We began March 2006 with a need to start finding a way to win. Only wins would help us avoid a trip back to Serie B. It was encouraging that the club finally responded with a good overall performance. We defeated visiting Venezia 2-0 behind a penalty kick by Alberto Giordano and a second half goal from Daniele Ruggio. The score could have been much worse- except their keeper Marco Storari earned his MOM honours by keeping the match close.
It was a tough road battle against Torino. The schedule of road matches gets worse after this, so I dearly wanted to get a win. Instead we just barely managed to salvage a 1-1 draw when Fabrizio Miccoli subbed on and scored a late equalizer after Mauro Bonomi had scored an own-goal to give them the lead in the first half. Marco Formica continued to earn the admiration of his teammates with another fine match in net. Despite the draw- many of the key players on the club have lost confidence in me. The only way I can get that back is by getting on a winning path.
Lazio came and we needed a good result pretty badly. The club responded again and Thiaggo Motta- just back from injury- keyed our win with an impressive performance. He scored the first goal in the 2-0 win and setup Roberto Stellone for the other goal. Formica played superbly in backstopping the win. I had to bench Daniele Ruggio (he wasn't even dressed for the match) after he showed up late for practice. I couldn't let the players run the club- that was my job.
Our trip to Milan was one I was dreading. They were in 2nd place and needed a win to keep pace. They also had a huge edge in talent on us and we just didn't match up well with them. Andriy Shevchenko proved that right away when he scored on a header to give them the lead in the first half. The only reason we weren't behind by more was because Formica was playing well. We gained some hope when Christian Amoroso scored to equalize early in the second half. I was willing to settle for a draw- but the superior skill of the home side won out. Edgar Davids scored a brilliant goal to return them the lead midway through the half. Filippo Inzaghi then finished us off when he converted a penalty kick after Andrea Barzagli was yellow carded for pushing Rui Costa in the area. The 3-1 loss hurt as we dropped a place to 17th.
***
April 2006 started with a 'must-win' match against Piacenza. Our final two matches of the year are against Juventus and Roma- we need to be almost out of the woods before those to have a chance to avoid relegation. This match was a crucial one- a club we had a chance against at San Paulo. It was a taut match the whole way, but we managed to battle to a 1-0 win when Alfredo Vitolo scored his 1st goal for us. I was very relieved to have won the match- if we hadn't, I doubted we would have any chance at staying up.
Next up was a match almost as critical- a trip to Salerno to face Salernitana. This was one of the few road matches left that I thought we had a chance of winning. I felt a lot better after Vitolo struck for two goals early in the first half. Things went worse after that as Mauro Bonomi pushed Arturo Di Napoli in the area and he converted the penalty kick in first half injury time to make it 2-1. It got a lot more scary when Federico Lazzeri lost his temper and kicked the ball after being yellow carded- earning a second yellow. We tried to stave off their rally and Marco Formica was again stellar- with several excellent saves. It was a huge sigh of relief from me when Matteo Scarone (starting in place of injured Gianluca Falsini) made a dazzling left side run and blasted a shot inside the far right post to make it 3-1 with only a few minutes left in regulation. We managed to keep the score there and with the 3-1 road win we moved closer to getting out of the relegation zone. Where the standings were:
13th- Bologna 32 points (-17)
14th- Fiorentina 30 points (-10)
15th- Bari 30 points (-14)
16th- Napoli 29 points (-14)
17th- Torino 28 points (-22)
Atalanta was in 3rd place when they came to visit- trying to hold off Juventus for the position. They set us on our heels in the opening moments of the match when Elpys Jose Espinal scored in the 2nd minute after a brilliant run. We desperately tried to rally, but Massimo Taibi was playing well and we couldn't find a way to score on him. The second half was a see-saw as both clubs took turns making attacks. Formica made several very good stops to keep us in the match. We went fully to the attack late in the second half as we tried to even the match. It was one of our biggest goals when Thiago Motta made a superb run and blasted the ball home for an 82nd minute equalizer as we managed to gain a 1-1 draw.
