retired_amyslack

Thanks peljam

Back To The Top

Sandy was hopeful that his team could maintain their momentum after a much-needed win and a home game against relegation-threatened Fiorentina should provide a good opportunity for another three points. He decided against changing a winning team despite his concerns about the form of Luca Foldi. However, he was forced into one change in defence as Santos was serving a suspension so Daniele Magliocchetti was given a place in the starting eleven.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday March 7th 2010
Serie A Game 29
Fano 4 Fiorentina 0
It turned out to be a very good decision to keep Foldi in the team as he played his best game for us since his arrival, scoring twice and setting up the other two goals. I can’t criticise any area of our play today as the team was strong in all areas and never allowed the visitors a scent of goal.

Team Selection
McGregor (7), Ame (7), Garry (9), Magliocchetti (8), Tchangai (8), M Ferri (8), Odair (7), Palacios (8), Collacchioni (8), Foldi (9*), Visentin (9)

Goals
Foldi 10, 47, Visentin 11, Collacchioni 18


Boosted by their good win the team knuckled down to a productive week in training, the only problem being an injury to Odair that would sideline the influential Brazilian for at least a fortnight. This meant that Davide Andorno would be in the team for the trip to second place Vicenza, a team that had surprised everybody with their fine form this season.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday March 14th 2010
Serie A Game 30
Vicenza 0 Fano 2
An excellent first 45 minutes provided the platform for an very good win as Luca Foldi kept his form to set up our opener and score our second. Had Andorno not missed a penalty shortly before half time our lead would have been even more comfortable. The home side carved out some decent chances after the break but their finishing was surprisingly poor and when their top scorer Nicola Ventola was sent off after kicking out at Palacios then the game was as good as over.

Team Selection
McGregor (7), Ame (7), Garry (7), Magliocchetti (7), Tchangai (8*), M Ferri (7), Andorno (7, sub 77), Palacios (7), Collacchioni (8), Foldi (8), Visentin (7)
Subs – Machado (7)

Goals
Visentin 29, Foldi 32


A very good win on the road lifted Fano up to second place on goal difference and with Roma suffering a 3-1 defeat at home to Juventus, Sandy’s team found themselves just two points behind the league leaders. The manager was anxious to keep the winning habit going in the next match at home to 13th place Udinese. This would have to be done without Ryan Garry, the English fullback having struggled all week with a knock sustained last weekend. Michele Ferri was moved across to play on the right of defence and namesake Luca came in on the left.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday March 21st 2010
Serie A Game 31
Fano 2 Udinese 0
I think it’s safe to say that Luca Foldi has found his feet now! Four goals in three games have done wonders for his confidence and he is now making a key contribution. It was good to see Tchangai getting his first goal of the season too. This was exactly the sort of win that we need to get if we are really going to challenge in this league – we didn’t play at our best but we still got the three points. McGregor made some crucial stops in the second half to keep the visitors at bay and all in all I’m very satisfied with the result.

Team Selection
McGregor (8), Ame (7), M Ferri (7), Magliocchetti (7), Tchangai (7), L Ferri (7), Andorno (7), Palacios (7), Collacchioni (8), Foldi (9*), Visentin (8)

Goals
Foldi 29, Tchangai 40


A weekend schedule of international friendlies gave Fano a ten-day break before they would next see action and Sandy was grateful of the extra time as he wanted his team to be as well prepared as possible for their next game. The reason – their next opponents were Serie A leaders Roma and the game would be played at the Olimpico stadium in Rome where they would be playing in front of at least 60,000 fanatical Romans. The manager was pleased to see both Ryan Garry and José Reis Odair back in the side and he kept his fingers crossed that Luca Foldi would continue his goal-scoring sequence.

Sandy’s Journal
Wednesday March 31st 2010
Serie A Game 32
Roma 1 Fano 3
The game plan was to keep it tight at the back and look to hit the home side on the break, and boy did it work. Two perfect breakaway goals inside 20 minutes got us off to a fantastic start and the sheer pace of Luca Foldi was instrumental in both of them. He set Visentin up for the opener and scored the second himself with the most delightful chip over the advancing keeper. Roma pulled a goal back before the break but I told the boys at half time to just keep playing as they were and we would get the win. Our decisive third goal had an outrageous stroke of good fortune about it as Roma keeper Cristiano Lupatelli somehow managed to fumble a cross from Odair into his own net.

