retired_xs2khizar

Sunday 12th January 2003

We didn't have far to travel for our visit to Acireale, a town on the east coast of Sicily close to the city of Catania. With Acireale having been close to the top of the table all season and currently holding the third spot, it is an easy decision to continue with our new specialised away match formation. The only change in personnel is Graziano Ursino replacing the suspended Tamburro.

Serie C2/C
Acireale v Ragusa

Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Ursino, Infantino(c), Italia, Guastella; Manoni, Cirillo, Caramel, Pellegrino, Cooke; Ferrara.

We made a bright start in the first half an hour, with Pellegrino's towering header hitting the crossbar and the home goalkeeper Pavarini making a couple of saves, so we were well worth the lead on 32 minutes. A risky ball left to right across the Acireale defence was intercepted by the adventurous Manoni, who looked up to see Pavarini caught unawares well out of his goal, and the midfielder curled it into the open net from 35 yards. Giancarlo Ferrara almost made it two a minute later when Caramel played a ball over the top of the defence, but Pavarini made another save.

1-0 up at half-time and doing quite well, so no changes. Unfortunately 10 minutes after the break Cirillo was caught in possession deep in midfield by number 6 Vegna, who found Mirco Ventura running in behind Stefano Guastella. Stefano could not get back in time and the Acireale striker finished low across Lenea to make it 1-1.

Vladimiro Caramel had two 1v1 chances that he should have done better with before we finally regained the lead on 74 minutes. Stephen Cooke's free-kick from the right wing arrives at a nice height for Giancarlo Ferrara, who volleys in another for his tally. Unfortunately the lead only lasts 5 minutes. Guastella is left in a 1v2 situation at right back and goes to close down the man with the ball, leaving Ventura wide open, and although Lenea parries his shot onto the post its an easy chance for substitute Direnzo to knock the rebound in ahead of Ursino.

For the last 10 minutes I bring Sabellini and Bonaffini on for the two starting fullbacks, but the normally lethal Ferrara is denied twice by Pavarini as the home keeper continues his atonement for our first half goal.

Final score: Acireale 2 - 2 Ragusa

retired_xs2khizar

Monday 13th January 2003

With the chances that we had we really should have come away with all three points, but it's hard to be disappointed with a draw away against a useful team like Acireale. Man of the match Vladimiro Caramel was a constant danger from start to finish despite his disappointment in front of goal; the 34 year old midfielder clearly felt he had a point to prove against his former club.

On the other hand both full backs were very disappointing, hence their second half substitution. Graziano Ursino continues to look poor as he has done since he arrived here on loan from Reggina, and Stefano Guastella's recent improvement in form was not evident yesterday including being partially at fault for both of Acireale's goals. I'm afraid both Graziano and Stefano will find themselves dropped for the next match.

At the top of the table Brindisi maintain their winning streak to 7 games by beating Olbia 3-2, and increase their lead at the top to 9 points. Our 1 point at Acireale keeps us in 9th position.

I had the rare chance of a brief word with our enigmatic Director of Football Marcello Pitino today, when he came to inform me that Serie D outfit Savoia have tabled on offer of £22,000 plus another player for Giancarlo Ferrara. That player is Nicola Mariniello, a 25 year old Italian wingback who is a good passer of the ball and gets stuck in. Marcello insisted, and I agreed, that we cannot afford to hang on to Giancarlo in the hope that he will change his mind and sign a new contract. We decide to negotiate for £30,000 plus Mariniello and wait to hear what Savoia think of the suggestion.

retired_xs2khizar

Tuesday 14th January 2003

The loss of Giancarlo Ferrara seems sealed as Ravenna make us an offer we can't refuse. A representative for the Serie D club visited Ragusa today to tell us that they are willing to pay £50,000 and exchange midfielder Nazzareno Scopelliti in their attempt to win the chance to talk to Giancarlo. 25 year old Scopelliti, a hard working and aggressive central midfield player, was a target of ours back in the summer but has failed to settle in at Ravenna. He will be a bonus; we would have taken the £50,000 alone. Needless to say we accept, and arrangements are made for the two players to visit their prospective clubs immediately.


