Silver_blue just bit me!

[Donners]

Thanks very much, both to you for the kind words and to all who voted. Having received four nominations without a win for my first story, I was very surprised and delighted to do well here.

It's almost enough to tempt me to write just one more later in the year. Perhaps if SI finally get their act together for FM2006, I may break out the keyboard once more. But for now...

The Likely Side:

(Playing with a 4-4-2)

GK – Lingjing Tommasi

LB – Kishore Bon

CB – Andrea Briotti

CB – Nelson De Bellis

RB – Nurullo Messner

LM – Hartwig

CM – Amit Lang

CM – Alexandre Rasch

RM – Chi Yuen Webb

CF – Mohd Nizaruddin Hoffmann

CF – Borut Semler

Sub – Albert Webb

Sub – Patterson

Sub – Adhemar Balestrieri

Sub – Syed Dupuy

Sub – Alexey Torres

Sub – Terranova

Sub – Frank

The Staff

Giacomo Tafuro (Assistant Manager)

Gilberto Vallesi (Coach)

Roberto Bocchino (Coach)

Roberto Corti (Coach)

Giannicola Pinotti (Coach)

Giuseppe Venturelli (Coach)

Å°mit Davala (Coach)

Stéphane Wiertelak (Coach)

Massimo Tabai (Coach)

França (Coach)

Massimo D’Ambrosio (Physio)

Abdel Karim Villalba (Physio)

David Jarrett (Scout)

Rob Campkin (Scout)

Julian Carrera (Scout)

Tim Davies (Scout)

Rahman Rezaei (Scout)

Søren Colding (Scout)

[Donners]

August, season 2018/2019

The season began with the Italian Super Cup against Lazio. In our two previous games in this competition, we lost to Juventus in 2012 and then beat them in 2014. I went out full-strength. Rasch missed an early shot while Tommasi saved a testing shot from Hidalgo. Tommasi then parried a shot from him at the end of the half, with Messner making the clearance. A pretty even first half. Semler intercepted a defensive pass in the 88th, but was chased by three defenders and wound up hitting the ball to the keeper. The 90 minutes finished scoreless, taking us to silver goal extra time. Patterson replaced Lang for his debut, while Dupuy came on for Briotti. The first half of extra time passed without incident, as did the second. Penalties. We went behind on just the second shot, with Rasch hitting the crossbar and Lazio scoring. De Bellis put through our third shot, while Lazio hit the post. Both sides put through the fourth, and Bon’s successful fifth put us 4-3 up, with one shot left for Lazio. It was put through, meaning Hoffmann had to take our sixth. He put it through, as did Lazio to make it 5-5. Syed Dupuy hit the post, and Lazio scored to finally end the shootout 5-6. A loss in the Italian Super Cup for Ancona. We at least picked up £1M from that, plus £2M from the £10M sale of former striker Kent B. Giusti from Juventus to Manchester United.

I signed two new staff members – coach Antchouet and scout Michael Mifsud – but could find no players of interest.

Ancona 2 [Terranova 19; Fontana 43] d. Pistoiese 0

We lost Hartwig to a torn groin muscle for two months, putting him out for several of our early games.

Ancona 0 drew Lanciano 0

Ancona 1 [izquierdo 75] d. Aigaleo 0

Ancona 1 [Rasch 20] drew Xanthi 1

For the first time, we were named as favourites for the title, at 3-1. Milan is next at 10-1, followed by Lazio, Juventus, Bologna and Napoli. Our Champions Cup group features Besiktas, Newcastle and M. Tel-Aviv – quite a weak group.

Our last game before the start of the league season was the European Super Cup against UEFA Cup winners Real Madrid. We’ve lost in all three attempts at this competition, so a win here would be welcome. Losing Balestrieri to injury three minutes in was not the best start, especially with fellow winger Hartwig already out. Nonetheless, Semler put through two goals in four minutes shortly after Balestrieri went off, and partner Terranova scored a third just before half time for a seemingly unbeatable 3-0 lead after 45 minutes. Real Madrid did get one back, but Rasch scored from a 61st minute penalty to complete a 4-1 win. That was my 12th cup victory, and first in this competition.

[Donners]

September, season 2018/2019

German striker Frank made his debut for Ancona in the first game of the season, against Cagliari, and headed in a goal in just the second minute. Tommasi made a great early save at the other end, then Frank headed in another in the 37th from a Dupuy free kick. Saad Izquierdo made his debut in the second half while Mohd Hoffmann joined countryman Frank up forward. Cagliari scored in the 84th, but great work from Tommasi prevented a second, giving us the 2-1 win. Frank looked great in his debut. The only problem was that we lost Amit Lang for two months with a groin injury. We received odds of 12-1 to win the Champions Cup – about seventh best. Terranova and Adhemar Balestrieri made their international debuts for Italy against Lithuania, with Terranova scoring.

A number of players were rested against Udinese, ahead of our Champions Cup game. Hoffmann hit a good chance straight at the keeper in the 4th minute, and when the clearance was intercepted and passed back to him, did the same thing again. Fontana headed in a great pass from Torres late in the first half for a lead at the break. Frank came on for Hoffmann at half time, and scored his third in two games, hitting in a 70th minute Balestrieri cross. A 2-0 win, and Frank’s second Man of the Match award in as many games for the club.

Our first Champions Cup opponents were Newcastle. The first half was utterly uneventful, with not one shot on goal. Patterson finally had a go in the 54th, but missed his shot. Terranova had one saved a minute later, but at least something was finally happening. Patterson curled in the first goal of the game in the 60th. Tommasi made a good save from Newcastle’s first attempt, while Williams and De Bellis did well to cut off other attacks. 1-0 the final result. I signed English defender Armstrong after the game as a long-term prospect.

Back to the league to face Vicenza. Fontana chipped in a good 6th minute goal but Vicenza drew level in the 41st. It was tight in the final minutes, but a cross from Messner was headed in by Webb in the 84th. With a save from Tommasi at the other end, we came away with a 2-1 victory.

Verona were our final opponents of September. They dominated the opening minutes and finally scored in the 26th. Terranova had a few shots on goal, but all were parried and cleared. At last, in the 61st, Frank crossed to Patterson for an equaliser, but that was all we could manage. 1-1.

[Donners]

October, season 2018/2019

Our second Champions Cup game was at home to Besiktas. Münch hit the bar with a tremendous long shot in the 15th and then set up Semler for a goal in the 37th. Our opponents did not have a single shot for the game as we strolled to a 1-0 win.

We returned to the league, facing Roma. Semler won a contest for a header in the 7th to give Fontana a simple finish, then scored himself with a great run in the 37th for a 2-0 lead. Semler’s tremendous game continued with a goal from an impossibly tight angle two minutes into the second half. Nurullo Messner completed a fine game for the veterans, scoring a rare goal in the final minutes. An easy 4-0 win.

Our season took a dramatic turn between that game and our next with both Albert Webb and Lingjing Tommasi ruled out for two months with training injuries. This leaves the shaky Solly Marini as our only goalkeeper for this time. He got his chance against Sampdoria, and was aided by Fontana scoring from a Patterson cross in the 31st. Marini conceded after a parry in the 65th, but Hartwig, returning from injury, helped put us back in front with a dozen minutes left to go. His corner was hit in by Fontana to give him a brace for the game. Unfortunately, Marini let through a second in the 89th in much the same way as the first for our second draw of the season. Still, in contrast to our terrible starts in the last few seasons, this was our 10th straight game without a loss.

Our next Champions Cup match was at home against M. Tel-Aviv. Messner forced a parry in the 36th with a great long shot and Semler tapped it in. Only one goal for the game, giving us our third win in as many games.

Patterson gave us a great start in our league game against Como, scoring a curling effort from 30 yards. Hartwig added a second after a long run in the 19th while Terranova and Frank kept the Como keeper busy. Terranova matched Patterson’s 30-yard effort in the 76th, completing a 3-0 win.

[Donners]

November, season 2018/2019

Ascoli were our first opponents of the month. Hoffmann forced a save in the opening 90 seconds while Hartwig hit a free to the keeper mid-way through the first half. Hoffmann finally scored his first of the season in the 68th after a pass floated over his marker and we held on for the 1-0 win.

Amit Lang returned from injury against M. Tel-Aviv and scored in the 15th with a curling shot from outside the area. Frank headed in a second late in the first half – his first major impact on a game in some time. Tel-Aviv scored a few minutes into the second half to make it 2-1, but Webb and Balestrieri dominated the game. They combined to give Terranova a goal in the 64th, and he made it a brace late in the game for a 4-1 victory. After only four Champions Cup games, our progression was sealed.

We had a chance for a 15th straight game without a loss against Palermo. Münch scored from a tremendous 35-yard strike in the 19th to put us in front. Semler added a second in the 53rd after coming off the bench and then intercepted a defensive pass and rounded the keeper to seal the 3-0 result.

