nerf

Introduction

Ragusa

The city of Ragusa, the capital of the province of the same name, is a likeable place with an encouraging and friendly atmosphere. Located down in the south-east of Sicily, off the beaten path and away from tourism, the area is tranquil and authentically Sicilian.

I spent my first weekend as a resident strolling around the two halves of the city. After visiting the church of San Giorgo - the same George who is patron saint of England and who seems to be well liked in these parts - I climbed the 242 steps of Santa Maria delle Scale to the upper part of town. Here the architecture is of baroque and neo-classical themes, and is dominated by the Duomo, a building of grand scale adorned with yet more representations of old George.

My wandering took me close to the stadium high up the valley, and, having only taken a quick glance around on my previous visit, I decided to amble inside and sit down to soak it in. The Aldo Campo Selvaggio stadium is surprisingly modern in contrast to such an old city. An all seater stadium capable of holding 3500 people, it is neat and clean and the light-blue seats shone in the afternoon sun. I wondered how much of it we would fill come match day; I had noticed one or two blue-and-white rosettes in windows around the town, but it did not seem like the most openly passionate football place in the world.

The pitch looked in decent condition considering the dry climate, and I liked the feel of the place. Hopefully opposing teams in the Serie C2/C will feel otherwise this season.

The city tends to become deathly quiet around lunch time, but on my way back down the hill the shops were opening again and I picked up a newspaper, to read while sat outside with a pastry at the Caffè Trieste. My Italian was still rudimentary but I was able to gather in the sports section that AC Milan were being hotly tipped for the Scudetto this season. Further down there was mention that Henrik Larsson had left Celtic for Real Betis in Spain, and my best guess at the conversion rate came up with a £10 million fee. It reminded me to discuss finances with Giuseppe Antoci as soon as possible this week.

nerf

Monday 5th August 2002

My first task on Monday morning, however, was a meeting with my coaching staff - First-team coach Leo Pellegrino, goalkeeping player/coach Corrado Vaccaro, and Emanuele Giampiccolo who will be my assistant. Signor Antoci had been complimentary about them all, so I had no current plans to replace any of them and wanted to hear what their opinions on the players were.

All three coaches seemed fairly positive about the current squad. We only have 22 players but barely a bad word to say about any of them, and there appears to be a good mix between youth and experience. The most negative view was probably from Corrado about himself, as he admitted that at 39 he was not really expecting to be competing for the number 1 jersey with the other three younger and more capable goalkeepers.


Tuesday 6th August 2002

I sat down today to chat about the club's financial situation with Giuseppe Antoci. As things stand we have a pretty even £100,000 in the bank. £45,000 of that comes from the club's sponsorship deal, and Signor Antoci generously suggested that most of that sponsorship money should be made available for the transfer budget. For a club this small it is not a bad situation to be in, by my limited experience.

One thing that might worry me slightly is the wage bill. Fortunately we have a small squad but there is still £5,000 going out per week, from a wage budget of £5,750. It is impossible for me to get a grasp on how things will go at such an early stage, and I hope that the chairman has made a conservative enough estimate with his budgeting. It will probably also depend on how many locals we can tempt to the Selvaggio each week.


Thursday 8th August 2002

After being in charge barely a week it looks as though 2 people will already be leaving the club. Young winger Pietro Cutaia's contract expires as early as January, and a Serie D club called Matera has approached him with an offer to join them in the new year. I'm disappointed that I haven't had chance to judge him first, but at the same time I am not going to up the wage bill further to keep a player that we may not need. We already have cover should we choose to play with wide midfielders, and my staff tell me that they question whether he possesses the determination to improve and become a first team regular. Pietro will go and speak with Matera, on the basis that he can either stay here on the same contract or sign a longer contract for more money with the new club.

More disappointingly I spoke with my assistant Emanuele and he tells me that he is interested in taking the assistant manager's role at Lodigiani, the 'other' club in Rome. They would like to have him on board, it is a club he used to play for, and he has family in the region - as if the city itself was not enough of a pull already. I told him that I would very much like him to stay here but will not obstruct him if he wants to leave.

nerf

Tuesday 13th August 2002

I have now had a full week and more to deal with the players in training, and I have to say I'm quite pleased with their response. For a semi-pro side there is plenty of determination and energy amongst them, which are attributes that I value very highly as a coach. We progressed from runs, sprints and stamina exercises to more general training, and they seem like a nice bunch of lads so things have started well.

