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What a difference a week makes. After the discouraging draw against Thiene, we came out ready to play and demolished Teramo 6-0 in front of their stunned Comunale crowd. Everything went right today and there were plenty of contributors on offense. Our goals came from Marco Negri, Matteo Olivieri (his 1st for us), Raffaele Merzek (his 1st for us), Eros Schiavon and two from newly acquired Antonio Morello. Schiavon looks to be an absolutely sensational forward and I have no idea why he was rated at 9K and not used by Padova- but he is an exciting player for us. Morello played very well in his debut for us- after subbing on he took control of the match in the midfield. It looks like we might not miss Viroli as much as we feared- Mario Lusardi healed up and played well on the leftside today.

We started out terribly against Imolese as we hosted them at Olimpico. They scored on an early header and an ensuing penalty kick meant we were down 2-0, 17 minutes into the match. Marco Negri provided not only scoring- but leadership- and this match was a great example of that. Within two minutes of the penalty kick we had one goal back when Negri headed a cross from Antonio Donati past Emiliano Betti. Just before halftime, Kevin Centorame zinged a hard cross that Negri volleyed past Betti to bring us back even. With the momentum and confidence from the first half carrying over, we took the play to the visitors after that. Eros Schiavon, after coming close twice, finally stretched the twine with a hard, low shot after a good pass from Donati. We clinched the match when Giovanni Piacentini knocked in a rebound after Betti made a good stop on Negri from close in during the late stages of the match. The win was a confidence booster, but I remained worried about the quality of our keepers.

Trento was really struggling when we visited them. They were in 18th place and had just fired their manager. We should have expected they would play with fierce pride, but we weren't ready for that and they jumped to an early lead with a lot of pressure and a rebound that Sauro Fabbri just couldn't hold. Down 1-0 we fought back as Mario Lusardi scored his first goal for us with a booming 30 yard free kick. Both sides were trading attacks up and down the pitch, but it was Antonio Donati rising to the occasion as he chipped in a rebound after being stopped on his first try for the match winning goal. We had to survive their late rally and I was on tenterhooks with Fabbri's play- but we held on for the 2-1 win.

Our last match for November 2001 was hosting Alto Adige. They were down in the standings, but it seemed the club had learned a little lesson against Trento and this time we aimed to keep them down by smothering their midfield. It worked very well as we limited them to three shots for the entire match. A goal in the first half from Donati and in the second half from Morello was enough to provide the margin on our 2-0 win. Negri lost a goal on an offside call or the match would have been clinched much sooner than it was.

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Our trip to Poggese was disappointing. We yielded an early goal and could never make it up as their keeper Gabriele Marini earned MOM honours. It was a good effort on our part, but not enough to avoid a close 1-0 loss.

A long hard match of storming Fiorenzuola's end finally paid off when Ciro Ferrara deflected a corner from Emmanuele Fiore past Davide Bertaccini for the match winning goal in second half extra time. A redcard to Fiorenzuola midfieler Diego Calderoni had left us camped in their end the entire match, but we had nothing to show for it as Bertaccini was in the right place to make the big save every time. It looked like a frustrating scoreless draw until Ferrara scored his 1st goal at San Marino on the corner.

In contrast our trip to Gubbio was much better as Enrico Pento scored a pair of goals in the first ten minutes of play to send us off on a flyer. Matteo Olivieri added a goal and Marco Negri earned his MOM honours with a sensational 40 yard free kick that just caught the underside of the crossbar to finish off the 4-0 road win. The win sent us to the midwinter break even with Poggese atop C2B- both of us with 12-1-3 records. 3rd place Mestre trailed us by 7 points.

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We opened January 2002 by surprising people. All that money saved up from our purchases came in handy as we were able to bid 190K and transfer purchase 21 yr old MC Riccardo Tadei from Fiorentina. My scouts all agreed he was an excellent prospect who could step right into our lineup- and he likely will. We also sold defenders Paulo Assetta to Japanese side Koge for 22K and Luigi D'Apice to Mantova for 30K.