Team Selection
McGregor (5), Ame (6), Garry (6), Magliocchetti (7), Tchangai (8), M Ferri (6), Odair (8), Palacios (8), Collacchioni (8), Foldi (9), Visentin (10*)

Goals
Visentin 6, Foldi 18, Lupatelli (o.g. 56)

retired_sweetpea1214

good run Bob :thup:

retired_amyslack

Thanks Weegie

Hanging On

Sandy realised with some amusement that when he looked at the Serie A table that the date at the top of the newspaper read April 1st 2010. But this was no April Fool’s joke – Fano sat on top of the table for the second time this season.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | FANO | 32 | 17 | 8 | 7 | 45 | 24 | +21 | 59 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Roma | 32 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 62 | 36 | +26 | 58 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Vicenza | 32 | 17 | 6 | 9 | 43 | 29 | +14 | 57 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Milan | 31 | 17 | 5 | 9 | 54 | 41 | +13 | 56 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Juventus | 32 | 15 | 9 | 8 | 57 | 46 | +11 | 54 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Perugia | 32 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 52 | 41 | +11 | 50 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Sampdoria | 31 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 58 | 49 | +9 | 48 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Atalanta | 32 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 61 | 51 | +10 | 47 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Cagliari | 32 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 52 | 45 | +7 | 47 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Inter | 32 | 13 | 7 | 12 | 42 | 44 | -2 | 46 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Reggina | 32 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 44 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Como | 32 | 12 | 5 | 15 | 55 | 55 | 0 | 41 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Parma | 32 | 10 | 9 | 13 | 43 | 50 | -7 | 39 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Torino | 32 | 11 | 6 | 15 | 42 | 50 | -8 | 39 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Udinese | 32 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 40 | 44 | -4 | 38 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Palermo | 32 | 11 | 4 | 17 | 33 | 50 | -17 | 37 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Lazio | 32 | 9 | 5 | 18 | 40 | 61 | -21 | 32 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Bari | 32 | 9 | 4 | 19 | 35 | 53 | -18 | 31 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Ternana | 32 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 31 | 57 | -26 | 30 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Fiorentina | 32 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 36 | 55 | -19 | 28 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
Just how long they would stay there was anybody’s guess but a midweek match at home to struggling Palermo gave Sandy every hope that it would be for a few more days at least.

Sandy’s Journal
Wednesday April 7th 2010
Serie A Game 33
Fano 1 Palermo 0
Well we got the win but it took a rather scrappy penalty to secure the points. Not that we were short of chances but Croatian international Stipe Pletikoska was in brilliant form between the sticks and he kept out everything that we could throw at him.

Team Selection
McGregor (7), Ame (7), Garry (7), Magliocchetti (7), Tchangai (6, sub 85), M Ferri (7), Odair (8), Palacios (8), Collacchioni (7), Foldi (8), Visentin (8)
Subs - Fernandez Perez (7)

Goals
Palacios 51


Another home game followed a few days later with Torino, struggling in the lower reaches of the table, the visitors. Another win was essential if Fano were to maintain their unlikely championship bid and Sandy was able to field an unchanged lineup.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday April 11th 2010
Serie A Game 34
Fano 2 Torino 1
We somehow managed to survive the dismissal of two of our players and scrape through with a win but I have to say that I am less than impressed with the standard of refereeing in this game. Odair was the first to go after 24 minutes after a badly timed tackle. José Reis is not a dirty player by any means and there was no malice involved, just bad timing, and a yellow card would have been sufficient. By that time we were a goal up after Magliocchetti powered home a header form an early corner. Another poor decision went in our favour shortly before half time when we were awarded a penalty, Palacios stepping up to double our lead. But we conceded just after the break and when Tchangai got a straight red after an accidental collision with an attacker, things didn’t look good. I was frankly amazed at the ref’s decision and I’ll be appealing against both dismissals but I don’t hold out much hope.

Team Selection
McGregor (6), Ame (8), Garry (7), Magliocchetti (8), Tchangai (6), M Ferri (8), Odair (6), Palacios (7), Collacchioni (7), Foldi (7), Visentin (7, sub 78)
Subs - Fernandez Perez (6)

Goals
Magliocchetti 8, Palacios 37


As Sandy expected, his appeals were both dismissed and even worse was to follow as the notoriously strict disciplinary panel slapped a further two-match ban on both players. Fano would now enter the climax of the season with two key players unavailable for three out of their final four matches. The first of those games involved a trip to Cagliari and Sandy decided that Santos would step into the defence with Davide Andorno coming into midfield.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday April 25th 2010
Serie A Game 35
Cagliari 2 Fano 1
Ever had the feeling that things are not going your way? Having got off to a great start with an early goal from Matteo Visentin we then lost Andorno with a shoulder injury but Machado came on and put in a decent shift. When we lost Foldi just after the break that did affect us though as we missed his pace and determination up front. We started to fall back deeper and deeper and allowed them to square the game on 55 minutes. It looked like we were going to hold on for the draw when deep into injury time Santos was beaten in the air yet again and the ball deflected off Ame and into the net for a devastating defeat.

