retired_donna121

September 2005
---------------------
Our first league game was at home to Fermana, they finished a poor 15th last season and both our meetings had ended 2-0 in our favour. I decided to make a slight change to the formation, I was a bit worried about getting goals so moved one of the midfielders just behind the front two. The squad seemed to be in good spirits and Rolando Fonseca had finally arrived, he has scored 54 goals for Costa Rica with over 100 caps. I had also strengthened the left side of defence with the signing of Ingrosso from Bari for a small fee, he would provide cover for Mora. We lined up with a 3-4-1-2 formation; Recep, Contini, Festa, Scarlato, Mora, Montervino (c), Parola, Montesanto, Rapaic, Matteini and Sosa. Subs; Belardi, Bak, Ingrosso, Gatti, Mendu, Silas, Fonseca.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from San Paolo (Att; 25,556)---------------------------------------Napoli 5 : Matteini (4), Silas (12, 49, pen 89), Sosa (39)Fermana 0 :Report------Napoli got their season off to a flying start with a very impressive home win. Davide Matteini grabbed adebut goal after just four minutes but suffered an injury just five minutes later and had to leave the field. Silas replaced Matteini and took the support role with Rapaic moving up front. The enforced change seemed to inspire Napoli and shortly after, Silas headed home their second with his first touch. Fermana were shell-shocked and were under constant pressure. Napoli suffered another injury blow when Contini went down, he left the pitch to be replaced by Bak. Goal number three arrived just before half-time when Sosa headed home a Rapaic corner. The 2nd half brought another two goals with Silas getting them both, there was never any doubt he was going to take the last minute penalty to complete his hattrick. MOM - Silas (Napoli, MID) </pre>
I couldn't have asked any more for the first league game, Silas was superb after coming on and linked up with the front two on numerous occasions. The injuries were a little bit worrying with both players missing for at least two weeks.

We travelled to Rimini full of confidence, they had drawn their first game and looked to have a decent side. Silas started the game with Bak and Fonseca also coming in.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from Romeo Neri (Att; 4,881)---------------------------------------Rimini 2 : Floccuri (62), Muslimovic (81)Napoli 2 : Montervino (16), Sosa (64)Report------Rimini put in a solid performance to hold title favourites Napoli to a draw. The result looked to be heading only one way courtesy of an early Montervino free-kick. However, Rimini battled hard throughout and got a deserved equaliser after 62 minutes. The home sides joy was short lived as Sosa restored the lead for Napoli, Fonseca was the creator with a superb pass. With only nine minutes left Napoli were brought back down to earth with a Rimini equaliser, Muslimovic found enough space to bring the scores level with a great strike. Rimini nearly claimed all three points in the dying seconds but Recep pulled off a brilliant save. MOM - Recep (Napoli, GK) </pre>
A decent performance from us, our away record wasn't great last season and it is something I want to improve this season. This was a game we could have won but in the end I was happy to take the point and avoid defeat.

We faced Pistoiese in the 1st round of the Serie C Cup, the 1st leg would give us another chance to test our away form. I gave a few of the fringe players a run out but it was Silas who came off the bench to secure a 1-1 draw and give us an away goal. There was some unfortunate news from the game, Corrent had suffered another injury and the senior physio thought it might be best to send him to a rehabilitation clinic. I agreed with the suggestion and Corrent would be out of the game for four months, my midfield is quite strong but it is still a blow to lose a player of his quality.

Back to league action and the visit of Viterbese. They are the current league leaders after two games but look to have an average side.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from San Paolo (Att; 25,067)---------------------------------------Napoli 2 : Silas (15), Montesanto (39)Viterbese 0 :Report------A game where the referee took centre stage, managing to hand out ten yellow cards with seven of them for the home side. It was not a dirty game but a game which Napoli had the better of. Silas got the opener with his 5th goal of the season and gave the home side the perfect start. Cataldo Montesanto got the crucial second goal just before the break, it was an impressive Napoli move with Fonseca crossing for the head of Montesanto. The 2nd half was a non-event with Napoli trying to keep eleven men on the pitch and Viterbese offering little in attack.MOM - Recep (Napoli, GK) </pre>

We were in Cup action again with the 2nd leg against Pistoiese, I made some changes again and we managed to scrape through with a 0-0 draw courtesy of our away goal from the 1st leg. So, we finished the month top of the league after three games and in the 2nd round of the Serie C Cup.