Our biggest game so far this season was next – Juventus at home. They scored 30 goals while winning their first eight games of the season, before finally losing a week ago against Como. Despite that loss, they were still clearly a very strong side, and quite a threat to our third-choice keeper Marini. Juventus missed an early shot by inches while Rasch hit the side netting in the 17th from long range. Terranova opened the second half with a stunning strike, hitting the ball from 30 yards and putting it in off the post. Cristiano Ronaldo badly missed a free for Juventus and we walked out 1-0 winners with Marini unchallenged all game.

The next obstacle in our unbeaten run was Bari. They actually looked the better side in the first half, and at one point we were only saved from conceding a goal by a clearance from Alexey Torres. Webb badly missed a shot from the edge of the area in the 80th which should have given us the lead, while Hoffmann sent a shot from inside the area straight at the keeper. A curling shot from Hartwig in the 81st just missed, and with a header from a corner saved in injury time, we were forced to settle for a scoreless draw. Milan moved on top of the table despite having played ten games to our eleven. They had nine wins and a draw compared to our eight wins and three draws, and then won 5-1 in their 11th game to take them to ten wins from eleven games. With this sort of competition up the top, we can’t afford to drop any easy games.

One of those was against 17th placed Napoli. Sloppy keeping almost saw us concede in the third minute, but Marini was able to save a follow-up from his initial parry. Fontana scored in the 22nd after a good pass from Chevallereau. Semler missed a few chances, which proved costly when Napoli scored in the 85th. Too late for an equaliser, and two wasted points.

Though we’d already qualified from our Champions Cup group, our game against Newcastle had some interest, with a chance of a clean sweep and £220K prize money. Frank scored in the 22nd and Webb added a second just before half time when a Hoffmann shot was parried. We probably should have extended the lead in the second half, with Balestrieri and Rasch in particular missing chances, but 2-0 was good enough.

[Donners]

December, season 2018/2019

A league game to start the month, at home to Chievo. Lingjing Tommasi finally returned from injury and took over from Marini in goal. Frank continued his tremendous first season at Ancona with a hat-trick in the first half. Our side was actually pretty unremarkable in the first, but he put through every chance he got for a 3-0 lead, which turned out to be the final score. That was our 20th straight game without a loss. Our record is 23, set in 2014/2015. Thankfully, Milan’s incredible run finally ended with a loss.

A fairly easy game to begin the Italian Cup for Ancona – at home to Serie B side Avellino. 18-year-old striker Eroglu Mancino debuted after fine form in the Under-20s. As usual with a seemingly simple game, we struggled. Chevallereau went off injured early (out for three weeks), Lang and Rasch missed many chances and we finished scoreless. Avellino only had two shots for the game, but actually should have scored in second half injury time. Luckily, the shot went over, but we need to score in the away leg now.

We had a chance to make it back-to-back Inter-Continental Cup wins against Cruzeiro. Alexey Torres had the only real chance of the first half, but his header from a corner was saved. The second half was frustratingly free of chances, but Cruzeiro made theirs count in the 84th to take the lead. We could not even manage a shot on goal as our 21 game unbeaten streak came to an end.

There was still our winning run in the Champions Cup group stage to complete against Besiktas. Fontana and Patterson missed first half chances and Fontana hit the bar in the second half to conclude a flat, scoreless draw. We still progressed easily and will face Manchester United in the second round.

After three poor cup games, we returned to the league against bottom-placed Parma. Parma’s keeper made five saves in the first half to keep scores frustratingly level. Hoffmann scored a rare goal in the 66th to finally break the deadlock. Hartwig hit the bar late in the game from long range while Hoffmann put a volley over, but one goal was good enough.

Yet another cup game, this one the second round of the Italian Cup. We drew 0-0 against Serie B club Avellino, and thus had to score in the away leg. Unfortunately, a goal to Ancona in the 24th was ruled offside while Balestrieri missed several shots. A Hartwig shot was saved in the final minutes, taking us to extra time. Rasch hit the side netting in the 104th minute and the second half of injury time was uneventful. We don’t have a good record in penalties, so I was a little nervous when they began. However, Tommasi made a save from their first shot while Hartwig scored ours. After two shots, it was 1-1, with Avellino scoring and Rasch’s shot saved. Fontana hit the woodwork to put us down 1-2, but even with Webb scoring our fourth, Avellino scored again to knock us out of the Italian Cup 2-4. A terrible result to end the year.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Ancona

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Milan | | 15 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 40 | 12 | +28 | 38 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Ancona | | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 26 | 6 | +20 | 34 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Ascoli | | 15 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 28 | 12 | +16 | 29 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Juventus | | 15 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 34 | 14 | +20 | 28 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Lazio | | 14 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 12 | +11 | 28 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Verona | | 15 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 27 | 16 | +11 | 26 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Palermo | | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 19 | 20 | -1 | 24 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Brescia | | 15 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 19 | 21 | -2 | 24 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Bari | | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 29 | 23 | +6 | 21 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Cagliari | | 15 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 18 | 17 | +1 | 21 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Piacenza | | 15 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 19 | 23 | -4 | 21 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Bologna | | 15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 21 | 19 | +2 | 20 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Sampdoria | | 15 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 19 | 21 | -2 | 20 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Como | | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 19 | -4 | 19 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Vicenza | | 15 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 21 | 34 | -13 | 15 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Chievo | | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 16 | 28 | -12 | 14 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Napoli | | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 17 | 26 | -9 | 13 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Udinese | | 15 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 28 | -14 | 10 |

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| 19th | | Roma | | 15 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 39 | -27 | 10 |

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| 20th | | Parma | | 15 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 10 | 37 | -27 | 4 |

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| | | | | | | | | | | | |

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</pre>

[Donners]

January, season 2018/2019

Albert Webb played his first game of the season against Lazio. Terranova and Balestrieri were only kept out by good saves early, but Terranova scored from his second attempt in the 27th. We were left to regret several wasted chances when Lazio drew level 58 minutes in, but Fontana thankfully put us back in front with 15 minutes to go. A few missed shots from Lazio ensured that we finished 2-1 winners.

A massive game next – we faced Milan, a side with 12 wins and two draws in 15 games. They were a point ahead of us even though we hadn’t lost, since we have eleven wins and four draws. Tommasi fumbled an early save, but Messner cleared it. Our first chance – a corner from Balestrieri headed by Frank – saw us take the lead in the 9th. Webb missed a good chance in the 18th, while Frank had a header from a corner saved two minutes later. Hartwig crossed to Semler in the area in the 39th for what seemed certain to be our second goal, but Semler’s shot went wide. Another wasted chance in the 43rd – Balestrieri made it into the area and was one-on-one with the keeper…and hit its straight to him. A total domination from Ancona in the first half, but only one goal to show for it. Against a side with 40 goals in 15 games, that may not be enough. Balestrieri played Semler past the keeper to finally score our second in the 65th, but a loose ball in the Milan area after a Rasch tackle saw Milan put through their first four minutes later. Three more minutes, and it was 2-2. Having been hammered all game, Milan had suddenly scored twice to pull level. With 30 seconds to go in regular time, Rasch intercepted a pass in the midfield and passed long to Frank. He took the ball into the area unopposed and somehow squeezed it between the keeper and the near post to snatch back the lead. The final whistle blew moments later, and our biggest win so far this season was on the board.

A win or draw against Bologna would be our 25th consecutive Serie A game without a loss – and 17th this season. Patterson and Rasch had attempts from long range in the first half, but both were saved. With a scoreless second half, 0-0 was the result. We did at least set a new home attendance record of 27,100.

Piacenza took a surprise 19th minute lead against us, but Hoffmann intercepted a pass and headed to Terranova for an equaliser seven minutes later. The strikers forced a save each later in the half, while Hoffmann hit the bar from close range at the start of the second. A late Hartwig corner was cleared by former Ancona defender José De La Cuesta to ensure a 1-1 draw. Milan moved back to top spot with a 3-1 win over Juventus.

Another league game, this one against Brescia. Frank had two simple chances saved in the first half while a tremendous Semler volley was turned over early in the second. A solid performance, but no reward – another draw.

We finished the month against Udinese. Balestrieri crossed to Hoffmann for a third minute goal, and we really should have had more with shots to Webb, Chevallereau, Rasch and co. Naturally, they scored from a rare chance in the 84th to make it 1-1, leaving us around eight minutes to pull back our lead. A last-minute cross from Balestrieri was headed clear, confirming our fourth straight draw – against the bottom side, no less.

