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Sunday 9th March 2003

Our visitors this weekend are Igea Virtus. They currently stand in 16th position and our previous meeting was a dour 0-0 away draw.

Although we are at home against a team lower down the table, the 4-5-1 formation has been serving us well and there seems little reason to change it. Manoni returns from suspension to resume the left midfield role, and Giancarlo Traitor... err, Ferrara is fit enough to be named as substitute.

Serie C2/C
Ragusa v Igea Virtus

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

In the 28th minute Gaspare Pellegrino found Cooke in the right channel, and the English midfielder wriggled into the box then went down under the attentions of Igea Virtus defender Incrivaglia. We were up off the bench claiming a penalty, but the referee wasn't immediately convinced. He trotted over and consulted his assistant... then turned and pointed to the spot!

With our regular penalty taker and general splitter Giancarlo Ferrara sat behind me in the dugout, the task has been passed to Claudio Gallicchio. Claudio looks very nervous indeed as he places the ball on the spot. I immediately have a bad feeling about this. Claudio starts his run up, never looking confident, and his effort curls woefully wide of the keeper's right hand post. Dammit.

We created a few more chances in the first half, with Cirillo and Pellegrino owning the game from midfield, but woeful finishing sends us into the half at 0-0. I make no changes, we had been dominating and the goal must surely come. As the teams head out for the second half and I resume my place on the sideline, I glance across at the Monza striker on the bench.

On 67 minutes there is more controversy, as Nicola Armonia is sent off for dangerous play and the visitors are down to 10 men. Right. With the man advantage and having dominated the match so far, the game is there for the taking and we have to do something. Sending out instructions to switch to 4-3-1-2, I pull Gallicchio and Manoni off the pitch to throw Ferrara and Lupo on up front.

With 10 minutes to go, Marco Cirillo won the ball on the left and found Vladimiro Caramel infield. Vladi dribbled right, cut back to the left, twisted Fabio Caserta inside out, then fizzed a low drive at goal from almost 25 yards. The ball skimmed across the turf and skipped into the bottom corner for a great goal, we finally had the lead that we merited.

In the last minute Ferrara's cross from the left found Lupo open in the area for an easy finish to round it off, his 2nd goal in 11 substitute appearances.

Final score: Ragusa 2 - 0 Igea Virtus

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Monday 10th March 2003

What could have been a frustrating disappointment turned into a great performance in hindsight. Although it took a magical bit of play from Caramel to break the deadlock, there had only been one team in it all game and Igea Virtus had not managed a shot on goal. Marco Cirillo's scintillating performance ran the match with help from Pellegrino, as the pair excelled in all fields yet again.

Goals number 36 and 37 from Francesco Erbini were not enough for Gela as they were held 3-3 at 17th Nocerina, and Fidelis Andria's 0-0 draw sees us go 5th and into the playoff spot!


Tuesday 11th March 2003

Antonio had a quiet word in passing this morning just before we headed out onto the training pitch, to let me know that Nicolas Cinalli is suffering with some problems in his personal life at the moment. His relationship is on the rocks and his girlfriend is threatening to catch the next plane back to Argentina. Nicolas insisted to Antonio that he intends not to let these difficulties adversely affect his level of performance, but all things considered I can see the Argentinian looking ever more likely to leave us this summer.

In news outside of Ragusa, Serie A strugglers Chievo have handed former Chelsea boss Gianluca Vialli the impossible task of saving their top-flight status, as he takes over the manager's role following the dismissal of Del Neri last week.

I sat down to catch an exciting Champions League game on television this evening. In the Westfalenstadion, 10-man Juventus fought back impressively against Dortmund to take a 3-3 draw with David Trezeguet's dramatic 90th minute qualiser.


Thursday 13th March 2003

Tonight saw the 1st legs of the UEFA Cup quarter finals, and there was shock in Rome when a scorching hat-trick by Icelandic striker Eidur Gudjohnsen gave Chelsea a surprise 3-0 away victory over Lazio. Real Betis, who have been red hot all season both domestically and in Europe, continued their quest for glory as another double from Henrik Larsson helped them to a comfortable 3-0 1st leg lead over German outfit Schalke 04.