Our first match back in Serie C2B play wound up a hard fought 2-0 win over visiting Montichiari. With Marco Negri resting, Eros Schiavon contributed both goals to the win as we played a solid defensive match in support of Creszenzo De Vito in gaining him a clean sheet.

Mestre was ready to reel us back closer to them when they came to visit Olimpico next. They found it wasn't an easy task as we struck for three first half goals from Negri, Gianmarco Agostinelli and Antonio Donati. They hit back for one early in the second half, but that was quickly answered by Donati's 2nd of the match. Agostinelli added his 2nd of the match to put us up 5-1, but we quit playing defense at that point and Mestre scored two goals in the space of 3 minutes to claw their way back into the match. Fortunately, we woke up when they scored their last goal and played better defense to help close out an important 5-3 win.

It was back on the road after that- first up was a trip to Sassuolo. We took full advantage of their lack of pace to force the pressure on them in their end. Donati (15th of the season) and Agostinelli hit for goals in the first half as we moved ahead. In the second half we put the match out of reach when Donati scored his 2nd of the match and Marco De Santis scored his 1st goal at San Marino as we cruised to a 4-0 win.

Enrico Pento capped a successful January when he scored in each half on our trip to Gualdo and that was the margin of victory in our 2-0 win. We surged away from Poggese in the month as they struggled and we now hold the top spot in C2B by 7 points over them and we lead 3rd place Thiene by 12 points with 20 matches played of 34 total. One change that is paying dividends this month is our move of David Baglioni and Federico Bracci into the starting lineup on central defense. Both of these youngsters have great futures according to my scouts and coaches- and though Ciro Ferrara and Emmanuele Fiore were playing well- these two youngsters are the future of the club on the backline.

The month also saw the end of the transfer window. Tiziano Quarta moved on to Arezzo for 35K, because he was losing playing time with the additions and was the midfielder I thought would draw the most interest. I turned around and splashed out that 35K to purchase promising 18 yr old DMR Matteo Longhi from Albinoleffe. Longhi looks like he will fit in well- though his lack of stamina may be a limitation.

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After the short break, we faced Faenza in divisional play. Marco Negri put his name in the San Marino recordbooks as he scored 4 goals in the match, including 3 in the second half in leading us to a 5-1 thumping of our visitors. Riccardo Tadei also chipped in with his 1st goal at San Marino and Matteo Longhi had a solid debut in the midfield.

Sampbenedetesse waged a tough battle with us in the first half of the match. Both sides had a goal waved off on offside calls and it certainly looked like it would be scoreless. Enrico Pento changed that and gave us momentum into the second half when he deflected a cross from Antonio Donati past Stefano Visi to give us the lead. The complexion of the match changed in our favor in the second half when defender Stefano Colantuono was redcarded for tripping Marco Negri as the last man. With only a 10 man side, the home side could no longer contain our passing attack and Negri, Donati and Raffaele Merzek all added goals as we finished out a 4-0 win.

The 1-2 tandem of Negri and Gianmarco Agostinelli led us to another important win. With Agostinelli scoring in the first half, Negri in the second half and solid keeping from Alberto Pomini- we were able to hand visiting Mantova a stinging 2-0 loss. The loss dropped them from 5th place to 8th place in the bunched up standings for the last spot in the playoff round.

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A difficult trip to another playoff contender was first for us in March 2002. Our own misfiring caused us lots of problems, but Antonio Donati scorched a low shot past Andrea Sardini for the lone goal of the match during the first half. Marco Negri was clearly very frustrated as he missed two wide open nets that would have clinched the win during the second half, but we held on for the close 1-0 win.

We outplayed Rimini in our next match at Olimpico, but they wanted points from the match just as badly as we did and they rallied for a late second half goal to bring us even in a 1-1 draw. Antonio Donati had scored our goal in the first half, but we had spent some time misfiring again on our shooting and we paid for that when we couldn't get the second goal we needed. The draw left Rimini clinging to the 5th place slot by a point over two other clubs. We were still cruising atop the division- 14 points ahead of Mestre and Poggese.

Our 3-2 win at Thiene was enough to guarantee us a spot in the playoffs, but the club already was aiming at clinching the automatic advancement of the top spot as soon as possible. Negri, Donati and Marco De Santis contributed goals in the hard fought win at Del Fiori.