GK Nicolas Cinalli
GK Antonio Di Giovanni
GK Giuseppe Lenea
GK Corrado Vaccaro (player/coach)

DRC Pietro Alderuccio (on loan)
DR Stefano Guastella
DLC Graziano Ursino (on loan)
DC Pietro Infantino
DC Dario Italia

DMR Danilo Sabellini
DMRL Simone Tamburro
MRL Alessandro Bonaffini
MRL Pietro Cutaia
MRL Manolo Manoni
MC Gaspare Pellegrino
AMC Vladimiro Caramel

FRC Carmelo Bonarrigo
FR Domenico Tassone (on loan)
SC Marco Cirillo
SC Giancarlo Ferrara
SC Claudio Gallichio
SC Vittorio Emanuele Lupo


As expected, Pietro Cutaia was tempted by Matera's offer and has agreed to transfer to them when the window opens at the start of January. Emanuele Giampiccolo will also be moving back to Rome to begin his new job at Lodigiani - my disappointment only slightly countered by the £7,000 compensation fee that we will receive in return.

I have also had my first batch of reports back from our scout Enrico Calabrese. He doesn't seem to be the most experienced scout in the business but you certainly can't fault his enthusiasm. I have particularly had in mind a new central midfielder, as the current squad is very short of cover in that area, and the best of the bunch looks like 24 year old Nazzareno Scopelliti who currently plays for Gela. I am told that he is hard-working and vocal on the field, two things that come in very useful in the centre of the park, so we'll take another look at him and all being well we might place our first bid.

nerf

Friday 16th August 2002

The first two weeks have passed in a blur, and before you know it its match day. I gathered my coaches together yesterday and talked tactics for a while. They mainly agreed with what I had to say but it was necessary to make sure we are all the same page and there wasn't a glaring error in my plans.

The one big bonus is that every single member of the squad is fully fit and for the most part raring to go. After studying the players we have, and deliberately deciding to work a system to suit the players rather than the other way round, I came to a final decision of going with a 5-3-2 attacking formation. A back 3, 2 wingbacks pushing forward past midfield, 2 central midfielders in the engine room, and 1 floating in the hole behind the front 2. I will have to ask one of our wide midfielders to play out of position in the centre for now, but otherwise I'm confident that on paper this appears to be the system that should suit our players the most.

When it came down to choosing a club captain, I faced a difficult choice between the experienced Infantino and the determined Tamburro. I felt that Tamburro's drive and tough play would help him lead through example, and with Infantino already 36 the centre back would not be a sound choice long term.

Serie C Cup Group P
Ragusa v Gladiator

Ragusa lineup - Cinalli; Infantino, Italia, Alderuccio; Ursino, Tamburro(c); Manoni, Pellegrino; Caramel; Ferrara, Tassone.

Gladiator made the trip down from Santa Maria Capua Vetere, a town on the outskirts of Napoli, and 1904 people were there to greet them at the Aldo Campo Selvaggio. There was quite a buzz around the ground for the first match of the competition.

We made a fairly pleasing start. Although it was pretty even for the first half an hour, I felt that we did most of the pressing and the lads were clearly up for it. A disaster on 34 minutes then, as a rare Gladiator foray resulted in a corner, and a decent ball swung into the box was headed home by striker Rosario Majella. 1-0 to the visitors.

Although going a goal down was not exactly the start I had intended to make, I still believed we edged the first half and had the majority of possession, even if all we had to show for it was a few saves by their keeper. Graziano Ursino at left wingback wasn't getting involved enough for my liking, and Manoni in midfield was wanting too much time in possession and giving the ball away too often, so I took them both off at half-time. Sabellini came on at right wingback with Tamburro moving across to fill Ursino's spot, and Bonaffini was a straight swap for Manoni.

Vladimiro Caramel wasn't having as much of an impact as I would like, so I had a word to tell him to try drifting out to either wing as often as possible. I had a feeling that if he could avoid being bogged down in the middle and instead link up with the wingbacks to get some crosses in, he could cause a lot more damage in the second half.

The second half started much better and within 5 minutes we managed to get our deserved equaliser. Tassone won the ball in the air and flicked it out left to Ferrara who started running at the defence. He managed to sprint his way into the box and turned at the touchline, then attempted to drill it across the six yard box towards Tassone coming in at the far post. Gladiator's goalkeeper Vincenzo Di Muro tried to cut out the cross but only succeeded in deflecting the ball into his own net, 1-1.

