Pavle Appointed New Triestina Manager
Following Triestina’s failure to secure the services a top manager, an unknown known Englishman named Pavle was appointed.
Founded in 1918, Triestina arose from the amalgamation of the clubs Trieste and Ponziana. In the season of 1923-24, Triestina gained its first promotion into what is known today as Serie B, however the club is better known from its period under coach Nereo Rocco. Appointed as coach of bottom of the league Triestina in 1947, he developed a system known as catenaccio to finish 2nd place in Serie A in 1948. This was the ‘golden period’ for the club and today its stadium bears his name. Pavle is now charged with emulating Rocco’s success, starting with a quick return to Serie A...
First Impressions
Upon meeting chairman Amilcare Berti I was informed that he and his fellow board members expected a safe mid-table finish. Despite some fans unrest at my appointment, ive a feeling that this would satisfy them too, and convince them that I can follow in the footsteps of Nereo Rocco.
After some deliberation, ive decided to work with the existing staff, hoping they can give me a valuable insight into my new players. Assistant manager Mark Tullio Strukelj, seems to think that the squad needs strengthening if we are to achieve our goal of mid-table, especially in attack. But im not so sure, with only £1.3m available to me I think it could be best to give the lads a chance to show what they can do and see where we are at January.
The Squad
The first day at training gave me a great opportunity to see what these players could do and I took down some notes of the players Strukelj thought would feature this season.
In goal I have two options Andrea Campagnolo and Alessandro Venditti. Both players seem capable of claiming the number one spot, therefore form will become a big important factor, but Campagnolo will start the season as first choice because Venditti returns to Milan at the end of the season.
Andrea Campagnolo: 26 year old goalkeeper who was first choice last season. Strong, brave, and commands his area well.
Alessandro Venditti: 20 years old and on loan from AC Milan. This talented goalie makes good decisions, has great anticipation and commands his area at such a young age. However the coaches have noted that his reflexes could do with improving.
My defence leaves me a little worried at first and already i’ve noticed a severe lack of height, particularly through the middle.
Massimo Tarantino: 33 year old defender who can play in the centre or left of defence. Composed, has a fierce tackle and good technique for a defender. Will give the needed experience to my defence but his lack of height or heading ability are a worry.
Marco Pecorari: 26 years old and can play either centre or right. Aggressive and a strong header of the ball. Nothing fancy about him but knows how to defend. Might be a good partner in the centre for Tarantino.
Emanuele Bruni: 25 years old and can play anywhere in the defence. His bravery and excellent teamwork stand out. Will feature heavily this season.
Michelangelo Minieri: 23 years old and co-owned by Fiorentina. Can play anywhere in defence. Not the best, however quick and agile, so will have his uses.
William Pianu: 28 year old right-back. Has pace and a good marker. Will start the season on the right of defence.
Mauro Bianchi: 24 year old who can play on the left or in the middle. His bravery, work rate and positioning are his strongest attributes. Will be pushing hard to be in the 1st team at the start of the season.
Pietro Sportillo: 25 year old who can play left back or centre back. Has good tackling and anticipation, but maybe a place on the bench is the best he can hope for.
Roberto Gimmelli: 22 year old right-back. Appears to be concentrated, quite quick, and a good decision maker. However, i have doubts about his ability going forward.
Simone Piva: 20 years old U21 international and co-owned by AS Roma. Piva can play either left or right wing-back. An aggressive player who gets forward well. I expect him to do well this season.
As with the defence the midfield also lacks height and pace. With the lack of any real talent in the middle, it seems as though most of the attack must be focused through wide areas.
Andrea Parola: 25 year old defensive midfielder who can play either side or in the middle. His dribbling, tackling, aggressive play, teamwork and work rate stand out. Has a good chance to establish a place in the centre of my midfield.
Gianni Munari: 21 year old who can play in the centre or right. Co-owned by Chievo. Brave and determined but has limited technique.
Daniele Galloppa: 19 year old defensive midfielder who is co-owned by AS Roma. Has good technique despite his young age and could give some much needed height to the midfield.
Valentino Lai: 20 year old Swedish U21 international. Co-owned by Palermo. Defensive midfielder who can play on the left. A good passer who finishes well but is physically weak. * pre-season shows that this player is a much better player than the initial impression given. Never loses the ball and much stronger than he looks.
Evans Soligo: 25 year old midfielder on loan from Palermo. Good all-round midfielder who will be expecting to start.