We drew another step closer to clinching when Negri scored both goals as we won out over a stubborn midtable Teramo squad. It was a strong day for the backline who ably supported Crescenzo De Vito's clean sheet.

It was the unlikely hero again stepping forth for the club as we edged Imolese 3-2 at Romeo Galli. Negri notched the first goal, but the home side had roared back to score twice to take the lead. Into the breach stepped Matteo Olivieri as he bedeviled the Imolese backline and keeper in scoring twice to rally us for the win. The celebration following the win was quite nice as we had clinched the Serie C2B title with the win. It was a great way to close out the month.

The Chairman privately told me that I had succeded beyond his expectations. I have to admit I had done much better than I would have thought in stepping into football management- but after all people are people and it was very similar to the olive grove- just needed to define a plan, put the right people in the right places and execute the plan with a passion. The fans no longer had any problems with the fan favorites that I shed in the beginning- after realizing that the players we gained were certainly worthy of the money being paid them.

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Trento was in dire straits and desperate as they visited us at Olimpico. They were fighting dropping into the playoffs to be relegated and needed a point from the match. We didn't give it to them. Raffaele Merzek scored on a long free kick and Matteo Olivieri made a superb run through their defense as we took a 2-0 lead to half. They scored a goal midway through the second half to gain a measure of hope, but we closed out the 2-1 win with a strong defensive effort- even after Marco De Sanctis was redcarded for pushing Luca Forezi.

Comunale was our next venue as we tangled with Alto Adige. They scored in the opening moments of the match as Sauro Fabbri misjudged a cross and allowed them an easy tap in. The lead didn't last as Antonio Donati and Marco Negri both scored to send us to a 2-1 halftime lead. The second half was all ours as Gianmarco Agostinelli scored early to make the lead 3-1. Pietro Di Giorgio scored in his 1st senior match this season before Negri added his 2nd goal of the match to finish out a strong 5-1 road victory.

Despite the fact that we were hosting Poggese at home next with thoughts of revenge on our loss to them, I still went with a patchwork lineup for the match- because I was looking at players to try and judge whether they would stay or go in the offseason. It may have been the players in the lineup were hungrier, but we outplayed them and defeated them 2-0. Their atrocious shooting certainly assisted us, but we were off to a good start when Stefano Scaricamazza scored his 1st goal for us and we led at half 1-0. We clinched the match late in the second half when Alessandro Sanna scored his 1st goal for us to finish off the 2-0 win. One bad note was that Negri injured his calf and would be out until the start of next season. He finished with 22 goals in 23 matches for us and had led us to the promised land of promotion before going down- he had earned both his pay and a time of rest.

We were back on the road, this time to Fiorenzuola. Alessandro Sanna staked us to an early lead, but we gave that back when Emmanuele Fiori tripped Massimo Baldini from behind in the area- earning both a redcard and a penalty kick. Diego Calderoni converted the penalty and we were back to 1-1. We were doing a solid job of defending in the second half, with the occasional attack tossed in. On a corner midway through the half we retook the lead when Riccardo Tadei deflected the corner from Sanna past Mauro Bacchin. The home fans howled when the late equalizer scored by Vicenzo Saccani was ruled off on an offsides. We staved off their rally to hold on for the 2-1 win.

Our match against Gubbio was exciting in many ways. It was our final home match of the season and we had a big crowd to join us in the planned celebration. It was exciting for me as our lineup would be featuring Paolo Rossi and Moreno Bertoldi- two youths that had played very well on the reserve side and were making their senior debuts. Rossi and Bertoldi were the catalysts of our win, something I wouldn't have expected. Showing no jitters at all, both of them scored in their debut. We also received goals from Alessandro Sanna and Marco De Santis in our easy 4-0 win. The party after the match was quite amazing- a worthy celebration.

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We closed our season with a trip to Romeo Menti to face Montichiari. Again featuring a patchwork lineup, we spotted them an early goal before roaring back. Mariano De Francesco scored his 1st goal for us to bring us even at halftime. Our superior conditioning and morale took hold in the second half and Alessandro Sanna put us ahead to stay with a pair of goals (including his 5th of the season). Marco De Santis added another late goal to finish off the 4-1 win. The win meant we ended the season with a string of 19 unbeaten matches- something that may be difficult to build on next season.