retired_donna121

Oh dear, I was worried that might happen. I will hopefully get it sorted soon. :eek:

retired_donna121

October 2005
-------------------
A busy month for us with seven games in total, five of those were in the league while we also had the 2nd Round of the Serie C Cup. So, the month began with a home match against Sambenedettese.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from San Paolo (Att; 25,439)---------------------------------------Napoli 2 : Silas (24), Matteini (67)Sambenedettese 0 :MOM - Mora (Napoli, DEF) </pre>
A comfortable win for us with Silas a big influence throughout, he got the first goal and was the creator of the second for Matteini who had come off the bench.

After a good start to October we looked to keep things going with a trip to Teramo.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from Comunale (Att; 5,785)-------------------------------------Teramo 1 : Chianese (26)Napoli 1 : Montesanto (74)MOM - Paoloni (Teramo, GK) </pre>
Our second away league game and our second away league draw. It looked as if we were heading for defeat until Montesanto converted a Montervino corner. I was happy with the fact that we didn't lose the game but we have already dropped four points away from home.

We faced another away game as we made the trip to 12th place Lanciano. I decided to adopt a more defensive approach and we took to the field with a 3-5-1-1 formation.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from Guido Biondi (Att; 6,408)-----------------------------------------Lanciano 0 :Napoli 2 : Silas (19), Sosa (35)MOM - Silas (Napoli, MID) </pre>
We looked solid and the new formation worked well, we managed to create a number of chances with Silas causing problems behind Sosa. We got the ball out wide at every opportunity and both of the goals were created by our wingbacks.

The games were coming thick and fast and next was the Serie C Cup. We had been drawn against non-league Pisa with the 1st leg at home. I again decided to change the team for the Cup, mainly to keep important players fit for the league. The changes worked well as we secured a 3-1 win. A league game at home to Igea Virtus was sandwiched between the Cup, two goals from Milan Rapaic gave us a deserved victory and all three points, the win kept us at the top of the table. We travelled to Pisa with a 3-1 lead and I was confident of our progression to the next round. Pisa obviously hadn't read the script and raced into a two goal lead at half-time, if they could hold that lead they would go through. However, we showed our spirit and growing confidence with four 2nd half goals to progress 7-3 on aggregate.

We finished the month off with a tough away trip to Reggiana, it was always a difficult place to play and they had a decent following. We would need to be at our best to get a result and I had a full strength squad to choose from.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from Reggio Emilia (Att; 14,532)-------------------------------------------Reggiana 2 : Bertolini (81), Lauria (85)Napoli 3 : Mendu (5), Sosa (39), Bak (86)MOM - Contini (Napoli, DEF) </pre>
A superb battling performance, we were cruising after Sosa got the second but we conceded two goals in quick succession to make the draw a likely result. It was left to Bak to come off the bench and head home the winning goal.

retired_confal2

Always had a soft spot for Napoli, which in many ways is Italy's equivalent to Marseille (old cities, major ports, strong popular and cultural identity, great mixture of ethnic origins, etc...).

All the best in bringing back the glory days to San Paolo

retired_donna121

November 2005
--------------------
We took our unbeaten league record into November and started off the month with a trip to Giugliano, they were struggling at the wrong end of the table and looking to kick-start their season.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from Alberto De Cristofaro (Att; 4,981)--------------------------------------------------Giugliano 0 :Napoli 2 : Contini (5), Matteini (89)MOM - Contini (Napoli, DEF) </pre>
A game we totally dominated in every way, we managed an amazing 28 attempts on goal with 15 of those on target. However, we did only have two goals to show for our dominance and it was only when Matteini scored that the result was put beyond doubt. Both goals were provided by Montervino who has been revelling in his right wingback role.

So, after nine league games we had 23 points from a possible 27. Close on our tails are Benevento just four points adrift. Next up was a home against Sora.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from San Paolo (Att; 25,581)---------------------------------------Napoli 3 : Silas (pen 9, 90), Matteini (50)Sora 1 : Caputo (70)MOM - Silas (Napoli, MID) </pre>
A fairly comfortable home win, the players are full of confidence and are going into games expecting to win. It was good to see Silas get back amongst the goals, he has had a great start to his Napoli career.