Our next two matches were crucial road matches. First up was Parma- already assured of relegation. We couldn't afford anything but a win to keep our hopes alive. They were ready to pull us down though and the first half was a taut one as we managed numerous chances- but couldn't score on Antonio Faini. Just before halftime, Zissis Vryzas drilled a low shot past Formica to send us to half trailing 1-0. We came out and allowed them to storm Formica- but he managed to stop their shots and keep us close. Midway through the half we went to full attack mode again and it paid off when Vitolo scored on a rebound. We kept the pressure up- needing a win- and Fabrizio Miccoli scored on a booming shot to finally give us the lead late in the second half. We kept them from getting back to even and held on for the important 2-1 road win. The standings were:
13th- Bologna 35 points (-19)
14th- Fiorentina 34 points (-7)
15th- Napoli 33 points (-13)
16th- Torino 31 points (-17)
17th- Bari 30 points (-17)
Next was a trip to Bologne. They needed this match as badly as we did- since they hadn't been playing well either. It was a big boost when Thiago Motta scored the only goal in the first half and we managed to escape a couple close calls to be leading 1-0 at the half. The second half started with off with both sides moving up and down the pitch. We finally got a huge break when Giulio Falcone deflected a header past his keeper Matteo Guardalben to give us a margin of error. We didn't end up needing it as Formica closed out his clean sheet and we had managed a very important 2-0 road win that left us with some hope heading to our matches against Juventus and Roma. The standings were:
13th- Napoli 36 points (-11)
14th- Fiorentina 35 points (-7)
15th- Bologna 35 points (-19)
16th- Torino 34 points (-20)
17th- Bari 30 points (-18)
***
We opened May 2006 with our last home match of the season as we hosted Juventus. Unfortunately for us, Juventus was still in the dogfight for a spot in the Champions Cup competition- so the match was important to them as well. The first half was a tough physical battle that only saw 7 shots on goal total for both sides. It was scoreless thanks to the work of both backlines in support of Marco Formica for us and Gianluigi Buffon for them. It was a grim scene early in the 2nd half when Mauro Bonomi was sent off with his 2nd yellow card- even though the match was still scoreless. We got lucky and changed that into our advantage when Thiago Motta boomed home a 25 yard free kick to give us the lead a few minutes after Bonomi was sent off. With a win, we would be in good straits- so we battened down the hatches defensively and tried to hold on. We couldn't do it- a perfect flick on by David Trezeguet found Gianluca Zambrotta on the far side of the net and he wasted little time driving it past a diving Formica to even things at 1-1. Though down a man to a techinally superior opponent- we still tried to take the win and came close when Alfredo Vitolo beat Buffon in injury time- only to see it bounce back off the post. The 1-1 draw didn't help my peace of mind much as the standings shifted:
13th- Fiorentina 38 (-4)
14th- Napoli 37 (-11)
15th- Bologna 36 (-21)
16th- Torino 34 (-23)
Bari had already clinched relegation with a loss.
Our last match of the season was visiting Roma, who had already clinched the Serie A title. Fiorentina was hosting 4th place Lazio. Bologna had to travel to face 5th place Juventus. Torino traveled to face 9th place Venezia. Roma manager Fabio Capello commented in the press that although the match didn't mean anything to Roma in the standings- it meant something to him personally to send a pretender manager (I guess that would have been me) back to the level he came from. I hadn't realized it, but apparently Capello was friends with Gianluca Cesaro- the manager at San Marino I had displaced- and held a lot of hatred for me. The comments certainly stirred the press, but I refused to respond in kind- I was raised to turn the other cheek after all. We opened the match and came out playing terribly. Francesco Totti had an easy time dumping a shot past Formica when he was out of position. They were intent on grinding the life out of us- but Formica stood firm after his one mistake and kept us in the match. We managed little offense against their quickness- only two shots in the match, but we had a great chance to even it early in the second half when Ivan Pelizzoli batted away a rising drive by Thiago Motta. That was it for us though- as Motta went off on an injury shortly after and we couldn't even move the ball past midfield after that. The final whistle found us still trailing 1-0 for a loss. All we could do was head in to the dressing room and wait to see what our fate was. Venezia destroyed Torino's hopes as they finished off a 3-1 win- ensuring Torino's drop. Next to fall by the wayside, though it did us little good was Fiorentina, as they lost to Lazio 2-1 when the visitors rallied and Hernan Crespo scored in the late moments of the match. That left us on pins and needles watching for the final score of the Juventus-Bologna match. The encouraging news from the match was that Juventus had scored early and Bologna offensive leader Dmitris Nalitzis had been redcarded in first half injury time. The dressing room was decidedly quiet as we watched the update of the scrolling scores on the TV screen. A huge whoop came from everyone when the 1-0 was posted as final- we had clung to 14th place and would stay up for another season in Serie A.
13th- Fiorentina 38 (-5)
14th- Napoli 37 (-12)
15th- Bologna 36 (-22)
16th- Torino 34 (-25)
I knew that summer that I would make many changes- both to clear out the unhappy players and to build a club more suited to playing the style I knew we needed to. I was grateful that I would have another chance to play in Serie A- the entire season after taking over Napoli had been the most difficult, exhausting managing experience I had experienced- yet I had learned a lot.