We received £850K from the sale of Adonay Bradshaw from Aston Villa to Tottenham thanks to a 25% sell-on clause. I re-signed Mohd Hoffmann and Wilfrid D’Alessandro for two and three years respectively, but look unlikely to re-sign Alexandre Rasch.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Ancona

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Milan | | 21 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 49 | 21 | +28 | 46 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Verona | | 21 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 42 | 18 | +24 | 44 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Ancona | | 20 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 33 | 11 | +22 | 44 |

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| 4th | | Lazio | | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 37 | 18 | +19 | 42 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Juventus | | 21 | 12 | 1 | 8 | 44 | 24 | +20 | 37 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Ascoli | | 21 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 35 | 21 | +14 | 33 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Sampdoria | | 21 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 30 | 27 | +3 | 32 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Bologna | | 21 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 30 | 23 | +7 | 31 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Bari | | 21 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 38 | 30 | +8 | 30 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Cagliari | | 20 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 26 | 22 | +4 | 30 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Brescia | | 21 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 23 | 28 | -5 | 30 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Palermo | | 21 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 25 | 26 | -1 | 29 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Como | | 21 | 8 | 4 | 9 | 21 | 29 | -8 | 28 |

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| 14th | | Piacenza | | 21 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 28 | 34 | -6 | 25 |

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| 15th | | Napoli | | 21 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 21 | 28 | -7 | 24 |

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| 16th | | Roma | | 21 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 20 | 47 | -27 | 18 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Vicenza | | 21 | 5 | 2 | 14 | 23 | 47 | -24 | 17 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Chievo | | 21 | 4 | 3 | 14 | 19 | 41 | -22 | 15 |

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| 19th | | Parma | | 21 | 4 | 2 | 15 | 18 | 46 | -28 | 14 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Udinese | | 21 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 17 | 38 | -21 | 12 |

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| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[Donners]

February, season 2018/2019

Vicenza were our first opponents of February. Chi Yuen Webb had several powerful first half shots on goal with no success in yet another frustrating game. Our fifth straight draw, and again two points wasted against a weak side.

We needed to snap our slump against mid-table Cagliari. Hartwig scored a much-needed goal in the 37th, but Cagliari equalised in the 68th. With ten minutes to go, Hartwig crossed into the area for Webb to head home the winning goal. 2-1, extending our unbeaten league run to 30 games and putting us back on top of the table.

Some tougher opposition next. Verona was not just 3rd placed, but had a 10 game winning streak until a week ago. Terranova missed a shot into an open net in the 23rd, and despite a dominating first half, we once again finished with a scoreless draw. At least it was against a decent side this time, but we deserved to win. We fell to second place after a Milan win.

Our frustrating league run continued against 17th placed Roma. Rasch had a number of shots from long range, but we couldn’t manage any real chances. Nor could we manage a goal, with our third 0-0 draw in four games. It sounds ridiculous for a side with a Serie A record 32 games without a win, but we are really struggling.

That unbeaten run was threatened by two first-half goals to Sampdoria in our next league game. Amit Lang gave us a chance to get back with a goal in the 69th minute, but a red card to Nelson De Bellis made our task almost impossible. 1-2 – our first league loss since March 2018, and a continuation of our terrible recent form.

Would that loss finally spur the Ancona players back to top form? Two saved shots from Balestrieri and Frank against Como indicated more of the same, but Semler finally scored in the 49th what turned out to be the only goal of the game. A crucial win, but we are six points behind Milan. Amit Lang made his international debut for France during the week.

If ever we were going to get a win, it would be against Manchester United. We have a tremendous record against them, and could certainly use a good result in the away leg of the Champions Cup second round. Fontana scored in the first half and had another two good chances saved. Frank added a second in the final minutes after a simple chance to Semler was hit into the bar. Not a convincing performance, but at least it was a win.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Ancona

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Milan | | 26 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 62 | 24 | +38 | 59 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Ancona | | 26 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 37 | 14 | +23 | 53 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Lazio | | 26 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 44 | 25 | +19 | 48 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Juventus | | 26 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 54 | 27 | +27 | 47 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Verona | | 26 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 44 | 26 | +18 | 46 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Ascoli | | 26 | 13 | 4 | 9 | 44 | 25 | +19 | 43 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Bari | | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 44 | 32 | +12 | 40 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Sampdoria | | 26 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 37 | 34 | +3 | 40 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Cagliari | | 26 | 12 | 2 | 12 | 36 | 28 | +8 | 38 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Bologna | | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 37 | 30 | +7 | 38 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Palermo | | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 36 | 34 | +2 | 38 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Brescia | | 27 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 29 | 34 | -5 | 38 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Napoli | | 27 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 29 | 33 | -4 | 34 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Como | | 26 | 9 | 5 | 12 | 24 | 38 | -14 | 32 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Piacenza | | 26 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 34 | 48 | -14 | 26 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Parma | | 27 | 7 | 4 | 16 | 26 | 52 | -26 | 25 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Vicenza | | 27 | 7 | 4 | 16 | 27 | 56 | -29 | 25 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Chievo | | 26 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 25 | 50 | -25 | 20 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Roma | | 26 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 53 | -31 | 20 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Udinese | | 26 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 18 | 46 | -28 | 15 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[Donners]

March, season 2018/2019

With a dozen games to go in the season, every result was important. Terranova gave us a good start against Ascoli with a 5th minute goal, and though we missed many chances, Ascoli were kept quiet. Ascoli launched a few attacks late in the game, but Dupuy and Tommasi worked well to keep them out before Alexandre Rasch finally sealed the game 2-0. Milan drew their game, taking us to within four points.

Since Milan had won their game two days before we faced 4th placed Juventus, we had to win to avoid falling behind again. Semler scored early in the second and partner Hoffmann made it 2-0 in the 63rd. Juventus weren’t through yet, scoring their first with 13 minutes to go, but a late save from Tommasi kept us ahead at the final whistle.

Our home game against Manchester United was a quite simple task, with a 2-0 away lead going in. Chi Yuen Webb made sure of it in the 40th with a header from a Terranova cross. Our quarter final opponents will be Celtic.

Ten games to go in the league, with 5th placed Bari next. The first half, like many of our recent games, was scoreless, with a goal at the start of the second. This time it came through a Hartwig penalty. Bari came back through their first in the 67th, but with 15 minutes to go, Frank headed in a Balestrieri corner. Tommasi made two good saves despite picking up a knock earlier in the game to ensure a win, but with Milan also victorious, we remained four points behind.

Our next challenge on the road to the title was Palermo, which had taken over 5th spot from Bari. Tommasi made a great save from a free in the 17th , and then saved a Palermo penalty in the 31st. While we did well to keep them out, we were scoreless in the first half at a time when we really need wins. We got lucky in the 62nd when a pass from Balestrieri was knocked into the net by a Palermo defender, but there was no luck involved in a great goal from Frank in the 81st after a Terranova cross. The Serie A record win we recorded in 2012 (7-0 against Fiorentina) looked in huge danger with Napoli leading Sampdoria 6-0 at half time, but the score didn’t change in the final 45 minutes, so our record remained intact. We also hold Serie A records for highest scoring game (8-5 against Lazio), youngest player (Freddie Adu at 14) and most games without a loss (32).

A Champions Cup game to end the month – the home leg of the quarter final against Celtic. For the second game in a row, our opponents conceded an away goal, this time in the 24th from a Chi Yuen Webb cross. Semler scored after a Frank shot was parried to him in the 31st, and seven minutes later Webb also scored from almost identical circumstances. A good 3-0 win to almost certainly put us into the semi final.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Ancona

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Milan | | 30 | 21 | 6 | 3 | 68 | 24 | +44 | 69 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Ancona | | 30 | 18 | 11 | 1 | 45 | 16 | +29 | 65 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Lazio | | 30 | 14 | 12 | 4 | 49 | 26 | +23 | 54 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Juventus | | 30 | 16 | 2 | 12 | 60 | 35 | +25 | 50 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Bari | | 30 | 14 | 7 | 9 | 52 | 37 | +15 | 49 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Bologna | | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 46 | 32 | +14 | 48 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Verona | | 30 | 13 | 8 | 9 | 46 | 35 | +11 | 47 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Palermo | | 30 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 44 | 38 | +6 | 47 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Ascoli | | 30 | 14 | 4 | 12 | 49 | 32 | +17 | 46 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Napoli | | 30 | 12 | 7 | 11 | 40 | 33 | +7 | 43 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Sampdoria | | 30 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 41 | 46 | -5 | 43 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Cagliari | | 30 | 12 | 4 | 14 | 36 | 33 | +3 | 40 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Brescia | | 30 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 30 | 39 | -9 | 39 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Como | | 30 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 26 | 44 | -18 | 35 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Piacenza | | 30 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 38 | 51 | -13 | 33 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Chievo | | 30 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 31 | 53 | -22 | 28 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Vicenza | | 30 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 29 | 58 | -29 | 28 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Parma | | 30 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 28 | 58 | -30 | 27 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Roma | | 30 | 4 | 8 | 18 | 25 | 63 | -38 | 20 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Udinese | | 30 | 4 | 7 | 19 | 24 | 54 | -30 | 19 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[bartley_m]

CG on the double

[Donners]

Thanks.