Team Selection
McGregor (5), Ame (6), Garry (7), Magliocchetti (6), Santos (5), M Ferri (7), Andorno (6, sub 18), Palacios (7), Collacchioni (8), Foldi (7, sub 52), Visentin (9*)
Subs – Machado (7), Alberti (6)

Goals
Visentin 9


Despite the deep disappointment of succumbing to a last-second defeat, Sandy was comforted by the way that some other key results went as Roma drew at home with Vicenza and Milan lost at Sampdoria, meaning that Fano held on to first place.

retired_ClintyB

Just read the whole story BobBev, it's a great read. continue youre good work!

retired_amyslack

Cheers Selaw

To The Wire

Trying to remain cool, calm and collected, Sandy sat back and took stock of his team’s position.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | FANO | 35 | 19 | 8 | 8 | 49 | 27 | +22 | 65 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Milan | 35 | 19 | 6 | 10 | 61 | 46 | +15 | 63 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Roma | 36 | 18 | 8 | 10 | 68 | 43 | +25 | 62 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
Remaining Games
Sunday 2nd May
Fano v Bari
Fiorentina v Milan
Udinese v Roma

Friday 7th May
Milan v Fano

Sunday 9th May
Atalanta v Fano
Milan v Vicenza
Roma v Ternana

It was clear that should they beat relegation threatened Bari at the weekend then their trip to Milan would effectively be a title decider. With both teams having a game in hand over Roma the match next Friday could determine the outcome of the entire season. The town was engulfed in a media frenzy and it seemed that every sports journalist and TV reporter wanted to speak to the manager, his players, the coaches, the Chairman or indeed anyone vaguely connected with the club. The whole nation seemed gripped by the unlikely possibility that the Serie A title could be won by a small provincial club instead of one of the big boys.

It was difficult for anyone at the club to escape the glare of the media and Sandy was very concerned about the negative impact that all this attention would bring, heaping even more pressure on his players. The manager himself was struggling to stay in control of his emotions. Sandy may have become a much more balanced and happier man since his nightmare days at Rangers but he now faced a situation that could start to unravel him completely. What if his team blew their chance of glory again? How could Sandy deal with the crushing sense of disappointment and failure? Would he go back to his old ways and seek solace in solitude and alcohol? And then he remembered the words that he had read a few years ago that had been so instrumental in his healing.

“If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same”

And he knew that whatever happened he would be OK.


For the visit of Bari the manager made two changes to his team. Keeper McGregor was not a happy man. Despite being so close to a major title the Scotsman just wasn’t happy in Italy and yearned to return home. This was clearly starting to affect his performance so he was moved to the bench and Luzi would start. His other alteration was to drop Santos and bring in Fernandez Perez in the hope of shoring up his defence.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday May 2nd 2010
Serie A Game 36
Fano 2 Bari 2
I blame myself for letting three points slip away – 2-0 up and inside the last ten minutes I assumed that the game was won. I took off our two most effective players to rest them before the crunch match at Milan. With our attacking threat blunted and our defence seemingly asleep, we concede twice in the closing minutes to drop two vital points.

Team Selection
Luzi (6), Ame (5), Garry (8), Magliocchetti (4), Fernandez Perez (7), M Ferri (6), Andorno (9*, sub 82), Palacios (8), Collacchioni (7), Foldi (7), Visentin (8, sub 82)
Subs – Machado (6), Alberti (6)

Goals
Palacios 5, Andorno 77


The damage caused by the dropped points was minimised when the other Serie A results began to filter through – Milan had contrived to lose 5-3 at Fiorentina and Roma had drawn 1-1 at Udinese. This gave the table a rather interesting look and put Vicenza back in the hunt.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | FANO | 36 | 19 | 9 | 8 | 51 | 29 | +22 | 66 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Roma | 37 | 18 | 9 | 10 | 69 | 44 | +25 | 63 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Vicenza | 37 | 18 | 9 | 10 | 47 | 33 | +14 | 63 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Milan | 36 | 19 | 6 | 11 | 64 | 51 | +13 | 63 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

So this was it – the biggest game of the season against one of the biggest teams in the country. Sandy made four changes to his lineup, one enforced and the rest planned. Michele Ferri was suspended so Luca Ferri would play at left back. In a calculated gamble he replaced his entire central defence with Igor Herrero playing at sweeper with Erik Hagen and Ricardo Costa as his two centre backs. The decision was based on both recent form and the morale of the players. He wanted players that believed that the team could win and only time would tell if he had made the right call.

