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La voce della Curva Nord (The Voice of the North Terrace)
The beginning of a Legacy...?
The phone rung, I woke up with a start, the voice of Fabrizio Toffolo was on the other end. The Irriducibili leader was someone I had grown to know well since I had shattered my knee six months ago, ending my career at Lazio.
"Matt, wake up..." he sounded serious.
"What's wrong?"
"That idiot Claudio has just sacked Rossi."
"But Rossi just got us into the-"
"Yes, I know! The Irriducibili are calling for Lotito's head!"
I paused, wondering why the Ultras were contacting me, but Fabrizio carried on.
"I want you to be the next manager of Lazio."
"Me? But... I have no experience..."
"You're our choice, the fans are behind you."
"But, why not Paolo?"
"Di Canio is happy at Cisco. You are the choice of the Irriducibili. We have arranged for you to be interviewed at ten, I will be there to pick you up at nine."
The phone cut off. I looked to the clock, it was 7:50. I wondered if Fabrizio was joking, but it didn't seem likely. I switched on the TV to find out more, there was a display by the Irriducibili, chanting 'CLAUDIO OUT!' outside the Olimpico Stadium.
I wondered to the shower, deep in thought, I had always wanted to manage a club, but was the pressured job of the Lazio hotseat a good place to start? As a player I had learned how quickly the feelings around the blue side of the Olimpico could change based upon performances, signings and media interaction.
The expectations of the club were higher than ever as well, with qualification to the Champions League having been achieved, the fans on the Curva Nord were expecting big things from the coming season. Was a rookie really the right choice to lead the side forward?
I finished my shower and got dressed, putting on my best light blue shirt and a white Armani suit with a yellow tie. My white trousers and shoes made quite a strange but professional-looking wardrobe.
I stood outside of the front door of my out of City mansion on the outskirts of Rome. Fabrizio's black Mercedes rolled up in front of me, the man scowling as he opened the passenger door for me. I slid into the leather seat, the fine smell of a walnut interior surrounding me as I closed the door.
Fabrizio explained as he drove to the Olimpico, "Claudio knows that he has to appoint someone who the Irriducibili will approve of - its not good enough to lose Rossi over contract negotiations - the man is worth more than was offered."
"For Claudio, you're someone who the fans start on good terms with - if you mess up at the start, we're still behind you. My personal belief is that you can be a top manager, you've shown tactical understanding, you love Lazio, there is no better contestant for the job."
We pulled up outside the 80,000 seater stadium within which I had played for most of my career.
I got out of the car, followed by Fabrizio and a Lazio official who had come to greet us. We were led to the office of Claudio Lotito, through the hall of fame, covered with pictures and trophies.
I was ushered into Claudio's office as Fabrizio was led back to the Irriducibili outside the stadium. Claudio was sat behind a mahogany desk in a well decorated room, sporting pictures of Lazio's finest moments, "Be seated."
I took my seat, opposite the owner of the club. He took no time in getting into the details, "Matthew, you have been a great player at Lazio, the fans are very hopeful that you will take this skill and leadership into management. I have no way to assess your skills, but I am willing to offer you a one year deal to take over this sporting club."
He continued, "There will be transfer funds available, but you will be expected to take this club back to Europe at the end of the season."
It didn't take a whole lot of consideration before I smiled and shook Claudio's hand. After signing the contract and rubberstamping, I was taken to the training ground and announced to the fans as the new manager. The Irriducibili chanted, "FORZA LAZIO" and slowly dissipated as I looked over my players and staff.
11-11-2007, 08:27 PM
La voce della Curva Nord (The Voice of the North Terrace) Post #2
Vincent Degre - Degre is a young keeper, and probably doesn't have the quality to play Serie A football at the current time. With some time, could become something, but right now isn't a considerable player.
Fernando Muslera - Muslera is our first choice goalkeeper at the moment. The Uruguayan is a relatively good and accomplished keeper, but isn't particularly commanding of his back four. His technical attributes are pretty much faultless.
Central Defenders
Emilson Cribari - Cribari is a quality centre back, with good strength, positioning and a great header of the ball. I hope that Cribari will be my rock at the back for the season coming, and he will likely be present in my lineups.
Modibo Diakate - The French defender is young and hungry, but his decision making skills sometimes let him down. I will probably be hoping to send him on loan in order to further his footballing education.
Sebastiano Siviglia - An experienced head in the squad, Siviglia will probably figure in some games this season, but ideally will not play too many games due to his age.
Guglielmo Stendardo - Stendardo is the best centre half in the squad, but his fiery reputation preceeds him, and I am worried for his discipline. Has all the right attributes to be an absolute wall at the back.
Full Backs
Lorenzo Di Silvestri - Definitely one to watch for the future, the youngster is highly rated in the Lazio support and will be someone who I am looking to push for a first team place by the end of the season or certainly by the middle of the next season.
Lionel Scaloni - Another right sided player with a lot of quality, Scaloni is likely to play a figuring part in my first season's squad. The Argentinian has few real weaknesses and can be counted on technically and physically.
Aleksandar Kolarov - A left sided defender who I will probably be looking to offload. Will not displace Zauri in my plans, and isn't a great deputy to the Captain either.
Luciano Zauri - A popular player in the dressing room and current club captain. He seems to be a quick and intelligent player and will round off a quality back four. The club certainly doesn't seem to lack class at the back.