April, season 2018/2019

Bad news to start the month, with Alexandre Rasch out for two months with a training injury. That was particularly problematic with Napoli our next opponents – fresh off six goals in a half against Sampdoria. However, De Bellis put us ahead with a header from a Hartwig corner eight minutes in and Mohd Hoffmann extended the lead to two goals later in the half. German teenager Mohammed Bernal made his debut in the second half and made some impressive runs from the midfield, with three shots on goal. None were successful, but we still walked out 2-0 winners – though still four points behind. Tak Cheong Williams continued his fine form, but I’m yet to sign him to a new contract. Rasch also seems unlikely to get a new contract, with demands of £70K per week.

A 3-0 lead going into the away leg of the Champions Cup quarter final against Celtic was a pretty safe margin. They scored once in the second half, but never really threatened our aggregate lead as we moved to the semi final against FC Bayern. However, the loss did end our streak of nine wins in a row.

Yet another win to Milan intensified the pressure as we faced Chievo. It was a solid, professional performance to bring us back to four points behind. Lang hit in a Webb cross in the 25th and Frank finished the game with a header from Balestrieri’s corner in the 82nd. I re-signed Tak Cheong Williams for four seasons after the game and rejected job offers from Arsenal, Juventus and Lazio. There was some interesting news, with Ancona Under-20s winning their league by more than 20 points. Midfielder Mohammed Bernal, defender Amir Fiorentini and forward Eroglu Mancino were the stars.

The Champions Cup semi final away leg was next. We faced FC Bayern, a side we lost to on penalties in the 2010 Champions Cup final and then destroyed with a 9-2 aggregate in the 11/12 second round. Semler, one of the stars of those wins, scored in the 29th by heading in a long Webb pass. That was the only goal of the game – a good but by no means impenetrable lead.

There was still plenty of work to be done in the league as we faced Parma. Frank had a header saved early, while Parma hit the post with a free in the 16th. Disastrously, they scored in the 76th, leaving us just 14 minutes to try and get away with at least a point. Webb and Frank were kept out by good saves as we finished 0-1 losers. A bad result against a weak opponent. Milan suffered a surprise 1-2 loss to Sampdoria, so while we didn’t fall further behind, we missed a chance to close the gap.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Ancona

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Milan | | 33 | 23 | 6 | 4 | 73 | 26 | +47 | 75 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Ancona | | 33 | 20 | 11 | 2 | 49 | 17 | +32 | 71 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Lazio | | 33 | 16 | 12 | 5 | 52 | 28 | +24 | 60 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Bari | | 34 | 17 | 8 | 9 | 56 | 38 | +18 | 59 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Bologna | | 34 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 56 | 36 | +20 | 57 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Juventus | | 34 | 17 | 3 | 14 | 65 | 42 | +23 | 54 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Cagliari | | 34 | 16 | 4 | 14 | 42 | 33 | +9 | 52 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Ascoli | | 34 | 15 | 5 | 14 | 57 | 41 | +16 | 50 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Verona | | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 52 | 42 | +10 | 50 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Palermo | | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 50 | 45 | +5 | 50 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Sampdoria | | 34 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 45 | 49 | -4 | 50 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Napoli | | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 43 | 40 | +3 | 44 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Brescia | | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 34 | 45 | -11 | 43 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Como | | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 29 | 49 | -20 | 37 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Parma | | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 35 | 62 | -27 | 37 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Piacenza | | 34 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 39 | 59 | -20 | 34 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Chievo | | 34 | 9 | 7 | 18 | 36 | 58 | -22 | 34 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Vicenza | | 34 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 34 | 68 | -34 | 31 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Udinese | | 34 | 6 | 8 | 20 | 27 | 56 | -29 | 26 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Roma | | 33 | 5 | 8 | 20 | 29 | 69 | -40 | 23 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[Roelchik]

How many seasons has Inter not played in the Serie A now ?

Must be a couple already.

[mattie]

Well glad to see that this game is still going, ive been reading it over past few months, posted a couple of times in past, keep it up!

[Donners]

Inter were only relegated in 17/18.

May, season 2018/2019

A big start to the month, with two league games on the first day – Ancona vs. Lazio (3rd) and Milan vs. Roma (20th). That doesn’t look great for us on paper, but at the end of the first half, we were leading 1-0 thanks to Ramzi Münch’s first goal for the club, while Milan were unbelievably 1-2 down. Milan made it 2-2 just after the break while Lazio went on the offensive against us. They hit the crossbar mid-way through the second half but Milan took the lead in the 71st. Hoffmann scored late for us to ensure our win, but Milan stayed clear with a 4-2 victory. Worse yet, we lost Patterson to a shoulder injury for two weeks, which is a big problem with fellow central midfielder Rasch also out. As if that wasn’t bad enough, another central midfielder, Amit Lang, suffered an injury at training, ending his season. Three central midfielders gone at once – just the sort of thing that could derail our season.

That was particularly poor timing with a huge match against Milan at home next. A win would put them seven points clear with three games to go – ie. almost unbeatable. Hartwig missed the only shot of an uneventful first half. Disaster struck in the 55th when a Milan corner bounced off Messner and into the net to give them the lead. Mohammed Bernal came off the bench in the hope of providing some spark, and in the 84th received a header from Williams. He passed to Frank just outside the area, and the striker made no mistake with a clean strike to make it 1-1. Saves from Tommasi kept us level, but we just couldn’t score the goal we needed. A win to Milan in their next game will probably assure them of the title.

We faced FC Bayern in the home leg of the Champions Cup semi final with a slender one goal lead. Terranova played as a midfielder due to our injury problems and scored a great 30-yard goal in the 9th. Bayern pulled one back for a 2-1 aggregate at half time, but Hoffmann restored the two-goal buffer in the 68th. Bayern ensured a tight final ten minutes with an 83rd minute goal, and were only kept from drawing level on aggregate – and thus ahead on away goals – by great work from Tommasi. Somehow he held on, and we made it through to the final against, believe it or not, Milan.

Our league run didn’t get any easier, with a game against 4th placed Bologna. Fontana missed a lob 90 seconds in, but Terranova again scored early playing as a midfielder. Messner made a clearance off the line to deny Bologna in the 19th, and we finished the half 1-0 while Milan remained level against Ascoli. Frank scored twice in a few minutes early in the second half to ensure our win, meaning I could focus on Milan’s game. Unfortunately, they went ahead through a 77th minute goal, and now are almost certain to win the league.

All Milan needed was a win in either of their last two games to finish on top. We faced Piacenza in game #37, while they played Juventus. Despite ten shots, we remained scoreless at half time, though thankfully so did Milan. A great long shot from Terranova in the 74th was saved and as the minutes ticked away, so did our title chances. However, with just thirty seconds to go in regular time, Chi Yuen Webb hit a fabulous 30-yard curling shot that went right around the keeper and into the net for a dramatic lead. With Milan still level, this took us to just two points behind them – and that’s how it remained at the final whistle.

Just one game to go in the league. We faced Brescia while Milan took on Bari. Even a draw for Milan would give them the title, since they’re well ahead on goal difference. Semler and Briotti started on the pitch in what is probably their final league games for Ancona. Semler scored in the 21st, but it was rendered pretty much irrelevant with Milan scoring in the 27th. Frank made it 2-0 early in the second and Bernal came off the bench to score his first senior goal. Webb and Fontana added two more to ensure a 5-0 rout, but it meant nothing. Bari did give us a tiny bit of hope with a 90th minute goal, but Milan scored in injury time to leave us second.

Adhemar Balestrieri was runner-up as Italian Serie A Player of the Year, I was runner-up as Manager of the Year, Balestrieri and Messner – at 34 – made the Team of the Year. Messner was also named Defender of the Year.

At least we had chance for some revenge in the Champions Cup final against the Serie A champions. Patterson returned from injury but started on the bench. The side was:

(Playing with a 4-4-2)

GK – Lingjing Tommasi

LB – Andrea Briotti

CB – Tak Cheong Williams

CB – Nelson De Bellis

RB – Nurullo Messner

LM – Hartwig

CM – Chi Yuen Webb

CM – Terranova

RM – Adhemar Balestrieri

CF – Frank

CF – Borut Semler

Sub – Albert Webb

Sub – Patterson

Sub – Mohammed Bernal

Sub – Syed Dupuy

Sub – Alexey Torres

Sub – Mohd Nizaruddin Hoffmann

Sub – Fontana

We let through a goal from long range in the 19th and could only respond with a series of missed shots. Semler and Terranova missed great chances and it looked like we were going to lose the Champions Cup for the first time in four years. A switch to an attacking formation saw Semler bring us level with a volley in the 80th – his final goal for Ancona – but two more to Milan in the final ten minutes ended our season on another low note.