2006-07
Summer 2006
There were many player moves at Napoli during the summer of 2006, as I tried to get the club more in line with my preferred attacking system. The key addition was the purchase of Matteo Brighi for 3.5 Million from Juventus. Brighi was the midfielder that I thought could really make a difference for us. Here is a list of all the coming and goings:
Transfers In Matteo Brighi (purchased from Juventus for 3.5 Million)- the 25 yr old AMRC was unhappy at his lack of playing time at Juventus and I was very pleased to add him- I thought he might be the playmaker that we really hadn't had last season- his arrival would allow me to use Thiago Motta in a more complimentary role
Marco Arena (signed on Bosman from Brescia)- the 22 yr old SC had all the qualities I was looking for in a forward, and most importantly to me was available on Bosman and is young enough to develop further- likely starter
Davide Baglioni (signed on Bosman from Crotone)- the 27 yr old DC is a known quantity and that has value as he will help offer cover in our central defense
Paolo Carletti (purchased from Fiorenzuola for 150K)- the 20 yr old AMC was Serie C1A player of the year- my scouts didn't think much of him, but he was a good offensive player who I hoped might contribute and would at least help provide cover for Brighi
Lorenzo Collacchioni (purchased from Rondinella for 250K)- the 26 yr old DLC was not a stellar defensive player, but might provide offense out of the left back slot- would at least provide solid cover there if nothing else
Andrea Staffolani (purchased from Ancona for 325K)- the 23 yr old MRLC would provide good midfield cover and was hoping he might chip in a bit on the offensive side of the ball
Marcello Palmeiri (purchased from Vicenza for 1.6 Million)- the 20 yr old GK had great techinical skill for one so young- I was planning on developing the tandem combination of he and Formica as our keepers, though I was wary of relying on a 21 and 20 yr old as our main keepers
Cesare Natali (signed on Bosman from Atalanta)- the 27 yr old DC had no particular standout characteristics, but I felt he could be good cover in our central defense
Jacopo Vitale (purchased from Fano for 150K)- the 17 yr old DRC played superbly as one of the top Serie C2B players and I was pleased to add him on the chance he would develop into something special
Roberto Guana (purchased from Udinese for 1.7 Million)- the 25 yr old AMC had an established level of performance at Udinese that made him attractive when they transfer listed him- With how unhappy Thiago Motta was, I felt that adding him was a good hedge for possibly selling Motta
Federico Foglia (purchased from Torino for 1.4 Million)- the 18 yr old AMLC looked like a very promising player in limited exposure at Torino and I felt the cost was worth adding him to see if he would turn into a good player at Serie A level
Francesco Nicolini (purchased from SPAL for 1.1 Million)- the 22 yr old SW/DC was the top defender in Serie C1A last season and I wanted to add him as a hedge against Mauro Bonomi's advancing age
Transfers Out Gilmar Moreira Dos Santos (sold to Pro Patria for 425K)- I was pleased to finally move the Brazilian midfielder off my roster
Nicola Amoruso (signed on Bosman by Verona)- his large contract and small production left me not offering him a contract
Marco Zamboni (signed on Bosman by Lecce)- I would have liked to keep the defender, but he wanted to start- and that wasn't going to happen here
Montezine (signed on Bosman by Rimini)- Another Brazilian I was pleased to allow to leave
Rubens Pasino (signed on Bosman by Crotone)- At 35, he didn't have the abilities to play at Serie A level anymore
Gianluca Falsini (sold to Sampdoria for 2.6 Million)- He earned his first two Caps this summer, but was unhappy with our club's performance and wanted out- with his contract up after this season, it seemed better to sell him now and work on developing new talent at leftback
Giardano Pellanara (sold to Perugia for 600K)- I like our other young defenders better, so was pleased to allow Perugia to purchase him
Cataldo Montesanto (sold to Sampdoria for 950K)- Montesanto was a solid veteran DMRC, but his future was limited by the two younger players we had there
Raffaele Colombo (sold to Perugia for 1.1 Million)- Colombo was an excellent young AMC, but for whatever reason didn't play well in our attacking system- when Perugia came bidding, it was good to be able to move him on
***
Napoli Roster to begin 2006-07
GK- Marco Formica, Marcello Palmieri, Marco Amelia
Defenders- Matteo Scarone, Lorenzo Collacchioni, Federico Lazzeri*, Davide Baglioni, Mauro Bonomi, Cesare Natali, Andrea Barzagli, Francesco Nicolini, Angelo Schembri (II), Michele Bonetti*
Midfield- Matteo Brighi, Thiago Motta, Cristian Amoroso, Giuseppe Alessi*, Simone Casavola, Roberto Rizzo, Daniele De Rossi, Roberto Guana, Andrea Staffolani, Federico Foglia
Forwards- Marco Arena, Danielle Ruggio*, Roberto Stellone, Alfredo Vitolo, Fabrizio Miccoli
*= Transfer Listed
Comments on Transfer Listed: Lazzeri- Wanted to move to a larger club, First Caps this Summer- If a club paid the rated price he would go since contract not protected
Bonetti- Had lost confidence in my ability- Never played well last season, despite his obvious skills- cancer in the dressing room
Alessi- Lost his starting role and too highly paid to be a backup
Ruggio- Had lost confidence in my ability- Would fit in better in another type of attacking system, so like Lazzeri if someone paid the rated price I would let him leave
***
Our first match in August 2006 to begin Serie A play would be hosting Chievo and I dearly wanted a win to get us off on the right foot. Our problems of last season cropped up in the first half as we controlled the play, but couldn't find a way to score. That trend continued in the second half as we kept seeing defenders deflecting good shots and their keeper Matteo Portale making good saves. It looked awfully grim when a defensive mixup allowed Franco Vendrame to score past Marco Formica at 80 minutes. To our credit, we didn't quit working and it paid off when Portale took down Matteo Brighi in the area- earning himself a redcard and us a penalty. Matteo Scarone calmly converted the penalty and we salvaged a 1-1 draw from the match.
The transfer rumors were swirling. I believe 7 different clubs had offered Federico Lazzeri contracts and I only waited to see where he was moving too. In the meantime, the pairing of Francesco Nicolini and Andrea Barzagli looked great in our first match and Nicolini had earned MOM honours. Inter offered us Ruggio's rated amount he quickly agreed on a contract. His 7.75 Million sale was a record for Napoli and also boosted our fees received this season over 13 Million- another record. I quickly began searching for another proven forward to help out my bevy of youngsters up front.
