Donners

March, season 2004/2005

Disturbingly, my first piece of news in March stated that recently signed Brazilian Under-21 defender Carlos Henrique spoke to the media about being annoyed at being left out of the first team. This seems pretty ridiculous given that he was signed as a hot prospect and has only played two Under-20 games, but unfortunately I apparently couldn’t respond along those lines. Thus, I simply told him he would be selected when the time is right. My coaches and scouts have talked him up, though his attributes aren’t at all impressive, so he may get a go eventually. It just seems a bit silly for him to be demanding a first team spot after two months at the club, especially when he was clearly signed as a prospect!

At any rate, Milan Rapaic missed our dangerous game against Inter in early March through suspension, giving Marco Vianello his first senior start. Inter actually started slowly, but goals on either side of the break and a third in the final minute sealed the 0-3 result. We did manage something of a victory over Inter though, completing the signing of their Italian Under-21 defender Alessandro Potenza.

Alessandro Potenza [21, D C, ITA – 8 U21/0]
Yet another of the players coming over in my attempt to plan for the future, Potenza is a reasonably tall but rather sluggish young defender. He spent last season on loan at Parma and actually played eight senior games, which is a fairly impressive achievement. I signed him as a prospect, but with Sartor having a terrible season, he should walk into a centre back spot.

Potenza debuted at centre back alongside Bilica in our game against Atlanta. Milan Rapaic returned from suspension to form his usual partnership with Bucchi up forward. The first half was scoreless, and the second half didn’t look like being much better when Montervino missed two shots early. He finally decided to pass rather than shoot, hitting a great ball to Rapaic who sent in a sharp shot. It was saved, but the ball rebounded straight to Bucchi. Bucchi went for the tap-in that he has scored from so many times, but somehow the keeper got back in time to save it. That was our last chance, with the game ending 0-0. Potenza was unremarkable on debut, but at least Gianluca Pagliuca finally put in a good performance as the goalkeeper.

I rested Luke Chadwick for the next game against Reggina. While he wasn’t tired or out of form, he had played 34 senior games, which is a bit much. Reggina hit the post early from a tight angle while Montervino ended a good run with a wide shot. A weak kick from Pagliuca gave Reggina their first goal in the 24th minute and they added a second four minutes later. Chadwick’s break only lasted 44 minutes, coming on to replace the injured Giampero Maini. The game petered out after that; the 0-2 loss sending us down to 17th, only out of the relegation zone on goal difference. That was our ninth straight game without a win.

Udinese, the side we were ahead of on goal difference, played an additional match at the end of the month, drawing with Fiorentina and moving ahead of Ancona by a point. While we still have a game in hand, this is a very disturbing development. With Scarchilli still injured, Sartor in poor form and Rapaic on something of a goal drought (around two months, I believe), we could be in serious trouble.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Inter| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Lazio | | 30 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 54 | 18 | +36 | 66 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Roma | | 29 | 20 | 5 | 4 | 63 | 21 | +42 | 65 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Inter | | 29 | 19 | 8 | 2 | 53 | 16 | +37 | 65 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Juventus | | 29 | 15 | 9 | 5 | 48 | 22 | +26 | 54 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Milan | | 29 | 15 | 7 | 7 | 38 | 21 | +17 | 52 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Sampdoria | | 30 | 15 | 6 | 9 | 55 | 36 | +19 | 51 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Parma | | 29 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 36 | 28 | +8 | 47 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Perugia | | 29 | 8 | 12 | 9 | 26 | 26 | 0 | 36 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Chievo | | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 41 | 43 | -2 | 36 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Reggina | | 29 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 38 | 40 | -2 | 35 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Lecce | | 29 | 10 | 5 | 14 | 39 | 50 | -11 | 35 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Atalanta | | 30 | 6 | 14 | 10 | 29 | 36 | -7 | 32 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Brescia | | 30 | 6 | 14 | 10 | 31 | 39 | -8 | 32 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Bologna | | 29 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 29 | 43 | -14 | 30 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Napoli | | 29 | 8 | 6 | 15 | 27 | 43 | -16 | 30 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Fiorentina | | 30 | 8 | 6 | 16 | 27 | 60 | -33 | 30 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Udinese | | 30 | 5 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 46 | -21 | 28 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Ancona | | 29 | 6 | 9 | 14 | 25 | 37 | -12 | 27 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Piacenza | | 30 | 7 | 5 | 18 | 32 | 62 | -30 | 26 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Verona | | 29 | 6 | 6 | 17 | 31 | 60 | -29 | 24 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