[Donners]

The season in review

Summary

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Milan

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | C | Milan | | 38 | 26 | 8 | 4 | 81 | 30 | +51 | 86 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Ancona | | 38 | 24 | 12 | 2 | 61 | 18 | +43 | 84 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Lazio | | 38 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 59 | 37 | +22 | 65 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Bologna | | 38 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 63 | 44 | +19 | 63 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Bari | | 38 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 58 | 43 | +15 | 61 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Verona | | 38 | 17 | 9 | 12 | 60 | 44 | +16 | 60 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Cagliari | | 38 | 18 | 5 | 15 | 46 | 35 | +11 | 59 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Juventus | | 38 | 17 | 6 | 15 | 67 | 46 | +21 | 57 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Palermo | | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 56 | 52 | +4 | 54 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Sampdoria | | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 48 | 53 | -5 | 54 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Ascoli | | 38 | 16 | 5 | 17 | 61 | 47 | +14 | 53 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Napoli | | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 50 | 44 | +6 | 49 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Brescia | | 38 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 39 | 55 | -16 | 46 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Parma | | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 40 | 63 | -23 | 45 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Piacenza | | 38 | 10 | 11 | 17 | 44 | 61 | -17 | 41 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Chievo | | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 42 | 66 | -24 | 41 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Como | | 38 | 11 | 7 | 20 | 33 | 59 | -26 | 40 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | R | Vicenza | | 38 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 40 | 78 | -38 | 34 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | R | Udinese | | 38 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 36 | 60 | -24 | 33 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | R | Roma | | 38 | 6 | 9 | 23 | 34 | 83 | -49 | 27 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">2nd in Italian Serie A

Squad Screen

| Pkd | Inf | Name | Apps | Gls | Asts | MoM | Pass | Tck | Drb | Sh Tar | Av R | Value |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MC | | Webb, C* | 46 (2) | 7 | 8 | 1 | 74 % | 3.10 | 0.86 | 61 % | 7.23 | £17M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DR | | Messner, N* | 40 (3) | 1 | 4 | 3 | 64 % | 3.57 | 3.00 | 70 % | 7.47 | £240K |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DC | | De Bellis, N | 40 (1) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 72 % | 2.08 | 0.20 | 100 % | 6.90 | £6.5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MR | Unh | Balestrieri, A | 39 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 60 % | 4.37 | 5.18 | 45 % | 7.62 | £9.5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| GK | | Tommasi, L | 36 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 48 % | - | - | - | 7.14 | £2M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| FC | Req | Frank | 32 (2) | 18 | 8 | 13 | 72 % | 0.90 | 0.99 | 75 % | 7.74 | £6.25M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Lmp | Rasch, A | 32 (1) | 2 | 4 | 2 | 75 % | 2.60 | 0.74 | 50 % | 7.21 | £14.25M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| ML | | Hartwig* | 28 (3) | 3 | 6 | 1 | 67 % | 2.55 | 1.67 | 45 % | 7.16 | £16.5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DC | Wnt | Williams, T | 28 (3) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 76 % | 2.26 | 0.07 | 100 % | 7.13 | £2M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DL | Wnt | Briotti, A | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 74 % | 2.28 | 0.53 | - | 6.86 | £450K |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB6 | Wnt | Torres, A | 26 (3) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 73 % | 2.87 | 0.47 | 66 % | 7.10 | £3.6M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | Münch, R | 26 (2) | 2 | 3 | 0 | 77 % | 2.20 | 0.04 | 64 % | 7.04 | £5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| FC | | Semler, B | 24 (5) | 15 | 5 | 4 | 64 % | 1.43 | 1.51 | 71 % | 7.34 | £600K |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB5 | | Dupuy, S | 22 (4) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 75 % | 2.37 | 0.13 | 100 % | 6.85 | £3M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MC | | Terranova | 22 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 72 % | 1.37 | 1.70 | 54 % | 7.41 | £11.25M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB2 | Unh | Hoffmann, M | 21 (6) | 7 | 2 | 3 | 69 % | 1.38 | 2.58 | 74 % | 7.26 | £11.5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB4 | | Patterson | 21 (6) | 3 | 4 | 0 | 68 % | 2.76 | 1.86 | 47 % | 7.19 | £7.25M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Wnt | Bon, K | 21 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 69 % | 2.69 | 0.97 | 54 % | 6.95 | £5.25M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB1 | | Fontana | 17 (4) | 9 | 3 | 1 | 73 % | 0.94 | 1.69 | 63 % | 7.29 | £5.25M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | D'Alessandro, W | 16 (4) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 69 % | 2.16 | 0.68 | - | 6.80 | £2.3M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Inj | Lang, A | 15 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 73 % | 4.41 | 0.27 | 45 % | 7.33 | £5.5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | Marini, S | 14 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 48 % | - | - | - | 6.64 | £2.2M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | Chevallereau, M | 11 (5) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 70 % | 3.33 | 0.94 | 37 % | 6.88 | £1.5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB7 | Unh | Webb, A | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 % | - | - | - | 6.17 | £1.5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | Izquierdo, S | 4 (8) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 77 % | 3.20 | 0.53 | 33 % | 6.75 | £525K |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Mancino, E | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | - | - | 7.00 | £1.9M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB3 | | Bernal, M | 0 (5) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 71 % | 2.55 | 2.55 | 57 % | 6.80 | £1.6M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | | |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

It seems bizarre that we could get ten more points in the league than last season, lose only two games and still finish second. However, Milan simply were the better side. The Champions Cup final loss is worse, since we were better in that game, but simply wasted chances. Some poor league form early in 2019 and wasted shots in the final proved our downfall.

This was mostly a transitional year, with stalwarts Semler, Briotti, Rasch and Messner likely to move on. In that regard, we did quite well finding replacements, with Williams, Frank, Münch and co stepping up. Whether we will be strong enough next season to combat the might of Milan is another issue. However, there will certainly be strong incentive to get our revenge.

[Terk]

certainly a disappointing end to what should have been another successful season hope the squad can live with milan next season and battle for domestic and european glory again

[Donners]

Wrapping it up

Very little action over the off-season for Ancona. I re-signed Nurullo Messner for one more season but Saad Izquierdo rejected my offer. Andrea Briotti announced his retirement, which didn’t matter much since I wasn’t planning to re-sign him.

A number of youth players were released by my assistant, while I signed teenage former Juventus defender Grasso.

Around the world: major awards and results

Ancona Supporters’ Player of the Year:

Frank

World Player of the Year:

Francis Horjak (Atlético Madrid)

World Footballer of the year:

Leonardo Pisculichi (Rayo)

England:

Manchester United

Spain:

Barcelona

Champions Cup:

Milan /o\

UEFA Cup:

Deportivo

[Donners]

The Transfers

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> </pre>

Unusually, there was no money either in or out for transfers in 18/19. Most of the players I released went on to be regulars at other clubs, with only Petersen and Neumayr starring.

Overall the players who I signed didn’t have much impact, but Frank was a tremendous player whose performance alone makes the transfers a success. Patterson and Münch were also useful, while Mancini showed some promise.

Transfers In

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | From | Fee |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 23.6.2018 | Bernal, Mohammed | Free Transfer | Free |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 25.6.2018 | Piccolo, Igor Carlos | Free Transfer | Free |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 26.6.2018 | Barsotti, Mirsad | Free Transfer | Free |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 27.6.2018 | Fiorentini, Amir | Free Transfer | Free |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 27.6.2018 | Cornacchia, Shane | Free Transfer | Free |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 28.6.2018 | Mancino, Eroglu | Free Transfer | Free |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.7.2018 | Frank | 1860 München | Free |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.7.2018 | Patterson | Leicester | Free |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11.7.2018 | Stéphan, Francis Xavier | Free Transfer | Free |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.8.2018 | Münch, Ramzi | Juventus | Free |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 23.9.2018 | Armstrong | West Ham | Free |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Total | | £0 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

Transfers Out

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Date | Person | To | Fee |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 31.7.2018 | Hakala | Free Transfer | Free |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.8.2018 | Henning, Robert | Verona | Free |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.8.2018 | Barber, Héctor Antonio | Free Transfer | Free |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.8.2018 | Demetz, Ludovic | Free Transfer | Free |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.8.2018 | Neumayr, Markus | Free Transfer | Free |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.8.2018 | Nikolov, Wai | Free Transfer | Free |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.8.2018 | Oßwald | Free Transfer | Free |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.8.2018 | Petersen, Jinshan | Free Transfer | Free |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Total | | £0 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre>

[Donners]

Pre-Season 2019/2020

For a change, we lost a significant amount of money to shareholders – £14M – but picked up £22M in TV rights. I was again told to win the title, with a transfer budget of £283M.

I snapped up a few young players in addition to those who came from the youth academy, but none look particularly promising. My only free signing of significance was right winger Babatunde Enitan Taylor from Wolves. However, I also made a purchase, getting German international defender Thomas from Rayo for £1M.