Lazzeri decided to join Fenerbahce in December. He was going to be rather unhappy with his playing time until he left- since I was planning on not starting him so I could develop the Nicolini-Barzagli pairing. I did manage to land another inexpensive (cheap) forward as I purchased Andrea Pacenza for 550K from Salernitana. Pacenza was 23 yr old SC who had impressive scoring credentials at lower levels, but had never been given a chance at Salernitana.
Matters with Thiago Motta came to a head. He was already unhappy with me when we ended up having a yelling session in the hallway outside the dressing room after training. I placed him on the transfer list that day at his minimum fee release. Despite his talent, he wasn't worth the trouble that he was bringing.
With all of our offensive problems, I finally decided to bite the bullet. I approached Crotone about purchasing Antonio Donati. They wouldn't discuss selling him, but as I had negotiated his past contract- I knew he carried a 2.5 Million minimum release fee. Once I pointed that out to them- they were willing to sell at that price and it took little effort to convince Antonio to come to Napoli.
Our next match that started September 2006 was against Genoa and to be charitable- the officiating in the match was poor. It was actually bad enough that an FA official told me they would be reviewing future matches on his part. All of that didn't help the fact that we had received 5 yellow cards, a redcard and he had awarded 20 free kicks to them. Genoa played better than us and likely deserved the 3-1 win, but it shouldn't have been handed to them. Donati made a nice debut as he scored our goal to give us the lead. With Marco Formica having fitness problems- Matteo Palmieri recieved his first start and it wasn't the debut he hoped for and Pinga scored on a free kick and again later to make the difference in the match.
We finally showed signs that I had been hopeful of seeing when we hosted Piacenza. Helped by an early redcard to their keeper- Ashley Mngonemi- we finally lit up the scoreboard in a 4-0 win. Dario Agostini, who was my selection to replace Ruggio in the starting lineup, converted the penalty for his 1st goal for us. He added a 2nd goal later. Donati scored another goal and we were helped by an own-goal on their part as well in the win.
In the first leg of our Italian Cup match we suffered a close 1-0 loss to Bologna. We played very well in the match- only allowing them an early goal- but Matteo Guardalben had all the answers in their net as he played a perfect match. We lost despite outshooting the visitors by a 15-4 margin, another match that showed our problems scoring. We hit the post four times in the match and Thiago Motta was shaking his head after he hit one for the second time in the match.
Brescia outplayed us in winning an offensive 4-2 match, but mostly we were done in by the poor play of Marco Formica in his return to starting in net. He was very unsteady and missed a couple shots he should have had. We had managed to even the score at 2-2 for halftime on goals from Agostini and the first goal from Marco Arena- but it went for naught as they played better in the second half. We are getting closer though- this match showed me that- we just have to put forth a more consistent effort every match.
***
Our first match in October 2006 was hosting Atalanta and all I can say about it was that I was disappointed in the end. We battled back twice to even the match with goals from Dario Agostini and Marco Arena, but our midfield failed us again in the last moments of the match and Marco Formica could not come up with the big save as we lost a heartbreaker 3-2.
We came up with a better defensive performance as we managed to edge Salernitana 2-0 at San Paolo. Antonio Donati scored in the first half and we finally clinched a very close match when Angelo Schembri (II) scored his 1st goal for us late in the second half. Formica finally showed improving form and really earned the clean sheet in the match.
Milan was in 2nd place as they hosted us and I really thought we were ready to give them a good tussle. We took the first half lead when Donati scored another goal, but they came roaring back to even the match midway through the second half. A redcard to Andrea Barzagli doomed us after they scored on the free kick after the foul. With 10 men, we couldn't get enough going to score the equalizer and went home frustrated at the 2-1 loss.
It was the 2nd unit again as we faced Bologna in the 2nd leg of the Italian Cup 1st round. It was a well played match on both clubs parts. We took the lead when Roberto Stellone scored his 1st goal of the season. They managed to move ahead on aggregate 2-1 after Mamede fired a shot past Marcello Palmieri. Stellone scored his 2nd of the match in the second half and we moved back in front on away goals. When their last shot hit the post and bounced away- we had held on for the 2-1 win that would advance us to the 2nd round.
Lazio came to visit as we closed out October with a home match. It was clear after this match that I will have to let Palmieri have a full try as keeper- since another poor performance by Marco Formica doomed us in a 2-0 loss. We outshot them 10-3 in the first half but trailed 2-0 as Formica let the first two shots past him. We could not buy a break against venerable Angelo Peruzzi and we hit the post twice and bar once, while he made good saves on everything else. A frustrating month for us as we didn't play bad at all- but still only have one league win to show for a lot of hard work.
***
As we began November 2006, I discussed our problems with the other coaches. We agreed that we just needed to get back down to the basics and let the results come from either our execution of them- or our problems with doing that. The first test was a trip to Verona. Cristian Amoroso scored his 1st goal of the season to give us the lead and it looked like we were quickly up 2-0 when Matteo Brighi scored moments later. Instead the goal was ruled off on Brighi's offside and Verona got new life. Just before halftime ex-Napoli Nicola Amoruso scored his 1st goal for them to even the match. We battled with them in the second half and I must admit I was a bit downhearted when Andrea Di Napoli scored on Marcello Palmieri to give them the lead late in the half. We weren't done though- and MOM Marco Arena made a wonderful move past Paolo Cannavaro and rifled the equalizer past Hugo Pinheiro as we salvaged a 2-2 draw.