We had an enforced break from the league because we were on Cup duty. We faced Sambenedettese in the Quarter-Finals of the Serie C Cup, we had already beaten them in the league so we were expected to win. The 1st leg was away from home and we came away with a decent 0-0 draw.

After playing a number of squad players in the Cup game the squad was fully fit going into the league match at home to Foggia.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from San Paolo (Att; 25,467)---------------------------------------Napoli 1 : Bak (90)Foggia 0 :MOM - Viviano (Foggia, GK) </pre>
Bak was the hero with a header deep into stoppage time. The game should really have been over well before the last minute but we missed a number of chances and were very close to dropping vital points.

We ended the month with the return leg of the Cup Quarter-Final, a decent crowd turned up to see us triumph 3-1 with the help of an own goal and a Silas penalty. We could now forget about the Cup until April when we would face Novara. Overall, a superb month for us with three league wins and progression in the Serie C Cup.

retired_donna121

December 2005
--------------------
We sat proudly at the top of the table with a total of 29 points, Benevento are 2nd with a total of 25 points, Catanzaro and Rimini were chasing with 22 and 19 points respectively. We faced our first real test of the season with a trip to Catanzaro, they had been playing in Serie B last season and were starting to look good after a poor start to the season. I adopted my usual away tactic of 3-5-1-1 with Silas supporting Sosa.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from Nicola Ceravolo (Att; 24,022)---------------------------------------------Catanzaro 3 : Cammarata (79, 86, 90)Napoli 0 :MOM - Cammarata (Catanzaro, ATT) </pre>
A disappointed defeat, the game was pretty tight and the result could have been very different had Silas not had a 49th minute penalty saved. The credit must go to the home side and especially Cammarata who was on fire.

The team looked to get back on track with a home game against Taranto, they were coming off a 5-3 victory against Cittadella and had play off aspirations.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from San Paolo (Att; 25,423)---------------------------------------Napoli 0 :Taranto 0 :MOM - Anania (Taranto, GK) </pre>
We managed to restrict Taranto to a handful of chances but we just didn't create enough. We weren't helped when Gatti suffered a 2nd half injury and had to leave the field. Montervino was our best player with three attempts all on target.

Considering how our season had been going we were in a bit of slump. I wasn't looking forward to our next game either, away to our bogey team Benevento, they were sitting just two points behind us. Bak came in for the injured Gatti who would be out for just over a week.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from Santa Colomba (Att; 14,087)-------------------------------------------Benevento 2 : Bortolotto (2), Molino (60)Napoli 2 : Bak (32), Montervino (76)MOM - Molino (Benevento, ATT) </pre>
I was happy with this result, we had four chances and took two of them. Recep had a poor game between the sticks which was unusual for him. Fonseca didn't look comfortable on his own up front and struggled to hold up the ball. I thought we were in trouble after the first goal went in so early but we fought back well.

We finished off 2005 with a home game against Cittadella, it would be nice to finish the year on top and a win would make sure of that.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from San Paolo (Att; 25,118)---------------------------------------Napoli 2 : Sosa (8, 68)Cittadella 0 :MOM - Montervino (Napoli, MID) </pre>
A great way to end the year. Sosa took his goals well, his first since October. Cittadella rarely troubled our defence and looked happy to keep the score down.

retired_donna121

January 2006
-------------------
A new year and a new face in the squad, I had managed to secure the signature of former Spanish international Josep Guardiola. After leaving Roma in 2003 Guardiola had headed for the footballing backwater of Qatar and an ambitious club called Al-Ahli. He had performed well for them and I felt he would add a bit of quality to the midfield despite his age.

With the arrival of Guardiola I was happy to accept a £250,000 offer from Dusseldorf for Cataldo Montesanto. Two more players left during the transfer window with Pieter Collen joining Cercle Brugge and Marco Pecorari heading for Torres who played their football in Seie C1/A.

After only managing one win during December it was important we got 2006 off to a good start. We had a great chance of doing just that with a trip to mid-table Legnano. I stuck with our 3-5-1-1 away formation with Sosa the lone man up front. Guardiola watched from the stands due to his lack of fitness.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from Giovanni Mari (Att; 1,920)------------------------------------------Legnano 1 : Pieraccini (32)Napoli 0 :MOM - Farinelli (Legnano, GK) </pre>
A frustating match to watch, we lost it in the 1st half with a very poor performance. We improved our play after half time with a couple of changes, in the end we missed too many chances. Nicola Mora suffered an injury and had to be stretchered off, I later found out he would be missing for a month.