Central Midfielders
Fabio Firmani - An average player whom I will probably be looking to get rid of in the near future.
Gaby Mudingayi - Mudingayi is a holding midfielder whom I rate as the best midfielder in the side, I'm looking to use him as an anchorman ballwinner in my side.
Cristian Ledesma - Another quality midfielder with a great passing ability and good footballing intelligence. Has a vicious shot on him as well.
Massimo Mutarello - Quality depth, but not really a top Serie A player by any means.
Mourad Meghni - Another player for the depth, but not someone I will be looking to use as a key player.
Stefano Mauri - A very exciting attacking player who can also cover the wings if required. Very balanced.
Wingers
Valon Behrami - A good young prospect who will probably be my starter on the right. Easily our best starlet and one to try to hold onto.
Christian Jose Manfredini - Probably no more than a good backup player.
Simone Del Nero - Again, a squad player. I would say that the left wing is probably a position to strengthen.
Strikers
Goran Pandev - The best player at the club, a very exciting player who is sure to score goals regularly.
Stephen Ayodele Makinwa - A player who can be relied upon to produce an impact, but will find it tough to displace Pandev or Rocchi.
Tommaso Rocchi - A strong and consistant finisher who will hit the back of the net. Again, one of the best players at the club.
Summary
I plan to buy a goalkeeper, a backup left back to push Zauri and a left midfielder. With these players I see European qualification as likely.
11-11-2007, 11:05 PM
La voce della Curva Nord (The Voice of the North Terrace) Post #4
One of my first jobs was to overhaul the backroom of the club. I sacked all of the coaches other than the goalkeeping coach (Guido Nanni) and quickly moved to bring my own people in.
The following coaches made up my backroom:
Strength - Marco Oneto
Aerobic - Roberto Bocchino
Goalkeeping - Guido Nanni
Tactics - Andreas Kopke
Ball Control - Enrico Arrigotti
Defending - Dan Apolzan
Attacking - Guiliano Filipponi
Shooting (and Assistant Manager) - Italo Galbiati
Set Pieces - Ludek Miklosko
I had also decided very quickly that I needed to increase the size of the scouting team, offering deals to a couple of well known scouts. I also made my first signing, the £2.7M move for left/centre back Stefan Radu of Dinamo Bucuresti.
I tuned into the Champions' League qualifying draw whilst the team played, Galbiati taking control of the friendly matches. We were drawn against AEK Athens, which would prove a test for the side.
There were a few injuries sustained during the friendly campaign, including Behrami and Stendardo, although they looked likely to resolve themselves before the start of the competitive season.
We were drawn to play against either Sienna or Reggina away from home in the Coppa Italia, although the cup was not really seen as an important competition it would definitely be nice to bring any silverware to Olimpico in the season coming up.
I put in offers for Xisco from Betis, and Coman from Rapid Bucuresti, then headed for the plane to Athens.
AEK Athens vs LAZIO
Champions League - Third Qualifying Round
Wednesday, 15th August, 2007
I told the lads to go out for the win, we were the better side and we needed to show it. A score draw wouldn't be a terrible result, but I wouldn't feel comfortable without an away goal.
We started off brightly, with three corners in the first five minutes. Unfortunately we were wasteful of the opportunities we did create, and I was left with my head in my hands after Pandev nodded wide from the six yard line.
We continued to push the Greeks, and allowed them very little in the way of chances at the other end. On thirty eight minutes, we took the lead, Pandev feeding Makinwa through on goal, and Makinwa slotting controlledly past the keeper. The travelling Irriducibili chanted my name for the first time, and hopefully, I thought, for the first of many.
I gave the lads some encouragement at half time, they deserved it for the way they had played. Makinwa nearly added a second on fifty minutes, a deflection taking his goalbound shot wide off the post.
On sixty minutes, I substituted Mudingayi off for Mutarelli, resting the Belgian. Nearly as quickly as Mutarelli had come on, he chipped a neat ball over the AEK back line which Pandev slipped home. 2-0 Biancolesti.
On seventy minutes, Ledesma hit the post from a well hit free kick, Makinwa blasting the rebound over the bar, but three minutes later, Makinwa got his second, and our third, with a cool finish from the byline.
On eighty eight minutes, I took Behrami and Makinwa off, the latter recieving a standing ovation, and put Rocchi and Manfredini on. The game ended 3-0 and I congratulated the lads on a good result.
Coman soon signed on the dotted line, adding some quality to the squad, and not long after it was Xisco pledging his allegience to the Biancocelesti cause. The quality of my signings was ringing with real optimism in the Curva Nord, but it was also putting me under pressure, as fans were already discussing Champions League aspirations.
The club announced the season ticket sales at 10,730, I wasn't really sure what to make of this figure, it seemed very low but Claudio assured me that it was fairly normal.
Offers kept coming in for Goran Pandev, one of which was a co-owner offer from AC Milan, which I couldn't help but consider because he would still be playing for my side for another two years. I offered them this co-ownership for £10 million, which would give me a chance to make another couple of quality signings or have money for January.
11-12-2007, 08:13 AM
La voce della Curva Nord (The Voice of the North Terrace) Post #7
I remember reading your story about your time in Romania a while back also, it was a real shame that it didn't finish, one of my favorites on these boards along with 'Blade'.
11-12-2007, 07:57 PM
La voce della Curva Nord (The Voice of the North Terrace) Post #8
La voce della Curva Nord (The Voice of the North Terrace) 
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