Donners

April, season 2004/2005

April had the potential to have a massive impact on our fate with four of our nine remaining games. As if a game against Parma wasn’t a tough enough start, Milan Rapaic had to go off injured in the early minutes. I’m starting to regret re-signing him due to his numerous injuries and lack of goals in recent times. The first half was scoreless, though Parma had their chances. An innocuous clearance from Bilica in the 56th found Christian Bucchi along the touchline parallel with the edge of the area. He ran to the goal line, still very wide, and sent in a rather pointless ball that was neither a shot nor a pass. Nonetheless, the Parma keeper chose to punch, hitting it straight to Luke Chadwick on the edge of the area. The former Manchester United winger blasted it straight back for a shock opening goal. I went on the defensive after that, but a curling Bucchi free kick from 25 yards out with 20 minutes to go gave us a stunning 2-0 lead against our powerful opponents. For once, Parma had no answer, and we came away with three valuable points.

Our next game was against mid-table Perugia. Rapaic and Chadwick had to be rested, with Corrado Grabbi coming in for a rare game. I’ve sent all my young forwards to the Under-20s to keep them match fit, as I always go with Bucchi and Rapaic up forward where possible, and other players don’t get much of a run. Like the previous game, our opponents had their chances in the first half, but it ended scoreless. With ten minutes to go, it was looking like the game would finish scoreless. However, a good centring ball from Grabbi sent Sommese on a run straight down the middle of the pitch. He made it into the area, tailed by three defenders, but just as it looked like he was about to be tackled, he fired off a short pass to Bucchi who had snuck down his left. Unmarked, the forward hit it straight into the net for his 15th of the season. Pagliuca did well to hold on for the final minutes and we finished with our second straight win. We’re still only three points clear of relegation, but it’s a heck of an improvement on our previous form.

Rapaic and Chadwick returned to face Sampdoria. Rapaic missed a good chance for a goal after only 28 seconds, and we were made to pay with a goal off the post 11 minutes later. Pagliuca did brilliantly to keep it to one goal for Sampdoria and Bucchi did his job at the other end, scoring in the 50th after a goal kick floated over the defence for him to run straight at the keeper. Unfortunately, Sampdoria replied a few minutes later and scored again in the 89th to seal it.

With Rapaic continuing his form slump, I recalled 17-year-old Thai striker Supat Rungratsamee to the seniors after several goals for the Under-20s. Having turned 17, I also offered him a full time contract until 2010 for just £375 per week. He happily signed, which should be very useful for Ancona in the future. I also re-signed veteran midfielder Giampero Maini until April 2006 due to his solid performances and my lack of other options in the middle.