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It was a quiet summer for us. With little money to pursue transfers, I had to settle for a couple modest purchases. We purchased 21 yr old MC Francesco Pulidori from Rondinella for 8K. Pulidori is good with his feet and should help with our depth in attacking midfielders. Also joining us was Fabio Bonadei from Pisa for 45K. Bonadei is a 27 yr old D/MR that may move into our rightback spot. Matteo Salami wasn't very steady in that role last season and I liked the look of Bonadei to complete our backline. Leaving us during the summer were several players. Federico Carelli signed on Bosman with Sassuolo and I let Pasquale Ambrosio move to Thiene on free. I also sold Kevin Centorame to Ravenna for 30K and moved Daniele De Battisti to the Bristol Rovers for 50K.

I do have a few unhappy players on my hands. Angelo Donati didn't like my turning down the offer from Bologna, so is still miffed about not being able to move. I managed to dodge a bullet when Cagliari didn't quite bid Alberto Pomini's minimum fee release. I was surprised that Marco Negri didn't draw much interest- but I hope it stays that way this season as we try to stay up in Serie C1A.

We opened up Serie C Cup action with a trip to Cesena. Despite fitness problems we managed to edge the home side 1-0 on Antonio Donati's first half goal. The win was a good start for the upcoming season.

Another unhappy player was sent onwards during the week. I accepted a 50K bid on rightback Thomas Bendoni from Vigor Lamezia. Bendoni had never really gotten a chance and wanted to find someplace where he could actually play.

Our first home match was hosting Foligno in Serie C Cup play. Our scouts underrated them, but they were tough. Led by their keeper Gianluca Riommi, they battled us to a scoreless draw, which left both of us even atop our Group after two matches.

Mestre took advantage of a subpar performance by Cresenzo De Vito to dump us 3-2 and move atop the Group. Negri scored an early goal, but they came back with three unanswered goals before Francesco Pulidori gave us a chance with his 1st goal for us late in the second half. We are still not fully fit and are paying the price in the second half of these Serie C Cup matches.

Just like that and we were done in Serie C Cup competition again this season. We were battling Rimini at Olimpico, but our execution was off and our shooting was terrible. When we did manage a shot on net- it would hit the post. We needed a win to have a hope of advancing and went all out trying to get it in the late stages of the match. Instead Rimini hit us with a counter attack and scored the only goal of the match in second half injury time to send us crashing out on the 1-0 loss.

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Our first Serie C1A match was a trip to Lucchese. We served notice that San Marino's finish last season was not a fluke with our fine effort there. It had been a tough battle in the first half, but we held a 2-1 lead thanks to goals from Marco Negri and Antonio Donati. When they evened the match at 2-2 in the early going of the second half, I am sure many of their fans expected them to roll past us. Instead, we focused better- started making our passes- and suddenly we exploded for 4 goals to rout them 6-2. Gianmarco Agostinelli scored the goal to put us ahead and then added another to make it 4-2. Donati scored his 2nd goal of the match as well and Riccardo Tadei finished off the scoring with a curling 30 yard free kick to make the final margin 6-2.

We didn't fair as well in our home opener against Triestina. Negri evened the match after we gave them an easy goal in the opening moments of the first half. That was all we could get though and they managed to get a header past Pomini in the second half to earn them a 2-1 win.

Our fans at Olimpico saw a much better performance in our next match as we bested Monza 3-0. Negri and Donato contributed first half goals to give us the lead at half. Pomini was playing superbly in net and was well supported by our backline this time. Antonio Morello scored the lone goal in the second half to clinch our 3-0 win.

The tide of our match with Carrarese turned sour quickly and it left us disappointed when we lost to them 2-1 in a match that we had outplayed them in for large stretches. We had taken the early lead on an Agostinelli header and were playing well in the second half. Things went bad when Luca Della Vella was called for holding in the area and Andrea Pierotti converted the penalty kick to even the match at 1-1. It quickly turned grim when Pierotti scored his 2nd less than four minutes later to give the home side a 2-1 lead. We tried to pressure them, but their keeper Milaw Zahalka earned MOM honours as he staved off our rally and we were left going home with a 2-1 loss on the books.