Marco Rigoni: 24 year old former Juventus player. He can play anywhere across the midfield and will be injecting the creativity into the midfield. Working out how to get the best of him will be the problem.
Gianfranco Nardi: 26 years old and co-owned by Alto Adige. An attacking player who can play all over the midfield. Nothing special so may find his chances limited.
Nicola Princivalli: 24 year old attacking midfielder. His technical ability together with his pace will prove invaluable when we require attacking options through the middle.
Eder Baú: 22 year old who can play anywhere in midfield and attack. Co-owned by AC Milan. His pace and dribbling will give the team penetration. Easily the player who should cause the most damage to the opposition.
The forwards all seem capable finishers who can work well together. I was disappointed that I didn’t find a player I could use as a target man to give me more options. Again we suffer from a lack of height. Both Godeas and Moscardelli are useful with their head, but are more suited to balls through the middle.
Alessandro Tulli: 22 year old right sided forward. Co-owned by AS Roma. A good finisher who is quite creative and has slightly more pace than the other forwards. Expected to start on bench.
Denis Godeas: 29 years old forward. Excellent finishing, good dribbling, heading, creativity and flair. Is sure to start the season in the first team.
Davide Moscardelli: 24 year old striker. Excellent finishing, heading and concentration. Will probably partner Godeas in the first game of the season.
Triestina Players In Olympic Success
My Italian Cup campaign was hit early, by the news that players Eder Baú and defender Roberto Gimmelli would be representing Italy in the Olympic Games. Italy went on to win the competition which meant I was unable to pick either player throughout my cup campaign. Baú proved on of the stars of the tournament, scoring numerous goals and gaining acclaim from pundits.
Italian Cup Livorno 1 - 1 Triestina
My reign in charge started in Tuscany with a visit to Serie A side A.S.Livorno. Concerned with the threat of their two strikers, Protti and Lucarelli, we started with a 4-4-2 formation and very little freedom given to the midfield. Livorno played 3-5-2 system and had the best of the initial exchanges. But our tactics were working and it was a surprise when Cristiano Lucarelli opened the scoring in the 43rd min. Getting on the end of a through ball from Igor Protti, he placed a shot to the left of Campagnolo from just inside the area. However we hit back almost instantaneously!After breaking down a Livorno attack, Bruni found Nardi on the left wing. After beating the full-back, he squared the ball to Godeas on the edge of the box. Immediately he crossed to Rigoni on the far post and he beat keeper from 6 yards out. After this, chances for both teams dried up. Although not exciting, this game had given me encouragement for the future, as even without Baú and Gimmelli (Olympics), we had proved stubborn opponents to a team in Serie A.
Triestina 1 - 1 Perugia
My first game in charge at the Nereo Rocco saw a huge turn out from the fans- 23,866!! We both started with a 4-4-2, but this time much more freedom was given to my two wingers. The game proved scrappy, with neither side able to put any move together as both defences were on top. Particularly impressive was the form of Perugia's right-back, Ferdinand Coly. In the 65th min we managed to get the breakthrough. Galloppa got his head on a goal kick from Kalac, finding the run of Godeas who had drifted between the two central defenders. Once inside the box he made no mistake, putting it to the left of Milanese. With 2 mins to go i though we had done enough as Perugia had offered nothing all game. However when they won a corner in the 88th min, manager Franco Colomba saved the game. By sending up his goalie it caused chaos in the area so when the ball dropped to Bernini he equalised with a half-volley.
Triestina 0 - 0 AlbinoLeffe
A disappointing end to the last game meant our only hope of qualification was a win here and a win for Livorno away at Perugia . The excitement surrounding my first game at home had subsided, and a modest crowd of 11,271 saw me take on Slovenian tactician Kuky. We both started with an adventurous 4-4-2 and it was us who forced the early pressure. On another day we could have had 2 or 3, but on this occasion we were me with stiff resistance in the form of goalie Paolo Acerbis and left-back Riccardo Colombo. AlbinoLeffe came into the game late on and they too will feel disappointed not to have scored.
I was disappointed with our performance in the cup. After getting a great start in Livorno, we should have been able capitalise on our two home games. Perugia went through into the next phase, topping the table with 5 points. We tied 2nd place with Livorno on 3 points, while AlbinoLeffe finished bottom with 2 points.
![The World Clan FM2005 goes le Mediterranean [*Established Clan*]](http://training.fitness.com/iconimages/football-manager/world-clan-fm2005-goes-le-mediterranean-established-clan_ltr.gif)
. Damo left due to other commitments (see above) at Genua.
:thup:
Linear Mode