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Sunday 16th March 2003

The town of Olbia hosts Sardinia's main harbour or port, and we make the trip across the water to face the team 9th in the division. Our previous meeting was settled at 1-0 by Manolo Manoni's memorable chip.

The same team that started against Igea Virtus will also start this game, as I keep faith in Claudio Gallicchio in attack at the expense of Lupo and that other guy.

Serie C2/C
Olbia v Ragusa

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

Lenea makes two superb saves early on, before Stefano Guastella picks up an injury from a jarring collision and has to be substituted in the 38th minute. Graziano Ursino comes on at left back with Simone Tamburro moving across to take over at right back.

Tamburro has barely a few minutes to get used to his surroundings before Olbia capitalise. The captain loses the Olbia winger down our right flank but the resulting cross should have been headed clear easily by Infantino. For some reason the veteran centre back completely loses the flight of the ball, and Giglio can't believe his luck as the ball falls at his feet for the softest of goals.

Scoring on the stroke of half-time is always said to be a great time to get a goal, and it really seemed to knock the stuffing out of us. Throughout the second half we struggle to get out of first gear, even when changing to a more attacking formation and bringing Ferrara on, and Giglio rubbed salt in the wound with his second 10 minutes from time.

Final score: Olbia 2 - 0 Ragusa

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Monday 17th March 2003

So our unbeaten streak comes to an end, as it had to eventually. It is a shame that we let it happen in such a disappointing fashion, because we never really got going at all during the match. Olbia somehow won the midfield tussle where we have usually been so dominating and they controlled the game as a result.

The loss drops us back to 6th place. Our run of good form is brought to a close, a run that saw us take 10 wins and 2 draws from 12 matches spanning the last 3 months.

Stefano Guastella suffered a strained neck from his first half collision and looks unlikely to make it back in time for the important fixture with Fidelis Andria on Sunday.

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Sunday 23rd March 2003

There's a full house at the Aldo Campo Selvaggio for the visit of Fidelis Andria, who are just a point behind us in 8th position. Last time they triumphed over us 3-2 with that man Ferrara bagging both of our goals.

With both Danilo Sabellini and Stefano Guastella sidelined with injuries I am forced to start with Ursino at left back and Tamburro shifts to the right again. For the away side Stefano Fumagalli lined up in defence, but there is no sign of Andrea Di Napoli neither in the starting eleven nor on the bench.

Serie C2/C
Ragusa v Fidelis Andria

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

Vladimiro Caramel and Claudio Gallicchio are both guilty of missing sitters in the first half, before Fidelis Andria start to come into the game and force a good save from Lenea. The match drifts on to the second half, and needing to kick some life into things I bring Ferrara on for the ineffectual Manoni to push for the win.

In the 74th minute, Silvestri skipped past the sluggish Ursino with ease and crossed low and hard into our 6 yard box. In the melee of unrushing players, Lenea uncharacteristically misjudges the cross and can only deflect the ball away, where it rolls nicely into the path of Stefano Morello to tap into the net.

Final score: Ragusa 0 - 1 Fidelis Andria

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Monday 24th March 2003

A second straight defeat and we drop another place, down to 7th. We showed a little more invention than we did at Olbia but were still unable to revive the form of recent weeks, though Fidelis Andria could hardly claim to have deserved all 3 points either. If Caramel or Gallicchio had stuck one of those golden chances away in the first half things might have been different.

retired_xs2khizar

- Month of April 2003, part I -

Sunday 6th - Serie C2/C - Catanzaro v Ragusa

8th placed Catanzaro are based on the southern tip of Italy, so it is only a short trip across Sicily for our next away game. Stefano Guastella has recovered from his neck injury and returns to the starting lineup.

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

In a very even game, neither team really created any gilt-edged chances and it turned into quite a dull affair. Ferrara and Bonaffini came on as I tried to shake things up, but we turned in our third lifeless performance and came away with a point.

Final score: Catanzaro 0 - 0 Ragusa


Olbia's 3-0 victory lifts them 3 places in the table to 6th, leapfrogging Catanzaro, us and Gela in turn. Brindisi win 2-0 at Gela to confirm their guaranteed playoff spot already, though they look like a safe bet for the divisional title anyway. With 5 matches left in the season we are 4 points off the playoff spots. Our recent dip in form, or a more accurate description would be 'screeching halt', leaves it looking like we will probably have to win all 5 matches to realistically be sure of snatching a playoff place.