We were on top from then on. I made my final substitution by bringing Gallichio on for Tassone, giving us a fresh pair of legs up front as we pushed for a winning goal. I also shouted for Caramel to come over and hug the right touchline, enabling us to double up on their left back.

With 79 minutes on the clock, Ferrara won a header and flicked it in behind their number 4. Gallichio pounced on the through ball, took it inside the area onto his right and lashed a powerful strike across the keeper, 2-1. We finally had the lead. After that Gladiator saw they needed to push forward more, but our defence was solid and our midfield and wingbacks were working hard.

With just 3 minutes plus stoppage time remaining we punished them on the break. Pellegrino picked the ball up deep in midfield and floated the ball to the right wing, where both Caramel and Gallichio had found acres of space. Gallichio gathered the ball and took it forward, and by the time the opposing centre back had managed to get across to cover they were already at the edge of the area. Caramel angled his run inside, Gallichio drew the defender and slipped a simple pass into his path, and Caramel had all the time in the world to sweep the ball home off the far post.

Final score: Ragusa 3-1 Gladiator

gino

Great start nerf! Anyone who can have success is lower league Italian is a good manager in my book because it's nigh on impossible! All the best! Keep this up

nerf

Thanks for the kind words Gino

Saturday 17th August 2002

What a day yesterday had been! I was delighted with the victory, and it was nice to see the fans enjoying the game, but the performance pleased me the most. There was desire and energy throughout the team and we had easily been the better side over the 90 minutes.

My physios tell me that goalkeeper Nicolas Cinalli had somehow suffered a finger injury at the end of the match but there is a chance that he will be ready for the next game. We'll see how he is in training, we may have to consider putting one of the younger keepers in.

Our next fixture is Pordenone away on Tuesday night, a team who were blitzed 0-4 in their first match. Having never heard of the place I check my map, and am horrified to discover that it is north of Venice! From the southern tip of Sicily we have to go the entire length of Italy to reach Pordenone in the north-east, close to the borders of Slovenia and Austria, which is about as far away as you can get. We will be traveling up on Monday, and looking on the bright side I guess it will at least give me chance to get to know my players a bit more.


Sunday 18th August 2002

The tentative £1,000 bid for Scopelliti was accepted and Gela gave us permission to speak with the midfielder today. Our contract offer of £450/week would make him one of the highest paid at the club, and I told him he can expect to be a regular feature in the side if he lives up to our expectations. Disappointingly I got the impression that he was quite cool on the idea of joining us though, and I don't think he was overly impressed by a quick tour around the old town or a visit to the small stadium.

nerf

Monday 19th August 2002

Nicolas Cinalli, 23, Goalkeeper
The only non-Italian in the squad, Nicolas hails from Argentina. He looks like a capable goalkeeper and will be our first choice, as long as he doesn't keep damaging his fingers celebrating victories like he managed to do on Friday! Corrado tells me that Nicolas can occasionally be a bit temperamental, but he certainly seems stable so far. Interestingly he used to be on the books at Perugia.

Antonio Di Giovanni, 19, Goalkeeper
Antonio is a brave kid and quick on his feet. He hasn't overly impressed his coach in training though, and is not much of a threat to the first team jersey for the time being. I might consider offering him out on loan to get some experience.

Giuseppe Lenea, 17, Goalkeeper
I have had some glowing reports from Corrado about this young lad; he is showing signs of developing into a quality goalkeeper and his confidence helps him to be particularly good in 1-on-1 situations. He also seems very excited and happy to be playing football, always has a smile on his face and is often acting out eccentrically in training.

Corrado Vaccaro, 39, Goalkeeper
The veteran goalkeeping coach admits that his best days are behind him. This is fine by me, with Emanuele gone I will need him to concentrate on the coaching side anyway. He certainly looks like a very good goalkeeping coach and should help our young keepers a lot.


Pietro Alderuccio, 19, Defender right/central (on loan)
The first of our three loan signings from Reggina, I also consider Pietro to be the most promising. At just 19 he has a lot of composure to go with his ability, is adept at marking and is not afraid of a tackle. He has been impressive so far.

Pietro Infantino, 36, Centre Back
Pietro has a wealth of experience at this level of football, but at 36 must be nearing the end of his career. He uses his knowledge to help his younger teammates whenever he can and should be able to maintain a first team place as long as his legs hold out.

