zipman

02.07.06

Brindisi and Cecina offer us friendlies. But on very stupid days. I won't ruin my guys for this. Offers declined.

Less than one week to our first friendly in Ireland. Excitement! Everybody is more or less fit, even if I expect some players to leave before the season starts.

Money is a problem (same as last season), expectations of the board are a very big problem. Why do does guys want the title from us?

zipman

05.07.06 - B A N

World Cup Semifinals

Czech Republic - ARGENTINA 0:1 (Tevez)
Portugal - ENGLAND 1:2 a.e.t (Andrade - Owen, Beckham)

zipman

08.07.06

The following players made our preseason trip to Ireland and Germany:

GK Michele Nicoletti (29 years; 44 games, 44 goals conceded, 16 clean sheats, 4 MoM; 7.09) played a fantastic season for us after coming from no-leauge Ferentina in preseason. Expected to be also this years starter.
GK Guiseppe Angelo Fioretti (21 years; 0 games), came during the winter transfer window to give Nicoletti some cover. Right now sligthly cooncerned because not being the starter. Could push Nicoletti in case he struggles.

D LC Stefano Fumagalli (24 years; 30 games, 0 goals , 4 assists, 0 MoM; 6.83) came also during preseason last year from Ragusa. Played mostly well, but also had some very bad games. He's quick, but marks badly. Not a given starter anymore.
D RL Gaetano Avolio (24 years; 43/0/3/1; 7.02) grew into a key player last season and will also stay a regular in new season. Advantages are that he can play both sides and he's our best tackler.
D R, M RC Dimitris Karameris (23 years; 28/0/6/0; 6.89) was a regular for Greek side Apollon last year. Due to bad marking skills, I see him rather in offensive midfield. Could with some luck become a team leader. Hope he deals well with our mountain climate.
D LC Vincenzo Marciano (19 years; 42/0/0/0; 6.83) when a 19 year old plays in 42 games from the start, I have not to explain anything. He didn't play spectacular, but usually was very solid. Hopefully his development continues this season.
D L, DM Luca Selvaggi (18 years; 37/0/2/2; 7.22) another starlet who broke unexpectedly into the first team. Had a wonderful season in defensive midfield, while he couldn't perform as well as left defender.
D C Luigi Cuomo (23 years; 43/2/1/3; 7.07) our best offensive defender. Sadly he is a bit too slow to become a class act. Most likely again first choice as central defender, even if he might become challanged by one of the new signings.
D C Orlando Urbano (22 years; 35/0/1/3; 7.11) came from Serie C1/B outfit Sassari Torres, where he was a first team regular. Will be a natural team leader, as he is one of the few players in our squad with Serie C1 experience.
D C Stefano Ciliberto (17 years; 0; 0.00) young talent which provides depth as central defender. Didn't make any games for Vigor Lamezia. Has good physical attributes to becaome a very good defender in future.
DM Guiseppe Montano (19 years; 21/1/0/0; 6.24) unlike Marciano and Selvaggi didn't make his breakthrough last season. Came often into the game as substitute. Still a lot of talent, but sadly lacks determination. Will get more starts if one of the other guys gets a long time injury.
DM, AM C Gianmarco Rodio (20 years; 43/8/9/4; 7.21) the key was to use him as playmaker, where he had a brilliant season. Isn't the most dangerous in front of the goal, but otherwise has all the attributs to become the new Micoud.
M RL Giovanni Lorusso (25 years; 5/0/0/0; 6.60) utility man in midfield. Should maybe get more starts to proove his worth. Right now unhappy because not being a starter. Unsure where his path will lead.
AM RC Davide Favaro (22 years; 7/0/0/0; 6.00) wasn't a first team regular for Serie C2/B outfit Prato. Signed him as backup for Rodio, but a bit unsure if he is good enough to Serie C1 football.
AM R Carmine Gaeta (23 years; 20/1/0/0; 6.30) got a couple of chances as a starter, but failed usually. Unsure if he can develop further even if he has some good basic skills. Lacks determination.
AM RL Antonio La Parta (24 years; 32/6/7/2; 6.69) did better than Gaeta even if he also had some bad slumps. In contrary to Gaeta he was highly productive when he was in good form. Is the master of standard situation and a good friend of Federico Lauria.
AM L Almamy Doumbia (22 years; 31/0/7/1; 6.74) didn't make the World Cup squad of Ivory Coast as he was in a bad slump after the winter break. Hopefully he will find his old form in preseason otherwise La Porta might start in lefe midfield.
AM LC Martino Gravante (19 years; 34/2/6/0; 6.76) maybe the player with the biggest potential at Melfi. Didn't show it often, but certainly will get more chances at first team. His future might be playing forward as well.

F C Federico Lauria (31 years; 44/28/5/7; 7.27) had an outstanding season and scored almost half of our league goals. Will also be a key player for us in Serie C1, whilst he hopefully won't become injured. Can show his younger colleagues up front how to score.
ST Francesco Roberto (19 years; 40/11/6/1; 6.90) also a great talent who stepped often up when Lauria was tired or had a bad day. Was especially hot during the last third of our promotion season. Can become a class act for Melfi.
ST Antonio Rubino (17 years; 24/2/2/0; 6.38) a younger version of Roberto and not yet as deadly in front of the goal. Had only four starts last season and will be given time to develop more.
ST Ernesto Luca Fiumicelli (22 years; 32/15/7/3; 7.00) came Serie C2/A team Jesolo where he was almost as effective as Lauria. Will compete with Roberto for the second spot up front. It will be decisive how Lauria, Roberto and Fiumicelli play with each other. Fiumicelli is overweight and has bad stamina.

retired_puly1364

C'mon CORK!

zipman

The trip to Cork

Our new sponsor Maglione agreed to pay our trip to Ireland and Germany as long we will use the same route as their containers. Meaning no use of planes. So we sat on the computer and tried to figure out how to make the 2.559 km without using planes.