Rungratsamee started on the pitch against Napoli, with Rapaic on the bench. Just three minutes in, he had his first goal. Milivoje Cirkovic found him on the edge of the area, and displaying his famous pace and ball control he charged at the keeper and hit an angled ball straight into the net. Napoli levelled the scores in the 31st and snuck in a second a few minutes later to have us suddenly reeling. A knock to Chadwick which forced him off the pitch didn’t help, and nor did Sommese constantly missing long-range shots in the second half. A goal from a free kick to Napoli in the 79th ended our chances of a fightback and a fourth with moments to go just rubbed it in. Bucchi scored our second after a wonderful pass from Cirkovic, but it was far too late. Not only are we back down to 16th spot, several sides below us have a game in hand.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Inter| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Roma | | 32 | 22 | 6 | 4 | 68 | 23 | +45 | 72 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Inter | | 31 | 20 | 9 | 2 | 57 | 17 | +40 | 69 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Lazio | | 33 | 21 | 6 | 6 | 56 | 23 | +33 | 69 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Juventus | | 31 | 17 | 9 | 5 | 52 | 23 | +29 | 60 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Sampdoria | | 33 | 17 | 6 | 10 | 61 | 40 | +21 | 57 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Milan | | 32 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 47 | 25 | +22 | 56 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Parma | | 33 | 14 | 8 | 11 | 42 | 39 | +3 | 50 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Chievo | | 33 | 13 | 6 | 14 | 48 | 45 | +3 | 45 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Reggina | | 33 | 11 | 8 | 14 | 43 | 47 | -4 | 41 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Perugia | | 32 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 32 | 28 | +4 | 40 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Atalanta | | 33 | 8 | 14 | 11 | 35 | 39 | -4 | 38 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Lecce | | 33 | 11 | 5 | 17 | 45 | 62 | -17 | 38 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Napoli | | 32 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 33 | 47 | -14 | 36 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Udinese | | 33 | 7 | 13 | 13 | 28 | 51 | -23 | 34 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Brescia | | 33 | 6 | 15 | 12 | 33 | 44 | -11 | 33 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Ancona | | 33 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 31 | 44 | -13 | 33 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Bologna | | 32 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 32 | 48 | -16 | 33 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Piacenza | | 33 | 9 | 5 | 19 | 38 | 64 | -26 | 32 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Fiorentina | | 33 | 8 | 6 | 19 | 29 | 68 | -39 | 30 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Verona | | 32 | 6 | 7 | 19 | 34 | 67 | -33 | 25 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

Donners

May, season 2004/2005

With just five games left in the season, can we ensure our survival? An away match against Lazio was not the ideal way to start the month. A magnificent free kick from 30 yards in the 37th minute which went straight into the top corner, however, was. The taker was Supat Rungratsamee, in just his fourth senior game. We held the lead at half time, but a professional foul from Mauro Milanese just after the break resulted in both a red card and penalty. Perfect. I brought on Luigi Sartor (ironically, considering his record of giving away penalties), switching to a 4-3-2. The penalty was scored, levelling the game in the 50th minute. Bucchi came forward in the 65th, but was cleanly tackled in the area by Jaap Stam. The ball trickled away…straight into the path of his fellow striker Supat Rungratsamee. The 17-yard-old made it three in two games with a nice finish, but Lazio hit back in exactly 33 seconds. Ouch. We tried to give them the same treatment, coming forward straight after the kick-off. Lazio hit the ball clear, but Sartor headed it straight back into our half. Christian Bucchi headed the ball into the path of Rungratsamee who ran clear of the defence, moved into the penalty area and scored a ripper. A hat-trick in his fourth senior game – and against the side placed third in Serie A, no less. Lazio again attacked hard after the goal, but despite their advantage in numbers and skill, they just couldn’t get another on the board. The defence held up well, but Rungratsamee was clearly the star. Already my £210K compensation looks like an incredible bargain. Not only did he get us a win against a top side, but he may also have helped keep us in Serie A.

This positive start on the pitch was met with a negative off it – recently-signed Itlaian striker Marco Vianello complained to the media that he should be in the first team. Are the words “backup to the first team” really that complex. That’s what he was signed as, and it seems ridiculous for him to be complaining about not being in the first team only a few months in. I told him he would get his chance when the time was right, which happened to be the following game against Verona, with Rungratsamee on international duty with Thailand for the World Cup qualifiers. Vianello started on the bench with Rapaic partnering Bucchi, and possibly playing for his future as a regular senior player. Against the bottom-placed side, anything less than three points would be a disappointment. Therefore, conceding a goal 12 minutes in was certainly not the best start we could have hoped for. Sommese missed a few shots from long-range (as usual) and disastrously Verona scored a second just before half time. The second half was scoreless, sending us tumbling to a terrible 0-2 loss. What a difference a week makes – from an incredible comeback against Lazio away to a dismal performance against Verona at home.