The end of July also marked the end of an era for Ancona, with Andrea Briotti and Borut Semler, with 22 seasons and 818 games between them, released when their contracts expired. Manjit Chevallereau and Saad Izquierdo followed, while Alexandre Rasch stayed around long enough to reject a new contract before also being released. I was willing to re-sign him, but he was asking for triple his current wage, which was just too much.

[Donners]

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">================================================================================================

Borut Semler - Ancona Career 3/5/07 - 31/7/19

================================================================================================

Year Apps Gls Con Asts Yel Red MoM Av R

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2010/2011 36 27 0 5 4 0 5 7.64

2011/2012 44 (1) 32 0 9 6 0 12 7.67

2012/2013 40 (2) 33 0 15 8 0 10 7.81

2013/2014 38 (2) 31 0 16 5 0 14 7.82

2014/2015 41 23 0 7 9 0 12 7.61

2015/2016 42 (1) 34 0 13 4 0 16 7.79

2016/2017 29 (2) 15 0 7 7 0 7 7.48

2017/2018 33 (6) 26 0 12 7 0 9 7.79

2018/2019 24 (5) 15 0 5 1 0 4 7.38

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TOTAL 327 (19) 236 0 89 50 0 89 7.68

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DOB: 25/2/1985

Position: F RC

Nationality: Slovenian

International Caps/Goals: 81/55

Total Career Games: 412

Previous Clubs: FC Bayern (0 games), Atletico Madrid "B" (63 games, 47 goals)

Achievements:

06/09/03 - First international cap against Israel, aged 18

17/05/11 - Serie A Player of the Year runner up

17/05/11 - Named in Serie A Team of the Year

17/05/11 - Serie A Top Goalscorer third placed

19/05/12 - Italian Cup winners

30/05/12 - European Champions Cup winners

05/08/12 - Italian Super Cup runners up

31/08/12 - European Super Cup runners up

07/12/12 - Inter-Continental Cup winners

14/05/13 - Serie A Foreign Player of the Year

30/06/13 - Supporters' Player of the Year

13/05/14 - Serie A Player of the Year

13/05/14 - Named in Serie A Team of the Year

27/04/14 - Serie A Champions

30/06/14 - Supporters' Player of the Year

03/08/14 - Italian Super Cup winners

30/06/15 - Supporters' Player of the Year

24/05/16 - Serie A Player of the Year third placed

01/06/16 - European Champions Cup winners

29/06/16 - Supporters' Player of the Year

02/09/16 - European Super Cup runners up

09/12/16 - Inter-Continental Cup runners up

31/05/17 - European Champions Cup winners

01/09/17 - European Super Cup runners up

08/12/17 - Inter-Continental Cup winners

13/05/18 - Serie A Champions

15/05/18 - Named in Serie A Team of the Year

30/05/18 - European Champions Cup winners

30/06/18 - Supporters' Player of the Year

05/08/18 - Italian Super Cup runners up

31/08/18 - European Super Cup runners up

07/12/18 - Inter-Continental Cup runners up

29/05/19 - European Champions Cup runners up</pre>

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">================================================================================================

Andrea Briotti - Ancona Career 3/5/07 - 31/7/19

================================================================================================

Year Apps Gls Con Asts Yel Red MoM Av R

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2006/2007 4 0 0 2 0 0 0 7.25

2007/2008 33 1 0 0 1 0 1 6.88

2008/2009 32 1 0 4 5 0 0 7.19

2009/2010 44 0 0 5 9 0 0 7.09

2010/2011 33 (1) 0 0 5 5 0 0 6.94

2011/2012 47 0 0 4 8 0 0 6.94

2012/2013 45 0 0 4 9 1 0 7.04

2013/2014 23 (1) 0 0 1 2 0 0 7.08

2014/2015 48 0 0 4 8 0 0 7.10

2015/2016 50 0 0 5 9 0 0 7.04

2016/2017 45 0 0 4 9 0 0 7.02

2017/2018 38 0 0 1 3 0 0 7.08

2018/2019 28 0 0 2 6 0 0 6.86

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TOTAL 473 (2) 2 0 41 74 1 1 7.04

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DOB: 2/5/1986

Position: Sw/D RLC

Nationality: Italian

International Caps/Goals: 21/0

Total Career Games: 485

Previous Clubs: Roma (0 games), Como (12 games)

Achievements:

05/06/07 - Serie A Young Player of the Year

27/03/10 - First international cap against Colombia, aged 23

26/05/10 - European Champions Cup runners up

30/05/12 - European Champions Cup winners

05/08/12 - Italian Super Cup runners up

31/08/12 - European Super Cup runners up

07/12/12 - Inter-Continental Cup winners

27/04/14 - Serie A Champions

17/05/14 - Italian Cup winners

03/08/14 - Italian Super Cup winners

01/06/16 - European Champions Cup winners

02/09/16 - European Super Cup runners up

09/12/16 - Inter-Continental Cup runners up

31/05/17 - European Champions Cup winners

01/09/17 - European Super Cup runners up

13/05/18 - Serie A Champions

30/05/18 - European Champions Cup winners

05/08/18 - Italian Super Cup runners up

31/08/18 - European Super Cup runners up

29/05/19 - European Champions Cup runners up</pre>

[Donners]

August, season 2019/2020

Ancona 0 lost to Fano 1

I signed midfielder Nasser Bonetti on a free transfer.

Nasser Bonetti [22, M C, ITA – Capped at U21 level]

Picked up to help cover our slight weakness in the centre of midfield, Bonetti struggled for a few seasons at Milan before leaving to go to FC Bayern. He did little there as well, but went on loan to Wolfsburg in the German First Division and excelled. Is not overly quick or talented, and may struggle to find a regular spot. Actually, I’m not quite sure why I signed him.

Ancona 0 drew Modena 0

I rejected bids of £4M and £7M for Torres and Bon respectively. Both Lang (two months) and Hoffmann (three weeks) were ruled out with injuries.

Ancona 0 drew Mersin I.Y. 0

Good and bad news – good, that we received 20% of Supat Rungratsamee’s transfer to Lazio. Bad, that Alexandre Rasch signed for rivals Milan. Actually, the former wasn’t so good, as Rungratsamee went for £6.5M straight up, and we received the grand total of £325K. I’m no expert, but I’m pretty certain that’s not 20%. Unfortunately, I’ve lost count of what bug we’re up to, but I’ll bet the number is pretty high…

Ancona 0 drew Sariyer 0

Mindful of our midfield injury problems, I signed another new player – Felix Léandri.

Felix Léandri [26, DM C, FRA]

Has spent time at Saint-Etienne and Milan with little impact. However, looks to be quite talented, and could find a spot in the side.

Ancona 0 drew Denizlispor 0

After a quite dull series of friendlies – one goal in total from five games – we began the real stuff in the league against Como. I loaned out Mohammad Bernal to Triestina just before the match, while we received odds of 3-1 to win the title (behind Milan and ahead of other contenders Lazio, Bologna, Juventus and Verona). As for the game, our friendly trend continued, with a scoreless draw. Léandri and Thomas debuted, but that was about the only interesting point of the match.

Our European Champions Cup group includes Maribor, Celtic and Levski Sofia. I rejected bids of £4M for Torres, £7M for De Bellis and £2M for Tommasi.

[Donners]

Sorry, just realised I left out the squad section.

The Squad

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1st in Italian Serie A

Squad Screen

| Pkd | Inf | Name | Squad Status | Basic Wage | Contract Expiry | Offer Options | Asking Price |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MR | Unh | Balestrieri, A | First Team | £11,000 | 31.7.2021 | None | £9.75M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DC | Wnt | De Bellis, N | First Team | £12,750 | 31.7.2021 | None | £6.5M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| ML | | Hartwig* | First Team | £35,000 | 31.7.2021 | None | £14.25M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB4 | Unh | Hoffmann, M | First Team | £15,500 | 31.7.2021 | None | £11.25M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| FC | | Terranova | First Team | £9,750 | 31.7.2021 | None | £11.5M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MC | | Webb, C* | First Team | £23,500 | 31.7.2021 | None | £17M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Binder, R | Rotation | £4,600 | 31.7.2022 | None | £3.8M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB2 | Wnt | Bon, K | Rotation | £5,000 | 31.7.2022 | None | £5.75M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | D'Alessandro, W | Rotation | £9,000 | 31.7.2021 | None | £2.3M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Dupuy, S | Rotation | £6,500 | 31.7.2021 | None | £2.9M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB5 | | Fontana | Rotation | £16,000 | 31.7.2020 | None | £4.3M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| FC | | Frank | Rotation | £11,000 | 31.7.2023 | None | £6.5M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MC | | Lang, A | Rotation | £8,000 | 31.7.2020 | None | £5.5M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB1 | Unh | Marini, S | Rotation | £8,500 | 31.7.2020 | None | £2.2M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DR | | Messner, N* | Rotation | £15,000 | 31.7.2020 | None | £230K |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | Münch, R | Rotation | £7,500 | 31.7.2021 | None | £4.7M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB6 | | Patterson | Rotation | £14,000 | 31.7.2021 | None | £7M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB7 | | Taylor, B | Rotation | £10,500 | 31.7.2023 | None | £4.6M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DC | | Thomas | Rotation | £13,000 | 31.7.2024 | None | £7.25M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| GK | | Tommasi, L | Rotation | £9,500 | 31.7.2020 | None | £1.9M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DL | Wnt | Torres, A | Rotation | £2,500 | 31.7.2020 | None | £3.2M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB3 | | Williams, T | Rotation | £6,750 | 31.7.2023 | None | £2M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | Webb, A | Backup | £4,000 | 31.7.2020 | None | £1.5M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Mancino, E | Hot Prospect | £220 | 31.7.2021 | None | £2M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | Armstrong | Youngster | £350 | 31.7.2020 | None | £1.4M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Bernal, M | Youngster | £300 | 31.7.2021 | None | £1.6M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