We were a bit tired as we traveled to Venice to face 1st place Venezia, but I was hoping we could put together another strong effort. I got what I hoped for- but Marco Storari played well in net for them and Marcello Palmieri had one of those up and down matches that youngsters have. The end result is though we slightly outplayed them and outworked them by a large margin- we were on the losing end of a 3-2 scoreline. We were down 2-0 in the first half before Antonio Donati scored his 5th of the season to draw one back. They scored again early in the second half, but I was proud of the effort as we kept hammering away and finally Marco Arena scored to give us a glimmer of hope. Storari snuffed out the glimmer though with a pair of excellent saves in second half injury time as they held us off for the win. It was some consolation to know that we could travel to play the best club (so far) in Serie A and gave them all they could handle (without Matteo Brighi- who hadn't recovered his condition from the weekend match at Verona).
Our trip to Rome for the first leg of our Italian Cup matchup with Roma was disastrous. Marco Formica didn't play well again, but in his defense - he had no defense helping him. I was trying to rest our main lineup after the two tough matches this week and our 2nd line played like they belonged in the lowest divisions. They stood around watching while Roma buzzed around our end. There was little effort on the part of the lineup and it was disappointing to see the transfer listed players just quit- when they could have made a good impression on the scouts attending with a little effort. Because of the lack of effort- several players are heading to the reserves until such time as I can get rid of them- Michele Bonetti and Simone Casavola being the main two. The 3-0 loss leaves us virtually no chance to advance in the Cup, but I would rather start concentrating on getting a solid season of Serie A play in- so that doesn't leave me too sad.
The next match at home against Sampdoria was one I thought we could win. We certainly seemed well on our way to the win- having established a 2-0 lead in the first half on Marco Arena's 5th goal and Matteo Brighi's 1st for us. Then we collapsed again defensively and allowed them to score a pair of quick goals to make it 2-2. Matteo Sereni stymied our attempts to gain the win and it was another bitter 2-2 draw that we were left with.
We left November with the same feelings as when we started- we just can't seem to buy a break. We played a scoreless first half with Lecce, but we hit two posts. They grabbed the lead when Aldo Osorio finally found a way to get one by Formica, who was playing superbly. They went ahead 2-0, but Donati scored to draw one back. We hit another post- and then a crossbar- before Osorio scored his 2nd of the match to finish us off in the 3-1 loss.
I know we are a better club than we have yet shown, but I haven't been able to get it out of them yet. It is very frustrating to see continual hard play and good efforts go by the wayside without any results to show for them.
***
It was a pleasure to finally see us play a good match and it was televised too as we handed Ternana a 3-0 thumping. It was only our 3rd win of the season, but was our best match of the season by far. Dario Agostini scored his 5th goal of the season and Marco Arena added a goal as we took a 2-0 first half lead. This time we didn't falter with the lead and Roberto Rizzo scored his 1st ever goal to help ensure that we put the win in our column this time. It was a match we needed to try and build on.
Our match in Florence against Fiorentina was also televised and the fans saw an entertaining battle of the keepers as we played to a 1-1 draw. They took the lead on a disputed penalty, but we came right back when MOM Cristian Amoroso scored. Our forwards missed the net most of the match, as Arena and Agostini just didn't have the range today. I would have preferred a win, but a road draw where we showed we could play a grinding defensive match was still a good effort in my book.
We played Roma even in the 2nd leg of our Italian Cup match, but a late goal from Vicenzo Montella allowed them to take away a 1-0 win and they advance to play Inter on the strength of their 4-0 aggregate advantage over us.
The mid-December opening of the transfer window cost us Federico Lazzeri- as his purchase by Fenerbahce became final- but also yielded an important addition as we signed 30 yr old FC Domenico Morfeo from Fiorentina. Morfeo's contract was unprotected and he was intrigued by my offer to have him run our offense- a position he is ideally suited for. He wasn't playing regularly in Fiorentina and was happy to come over to us for a large contract and assurance of playing time. The cost to add him was 3.2 Million by the tribunal, which was actually less than I had offered Fiorentina earlier in the season when I tried to get him for us. His addition means our starting midfield will be Cristian Amoroso- Roberto Rizzo- Morfeo- Matteo Brighi. Antonio Donati had done well for us, but his lack of defensive abilities was costing us dearly.
A trip to Torino was the first test for us as we faced 5th place Juventus. Morfeo was superb in his debut and his verve and slashing attacking carried us to a 1-0 lead when Dario Agostini scored. We lost another goal when Marco Arena was ruled offside when Cristian Amoroso appeared to have scored- very frustrating for me to watch, since we have lost at least 6 goals this season on offsides calls. Roberto Rizzo earned his 2nd yellow card in the match and in tribute to the story of how this season has gone- we gave up the equalizer with only moments remaining in second half injury time as Marcelo Salas scored his 10th of the season to salvage a 1-1 draw for the home side.