We had now taken just five points from the last five games. The chasing pack were getting closer and there wasn't much room to breathe at the top of the table, we led Catanzaro, Rimini and Benevento by two points. After starting the season so well it was disappointing that all the good work was being undone.

We faced another away game with a trip to Spal, they were having a poor season but are a capable side.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from Paolo Mazza (Att; 12,768)-----------------------------------------Spal 1 : Cerbone (7)Napoli 1 : Mendu (25)MOM - Contini (Napoli, DEF) </pre>
A game in which we had to defend very well. After we lost the early goal they put us under real pressure looking for a second. Mendu scored our goal at the perfect time, it was a superb goal and his 3rd of the season, all of them have been from outside the box. Guardiola made a late appearance from the bench and helped us to secure the draw.

Our point meant that we had been knocked off the top for the first time since early October. It was now a three way tie at the top with Rimini and Catanzaro joining ourselves.

The next match was vital, we needed to find that winning feeling and travelled to bottom of the table Fermana with that in mind. This was our third away game in a row. Guardiola made his first start as I adopted a more attacking 3-5-2 formation, Rapaic and Matteini were the chosen front pairing.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from Bruno Recchioni (Att; 5,075)--------------------------------------------Fermana 1 : Ceceroni (27)Napoli 2 : Rapaic (59), Sosa (73)MOM - Rapaic (Napoli, ATT) </pre>
I was finding out that there weren't any easy games any more, at the start of the season we had torn this team apart and won by five. Teams looked like they knew what to expect from us and it was up to me to surprise them. We worked hard and probably just deserved the win, the referee couldn't keep his yellow card in his pocket which led to ten players being booked. Sosa came off the bench to get the winner.

There was still a three way tie at the top with Benevento five points behind in fourth. I got the news that Sosa would be out for two weeks due to a training ground injury, on a positive note Corrent was back in full training after recovering from his injury suffered way back in September.

Next up was a very important match with the visit of fellow leaders Rimini, we were without Sosa and Mora but I was confident the players could get a result.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from San Paolo (Att; 25,255)---------------------------------------Napoli 1 : Matteini (90)Rimini 1 : Baccin (pen 45)MOM - Balli (Rimini, GK) </pre>
I had resigned myself to losing our unbeaten home record but I hadn't counted on Matteini who popped up with a vital equaliser. Guardiola created the goal with a superb pass. Rimini had taken the lead just before half time to silence our fans, Montervino gave away the penalty which Baccin converted.

So, the end of January and the end of the transfer window. I tried to bring a couple of loan signings in but was thwarted in my attempts. We have the quality within the team to finish top of the league but we need to find some consistency. I am hoping that Guardiola will be a big influence from now until the end of the season.

retired_donna121

February 2006
--------------------
A tough away trip to Viterbese was our first challenge of the month, they have an unbeaten home record with four wins and six draws. Matteini took the lone striker role in the absence of Sosa.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from Enrico Rocchi (Att; 4,314)------------------------------------------Viterbese 0 :Napoli 6 : Matteini (5, 20), Bak (12), Silas (54), Fonseca (74), Mendu (84)MOM - Contini (Napoli, DEF) </pre>
A superb away performance and probably the best since I took charge. We passed the ball with confidence and took our chances when they came along. Mendu completed the rout with the goal of the game, his long range efforts are now becoming his trademark.

The win wasn't enough to take us to the top of the league, we still trail Catanzaro by two points, they had taken advantage of our home draw with Rimini at the end of January. Rimini are two points behind us in third. We had to keep winning and we had a good chance to do that at home to Teramo.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B San Paolo (Att; 25,291)----------------------------------Napoli 0 :Teramo 1 : Ferri (89)MOM - Paoloni (Teramo, GK) </pre>
Inconsistency has been our main problem over the last few months and I am struggling to find out the reason for it, maybe the players think the games are too easy. We had enough chances to win the game comfortably but we paid the ultimate price when Ferri scored for the visitors in the last minute.