Wednesday 15th January 2003

I talked with Nazzareno today on his return visit to the club. He doesn't seem happy about the whole situation and I can tell that he feels a bit let down by Ravenna, a team he only signed for 5 months ago. We offered him a contract that he agreed to go away and consider, but he's obviously very sour on the deal.

Giancarlo returned this evening and I arranged for him to come in and see me. His discussions with Ravenna clearly went much more smoothly and they have agreed terms, so it looks like he will be leaving us.

retired_xs2khizar

Sunday 19th January 2003

There's a big test for the team as the league leaders are in town. Brindisi have been the most impressive side in Serie C2/C so far and come in boasting a 7 game winning streak, not to mention having knocked five past us earlier in the season.

Despite being the home side, in respect to their current form we will stick with the 4-5-1 formation that has served us well in away matches recently. Tamburro returns from suspension and resumes his position at left back, with Danilo Sabellini taking the other full back spot.

Serie C2/C
Ragusa v Brindisi

Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Tamburro(c), Infantino, Italia, Sabellini; Manoni, Cirillo, Caramel, Pellegrino, Cooke; Ferrara.

In a scrappy first half neither team manages to keep possession for long, but at least we are nullifying Brindisi's usual attacking fluency. Approaching the final minute of the half, Manoni repeats his trick of pressuring the opposing defenders and forces another loose pass. Brindisi goalkeeper Adami toys with the idea of coming to sweep the ball up, but Manoni starts to look favourite in the race and the goalkeeper has a late change of mind. The midfielder shows good awareness to spot Ferrara open as the Brindisi defence is caught all at sea, and Ferrara is able to turn and casually lob the desperately backtracking keeper from 25 yards.

After celebrating the goal I return to the dugout shaking my head. I can't believe we're trying to sell this guy.

The whistle for half-time sounds shortly afterwards and we go in for the break. Stephen Cooke had not been finding much joy down the right hand side, so I rest him in favour of Alessandro Bonaffini. At the start of the second half Brindisi force a good save from Giuseppe Lenea, then almost immediately Cirillo plays Ferrara in at the other and and the striker shaves the outside of the post. There's a lot of activity on the Brindisi bench in the second half as start to try everything to break us down, changing formation and making substitutions, but we are looking solid and holding our shape well.

With 10 minutes to go Brindisi win a free kick just inside our half of the pitch and push everyone forward into the box. Pietro Infantino towers highest to head the ball clear, and Giancarlo Ferrara picks the ball up at the halfway line. With the free-kick taker trailing in his wake, Giancarlo races on to finish confidently past Adami and seal the victory.

Final score: Ragusa 2 - 0 Brindisi

retired_xs2khizar

Monday 20th January 2003

To say that I'm delighted after yeserday's result would be an understatement - we just beat the runaway league leaders 2-0! The mood among the players was sky high following the game and they deserve it after keeping their spirits up through a rocky start; I have given them all the day off training today as a reward.

In the match itself Caramel and Pellegrino again bossed the midfield, and Pietro Infantino was a tower of strength at the back as he rediscovered his lost form, but Ferrara was just superb. Apart from his 2 goals his movement was excellent and he worked tirelessly on his own, and if it proves to be his last appearance in Ragusa blue then he certainly hasn't left quietly. His 13th and 14th goals in all 23 appearances this season puts him 5th in the division's goal scoring charts.

retired_xs2khizar

Wednesday 22nd January 2003

Surprisingly the deal with Ravenna has collapsed. After taking a few days to think about it, Nazzareno Scopelliti finally rejected our contract outright and refuses to re-negotiate. The guy seems to have something against us.

Giancarlo Ferrara did agree terms with Ravenna but as far as I can tell that agreement has been cancelled by the Serie D club and the whole thing is off. I have tried to contact Marcello to seek his assistance but have been unable to get hold of him, and both Giancarlo and I are left puzzled as to why there has been this sudden turn around.