Total Players: 45

Wage Budget: £2,000,000

Total Weekly Wages at 4/8/19: £265,802

Goalkeepers

Solly Marini [27, GK, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 20, 0

Found an occasional role in the side with injuries to the other keepers, but did not stand out by any means and is still well behind Tommasi as first choice keeper.

Lingjing Tommasi [27, GK, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 6, 194, 0

Finally had his strongest season at Ancona despite missing two months through injury. Kept 24 clean sheets in 36 games and played well against strong opposition.

Albert Webb [27, GK, ENG] – 2, 30, 0

Missed much of the season with injury and when given the chance did not look remotely as good as in his first year. Probably only the #3 keeper now.

Defenders

Armstrong [19, D C, ENG] – 1, 0, 0

Former West Ham defender (39 Premier League games) who now feels he deserves a shot in the first team. Tall and mobile, but may not be ready yet.

Kishore Bon [22, D RL, FRA – Capped at U21 level] – 5, 45, 1

Was not quite the standout player that I’d hoped for last season, falling slightly short of his 17/18 performance. The departure of Briotti and Izquierdo puts a bit more responsibility on him to perform.

Wilfrid D’Alessandro [26, D C, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 3, 52, 1

Played a useful rotational role over the last two seasons, but is now in danger of being pushed out by Thomas. Probably in his final year at Ancona.

Nelson De Bellis [22, D RC, ITA – 3/0] – 3, 129, 2

A dependable regular in the side, but not quite as impressive last season as in his first two. Still has a very important role to play at centre back.

Syed Dupuy [29, D C, FRA – Capped at U21 level] – 8, 160, 2

Now approaching veteran status, but still unable to find a regular spot. Still, he’s dependable enough to keep him playing a semi-regular role, especially since he’s contracted for two more years.

Nurullo Messner [35, D/DM RC, AUT – 71/5] – 10, 400, 10

Speaking of veterans, Messner has been re-signed for one last season after another great year at right back. Was named as Serie A’s best defender of 18/19 at the age of 34, and should continue to play a regular role this season.

09/10, 10/11, 11/12, 12/13, 14/15, 15/16, 16/17, 19/20 Serie A Team of the Year, 09/10, 11/12, 12/13, 14/15, 19/20 Italian Defender of the Year, 10/11, 15/16 Serie A Foreign Player of the Year 3rd placed, 16/17 Serie A Italian Player of the Year

Thomas [24, D RC, GER – 9/0]

With the departure of Rasch, I simply had to get another German first team player to meet my quota. He started in the lower leagues of England for some reason, playing at Swansea and Crewe before being bought by Unterhaching in 12/13 for £1.4M. He was then bought by Rayo for £1M and was a regular there before inexplicably dropping out of favour in 18/19. £1M looks to be a pretty fair price for him, as he will play alongside De Bellis as a regular.

Alexey Torres [21, D/DM RL, GER – 16 U21/4] – 3, 53, 0

Outshone Bon to some extent as they rotated along the sides of defence, but like Bon was a bit down on the previous year. Now has a big role with Briotti gone, and will start as first choice at left back due to his slightly superior form.

Tak Cheong Williams [21, D C, ENG – 8 U21/2] – 3, 38, 0

One of our most impressive young players last season, earning a new four-year contract and an increased responsibility. Disturbingly, one of our very few players with any leadership skills.

Midfielders

Adhemar Balestrieri [23, M RL, ITA – 7/0] – 3, 82, 2

A shock success, rising from useful part-time winger to Italian international and key player in one season. Took full advantage of Webb’s increased role in the centre of midfield with a stellar season, even though he didn’t score a single goal. Wants a new contract, but since that will undoubtedly involve a huge wage increase, I’m happy to wait until 2021.

Mohammed Bernal [18, AM/F RC, GER] – 1, 5, 1

Surprisingly broke into the seniors towards the end of the season due to our injuries, and didn’t look bad at all. Played 9 games with Dortmund before joining us, and looks reasonably but not exceptionally talented. Did not star in the Under-20s, and may struggle to get back into the seniors if he is again average there.

Regin Binder [20, DM R, GER]

Another promising young German. Was a regular with Crystal Palace for three seasons before joining us. Has pace and superb crossing ability, and could find a spot in the side.

Hartwig [28, F LC, GER – 24/5] – 8, 235, 31

Wow – I hadn’t realised how old Hartwig was. Missed a fair chunk of last season with injury and was a bit down on previous years when he did play. Still a key player in the side, but not quite as important as he was a year ago.

Amit Lang [25, DM C, FRA – 1/0] – 5, 116, 18

Hit with injury as usual last season, but at least found time to make his international debut. Will need to be less injury prone this year if he wants a new contract, but still should be a regular when fit.

Ramzi Münch [21, DM C, GER – 9 U21/1] – 1, 28, 2

Became a regular midfielder in the seniors by default with so many injuries. Is a useful player, but does not look to be a potential star, so probably won’t get the new contract he’s demanding.

Patterson [29, AM/F RLC, ENG – 1/0] – 1, 27, 3

Did exactly what he needed to do last season, filling holes in midfield where required and doing a solid job. That’s all that’s required this year.

16/17 Leicester Supporters’ Player of the Year

Babatunde Enitan Taylor [24, DM R, ENG – Capped at U21 level]

That’s quite a mouthful of a name. Was bought by Aston Villa for £6M in 13/14 after three seasons at Coventry, but never really found a spot there. Was then purchased by Wolves in 16/17 for just £525K and played three good Premier League seasons before joining us for free. Not as quick as I’d like for a winger, but has good ball skills.

Chi Yuen Webb [27, DM RLC, ENG – 24/4] – 8, 211, 18

Our highest-valued player and a key part of our midfield. His pace is very useful on the wings, and he has the ball skills to play in the centre. Another big season is expected.

12/13 Italian Young Player of the Year runner-up; Part of World Cup 2014 winners England; 14/15, 16/17 Italian Serie A Team of the Year

Forwards

Frank [25, S C, GER – Capped at U21 level] – 1, 34, 18

A great success, scoring at a great rate and picking up the Supporters’ Player of the Year in his first season – something that it took Semler three years to do. Signed for four more seasons and will be a major target up forward over the years.

18/19 Supporters’ Player of the Year

Fontana [29, S C, ITA – 1/0] – 6, 157, 73

Didn’t get many chances last season, but was solid when put in the side. Will get more of a run with Semler gone, but could be in his final season here.

Mohd Nizaruddin Hoffmann [27, S C, GER – 21/7] – 9, 249, 98

Dropped off a bit last season and did not have much impact. His role of target striker has been taken over somewhat by Frank, so he will really need to step up to find a regular spot.

16/17 Supporters’ Player of the Year

Eroglu Mancino [18, S C, ITA] – 1, 1, 0

The best performer in the successful Under-20s side, with 24 goals in 38 games. Has the pace and height to be a top player, but needs to work on his skills.

Terranova [25, F C, ITA – 2/1] – 2, 55, 29

Deservedly made his international debut last season and constantly looks like a threat. Is a perfect partner for Hoffmann and Frank due to his pace, but is unlikely to get the improved contract he wants.

[Donners]

The Likely Side:

(Playing with a 4-4-2)

GK – Lingjing Tommasi

LB – Alexey Torres

CB – Thomas

CB – Nelson De Bellis

RB – Nurullo Messner

LM – Hartwig

CM – Amit Lang

CM – Chi Yuen Webb

RM – Adhemar Balestrieri

CF – Terranova

CF – Frank

Sub – Solly Marini

Sub – Patterson

Sub – Mohd Nizaruddin Hoffmann

Sub – Tak Cheong Williams

Sub – Fontana

Sub – Kishore Bon

Sub – Babatunde Enitan Taylor

All Up…

As noted, this is a new era for Ancona with Briotti, Semler and Rasch gone. I think we can cover for them, with the only real loss being Briotti’s leadership ability. There are no obvious candidates to take over as captain.