Pagliuca was particularly awful in that loss, but retained his spot for the third-last game of the season, against Milan. Alessio Scarchilli finally returned from injury, starting on the bench. We were on the back foot for most of the first half, with Milan scoring their first in the 23rd and a second ten minutes later to pretty much kill off any chances we had of coming away with a point. The best we could do was hold Milan scoreless after that, but even then it was more through wasteful shooting than good play from Ancona that gave us a scoreline of “only” 0-2. It’s a bad situation when a 0-2 loss is actually hugely flattering considering the balance of play. Speaking of bad situations, these last two losses left us precariously placed in 17th spot, ahead of 18th placed Piacenza only on goal difference (albeit by 11 goals). Our last two matches are against Fiorentina (20th) and Bologna (14th), and the term “must win” has rarely been more justified.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Inter| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Roma | | 36 | 23 | 7 | 6 | 73 | 30 | +43 | 76 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Juventus | | 36 | 22 | 9 | 5 | 64 | 26 | +38 | 75 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Lazio | | 36 | 23 | 6 | 7 | 62 | 27 | +35 | 75 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Inter | | 36 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 60 | 25 | +35 | 70 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Milan | | 36 | 19 | 8 | 9 | 54 | 30 | +24 | 65 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Sampdoria | | 36 | 17 | 6 | 13 | 65 | 48 | +17 | 57 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Parma | | 36 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 44 | 44 | 0 | 51 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Perugia | | 36 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 40 | 34 | +6 | 49 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Chievo | | 36 | 14 | 7 | 15 | 53 | 49 | +4 | 49 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Reggina | | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 46 | 50 | -4 | 45 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Napoli | | 36 | 12 | 7 | 17 | 40 | 52 | -12 | 43 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Atalanta | | 36 | 9 | 14 | 13 | 39 | 45 | -6 | 41 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Lecce | | 36 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 48 | 66 | -18 | 40 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Bologna | | 36 | 9 | 11 | 16 | 39 | 53 | -14 | 38 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Brescia | | 36 | 7 | 16 | 13 | 35 | 48 | -13 | 37 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Verona | | 36 | 10 | 7 | 19 | 43 | 67 | -24 | 37 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Ancona | | 36 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 34 | 50 | -16 | 36 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Piacenza | | 36 | 10 | 6 | 20 | 42 | 69 | -27 | 36 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Udinese | | 36 | 7 | 14 | 15 | 31 | 58 | -27 | 35 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Fiorentina | | 36 | 9 | 7 | 20 | 30 | 71 | -41 | 34 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

Donners

*dramatic pause*

Tyrone the Magazine

We are in for a dramatic finnish to the season I sense

glamdring

Nice come-back from Piacenza :eek:

Donners

Here we go...


There was finally some good news with hugely in-form striker Supat Rungratsamee returning from Thai international duty just in time for our match against Fiorentina – and just in time to dislocate his jaw in training the day before the match, putting him out for two weeks. ARGH! Luciano Zavagno was suspended and the horribly out-of-form Rapaic and Pagliuca were benched, replaced by Esposito, Vianello and Marcon respectively. Christian Bucchi looked to have scored from a 21st minute free kick which curled right towards the corner of the net, but somehow it hit the post and went directly ACROSS the goal without ever crossing the line. Sommese’s usual long-range shots were saved, leaving us with a scoreless first half. The second half was no better, finishing with no real chances to either side. The 0-0 draw was disappointing, but at least the other two sides behind us lost (Piacenza 0-6 and Udinese 1-6). Vianello was disappointing, while more worryingly Luke Chadwick picked up a fifth yellow card, putting him out of Ancona’s final match.