***
The opening of the transfer period on January 2nd brought us some reinforcements as I tried to gear us up to work our way out of the relegation mire we found ourselves in. I spent 4.8 Million to bring in the best young leftback in Italy (or so I thought)- 20 yr old D/DMLC Luigi Protti from Genoa. Smaller amounts netted us 20 yr old DMC Cristian Marchetti (700K for him to Fiorentina) and 29 yr old Leonardo Angel Biagini (900K from Deportivo)
(ed. note- Biagini is dual Argentine/Italian and hasn't capped for either- if he caps for Argentina I will have to get rid of him). Marchetti gives me a lot better pairing with the now suspended Roberto Rizzo- as a holder midfielder. Biagini gives me a proven veteran to spell Agostini and Arena up front. Leaving us were Mirco Benin (transfered on free to Alzano) and Gianluca Trotta (transfered on free to Fiorenzuola).
We hosted Inter to open up 2007 at San Paolo. We hadn't much time to gel with the new arrivals, but I threw them into the lineup anyways and it paid divdends when Cristian Amoroso and Leonardo Angel Biagini hooked up on a spectacular passing play to even the match at 1-1 after Antonio Gallieri's header had given them the lead. Domenico Morfeo sent us to the dressing room with the lead when he scored in first half injury time after a fantastic run. Our fans were jubilant in the second half when we came out, but it soon turned a bit somber as Biagini left with a bad hamstring pull. Roberto Stellone cheered them as he put us up 3-1 when he scored off a great through ball from Angelo Schembri (II). We had to stave off their late rally and Adrian Ricchiuti finally scored on Marco Formica in injury time, but we hung on for the 3-2 win. The win was a great boost to the whole club's confidence, even with the loss of Biagini for 3 weeks.
Roma was holding the top spot as we came to visit and we came without several key players, as Matteo Brighi, Mauro Bonomi and Marco Formica had all suffered minor training injuries and didn't make the trip. Still, we were determined to not roll over against them and we battled them as best we could. Cafu gave them the first half lead with a free kick past Marcello Palmieri. We evened the match when Cristian Marchetti scored his 1st goal for us. Our lead didn't last long as Vicenzo Montella put them ahead with a header. To cap the match off, Palmieri was redcarded in the last moments and Cristian Vieri converted the penalty kick to seal our doom in the 3-1 loss. Our trip to Chievo next finishes off a rough stretch of schedule- since our late November match against Lecce we will have played 7 league matches, but only 2 of them at home.
Our match against Chievo started off on a sour note, as Fabio Gatti easily moved past David Baglioni (making his 1st start) twice and making us pay as he scored past Formica twice to give them a 2-0 lead at the 20 minute mark. The match's complexion changed quickly after Fabio Firmani earned his 2nd yellow card (he broke the Serie A individual disciplinary mark in this match, and we are only midseason) a few minutes after they had taken the two goal lead. We were already committed to attack more vigorously, but the extra room allowed us to really press the attack. Morfeo got one goal back when he took a nice pass from Liugi Protti and whipped it past Matteo Portale. Just before halftime Morfeo brought us back to even when he scored his 2nd goal of the match on a good run past two defenders. We were buoyed by getting back to 2-2 after a terrible start and just kept pressing the attack in the second half. We took the lead in the opening moments when Morfeo's made a terrific centering pass that Dario Agostini headed past Portale. Agostini's short pass allowed Marco Arena enough room to move around Portale and score to make it 4-2 and then Arena added his 2nd goal of the match in second half injury time to cap off a superb fightback as we won 5-2.
We dominated the early going of our match hosting Genoa at San Paolo, but David Dei kept us from scoring. At 22 minutes, Luigi Protti earned a red card for a two footed tackle and we had to deal with a Genoa squad that had the same advantages we had in our last match at Genoa. We didn't give up on attacking though, and had some excellent chances to win the match. It looked like we had won the match when Marco Arena, who had scored to give us the lead, scored his 2nd of the match late in the second half. He was ruled offside and the goal was lost as we had to settle for a 1-1 draw.
As the transfer deadline came close, we made an additional transfer purchase as I landed veteran 31 yr old DMC Alessio Tacchinardi from Juventus for 1.8 Million. Much as I liked Roberto Rizzo and Cristian Marchetti, adding Tacchinardi helped give us both veteran leadership and a player who was known for his fierce desire and will to win. Our defense should be a bit better and it allows me time to develop the two youngsters without as much pressure being placed on them.
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We opened February 2007 with a trip to visit Piacenza- a club we had a chance of beating. Our first half performance in the match could be labeled 'disappointing'- but I was mad about it. We played little defense in the first half and they made us pay as Andrea Gennari scored 2 goals and Amauri added another. We had a goal from Matteo Brighi, but looked terrible in trailing 3-1. We tried to pressure them more in the second half and drew a goal back when Marco Arena scored midway through for his 10th of the season. We finally had a call go our way in the match- after the ref had already waved off two potential penalty chances for us, he was set to wave off another- except his assistant flagged it. Arena converted the penalty kick and we managed to salvage a 3-3 draw. I wanted a better result, but after how badly the first half went I was relieved to at least split the points.
