haze.13

With signings made and the squad in place for the new season all that was left for Gomez was to tinker with the lineup and tactics in a few friendlies before the real stuff begins again.

Gomez fumbled with his keys at the front door with the unfamiliar sound of his apartment phone ringing inside. After a boozy afternoon with Calderon the piercing phone ring was not what he needed to hear. No-one had his number here anyway. At least no-one that would dare to call him at half-eleven on Sunday night.

"Hello? What? Florent you're kidding me. Listen. You are not going to do that without talking to Boris..."

haze.13

"You'll be sacked for sure! How can you say you don't care, this is your chance to make it in the big time."

With that the conversation turned to less important things as Benny realised that Florent had made up his mind and nothing he said would change it. Amazed that after a recent loss to Georgia the FFF continued to fully back Florent even coming out publically stating that he was redirecting French football and it would be good for the long run.

With this Florent decided that his aim would now not be to direct France to the European Championships but to do the opposite. France would not make the finals. He would effectively sabotage any plans Jean Gallice and the FFF had of being successful while he was in charge. It would be more or less a test of political strength as the inaction displayed by the FFF was almost criminal and surely these types of actions might actually help to turn around the blatantly misguided heads of French football.

haze.13

[Just in case anyone that reads this is confused i'll clarify a couple of things]

In general all text in plain font is written by me (Antonio Calderon - MVV coach) including match reports, transfer news and squad reports. The story plot and Gomez's comments are written in italics.

I hope a few people are interested in this? I'm mainly writing it for my own benefit - ie the challenge. But i'd hope it's slightly interesting - fragmented i know but stick with me. Happy reading!

haze.13

MVV Team Report - 2007/08


Goalkeepers

Danny Wintjens (GK - 23) will wear the number one again with last season illustrating just how important the young Dutchman is by claiming the inaugural Coaches Player of the Season award. Just 23 years old Wintjens no doubt has a great career ahead of himself and was unlucky not to earn his first full cap for Holland late last season. In the backup roles we'll see new recruit David Gauci (GK - 20) from Naxxar in Malta and Carlos Andres Abella (GK - 22) fight for the duty. Kasper Schmeichel's (GK - 21) future at MVV is very limited now and he will no doubt move elsewhere before too long.


Defenders

At right back Koen Brack (D RC - 26) will get the first shot after last season's excellent debut, however dependant on centre back options the free-kick specialist may spend more time in the middle at the back. Reinhard Breinburg (D/DM RC - 24) will be expected to step up if Brack is called unavailable and we in the coaching staff believe that Reinhard is probably the best natural right back at the club. Reserves regular and great club man over the years Fabian Peppinck (D RL - 30) will always be reliable if called on but this is less likely with the depth we currently possess.

Raphael Supesupa (D/M L - 29) will once more wear the captains armband, the heart and soul of this team Raphael this season has solid backup with the acquisition of the enthusiastic Mitchell Pique (D/DM L - 28) returning home after a spell with Darmstadt in Germany. The versatile Peppinck will also offer further backup to these two.

The centre back positions will be filled by last season's surprise packet Maurizio Lanzaro (D C - 26) who has fast become a crowd favourite and I must say a coaches favourite as well. His development in the Serie A with Roma has put him in good stead for the future and he displays composure beyond his years. Lanzaro's partner of choice at the back will be Andriy Proshyn (SW/D C - 23) a success since day one at MVV following his well executed move from the Ukraine a couple of seasons back. Unfortunately recent contract talks with Andriy have not been successful and it looks like his demands may see him leave the club after this season, despite this he is determined to play well for MVV and is adamant that the contract situation is not because he doesn't want to play in Maastricht anymore but purely financially related (whatever that means). Koen Brack can comfortably slot over from the right when required and Felix Garcia (D C - 24) provides further cover in the middle.


Midfielders

The holding defensive midfield role looks like a pre-season battle between last seasons stalwart Alex Garcia (DM C - 22) who had an outstanding debut season after moving from Colombia, and newly attained Azubike Oliseh (DM C - 29) a veteran midfielder who has spent over ten years in Europe with Anderlecht, FC Utrecht and RBC. Oliseh looks to have the edge creatively whereas Garcia is effectively a midfielder with the mindset of a defender. To backup these two Breinburg's versatility may find him in midfield and in January Freddy Guarin looks set to join us after rejecting Envigado's latest contract.