It all came down to our encounter with Bologna. A win would see us stay up, but a draw or loss could result in a finish as low as 20th. As if I didn’t have enough to deal with, I had to keep an eye on Fiorentina vs. Parma, Piacenza vs. Reggina and Udinese vs. Chievo, as a win to any of those sides could see us into the relegation zone unless we got the three points ourselves. Brescia vs. Atlanta was also important, as Brescia were ahead of us only on goal difference (just two goals, in fact). Thus, a loss to them and a draw or win to Ancona would see us move ahead of them, allowing us a bit more breathing room. Now I know what “extended” highlights and “very slow” were designed for… Ancona’s line-up was as follows:

(Playing with a straight 4-4-2)

GK – Sergio Marcon
LB – Luciano Zavagno
CB – Mauro Milanese
CB – Bilica
RB – Manuel Belleri
LM – Giampero Maini
CM – Vincenzo Sommese
CM – Davide Carrus
RM – Milivoje Cirkovic
CF – Milan Rapaic
CF – Christian Bucci

Sub – Gianluca Pagliuca
Sub – Marco Esposito
Sub – Alessio Scarchilli
Sub – Marco Vianello
Sub – Francesco Montervino
Sub – Alessandro Potenza
Sub – Luigi Sartor

Belleri conceded a corner early, but it was well cleared. There was good news from another game, with Parma taking an early lead against Fiorentina. Chievo led after only two minutes against Udinese, but Udinese equalised by the 7th. Rapaic looked to set off on a run in the 9th after being put through by a header from Bucchi, but was tackled as he approached the area. Bologna looked for a chilling moment in the 16th to have scored, but it was ruled offside. There was another chilling moment that was for real three minutes later – Piacenza took the lead against Reggina, sending us down to 18th spot. A second to Piacenza in the 21st made matters worse, but thankfully Atlanta scored against Brescia a minute later, putting them into 18th and pushing Ancona back to 17th. Phew. Marcon managed a decent parry in the 31st, and thankfully Bilica beat an opposing forward to the ball for the clearance by barely a second. The first half finished scoreless here, but the other relevant games were more interesting, particularly with Reggina scoring right on the break:

Brescia 0 – Atlanta 1
Fiorentina 0 – Parma 1
Piacenza 2 – Reggina 1
Udinese 1 – Chievo 1

What does that mean? Piacenza have moved from 18th to 16th, leapfrogging Ancona, while Brescia have gone down to 18th. A draw or win to Brescia with only one of Piacenza, Fiorentina or Udinese winning will send us down into the relegation zone, and even a loss to Brescia will see us into the relegation zone if we lose against Bologna. With 45 minutes to go, anything can happen…

Bologna hit the side netting with a shot from just outside the area soon after the break and very sloppy, confused defence saw them get a shot on goal in the 56th after three Ancona players touched the ball in the area without clearing it. Marcon was forced to tip the ball over, and the corner was successfully defended. Just 10 minutes into the second half, a stunning turnaround had occurred at two other games. Reggina, having scored in the 45th minute, added another two within six minutes of the start of the second half, taking the lead against Piacenza. Unfortunately, at the exact same time as they took the lead, Udinese scored a second against Chievo to lead there. This meant Ancona moved to 16th, with Udinese 17th and Brescia, Piacenza and Fiorentina in the relegation zone.

With just 35 minutes left, all we have to do is hold on, unless things take another dramatic turn…

Marcon held a nice long-range shot in the 61st, but Udinese complicated matters by scoring a third and fourth against Chievo to assure them victory. Two goals to Piacenza or Fiorentina, or just one to Brescia, and we are in a lot of trouble. The scores in the 65th minute:

Brescia 0 – Atlanta 1
Fiorentina 0 – Parma 1
Piacenza 2 – Reggina 3
Udinese 4 – Chievo 1

Bucchi went off with a knock in the 74th, replaced by Vianello. The scores at the other games were still the same as above, but could they stay that way for 15 more minutes?