Brescia came to San Paolo next and we started on bad footing again as we gave up the first goal right away when Marco Amelia (making his first start in quite some time) missed a header. We roared right back though as Matteo Brighi scored on a pass from Domenico Morfeo. Leonardo Angel Biagini, coming back from his injury in his debut for us, then gave us the lead when he slammed in a rebound after Michele Taccola couldn't hang on to Morfeo's shot. We were up 3-1 at halftime as Arena scored off another good pass from Morfeo. Brescia came right back and scored in the opening moments of the second half to make it a 3-2 match. We finally were able to pull away from them when Arena added his 2nd goal of the match when he deflected a cross from Roberto Rizzo (Alessio Tacchinardi missed the match with an injury) past Taccola. Biagini capped the scoring in the 5-2 win with an accidental goal in second half injury time for his 2nd goal of the match. We actually moved to the plus side on goal differential with this result- but the 40 goals we have yielded are the most in Serie A and highlight the defensive problems we have had this season.
Atalanta really outplayed us in our visit to Bergamo, but it was our turn to have the posts and crossbar be kind to us as we managed to battle them to a 1-1 draw. They scored in the opening moments- a problem we seem to be having this season- as Damiano Zenoni headed a corner past Formica. We promptly answered that goal as Biagini deflected a centering pass from Cristian Amoroso past Massimo Taibi off the underside of the bar. They had much more possession the remainder of the match and we were forced to defend in our end against their relentless attack, but Formica played very well in keeping them stuck on one goal. We only managed one more good chance the rest of the match- as Morfeo and Brighi weren't effective- but Taibi managed to push Arena's header over the bar midway through the second half.
I don't know why the referees seemed to have it in for us during this season, but it cost us at least a draw in our match against 4th place Venezia. Roberto Muzzi scored on a first half free kick past Formica to gain them the lead, but we were putting a good amount of pressure on them in the second half. The referee waved off a close penalty call when Morfeo was taken down at the edge of the area and there wasn't even a free kick given out of it. Even worse was when Biagini moved around Marco Storari and it looked like an obvious penalty call when he was taken down. Instead, both the referee and linesman looked at each other and the referee waved it off- to the disgust of over 60,000 fans at San Paolo. We lost the match 1-0 and it was a frustrating loss to discuss in the press conference afterwards- without displaying any bitter feelings at the officiating. I had a Board member ask me if I wanted to protest to the FA about it- but I just told him that we had already protested a couple of times earlier (both justified) on them and that I didn't think it would do any good, so not to bother.
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Our trip to Salerno to open March 2007 was a key match for us, with them trailing us slightly in the standings. It was an exciting, well played match from start to finish. Salernitana was ready to attack and they held more of the play in the first half- but Marco Formica was playing superbly and we managed to keep them off the board. Luca Castellazzi was playing well for them and made a sensational diving save on a Domenico Morfeo free kick. It looked grim when little used young forward Diego Cassano subbed on and scored his 1st goal for them to take the lead midway through the second half. We rallied though and in a four minute span we took the lead on goals from Dario Agostini (Biagini had left in the first half with another minor injury) and Marco Arena. We missed a golden opportunity to put the match out of reach when Agostini earned a penalty kick when tripped in the area. Castellazzi made a terrific save- pushing Agostini's penalty kick past the post- and they still had their chance to even the match. The last moments were spent in a whirl around our net, but the final whistle finally blew and we had hung on for the close 2-1 road win.
Christian Abbiati showed why he is one of the best keepers in Europe as we outplayed and outshot 2nd place Milan at San Paolo, but had to settle for a 1-1 draw against them. Abbiati came up with some stellar saves to allow the visitors to split the points with us. We took the lead when Agostini scored, but they fought back when Andriy Shevchenko scored on a free kick past Formica. We had the chances we needed to score, but we just couldn't. Milan also had many chances to win the match and the packed house saw a terrific match overall.
Hot keepers seemed to be coming in droves at us, as 37 yr old Angelo Peruzzi earned three points for 3rd place Lazio as they edged us 2-1 in Rome. We outshot the home side 10-6, with many very good chances. It was another penalty kick against us that gave them the lead when Hernan Jorge Crespo converted the kick past Formica. They made it 2-0 when Kim Kallstrom looped a header over Formica for his 5th goal of the season. We kept fighting and finally got a goal back when Alessio Tacchinardi scored his 1st goal for us. We tried hard but just couldn't score the equalizer and were left with the 2-1 loss.
It was bad news from the training table for us when Matteo Brighi injured his ankle. It will cause him to miss the next month and we are certain to miss his steady presence in the lineup.
The first half at Genova facing Sampdoria seemed all too familiar. We scored in the opening minute when Arena drilled a low shot past Matteo Sereni for his 15th goal of the season. Sereni stopped us from adding to the lead as he made good saves on Biagini, Morfeo and Thiago Motta (starting in place of injured Brighi). They managed to even things when another youngster scored his 1st ever goal for them- another pattern we have seen all too often this season. Still, we went to halftime even and with a chance to win this important road match. The stirrings of a club as they start to believe they can do things is always fun to watch, and that is what happened in the second half of the match. Arena struck for his 2nd goal of the match at the end of a pretty passing sequence in the opening moments of the second half. We moved up 3-1 when Tacchinardi added a strong header. Francesco Nicolini chipped in with his 1st ever goal for us and I was very pleased to be heading home with a 4-1 win in the books. The win left us in 12th place heading into the last 7 matches of the season. We were a comfortable 7 points ahead of 15th place Piacenza and the last 7 matches- though they included Juventus-Inter-Roma to close the season are the most favorable stretch of matches this season for us. All those road matches result in us having 5 of our last 7 matches at San Paolo. The way we are playing now- I don't mind taking our chances against the best clubs, because we have proven that now we have the talent to challenge them.