Sandy’s Journal
Friday May 7th 2010
Serie A Game 37
Milan 2 Fano 2
The gamble didn’t pay off – in fact only some superb saves from Patrice Luzi prevented a rout as Milan outplayed us for long periods of the game. Hagen was a liability at the back but at least our two young strikers didn’t let us down. Matteo Visentin equalised within minutes of us conceding an early goal and Michele Alberti came off the bench to grab a late equaliser. We almost snatched a dramatic win through Roberto Palacios but his shot came crashing back off the crossbar.

Team Selection
Luzi (9*), Herrero (6), Garry (6), Ricardo Costa (6), Hagen (4, sub 57), L Ferri (7), Andorno (8), Palacios (7), Collacchioni (8), Foldi (6, sub 75), Visentin (9)
Subs – Santos (7), Alberti (7)

Goals
Visentin 7, Alberti 83


Sandy had some serious thinking to do – the trip to Atalanta came just two days after their intense encounter in Milan and there were some tired legs amongst the players. He continued to worry about their defensive mistake as the early promise of his sweeper system now seemed much less effective. The fate of the Serie A title now lay in the hands of two teams – a win or a draw would give it to Fano and a defeat coupled with a win for Milan would see a dramatic title playoff.

With three players now back from suspension Sandy could at least restore them to the side. He shuffled his central defenders once again and sent his team out to meet their fate.

Sandy’s Journal
Sunday May 9th 2010
Serie A Game 38
Atalanta 3 Fano 1
What a time to put in one of our worst displays of the season! Even the outstanding Leo Collacchioni had a stinker. But as badly as we were playing we were still just seven minutes away from the title after Visentin squared the game early in the second half. Our hopes were dashed by two late goals and I don’t know about the players but my nerves are shot to pieces.

Team Selection
Luzi (5), Tchangai (6), Garry (5), Fernandez Perez (6), Santos (7), M Ferri (7), Odair (7), Palacios (5, sub 84), Collacchioni (4, sub 67), Foldi (7, sub 84), Visentin (8)
Subs – Santos (7), Alberti (7)

Goals
Visentin 54

Milan came out on top in a tight encounter with Vicenza, winning 1-0 to tie Fano on points and set up the drama of a playoff to decide the Serie A title.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | FANO | 38 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 54 | 34 | +20 | 67 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Milan | 38 | 20 | 7 | 11 | 67 | 53 | +14 | 67 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Roma | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 70 | 44 | +26 | 66 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Vicenza | 38 | 18 | 9 | 11 | 47 | 34 | +13 | 63 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Sampdoria | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 70 | 54 | +16 | 60 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Juventus | 38 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 61 | 53 | +8 | 58 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Atalanta | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 71 | 62 | +9 | 57 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Perugia | 38 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 59 | 51 | +8 | 57 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Reggina | 38 | 13 | 15 | 10 | 55 | 50 | +5 | 54 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Cagliari | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 59 | 55 | +4 | 54 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Inter | 38 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 51 | 56 | -5 | 53 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Como | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 70 | 64 | +6 | 50 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Udinese | 38 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 46 | 45 | +1 | 48 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Lazio | 38 | 14 | 6 | 18 | 52 | 64 | -12 | 48 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Parma | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 51 | 60 | -9 | 46 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Torino | 38 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 47 | 60 | -13 | 43 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Bari | 38 | 12 | 5 | 21 | 44 | 61 | -17 | 41 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | R | Fiorentina | 38 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 49 | 65 | -16 | 40 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | R | Palermo | 38 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 39 | 59 | -20 | 40 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | R | Ternana | 38 | 7 | 11 | 20 | 33 | 71 | -38 | 32 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
Superior goal difference meant that the Stadio Mancini would host the playoff and in the days leading up to the game it seemed like every citizen of Fano had managed to secure a ticket somehow. Prior to the game Milan secured the Italian Cup with a 3-0 aggregate win over Parma and they would be seeking a domestic double.

retired_pugmamy

Wow, I just read this entire thing, and I banged my head on the table when I realized that the story stopped right before the playoff. Anyways, good luck! :cool:

retired_joyce

Great story!

Just grab that title, you deserve it!

Greetz

retired_amyslack

Thanks chaps – sorry to keep you waiting!

Meet Your Destiny

Sandy didn’t usually do team talks, preferring instead to talk to players individually. But given the momentous nature of the forthcoming game he broke the habit of a lifetime and addressed his entire squad.