With just seven minutes to go, Bologna came forward. A series of sharp passes took the ball into the area, where star forward Julio Ricardo Cruz took the shot from close range. It was parried, but straight back to the Argentinean international who gathered the ball and slotted it straight into the opposite side of the net. My heart stopped for a moment as I contemplated a season destroyed in the final seven minutes of a match until the words “But it won’t count” popped up. Apparently Cruz was offside when he scored. I honestly hadn’t seen the flag, but I have never loved those words more than I do right now. Bologna had a dangerous free kick a minute later, but though it was hit with power, it cannoned off the wall and was cleared. Five minutes of regular time to go.

A minute later, Milivoje Cirkovic, who’d had a terrible game, intercepted a throw-in mid-way in Bologna’s forward half and immediately whacked it forward ahead of Milan Rapaic. It went over the top of his marker, and the out-of-touch Croatian international led the race to the ball. He took it right into the area, and sent over his classic short pass across the area to his striking partner Marco Vianello. Unfortunately, he hit it too hard, and rather than a simple tap-in, Vianello had to run some distance past the goal to collect it. He snapped off a shot from tight range, but the keeper was able to get a hand to it. The ball trickled toward the goal, but rolled out agonisingly close. The corner was cleared, leaving just three minutes to go in regular time.

The final minute of regular time saw a strong attack from Bologna, but Zavagno was able to clear the first time and Bilica the second. However, both times they hit the ball to opponents, and on the second occasion they sent a ball from the left side of the centre circle over to the right-hand edge of the area. The ball was crossed from there to Cruz, who beat Bilica to the ball inside the 6-yard box, spun around the Brazilian…and scored. There was no offside this time – we were a goal down and in 18th spot (behind Brescia on goal difference of two) with three minutes to go. I brought on Scarchilli and attacked as hard as I could, but to no avail. Vianello was ruled offside twice and the final seconds ticked away without a reply from Ancona. The 0-1 loss sealed our fate. With Ancona finishing just two goals away from survival thanks to a Bologna goal in the 90th minute, the cliché “so close and yet so far” seems to apply perfectly here.

ads

Doh! Bad luck...

Donners

Wow, holding out for replies normally works much better than that.