With the current formation we have two central midfielders that push forward into scoring positions, Sergio (AM C - 26) will claim the first one of these after a great first season at the club and Ricardo Sousa (AM C - 29) looks set to partner the Brazilian. The loss of Leonardo means that the experienced Andre Luiz (AM LC - 33) will be required to cover for these two. Further aided by Ouichou, Park and Nilsson who can all pitch hit a bit in the centre of the midfield.

The right wing/forward position is saved for the new signing Armin Sistel (AM R - 25) a tricky dribbler and complete footballer Sistek is expected to try and fill the void left by the brilliant Kalou. Backup will be left for the Russian Dmitry Shoukov (AM RL - 32) who has played very little since joining last season. A more likely option as a backup on the right side will be the strikers in Park and Mamoum.

Houssain Ouhsaine Ouicho (AM/F LC - 28) will own the left flank as he has since the first day he stepped into the club. Valuable support will be offered by the youngster John Goossens (AM L - 19) and the striker Nilsson with Shoukov providing further experience for the position.


Strikers

With the lone striker preferred by the Gomez and his coaching group the position will be shared by the talented South Korean Park Joo-Young (F RC - 22) the tricky Blaise Mamoum (S C - 28) and the versatile Swede Lars Nilsson (F RC - 26). It is expected that Park will start when available as he appears to be the in favour striker under Gomez, with Mamoum a true bench specialist and Nilsson providing various options both up front and in the midfield. Sebastien Grax (F C - 23) comes to the club and offers a bigger target when required but he will merely add depth to a strong strike force. Reserve strikers Edson (S C - 28) and Bruno Augusto (S C - 21) appear to have failed to make an impact and both Brazilians will undoubtedly seek a future away from MVV.

suppitty

Brilliant story. Keep it up.

haze.13

[Cheers suppity! The MVV tale will continue when time permits. Promise.]

haze.13

Pre-season 2007/08

Calderon… With a shortened series of friendly matches due to our impending Dutch Super Cup fixture against Ajax we knew pretty quickly what our first eleven would be it was just a matter of sorting our depth a little bit. After a brief trip over the border to Germany and an even briefer tour to exotic Norway we rounded out pre-season with a solid win over newly promoted Go Ahead making it a 3-1-1 record for the month of July. The stand-outs in a solid month of friendlies were definitely Mitchell Pique and Maurizio Lanzaro at the back, whilst of our strike force it was Mamoum who once more found the net most frequently. Both Nilsson and Park have struggled to find form at this early stage but we have no doubts about their class knowing what they've done in the red of MVV in the past. New recruit Armin Sistek is yet to play due to an injury he brought with him from Odd Grenland but we expect him at full fitness to warrant immediate selection. The only dubious point at the selection table to date has been the advancement of Pique at left back ahead of our club captain Supesupa, however whilst Supesupa has struggled early on Pique has absolutely shone and he will start the season as our favoured left back. Final selection news sees new recruit Azubike take over Alex Garcia's holding midfield role, with the experience and poise of Azubike Garcia will have to bide his time and with the addition of Guarin in January I have no doubt that Garcia will drop to our third ranked defensive midfielder. Gomez looks determined to turn the big Colombian into a central defender but Garcia seems less than enthusiastic about the idea.


<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">MVV Preferred starting lineup (August 2007) Park Joo-Young ^ ^ | ^ ^ | | | | | Ouichou Sousa Sergio Sistek Azubike Oliseh Pique Lanzaro Proshyn Brack Wintjens </pre>

dennis333

This is suck a good story.. really enjoy it FORZA MVV

haze.13

Thanks dennis - i think? Assuming you're not saying my story sucks, i think you meant such - i hope anyway.

This story is slowly fading in my interest due to the lack of action in the NSC Challenge. However if anyone wants me to continue it i will try to keep it going but it might be a tad infrequent.

porph

great story! saved me from doing any work