Dario Italia, 32, Centre Back
Dario's combination with Infantino gives us masses of experience at the back. He can be occasionally lapse in his marking but uses his head and reads the game fairly well, so he will probably play in the middle of the back three.

Graziano Ursino, 19, Defender left/central (on loan)
Our second Reggina defender, Graziano is a big lad but slow with it, as is often the case. We saw on Friday that he does not have the pace or mobility to play at left wing-back, and he will struggle to win a place in the back three. We do need him as cover though with our defence short on numbers.

Stefano Guastella, 18, Right Back
Stefano has been fairly quiet and has not done anything to stand out in training, positive or negative, but the coaches gave a good opinion of him when I arrived and I will try to give him a run out as soon as possible to see what he can do.

Danilo Sabellini, 19, Right Wingback
Danilo gave a good account of himself in the second half against Gladiator and looks as though he could be worthy of a place in the first eleven. He is aggressive, quick and likes to get up and down the line, and also possesses a long throw.

Simone Tamburro, 28, Wingback
I gave Simone the captain's armband and I can already tell that he will be an important figure for us this season. He seems very driven, is determined and aggressive and is vocal both in training and in matches. He is also in great physical shape and enjoys getting stuck in. Although he favours his right foot more than his left foot, he can play either side and will most likely find himself leading from the left this season.


Alessandro Bonaffini, 21, Winger
Though nothing special at first glance, Alessandro is certainly game. He wanted to impress when he came off the bench on Friday and did himself a lot of good by getting involved and working hard. If he keeps that up he might earn himself a starting spot.

Pietro Cutaia, 19, Winger
Pietro has already confirmed that he will be leaving us in January, so I don't intend to consider him for first team action unless injuries force it. He shows some willingness to get forward off the ball, but he hasn't displayed much else in training. It will be a small relief to not have three Pietro's around, with the language barrier as it is.

Manolo Manoni, 25, Winger
Manolo is in good shape and can run all day if needs be, but I feel he lacks in his attitude a little. Occasionally he can be uninterested or lazy, and he got caught in possession too many times on Friday. I will give him some more chances before I judge him however.

Gaspare Pellegrino, 19, Centre Midfield
Really our only genuine central midfield player, Gaspare does not have his first team place on position alone. Very enthusiastic and with a work-rate to match, he could be an important player to have in the middle of the park this season. I was delighted with his display against Gladiator when he was a real terrier in midfield.

Vladimiro Caramel, 34, Attacking Midfield
He has a ridiculous name, he's old at 34 and he's certainly not keen on defending. On the other hand he's experienced, very comfortable on the ball and can whip a cross onto the blade of grass of your choice from anywhere on the wing. He's also in surprisingly good shape for his age and has a deceptive turn of pace when running with the ball. I can see Vladi being a vital creative influence on the side this season, and if we can work him out wide more often then I hope to see that crossing ability being used to full effect.


Carmelo Bonarrigo, 27, Forward
Carmelo has shown a good range of passing in training but at first glance seems to lack in more crucial areas of an attacker's repertoire. I have yet to decide how to use him but he will get his chance eventually, perhaps in a Sheringham role.

Domenico Tassone, 20, Forward
The third of our three players on loan from Reggina, Domenico is a powerful right-sided forward with a good spring and a trick or two. Although he got up well in the build up to our first goal, he didn't really impress me in the rest of the first half and was subbed as a result. We are also paying his wages so if he doesn't impress early then I might consider terminating his loan to save the club some cash.

Marco Cirillo, 25, Striker
Marco is an energetic player with a good level of fitness. Again I will need to look at him in a match situation to be able to judge him properly.

Giancarlo Ferrara, 27, Striker
Determined and aggressive, Giancarlo can be a handful for defenders and he always wants to get forward quickly when he's on the ball. Although not excelling in any particular area, at this stage he looks like he could potentially be our main striker this season.

Claudio Gallichio, 25, Striker
Not too dissimilar to Ferrara, Gallichio is strong and plays with plenty of energy. When he came on in the second half on Friday he helped himself to a goal and an assist in impressive style, so he has probably won himself the opportunity to start tomorrow.

Vittorio Emanuele Lupo, 27, Striker
Vittorio tends to be very quiet and shy in training and only finds his confidence when the ball is at his feet, but that's when his flair and flamboyance comes through. A few tricks aren't enough to impress me though, and he will need to show more if he wants to compete for a crowded position. Leo has commented that he's not sure if Vittorio has the ambition or drive to achieve this.