The season in review

Summary

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Roma| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | C | Roma | | 38 | 24 | 8 | 6 | 81 | 33 | +48 | 80 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Juventus | | 38 | 23 | 10 | 5 | 67 | 27 | +40 | 79 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Lazio | | 38 | 24 | 6 | 8 | 64 | 29 | +35 | 78 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Inter | | 38 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 63 | 29 | +34 | 73 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | Milan | | 38 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 57 | 33 | +24 | 68 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Sampdoria | | 38 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 66 | 50 | +16 | 58 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Parma | | 38 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 47 | 45 | +2 | 57 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | Perugia | | 38 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 41 | 35 | +6 | 52 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Reggina | | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 51 | 52 | -1 | 51 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Chievo | | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 54 | 53 | +1 | 50 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Atalanta | | 38 | 11 | 14 | 13 | 46 | 45 | +1 | 47 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Napoli | | 38 | 13 | 8 | 17 | 42 | 53 | -11 | 47 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Bologna | | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 40 | 54 | -14 | 41 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Lecce | | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 50 | 69 | -19 | 41 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Verona | | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 43 | 67 | -24 | 39 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Udinese | | 38 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 36 | 65 | -29 | 38 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Brescia | | 38 | 7 | 16 | 15 | 36 | 51 | -15 | 37 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | R | Ancona | | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 34 | 51 | -17 | 37 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | R | Piacenza | | 38 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 44 | 79 | -35 | 36 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | R | Fiorentina | | 38 | 9 | 8 | 21 | 30 | 72 | -42 | 35 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">18th in Italian Serie ASquad Screen| Pkd | Inf | Name | Apps | Gls | Asts | MoM | Pass | Tck | Drb | Sh Tar | Av R | Value| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | FC | | Bucchi, C* | 43 (1) | 17 | 6 | 6 | 62 % | 1.34 | 0.81 | 77 % | 7.11 | £4.6M| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Chadwick, L* | 41 (1) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 69 % | 3.59 | 2.46 | 38 % | 7.19 | £3.8M| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | FC | | Rapaic, M | 34 (4) | 7 | 5 | 2 | 65 % | 0.96 | 0.78 | 64 % | 6.26 | £220K| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MR | | Cirkovic, M | 32 (4) | 0 | 3 | 2 | 64 % | 4.12 | 0.34 | 66 % | 6.58 | £1.5M| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DR | Wnt | Belleri, M | 32 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 63 % | 3.72 | 1.03 | - | 6.76 | £525K| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB1 | | Pagliuca, G | 32 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 42 % | - | - | - | 6.31 | £14K | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MC | | Sommese, V* | 31 (6) | 3 | 3 | 2 | 63 % | 2.87 | 2.07 | 43 % | 6.84 | £3.7M| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Inj | Torrisi, S | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 71 % | 2.04 | 0.04 | 50 % | 6.21 | £18K | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | ML | | Maini, G | 27 (7) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 73 % | 2.06 | 0.25 | 73 % | 6.74 | £100K| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DC | Unh | Bilica | 26 (6) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 71 % | 2.09 | 0.04 | 100 % | 6.50 | £450K| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB5 | | Sartor, L | 24 (1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 69 % | 2.01 | 0.17 | - | 6.20 | £275K| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB7 | | Montervino, F | 21 (5) | 1 | 4 | 0 | 71 % | 2.21 | 0.45 | 57 % | 6.58 | £775K| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DC | | Milanese, M | 21 (3) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 69 % | 1.97 | 0.39 | 100 % | 6.38 | £40K | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | DL | | Zavagno, L | 21 (2) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 69 % | 1.92 | 0.66 | 100 % | 6.43 | £210K| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | MC | | Carrus, D | 20 (11) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74 % | 2.86 | 0.48 | 21 % | 6.68 | £925K| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | GK | | Marcon, S | 12 (1) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 48 % | - | - | - | 6.46 | £100K| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB2 | | Scarchilli, A | 10 (9) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 68 % | 1.96 | 0.69 | 50 % | 6.68 | £110K| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB4 | | Esposito, M | 10 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 73 % | 1.49 | 0.50 | - | 6.33 | £300K| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Adu, F | 3 (3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 61 % | 1.41 | 0.84 | 33 % | 6.83 | £0 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Wnt | Bruno, S | 3 (3) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 63 % | 0.58 | 0.29 | - | 5.33 | £110K| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB6 | | Potenza, A | 3 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 % | 1.48 | 0.59 | - | 6.00 | £425K| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Loa | Grabbi, C | 2 (11) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 70 % | 0.83 | 1.03 | 83 % | 6.54 | £475K| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | SB3 | Unh | Vianello, M | 2 (5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 59 % | 1.17 | 0.29 | 66 % | 5.71 | £675K| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Inj | Pandev, G | 2 (4) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 72 % | 0.54 | 0.54 | 37 % | 6.50 | £900K| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Inj | Rungratsamee, S | 2 (2) | 4 | 0 | 1 | 41 % | 1.36 | 1.36 | 71 % | 7.50 | £2.1M| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | Degano, D | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 7.00 | £1.1M| | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | Loa | Poggi, P | 0 (1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 7.00 | £6K | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

Who was it who said this time last season this game was too easy? After waltzing through Serie A with no problem in 03/04, I thought (rather logically) that I should be able to do roughly the same with a slightly stronger side. Going from 8th to 18th is not what I had in mind.