Two more Italian clubs go into financial crisis, specifically Albinoleffe and Reggiana of Serie C1.


Monday 14th - Serie C2/C - Ragusa v Latina

Latina are currently in 14th, although they can claim a 2-0 victory over us earlier in the season. In an attempt to spice things up a bit more, Ferrara starts and we return to the 4-3-1-2 formation.

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

The only real incident of note in the first half is Stephen Cooke limping off the pitch in the 14th minute to be replaced by Manoni. Shortly after half-time, Marco Cirillo found Gallicchio with a clever angled pass and the striker finally tucked away a goal, only for the linesman to dash our hopes with a flag raised for offside.

With 15 minutes to go the substitute is substituted when Manoni himself is stretchered off holding his ankle, and Bonaffini comes on with Lupo replacing the frankly disinterested Ferrara. We continue to have all the possession as we had done all game, but Latina defend well with us lacking in creativity.

Final score: Ragusa 0 - 0 Latina


Salvatore's physio report makes gruesome reading. Marco Cirillo will need to miss training for a few days with a dead leg, Stephen Cooke's damaged foot will keep him out for 3 weeks, and furthermore Manolo Manoni has strained ankle ligaments that will sideline him for a month.


English Premiership title holders Arsenal have announced that they have sacked manager Arsene Wenger, citing the need for a manager with a fresh approach to the team. After being comfortably top of the table at Christmas, finishing bottom of their Champions League 2nd phase group coincided with some rocky league form to cause them to drop to third and almost certainly out of the title race. With a mere 4 games remaining it looks like Newcastle and Manchester United will fight it out for the Premiership crown.

Arsenal will have to settle for a meeting with their North London rivals Tottenham in the FA Cup final in May.

Radomir Antic has been given the ultimatum by the Barcelona board. 6th in La Liga and elimination from the Champions League is just not good enough for the Spanish giants.

Closer to home, Pescara of Serie C1 become the latest club to have receivers brought in to deal with their financial troubles.

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Sunday 20th April 2003

2215 fans are in the Aldo Campo Selvaggio to watch us take on Palmese, who are currently driving for a playoff spot in 5th place. Our previous meeting back in December was sealed by Manoni's breakaway goal to earn us an impressive 1-0 away win.

Marco Cirillo has fully recovered to start, and Danilo Sabellini is fit enough to make the substitute's bench following the shoulder injury that has kept him out since the start of March.

Serie C2/C
Ragusa v Palmese

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

On 16 minutes Palmese struck first when Gatta rifled a shot into the top corner, but fortunately for us it was disallowed for offside. Undeterred, Palmese hit again 10 minutes later when Verolino rose above Italia to head hom Mele's cross, and this time the goal stood. Palmese had made by far the better start and a goal had been coming.

Just before half-time we finally threatened, as Gallicchio volleyed wide from Caramel's good work and typically accurate cross. At the break I brought Lupo on for the subdued Ferrara, and on 77 minutes he rose high to outjump Palmese number 5 Bogni and flick on Lenea's long goal kick. Claudio Gallicchio raced onto the end of it, shifted the ball to his right as the other centre back Balestrino tried to get across to cover, and blasted a rising shot into the near top corner from just inside the area. 1-1.

Immediately after the restart Lupo was involved again, collecting Infantino's clearing header to lay it off first time to Pellegrino. The midfielder found Vladimiro Caramel just over halfway and a big gap seemed to open up ahead, so Vladi drove through towards the Palmese area. He appeared to take far too much time on the edge of the box, but just when it looked like a defender had closed him down he jinked to his right and sidefooted home, wrong-footing the keeper.

Little more than 5 minutes later we secured a much needed victory as Lupo capped a successful second half performance. His nod to Marco Cirillo sent Marco dribbling down the left wing... Lupo sprinted forwards to meet his cross, brought the ball down calmly in the area, and finished powerfully across the keeper.