Friday 24th January 2003

I found time to cross over into southern Italy and pay a visit to Pietro Alderuccio, to see how the rehabilition from his back injury is coming along. The young central defender has been recovering well from his accident, and although at one point it was within a whisker of being career threatening, his doctors and physiotherapists are confident that he will be back to full strength before the summer. The bad news for Pietro is that his club Reggina do not have the same faith in him, and have taken the ruthless decision to place him on the transfer list during his rehab. Pietro's contract also expires, oddly enough, early in September of this year. Not that those details had anything to do with my visit, of course.

retired_xs2khizar

Sunday 26th January 2003

With 1 week until the transfer deadline, early this morning we finally get a response from Savoia and Ravenna concerning Giancarlo Ferrara. Although Ravenna neglect to provide an explanation for the sudden collapse of the proposed deal, both clubs inform us that 'while still retaining their interest in the player they do not wish to pursue that at this time'. I think it is clear what that means, and how their stance will change when Giancarlo becomes eligible for approach at the end of the month.


Our previous meeting with Puteolana, week 2 of the league season back in late September, ended with us losing 2-0. Since then though they have no been so lucky, and in fact come to Ragusa with a run of no wins from their last 14 matches.

Claudio Gallicchio return to the team, hopefully with some hunger to prove himself, and with the shift in formation it is Manolo Manoni who is the unlucky midfielder to sit out.

Serie C2/C
Ragusa v Puteolana

Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Tamburro(c), Infantino, Italia, Sabellini; Cirillo, Pellegrino, Cooke; Caramel; Ferrara, Gallicchio.

We dominated the first half. Stephen Cooke had a screaming volley disallowed because of a player in an active offside position, before Giancarlo Ferrara gave us the lead on 10 minutes with a typically smooth finish.

In the second half I substituted Ferrara for Lupo, in light of recent events, and Lupo almost provided Gallicchio with a goal when he crossed for his strike partner, only for visiting goalkeeper Paolo Cavalieri to produce a magnificent clawing save. Puteolana never got a look in and we strolled to the 3 points.

Final score: Ragusa 1 - 0 Puteolana

retired_xs2khizar

Monday 27th January 2003

2550 fans in the Aldo Campo Selvaggio enjoyed watching us romp to a comfortable victory yesterday with the 1-0 scoreline only flattering Puteolana. The ever superb Gaspare Pellegrino controlled the entire match from centre midfield, pulling all the strings from start to finish. Stephen Cooke was particularly bright and both of the full backs found space to join in the play regularly.

Despite the win we somehow still don't improve on 9th place, but 5 wins and a draw from the last 6 games is a very encouraging run.

retired_xs2khizar

Saturday 1st February 2003

It finally happened, and there's nothing we can do about it. Giancarlo Ferrara has travelled to Monza this afternoon to discuss joining up with the Serie C2/A club when his contract expires in the summer. It's a frustrating feeling.

Chairman Giuseppe Antoci was sympathetic and reassuring when we met up for lunch. He is very pleased with my performance, the fans are delighted with the progress that the club is making, and both he and the fans give their full support to my management of the club. It's nice to hear, but it won't get me 20 goals a season.

It's a real blow for the club, especially with the financial situation the way it is. To make matters worse, the transfer deadline also passes today without us being successfull in signing anyone. I get the feeling that transfer market has really been laughing at us this season. I'm not even consoled by the bitter satisfaction of knowing that Ravenna's devious strategy concerning Ferrara appears to have completely backfired on them.


Speaking of financial problems, fellow Serie C2/C club Fidelis Andria have announced that receivers have been brought in to deal with their situation. All transfer funding has been withdrawn and the receivers have indicated that they will consider any reasonable offers which are made for the club's players. This immediately grabs my attention, as they have three players that interest me: Defender Stefano Fumagalli, Midfieler Davide Faieta and striker Andrea di Napoli. I will ask Enrico Calabrese to go and scout the club to see what he can recommend.

retired_xs2khizar

Tuesday 4th February 2003

In a rare bit of press coverage for our obscure little club, Chairman Giuseppe Antoci declared himself extremely pleased with this weekend's result. The article went on to say that the team were tipped to toil at the bottom of the league this season but current form looks like keeping them out of trouble. Indeed it has, as we have drawn right up behind the teams challenging for the playoffs and opened up a 6 point lead ahead of 10th placed Foggia.

There was also a comment from unsettled Argentinian goalkeeper Nicolas Cinalli, who told the paper that he is concerned about his omission from the first team. It is understandable, but I cannot promise him things will change unless I see reason for them to; I can only assure him that he will be selected if the time is right. After discussing the player with my assistant, Antonio tells me that in his opinion Nicolas is overrated and he does not think the keeper will ever become a consistant performer at the club.