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We opened up April 2007 by hosting 10th place Verona. I don't know that our fans will ever see a more unusual match. I know I don't want to see the referee or any of his officiating crew again. We accumulated 6 yellow cards in the first half and I know the fans could see my blood boiling. He did deign to award us an obvious penalty when Hugo Pinheiro clipped Leonardo Angel Biagini's feet in the area- but he didn't even yellow card Pinheiro. Then he *told* us that we had selected young Federico Foglia to take the penalty- when my players were telling him that Marco Arena was supposed to. Pinheiro saved the penalty from Foglia and I was livid, but quiet. I stayed calm even after he ruled the goal that Biagini scored late in the half didn't count because Biagini handballed. All we could do is try and win despite the officiating in the second half- and that was exactly what we did. In the opening moments he *again* took away a 2nd Biagini goal- because of a handball. Luigi Protti picked a wonderful time to score with a 20 yard blast that they couldn't rule off and we finally had the lead. Alessio Tachinardi added a header and we finally finished off the stubborn Verona side when Roberto Stellone, subbing for injured Biagini, drove a low shot past Pinheiro to finish the 3-0 win. I complained about the one-sided officiating and brought the wrath of the FA down on me- with plenty of accusations from the President and his busybody staff. They also fined the club 24,000 for our poor conduct- it was all I could do to shake my head at that and laugh. The Napoli Board and I decided in a closed door meeting to just not say anything anymore. It couldn't get any worse- they had done their worst and we had managed to play through it- so we might as well just grind our teeth in private.
It took awhile to crack Lecce's veteran keeper Antonio Chimenti. When Domenico Morfeo boomed home a 20 yard free kick at 75 minutes- I breathed a big sigh of relief. We finally clinched the match when a late penalty kick was converted by Marco Arena to give us a 2-0 margin for the win. For all the problems I had with the FA in the last week, this match was officiated very fairly and was pretty quiet as far as fouls and cards went.
Last placed Ternana was a road match I dearly wanted to win. Unfortunately, we were fortunate to finally have Arena score a late equalizer after they had taken a lead earlier in the second half. The 1-1 draw was frustrating as we watched Erwin Lemmens stymie us time and again. He and their backline held us at bay for much of the match- even though we were playing very well and generating good scoring chances all over the place. We outshot them 15-6 for the match, but had to settle for the 1-1 draw.
Our match with Fiorentina had a lot of importance for both clubs, but I counted it as the most important of our 4 matches left. With our last three matches against the top clubs in Serie A, we really needed a win in this match at San Paolo. It was typical frustration as Marco Arena scored on a beautiful play in the opening moments of the match- and then saw the goal taken away when Dario Agostini was ruled offside. We finally did take the lead midway through the first half when Morfeo's good pass allowed Cristian Amoroso to score an easy tap-in past Carlo Cudicini. It was a 2-0 lead at halftime after Mozart pulled on Agostini as he moved around Cudicini in the area. Arena converted the penalty kick. The second half was taut as Fiorentina gamely rallied. Gianni Comandini scored his 10th of the season on a header past Formica and set the stage for a nailbiting finish. We managed to hold on for the 2-1 win, but not before Comandini hit the crossbar with a header in the closing moments. We staged a mini-celebration in the dressing room following the match. With the win we had put ourselves safe from relegation (10 points up on Piacenza with 3 matches remaining). We also had moved ourselves up into 9th place in Serie A play.
With how well we had been playing, no one should have been surprised that we were primed to give Juventus a good match. Handing them a 3-1 loss really pleased both our Board and the over 70,000 fans that came to see it. Morfeo gave us the early lead when he whistled a 30 yard free kick past Gianluigi Buffon for his 5th goal for us this season. Xavi blasted home a rebound after our backline wasn't able to clear a good parry by Formica to even the match. Thiago Motta made a nice pass to find Biagini and he scored his 5th goal of the season to send us to halftime leading 2-1. Morfeo added his 2nd goal of the match when he deflected a centering pass from Cristian Amoroso by Buffon. Juventus tried to rally, but we played a determined defensive match this time and held them at one goal to finish out the 3-1 win. After the match Thiago Motta met me privately and told me he would be happy if I would remove him from the transfer list- which I promptly did.
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Milan was our destination as we opened May 2007 with our final road match as we tangled with Inter. Inter was a bit unlucky when both Antonio Gallieri and Mohammed Kallon both went off with injuries in the the first half. They seemed a bit disorganized by the loss and we took advantage to fightback from their early lead on an Adrian Ricchiuti goal. Leonardo Angel Biagini and Matteo Brighi scored late in the first half and we held the 2-1 lead going to the dressing room. Brighi was playing slightly hurt- but he really wanted to play and I couldn't deny him. Roberto Stellone, who had subbed on for Biagini, scored his 5th goal of the season midway through the half and it looked like we were going 3 goals up when Marco Arena fired one home. Instead, as you might have guessed by now, Arena's goal was ruled off on an offside and that seemed to stir Inter for a rally. We spent the remainder of the match defending against a barrage of shots. When the final whistle blew, Marco Formica hadn't allowed any more goals and we had scored an impressive 3-1 win. The
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