“Boys, I want you to know that whatever happens today we will end this season as champions. We may not win the title but finishing second in this league is still a fantastic achievement. Now that doesn’t mean that I don’t expect us to triumph – in fact I believe that we will. Try to look at the bigger picture here. Just look at the pressure that is on Milan. They have been runners-up four times in the last five seasons and they’re desperate for the title. Now for some reason everyone expects Milan to beat us. I don’t understand why – this will be our 7th meeting in Serie A and they haven’t won yet. In my book we are the favourites and I want us to go out there and beat them – I know that you can do it if you just believe”

Sandy hadn’t realised that his Chairman had been standing quietly in the background until Mirco Giovanelli spoke.

“Signor Sandy, your words are an inspiration to us all. In fact your very presence here at Fano ees an inspiration. You have brought my Fano to thee breenk of success and eet would be a dream come true for me to win thee title. But you speak thee truth – no matter what happens you are all champions. You play for a small team, a team that has no chance of success, and you have made it a success. And you weel never forget my Fano and my Fano weel never forget Signor Sandy.”

He strode forward and grasped his manager in one of his trademark bearhugs as the entire playing squad applauded and cheered to the rafters.

Sandy had decided that Massimiliano Riccio, one of the few players who had experienced life at Fano in Serie C, would make a rare start in the centre of midfield and the young man would be wearing the captain’s armband for the day. He was hoping that his pace would unsettle the Milan rearguard and present them with some problems.

Sandy’s Journal
Wednesday May1 9th 2010
Serie A Playoff
Fano 0 Milan 0 (Fano win 3-1 on penalties)
It was my much-maligned defence that won this game for us, standing firm under intense periods of pressure from Milan and keeping the game goalless for 120 minutes. This was a very difficult game for me to watch as the nervous tension really began to bite. I saw Milan mount attack after attack and somehow we repelled them. Our defending was desperate at times but when Adriano sent a shot crashing against the bar seconds before the end of the game I somehow felt that the gods were on our side. Even when Shevcheno fired Milan ahead and Matteo Visentin missed our first penalty kick I still remained calm. Adriano found the woodwork again with his attempt and Ricardo Costa squared the shootout. Then Phillipe Mexes sent his kick wide and Odair put us ahead. When Luzi came up with a great save to deny Kapo it all came down to captain for the day Riccio. His kick was true and the net bulged as if in slow motion. There was a second’s silence and then all hell broke lose!

Team Selection
Luzi (8), Tchangai (8), Garry (7), Herrero (6, sub 100), Santos (8), M Ferri (8), Odair (7), Riccio (7), Collacchioni (8), Foldi (6, sub 41), Visentin (9*)
Subs – Alberti (7, sub 105), Ricardo Costa (7), Machado (6)

The Stadio Mancini was filled with celebrating fans as the Fano players went wild, running to every corner of the pitch to drink in the adulation of the fans. When 10,000 Italians really set their emotions free it is quite a sight to behold. Sandy joined in with the rest of them, the normally reserved Scot releasing years of pent up emotional energy. The party went on long into the night, and indeed for the next several days, as the players and the backroom staff were feted all over town, visiting as many bars and restaurants as they could manage and luxuriating in the joy of winning the biggest prize in Italian football.

But within days of securing the title, the Fano Chairman had to have a difficult conversation with his manager.

“Signor Sandy, you know how much thees means to everyone at thee club and to everyone in thee town but I have to let you know something. Inter have sacked Luigi Del Neri and they want you to replace heem.”

“Inter eh.”

“Si, Inter.”

“But they’re in Milan.”

“Si, of course, Meelano.”

“I don’t like the weather up there Mirco so I think I’ll just stick around here if that’s OK with you.”

“I would be much happiness eef you do that Signor Sandy.”

“Mirco, your English is as bad as my Italian, but I know what you mean. Now let’s all go off for a bit of a holiday - we’ve got the Champions League to worry about next season.”

But before the players dispersed for their summer break, Sandy had the pleasure of informing some of them that they had featured in the seasonal awards. Matteo Visentin had been voted the Young Player of the Year, the Fans Player of the Year and was also selected in the Serie A Team of the Year with Leo Collacchioni whilst Odair had finished 3rd in the Foreign Player of the Year voting.

There was success for Juventus in Europe as they won the UEFA Cup, beating Liverpool 2-0 in the final. But Roma missed out in the Champions League as England gained revenge with Arsenal winning, also by a 2-0 scoreline.

retired_sweetpea1214

top noch story bob

Congrats on winning the Serie A :thup:

Champions of Europe Next season?

retired_loribeth

amazing,
read right through and has rekinfled my love for lower league success, congrats on a fab story and hope champions league brings all the success fano deserve!!!