Catanzaro could only manage a draw with Reggiana but stretched their lead over us to three points, Rimini were now second, one point ahead of us. I knew it was going to be a close finish to the season. Nobody was dominating the league with Taranto and Benevento also in contention.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from Riviera delle Palme (Att; 8,930)------------------------------------------------Sambenedettese 1 : Labanti (72)Napoli 1 : Bak (19)MOM - Pinzan (Sambenedettese, GK) </pre>
A decent away result, we were second best throughout and I was happy with the point. Bak gave us the lead with a superb header but the home side got a deserved equaliser midway through the 2nd half.

We were now under pressure for our next game at home to Lanciano, they were just outside the play-offs and looking to make an impression.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from San Paolo (Att; 25,626)---------------------------------------Napoli 2 : Silas (23, 35)Lanciano 1 : Nassi (90)MOM - Silas (Napoli, MID) </pre>
Two goals from Silas were enough to give us the three points. The result could have been very different if Lanciano had scored a 2nd half penalty.

So, an important win for us and this was how the league table looked at the end of the month:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">(Serie C1/B League Table) Pld W D L F A Pts1. Catanzaro 23 14 4 5 39 24 46---------------------------------------------------------2. NAPOLI 23 13 7 3 42 18 463. Rimini 23 12 9 2 35 15 454. Benevento 23 13 4 6 37 23 435. Taranto 23 12 5 6 29 17 41---------------------------------------------------------6. Lanciano 23 9 6 8 30 27 33 * Catanzaro top because of result against Napoli</pre>

retired_embartl

Better luck this season with promotion, shame form seems to have wobbled a bit, but here's hoping you're back on track. That Silas fella's looking a great summer signing :thup:

retired_donna121

Cheers Brian, its getting a bit tense but I'm hoping Silas can keep scoring.


March 2006
-----------------
There are eleven games left in the league and with it being so tight every one is vital. We got the month started with a trip to Igea Virtus, we had beaten them 2-0 earlier in the season and we were looking for the double.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from D'Alcontres (Att; 4,862)----------------------------------------Igea Virtus 2 : Pepe (11, 29)Napoli 2 : Guardiola (28), Matteini (69)MOM - Pepe (Igea Virtus, ATT) </pre>
A disappointing draw for us, Igea Virtus played the last twenty minutes with ten men but managed to hold on. Guardiola got his first Napoli goal with a superb free-kick.

Even though we had only picked up a point we moved to the top of the table, Catanzaro and Rimini both suffering defeats. We travelled to Sora hoping to keep our slim lead intact.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from Claudio Tomei (Att; 7,475)------------------------------------------Sora 0 :Napoli 0 :MOM - Recep (Napoli, GK) </pre>
Our first clean sheet since the start of February but we failed to convert our chances meaning another draw. The game was very even and Sora will be happy with the point as they struggle at the wrong end of the table.

Catanzaro took over at the top with a 2-0 victory at home to Taranto. We now had two home games in a row and I was hopeful of maximum points. The first of these was against Reggiana who sat in 9th. Sosa returned from injury and partnered Matteini in attack. Scarlato missed his first game of the season with a twisted knee.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from San Paolo (Att; 25,253)---------------------------------------Napoli 6 : Guardiola (26, 67), Sosa (36, 77), Rapaic (84), Mendu (87)Reggiana 0 :MOM - Sosa (Napoli, ATT) </pre>
A great home win, Reggiana gave us a helping hand when they had a man sent off just before the interval. A real team effort with everyone contributing in one way or another.

Three points but we stay 2nd as Catanzaro win again. Disappointment for our Under-20 team as they lose in the Cup Final to Fiorentina U-20s, the game was very close and went into extra time before a late goal made the score 2-1.

Giugliano were the next visitors and the line-up was unchanged apart from Fabio Gatti who had to sit it out due to suspension.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Serie C1/B from San Paolo (Att; 25,231)---------------------------------------Napoli 4 : Silas (53), Mendu (65), Matteini (77), Rapaic (87)Giugliano 0 :MOM - Matteini (Napoli, ATT) </pre>
Another good win but it came at a price. Mora, Sosa and Recep all picked up injuries. Luckily it looks like Mora and Recep should recover fairly quickly, Sosa might miss a few games. Giugliano also lost a man but that was their own doing.

We remain a point behind Catanzaro after they managed a last minute winner at Benevento. The positive thing is that we are scoring goals and looking confident.