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Olimpico was a welcome place to be as we got back on the winning track. We played a very strong defensive match in support of Alberto Pomini and the 2-0 final reflected the hard work and determination. Gianmarco Agostinelli scored in the first half for us and Ciro Ferrara added a goal in the second half to propel us to the win.

The fans at La Spezia saw an entertaining match. By the time the dust had cleared on the first half- six goals had been scored, three for each side. We settled down and played a stronger defensive match in the second half and that was what allowed us to win 5-3. Agostinelli continued to be searing hot- as he scored a hat-trick which included both our second half goals. Antonio Donati also chipped in with a pair of first half goals.

The first time around against Cesena was close thanks to their keeper Luca Pastine. He had no magic this time around and the Olimpico fans enjoyed watching the destruction of the visitors to a tune of 7-1. Agostinelli had two goals, Negri had four and Matteo Olivieri hit for his 1st this season as everything went right offensively for us in this easy win.

Modena took full advantage of both absences of Alberto Pomini and Marco Negri in the second half as they stormed to a 3-0 win with all the goals coming after a scoreless first half. Pomini was redcarded for a deliberate handball at the end of the first half- when it appeared he was still inside the area. Negri had gone out due to injury (will miss three weeks with a twisted knee) and down a man, we couldn't get anything going against the home side after they scored in the opening moments of the second half to put the pressure on us. We didn't respond well in the match and they had an easy time posting the win against us.

Negri was hurt by some of the media questioning his injury (it was a legitimate injury, despite what the press hinted) and he asked to be placed on the transfer list. I agreed to place him on the list at his minimum fee release and expected to lose him at the January transfer period.

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Back at Olimpico, we found a way to overcome the various distractions and put together a strong performance in a 3-0 win. Led by Antonio Donati goal to put us in the early lead, we pressured their midfield and kept them from generating any offense. Gianmarco Agostinelli scored his 10th goal of the season and Marco De Santis chipped in with the clinching goal to make it 3-0 late in the match.

I had to admit I was enjoying our season, but at the same time I was having my doubts about whether I should tie myself to San Marino for the long term. The Chairman was privately badmouthing me about my handling of Marco Negri's outburst and that made life difficult. The club was becoming split because Negri was a popular captain among the players. His frustration was breaking down the smooth running clubhouse that we had maintained all last season. Chairman Rossini was trying to pressure me into a signing a longer term contract (I had signed another one-year deal before the season), but because of the hoopla- I had told him I wanted to wait until later in the season to make up my mind.

Back on the road we went to Pesara. Vis Pesara's keeper Alex Castorani had a splendid match. It wasn't quite good enough though as Alessandro Sanna solved him in first half injury time to stake us to the lead. Agostinelli then clinched the match when he converted a penalty kick after being bowled over in the area as we won the road match 2-0. Another strong defensive effort helped as we limited them to only 3 shots in the match.

Varese gave us quite a tussle in the first half. Their keeper Paolo Mancini was very sharp and though we had plenty of good chances- our halftime lead was only 1-0 thanks to a goal from Sanna. The house of cards collapsed for them in the second half as an Diego Tacconi own goal in the opening moments triggered a loss of will and we scored four more goals in the half to cruise home with a 6-0 win. Sanna added his 2nd goal of the match before Francesco Pulidori sliced and diced their defense for his first 2 goals at San Marino. Agostinelli then drove a header home to cap the big win.

Our trip to Arezzo saw a meltdown in our defense, compounded by a poor match from Alberto Pomini as we lost a wild 5-3 shoot out. We actually had the halftime lead- 2-1- on goals from Matteo Olivieri and Agostinelli. Arrezzo came out and roughed us up badly in the second half as they took advantage of our failure to clear the ball and of Pomini having an off match. Marco Negri made his return from injury and his 80th minute goal got us back to 4-3, but they scored a final goal soon after to clinch the match.