Final score: Ragusa 3 - 1 Palmese

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- Month of April 2003, part II -

The victory over Palmese was very welcome indeed, after 4 dreary performances had not only yielded no wins but no goals either. Lupo put in by far his best performance so far in a Ragusa shirt, and Vladimiro Caramel was man of the match following a great 2nd half display that saw us blitz 3 goals past the visitors in under 8 minutes.

With 3 matches remaining, the league table looks like THIS.
Brindisi's 3-1 win at home to Giugliano presents them with the championship and automatic promotion to Serie C1. Tivoli and Acireale were also successful in confirming playoff spots this weekend, which leaves the rest to scrap for the final 2 playoff positions; Fidelis Andria, Gela, Palmese, ourselves, Olbia and Catanzaro are all involved from 4th to 9th. Our remaining fixtures are Lodigiani away, Foggia away and Giugliano at home.


In the UEFA Cup Semi Final 2nd legs this week, favourites Betis continued their march into the final by rounding off a 4-1 aggregate win over Bologna. After knocking out Italian giants Lazio in the quarters, Chelsea had the prospect of an all-English semi against Leeds United. Leeds were able to cancel out Chelsea's 2 goal lead from the first leg to send the tie into extra time and penalties, only for Eidur Gudjohnsen to be the hero again and score the penalty that wins the shootout for the London side.


Saturday 26th - Serie C2/C - Lodigiani v Ragusa

It's 11th v 7th in Rome as we travel to play Lodigiani, a team who have been chugging along just below mid-table for almost the whole season. A Claudio Gallicchio brace gave us three points for Christmas in the previous meeting this season.

With both of our regular wide players - Cooke and Manoni - missing through injury, Bonaffini will start on the left and wingback Sabellini will be asked to play a more advanced role than usual on the right.

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

The first half is shared equally between the two sides, with Lenea making a couple of saves and Gallicchio shooting wide with the best of our half-chances. At half-time I decide to go for it, switching to 4-3-1-2 and bringing Lupo on for the uncomfortable Sabellini.

On 64 minutes Lodigiani midfielder Sanetti looked first time for Bruno Trocini, who had somehow drifted completely away from Infantino and used the space to fire home the opening goal. Pietro had really gone to sleep on that one. Fortunately it only takes us three minutes to respond, when Pellegrino lobs down the left wing and Lupo swings in a cross that is attacked by both Gallicchio and Bonaffini. Bonaffini gets there first to nod the equaliser in at the near post.

Final score: Lodigiani 1 - 1 Ragusa


There are more managerial casualties, this time high profile ones. Radomir Antic finally gets the marching orders from Barcelona that everyone knew was coming, and Marcello Lippi is sacked by Juventus following the Turin side's inability to find consistent league form this season. Conversely, AC Milan are crowned Serie A champions this weekend after a dominating season that proved most pre-season predictions correct.


There's also some more bad news from Salvatore as it seems that experienced midfielder Vladimiro Caramel has suffered a twisted knee in training that will put him on the treatment table for 3 weeks. He will obviously miss both of our final fixtures and it is another blow to our already slim chances of reaching the playoffs.

Yet another small Italian club, Serie C1 side Varese, goes into receivership.

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Sunday 4th May 2003

We are on the east coast of Italy to visit 13th placed Foggia, who last time condemned us to a 3-2 defeat despite a double from Ferrara. Stephen Cooke returns from injury in the nick of time to try his hand in Caramel's support role.

Serie C2/C
Foggia v Ragusa

Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Tamburro(c), Infantino, Italia, Guastella; Cirillo, Pellegrino, Bonaffini; Cooke; Lupo, Gallicchio.

Giuseppe Lenea is called on to pull off a few important saves in the first half, but we also give as good as we get with Pellegrino working especially hard in midfield. Unfortunately Lupo and Gallicchio blaze our best two chances over the crossbar.

Early in the second half Dario Italia picks up a knock and needs to be substituted, so Ursino goes on in his place and Ferrara comes on for Gallicchio. Foggia had a few more efforts on goal in the second half but somehow we coped, and came away with what was in truth a slightly fortunate draw on the balance of play.

Final score: Foggia 0 - 0 Ragusa