Peacemaker7

Neat looking start, good luck with this!

nerf

Thanks Peacemaker7 - and believe me, I'll need it!


Tuesday 20th August 2002

We arrived at the Bottechia in Pordenone with a full strength squad again. Nicolas Cinalli insisted that his finger was feeling fine and was able to convince the physios to clear him to play, so I will trust their word and he keeps his place. The only changes I made were to start with the same side that finished the last game, so Sabellini, Bonaffini and Gallicchio started at the expense of Ursino, Manoni and Tassone.

Serie C Cup Group P
Pordenone v Ragusa

Ragusa lineup - Cinalli; Infantino, Italia, Alderuccio; Tamburro(c), Sabellini; Bonaffini, Pellegrino; Caramel; Ferrara, Gallicchio.

The first half an hour was scrappy, with neither team really settling down into any rhythm. The midfield was strongly contested with Pellegrino working hard in there again and both wingbacks getting involved, and eventually Pordenone's Willy Baiana found himself in the book for a particularly over-enthusiastic challenge.

On 34 minutes the game changed. Despite his earlier warning, Baiana lunged in again on Sabellini and caught him high, leaving poor Danilo in agony on the floor. Our physios Salvatore Rinzillo and Gioacchino Giudice rushed on but he had to be stretchered off, with Salvatore giving me a shake of the head as he went by. I quickly turned and told Stefano Guastella to get warmed up to take over on the right. There was suddenly a roar of disapproval from the crowd of nearly 1500 in the Bottechia stadium, and I looked up to see Baiana trudging off with his shirt hanging out - the referee had sorted out the melee and shown him a second yellow followed by the red.

Could the man advantage prove to be a turning point? Minutes later Pellegrino went close with a 25 yard drive, and then just before half-time Giancarlo Ferrara dragged wide when he really should have at least hit the target.

I made no changes at the break. We had been on top since the sending off and were starting to look more dangerous, and nobody was tiring yet. On the hour I thought we had made the break-through. Tamburro chipped down the left for Ferrara, who teased the defender and jinked his way to the byline. After what seemed like an age he finally twisted and swung the ball across the six yard line, the keeper was helpless to stop the cross, but Gallicchio was a stud's length away from getting onto the end of it.

5 minutes later we made another foray down the left wing. Tamburro had been bombing up the line all game, and this time he was able to pull the ball back across the crowded area. Ferrara checked his run, brought it smoothly under control, turned, and finished with a powerful strike past the keeper. 1-0!

I freshened up the attack shortly afterwards by bringing Tassone on for Gallicchio, to give the loan signing another chance to show what he can do. It was Ferrara who was having the most impact though. Minutes later a free kick was won on the right wing, Caramel picked out Ferrara's head with one of his pinpoint crosses, and the striker nodded home at the near post for his second goal to make it 2-0.

With 15 minutes left I brought Manoni on in midfield to rest Gaspare Pellegrino, who had worked tirelessly all match yet again. Ferrara might steal the glory for his sharp finishing but Gaspare's effort in midfield was exemplary.

Final score: Pordenone 0-2 Ragusa

nerf

Wednesday 21st August 2002

Back in Ragusa, my delight at getting off to a great start in our first two matches was tempered today by two pieces of bad news. First of all Salvatore the physio confirmed his initial fears about Sabellini by informing me that the injury to his hip could keep him out for 3 months or more. Although young Stefano Guastella had done reasonably well in filling the right wingback slot yesterday, Sabellini had impressed me and it will be a blow to lose him so early and for so long.

I also received a message from our Director of Football, Marcello Pitino, to let me know that our attempt to bring midfielder Nazzareno Scopelliti to Ragusa had failed. Gela had also accepted two identical bids from other clubs, and Scopelliti had decided to join Ravenna in Serie D rather than come here. Apparently Ravenna are well supported in their local region, and I am told that despite being in Serie D they are considered slightly less obscure on a national scale than Ragusa are. Even so, I am worried that our first potential signing would rather drop down a division than play for Ragusa.

It also occurred to me that this was the first proof I had of Sig Pitino actually doing any work. Since our brief greeting on my arrival nearly a month ago I had not seen him around the club at all. This in a way can be a good thing, as in general I’m wary of so-called Directors of Football who can sometimes try to interfere in the running of the team.