We started our trip with the squad named some days ago on Thursday evening at Melfi station:

Melfi 18:59 -> Foggia 20:07 Regional Train
Foggia 21:42 -> Torino Porta Nuova 07:05 Express Night Train
Torino Porta Nuova 07:05 -> Torino Porta Susa 07:05 Inter Regional Train
Torino Porta Susa 08:10 -> Paris Gare de Lyon 13:45 Euro City / TGV
Paris Gare de Lyon 13:45 -> Paris Gare de Montparnasse 14:35 Suburban Train
Paris Gare de Montparnasse 16:05 -> Morlaix 19:44 TGV
Morlaix 19:54 -> Roscoff Port De Bloscon 20:24 Bus
Roscoff Port De Bloscon 22:00 -> Cork Harbour 9:00 Ferry

Was a hard trip, but we made it in time for the kick-off. I wonder how the guys dealt with being 42 hours on the road, even if they are used a fair share of train travel from last season.

Sadly we here that the famous John O'Flynn (one of the reasons we wanted to play Cork so badly) isn't playing anymore for City. He's even not known in town, which makes us kind of sad. But anyway to play a team which takes part in Europe is a nice task for us.

zipman

08.07.06 / 15:00 / Cork City (Munster, Ireland) - Melfi / Friendly

I was kind of curious how my guys would look like only four weeks after the finale of last season. Already in train I could see that some players are in bad shape and I'm not really sure if my coaches can bring them back to pre-summerbreak-levels. That's why I decided not to start my best players, but those who looked most fit for the game.
Cork City were in my eyes clear favorites despite crashing out in first qualifying round for UEFA-Cup last season and now playing even without their Estonian star coach Tanel Tursk.
My tactics are unchanged compared to last season, despite that I won't use a traditional playmaker anymore and some minor changes in standard situation. The Irish shocked me though by playing a 4-2-4 a system my players never ever saw before.
We were off to a flying start scoring after lass than one minute. Rodio hit the bar, and Il Magico Lauris scored easily on the rebound. The game was a good one and both teams played rather well and open. McCarthy equalized through a lovely free kick, where my goalkeeper Nicoletti didn't look very good. Before the break we had some good chances to take the lead again, but also Cork looked sharp as this was their last game before the Uefa Cup tie against Nistru Otaci.
We didn't make any changes at the break, but I planned to substitute some players after one hour. After the break O'Donovan had a great chance, but he ruined it. As planned I substituted my strikers and a winger after 61 minutes. But right after it Cork took the lead through Gary Walsh. Anyway my Melfisti showed confidence and created a lovely goal when new signing Fiumicelli capped a Favaro - Selvaggi - Rodio combination. 10 minutes later three more exhausted players were substituted. The game looked like a draw now, but Cork's Paul Power scored the goal winner for the hosts. We didn't have the stamina to answer once again. After the match Fiumicelli and Lorusso are slightly injured, we will have to check their injuries at the ferry, as we have only one hour to catch it after the game.

Cork City - Melfi 3:2 (1:1)

Dry 17°C
Attendance: 222
Referee: Jeroen Manders

Melfi 4-4-2
Nicoletti
Fumagalli - Marciano - Cuomo - Avolio
Selvaggi - La Porta - Favaro - Rodio (c)
Lauria - Roberto

Goals:
0:1 Lauria (1')
1:1 (17' - direct freekick)
2:1 (64')
2:2 Fiumicelli (67')
3:2 Power

MoM:
Mark Duffy (AM R, ST, Cork) - one assist and many key passes for the Irishman

zipman

The trip to Emmendingen

Sadly both Rodio and Lorusso weren't very healthy after the Cork game, but both should be able to play again in at least two weeks. After the game we hurried to the ferry so that we could arrive early next morning in France and make it within one day to Emmendingen:

Roscoff Port De Bloscon 8:30 -> Morlaix 9:04 Bus
Morlaix 9:16 -> Paris Gare Montparnasse 13:25 TGV
Paris Gare Montparnasse 13:25 -> Paris Gare de l'Est 14:15 Suburban Train
Paris Gare de l'Est 14:45 -> Strasbourg 18:41 Express Train
Strasbourg 19:43 -> Offenburg 20:15 Regional Train
Offenburg 20:34 -> Emmendingen 21:14 Regional Train

In Emmendingen we will have one week training camp to prepare for the Serie C1. I guess the weather in my home region is more suited for preseason training that the dry mountaints of the Basilicata. We rented a nice Black Forest style hotel which was close to the footballground of local team FSC Oberprechtal (8th division). Perfect!

zipman

09.07.06 - B A N

World Cup Final and 3rd Place Playoff

F I N A L :

Argentina - ENGLAND 0:2 (Owen, Rooney)

3 r d Place:

Czech Republic - PORTUGAL 0:1 (Quaresma)

---

Spain, Holland, Germany, France and Italy sack their managers.

zipman

12.07.06 - B A N

World Cup Awards

Golden Boot:
1st Thierry Henry (France), Michael Owen (England)
3rd Carlos Tevez (Argentina)

Best Player:
1st Thierry Henry (France)
2nd Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast)
3rd David Beckham (England)

Best Goalkeeper:
1st Dragoslav Jevric (SaM)
2nd Ricardo (Portugal)
3rd Paul Robinson (England)

zipman

14.07.06 - Melfi News

After a very good week of training in the Black Forest, we announce the signing of new coach Maurizio Guido, who is taking care of fitness training from now on.
We also sign a a young goalkeeper and defender on trial