We were certainly unlucky in some respects, particularly missing Chadwick and Rungratsamee in the final game, not to mention being relegated thanks to a 90th minute goal. Then again, if we hadn’t thrown away points in previous weeks, we wouldn’t have been in that situation to begin with. Besides, most of the results on that fateful day did go our way. Just not our own.

As always when a side is relegated, there is plenty of blame to be thrown around. Most of it will rightly be aimed at Milan Rapaic. In 03/04, he scored 10 goals and made 11 assists in 31 games at an average rating of 6.84. In 04/05, in seven more games, he scored 7 and made 5 assists, with an average rating of 6.26. Not damning enough? After 14 games, he had four goals and three assists at 6.88. That makes it three goals and two assists in the next 24 games from a player who was supposed to be our key forward.

Christian Bucchi held up his end well with a cool 17 goals, but he couldn’t do it alone. Grabbi and Bruno were of no help, Adu, Pandev and Degano were too young to play regularly and Rungratsamee and Vianello arrived too late to be of any assistance.

Still, our problems weren’t solely up forward. Sartor had a terrible season in defence, while Bilica and Milanese were down on the previous season and Torrisi did little. In the middle, Scarchilli missed most of the season and we looked somewhat weaker without Daniel Andersson there.

However, our biggest problem was goalkeeping. Pagliuca looked like he was still a talent at 37, but his form was all over the place and he let through far too many goals. Marcon did a decent job considering he wasn’t really expected to play, but our lack of a true first-team quality goalkeeper proved very costly.

All up, it was a pretty awful season, with relegation from Serie A and early exits from the Inter-Toto Cup and Italian Cup. The only positives were the development of young players, especially Adu and Rungratsamee, and the performances of Chadwick and Bucchi.

Donners

Wrapping it up

First the big news – I did keep my job despite relegation. Indeed, the board were quite pleased with our “spirited performances”, and though the fans were less happy, they are not exactly calling for my head. Yet. My reputation did drop from “good” to “okay”, though.

There were a few surprises early in the off-season, with two senior players announcing their retirements: goalkeeper Sergio Marcon and midfielder Giampero Maini. I’d expected both to play on, so this makes a bit of a mess of my plans. Three other Ancona players announced their retirements, but Paolo Poggi was the only one of them to have played senior games in my time at the club. Guess I’m stuck with Grabbi for another season…

I only added the one signing over this period, young English goalkeeper George Sealey, having already agreed terms with several players earlier in the season. Sealey has caps at schoolboy level, so hopefully he will turn into a decent player. Winger Badr El Kadouri was the only one of the Bosman signed players to arrive during the off-season.

I managed to sign both my players who were co-owned. Forward Daniel Degano (co-owned by Parma) and midfielder Patrick Kalambay (Milan) became fully owned by Ancona for £450K and £80K respectively. Annoyingly, the other sides bid nothing for them, so I could have got them for free. Indeed, every side that missed out on signing a player bid nothing, and since there were about 30 of them, that’s either one hell of a co-incidence or yet another bug to add to the list…

There was some media speculation over the future of right back Manuel Belleri, given that he’s unsettled at Ancona and there was some interest shown in him from Reggina. I said that I would be willing to sell him at the right price, but didn’t receive an offer.

I made a series of offers to staff members to fill my soon to be vacant Assistant Manager position (Antonio Vallongo’s contract ends this season, and like all the others last year he refuses to re-sign), but had no luck. This is getting ridiculous – at this rate, I’ll be left with no staff at all in a few seasons.

The only other news was that Freddie Adu made his full international debut for the USA at 16, after 17 goals in 14 Under-21 games.


Around the world: major awards and results

Ancona Supporters’ Player of the Year:
Christian Bucchi

World Player of the Year:
Roberto Carlos (Real Madrid)

World Footballer of the year:
Roberto Fabian Ayala (Valencia)

England:
Chelsea

Spain:
Real Sociedad

Champions Cup:
Juventus

UEFA Cup:
Chelsea