. Then, in May this year, Cartagonova gained a measure of revenge when they knocked out Barcelona on the away goals rule after the clubs fought out a titanic war over two excitement-packed legs. In the first leg at the Estádio Municipál de Cartagena, Cartagonova won the game 2-1, but in the Nou Camp, the game exploded when Cartagonova scored four times but still lost the match 5-4 thanks to an unforgettable game from Dutch international striker Patrick Kluivert. Even this season the two clubs have fought memorable matches. In the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup, Cartagonova thrashed Barcelona 4-0, while Barcelona won 3-2 in the second leg.â€

“We can bring you some team news from Cartagonova. Señor Dixie Flatline is expected to name Gavião in the centre of midfield with Spanish international Ballesteros moving back to right-back. That will mean that former Barcelona defender Carles Puyol will be the unlucky man to miss out. In the meantime, Señor Flatline is expected to not recall the recovering captain Iván Vidal and José Manuel Redondo, despite both players rejoining training during the week. Further, Fernando Morán reportedly failed a fitness test this morning and is ruled out of consideration. This means that Gavião will expect to take the captain’s arm-band on his return to action for the first time since the Spanish Super Cup.â€

“On the other hand, Barcelona manager Señor Lorenzo Serra Ferrer has a full squad to pick his team from. He recently criticised his counterpart, Señor Flatline for not selecting more Barcelona players in the Spanish squad. However, the Cartagonova and Spain manager replied saying that when more Spanish players are given a chance to play regularly first team football he will give due consideration to their selection in Spain’s squad. No doubt, Señor Flatline has a point when Barcelona builds its team around the two Italian defenders, Paolo Cannavaro and Alessandro Nesta, Argentine midfielder Juan Sebastián Verón and Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert. These are the players who will catch the eye for Barcelona and Cartagonova will be particularly careful to mind Kluivert, one of the most prolific strikers in modern times. No doubt, Señor Flatline will instruct Gavião to take care of Verón in his first game back from injury.â€

“However, Cartagonova also have their key players that Barcelona will attempt to control. So far this season, Michel has been Cartagonova’s most dangerous midfielders and has been particularly creative down the left of midfield with his telling runs and pinpoint crosses. Javier Zanetti, Barcelona’s right back, will have his hands full trying to control the rampant Michel, who is attempting to impress his manager enough to earn a belated call-up to the Spanish squad for the November friendly against Yugoslavia. Alex Notman is a powerfully built striker who is often the target of the opponent’s best defenders and Señor Flatline is reportedly considering picking Alberto Rivera ahead of Juan Hernández and Daniel Jensen. George Clegg’s confidence in his play has increased since he sealed his regular first-team place ahead of the likes of Jaime Garrido, and the English international will need some minding by Barcelona…â€

[Dixie Flatline]

Well, the match turns out to be a fizzer in the end, really. Barcelona dominate the early exchanges but they can’t hit the target until Verón lets fly with a thunderbolt from 30 yards that Källkvist is powerless to stop. Just before half-time, Kluivert finally manages to elude my defenders just long enough to try to beat the young Swede in goal for Cartagonova, but Källkvist’s mind is on the game and he does well to save the dipping shot from the Dutch international. I bring on Hernández for the abject disappointment that is Alberto Rivera straight after the break and his first meaningful contribution is to set up Clegg for our equaliser on 51 minutes. We restrict Barcelona to long-range efforts that aren’t close to the mark, although Källkvist does well to pull off a double save on 75 minutes which in the end preserves the point Clegg’s goal earns for us. As the pace of the game dies down in the last ten minutes, we spurn our own opportunities to take the victory, but at least the crowd goes home fairly happy to see points taken off Barcelona.

Cartagonova (4-3-1-2): Källkvist; Lacruz, Gershon, Hakala, Ballesteros; Michel (Garrido 67), Gavião ©, Lua-Lua; Clegg; Rivera (Hernández 46), Notman.

Barcelona (4-3-2-1): Laínez; Sergi, Cannavaro, Nesta, Zanetti; Davids, Guardiola ©, Vicente (Gerard 52); Verón, Dani (Pablo Paz 52); Kluivert (Alfonso 78).

Final score: Cartagonova 1:1 Barcelona

MoM - George Clegg