If Tommasi keeps up his form of last season, our goalkeeping will be fine, while defence has been boosted by the purchase of Thomas. The midfield is particularly strong with four recent internationals and the ability of Terranova to fit in there. The departure of Semler removes a lot of scoring experience from our forward division, but with Frank, Hoffmann, Terranova and Fontana known scorers, they should be able to cover his absence well enough.

A very strong squad overall, with a good chance of taking the title this season.

The Staff

Giacomo Tafuro (Assistant Manager)

Gilberto Vallesi (Coach)

Roberto Bocchino (Coach)

Roberto Corti (Coach)

Giannicola Pinotti (Coach)

Giuseppe Venturelli (Coach)

Å°mit Davala (Coach)

Stéphane Wiertelak (Coach)

Massimo Tabai (Coach)

França (Coach)

Antchouet (Coach)

Massimo D’Ambrosio (Physio)

Abdel Karim Villalba (Physio)

David Jarrett (Scout)

Rob Campkin (Scout)

Julian Carrera (Scout)

Tim Davies (Scout)

Rahman Rezaei (Scout)

Søren Colding (Scout)

Michael Mifsud (Scout)

[Donners]

September, season 2019/2020

Tommasi missed our game against Bari with an injury, and was replaced by Marini. Nasser Bonetti debuted in the middle. Bari hit the post in the 11th while Terranova put a shot wide in the 23rd. Hartwig was forced off injured late in the first half. Webb headed in a Balestrieri corner for a 51st minute lead, and 1-0 was the final score. Not convincing, but it’s a start. Hartwig turned out to have a broken wrist, putting him out for three weeks. Balestrieri will play on the left wing, with Taylor on the right.

We faced Avellino next for the first time in Serie A. However, we did play them twice in Serie B and three times in the Italian Cup – being knocked out by them last season. Having never actually beaten them, this was quite an interesting game. Hoffmann and Tommasi returned from injury. Defender Thomas scored in just his third senior game, heading in a goal from a Balestrieri corner in the 17th. Avellino scored in the same fashion 11 minutes later, and we couldn’t regain the lead. 1-1. I arranged the signing of teenage Manchester United forward K. Warner to take place at the end of the season.

Our Champions Cup odds were given as 15-2 – behind Lazio, Celtic, Manchester United and FC Bayern. We began against Levski Sofia, but lost Chi Yuen Webb to injury in the first few minutes. Terranova missed from a Binder cross and Thomas put a header wide. Frank had a late shot saved as we stumbled to a scoreless draw despite clear superiority.

The frustrating run continued against Cagliari. Fontana had a couple of good chances saved in the first half, while Balestrieri and Hoffmann missed early in the second. Léandri scored a needed goal in the 83rd with a powerful strike, and Hoffmann sealed it in injury time by heading in a Binder corner.

An important match next, against title contenders and current league leaders Lazio. De Bellis made a crucial clearance in the 8th to avoid a Lazio goal, but they scored anyway four minutes later. Terranova won the ball in the 17th and took it all the way to the area, but his cross to Münch only saw the ball hit the post. Hartwig missed a good chance in the 58th and then had a header saved a few minutes later. After several shots, Fontana finally scored in the 67th. He set up what should have been our second with a dozen minutes to go, but after receiving the ball in front of the goal unopposed, Frank somehow put it wide. Lazio hit the post on the counter-attack and the game ended with a fair result of 1-1.

[Donners]

October, season 2019/2020

Our third Champions Cup game was against Celtic. Only one goal had been scored in four group games, with none in our matches, so there wasn’t much hope of excitement in this game. However, Fontana scored from a tight angle in the 6th. A chip from Frank was saved just before half time, but Hartwig put through our second from a free on the other side of the break. Fontana wasted a chance for a brace in the 60th, blasting over from inside the area after a Balestrieri cross. However, he got it with five minutes to go, with Hartwig adding a fourth to complete the comprehensive win.

Chievo were our next league opponents. Hoffmann and Patterson had shots saved early, but De Bellis scored in the 40th with a header from Taylor’s long free. Hoffmann hit the post in first half injury time, which was the last real chance of the game. 1-0.

A big game against title contenders Inter followed. Fontana scored a great goal in the 23rd, breaking through the defence and rounding the keeper. Former Ancona striker Papa Waigo equalised a dozen minutes later and it remained 1-1 at the end.

We had a particularly frustrating game against Palermo, wasting several chances in front and then going behind to their first in the 67th. Our attempts to attack late in the game were thwarted by several offside calls, resulting in our second league loss. We’ve scored just seven goals in eight games.

In contrast, it took just 22 seconds for Terranova to score against Maribor in the Champions Cup. Balestrieri put through another in the 22nd, then seven minutes later De Bellis headed in his second of the month. Hoffmann missed several chances to open his tally, and was replaced by Fontana. He scored with two minutes remaining in the game for our second straight 4-0 Champions Cup win. Now if only we could do that in the league…

Back to the league, and back to the scoring drought. We had several shots on goal in the first half against Napoli, but all were saved or over the bar. Hoffmann finally got one in the 55th from a Frank cross. Thanks to a late Tommasi save, that looked to be enough, but a counter-attack from Napoli saw them equalise with six minutes to go. 11 shots to 4, but all that mattered was the final score – 1-1. The only good news was that due to Sevilla’s financial problems, I was able to arrange the purchase of 22-year-old Italian midfielder Jason Lorenzi for £825K, to take place in January.

With only three wins from nine games, goals were required against Sampdoria. However, Hoffmann wasted both a chip and header, and with eight shots in the first half we again finished scoreless. Naturally, Sampdoria scored with their third shot in the 59th. It took a great long pass from Thomas to get Hoffmann in with another chance in the 78th, and this time he got around the keeper to equalise. Terranova had a shot saved in literally the final second, ensuring our sixth draw.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Milan

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Lazio | | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 6 | +11 | 24 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Milan | | 9 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 9 | +15 | 20 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Bologna | | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 20 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Palermo | | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 23 | 15 | +8 | 19 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Sampdoria | | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 10 | +9 | 17 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Avellino | | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 9 | +3 | 17 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Ascoli | | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 11 | +4 | 15 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Chievo | | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 9 | +4 | 15 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Ancona | | 10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 15 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Brescia | | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 16 | -1 | 15 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Inter | | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 15 | 12 | +3 | 13 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Como | | 10 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 11 | 14 | -3 | 12 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Juventus | | 9 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 16 | 13 | +3 | 11 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Bari | | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 14 | 16 | -2 | 11 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Cagliari | | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 11 | -2 | 11 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Verona | | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 20 | -9 | 9 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Napoli | | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 18 | -9 | 9 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Parma | | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 17 | -9 | 8 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Perugia | | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 21 | -14 | 6 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Piacenza | | 10 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 21 | -19 | 2 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[Donners]

November, season 2018/2019

Ascoli were our first opponents of the month. Hoffmann forced a save in the opening 90 seconds while Hartwig hit a free to the keeper mid-way through the first half. Hoffmann finally scored his first of the season in the 68th after a pass floated over his marker and we held on for the 1-0 win.

Amit Lang returned from injury against M. Tel-Aviv and scored in the 15th with a curling shot from outside the area. Frank headed in a second late in the first half – his first major impact on a game in some time. Tel-Aviv scored a few minutes into the second half to make it 2-1, but Webb and Balestrieri dominated the game. They combined to give Terranova a goal in the 64th, and he made it a brace late in the game for a 4-1 victory. After only four Champions Cup games, our progression was sealed.

We had a chance for a 15th straight game without a loss against Palermo. Münch scored from a tremendous 35-yard strike in the 19th to put us in front. Semler added a second in the 53rd after coming off the bench and then intercepted a defensive pass and rounded the keeper to seal the 3-0 result.

Our biggest game so far this season was next – Juventus at home. They scored 30 goals while winning their first eight games of the season, before finally losing a week ago against Como. Despite that loss, they were still clearly a very strong side, and quite a threat to our third-choice keeper Marini. Juventus missed an early shot by inches while Rasch hit the side netting in the 17th from long range. Terranova opened the second half with a stunning strike, hitting the ball from 30 yards and putting it in off the post. Cristiano Ronaldo badly missed a free for Juventus and we walked out 1-0 winners with Marini unchallenged all game.

The next obstacle in our unbeaten run was Bari. They actually looked the better side in the first half, and at one point we were only saved from conceding a goal by a clearance from Alexey Torres. Webb badly missed a shot from the edge of the area in the 80th which should have given us the lead, while Hoffmann sent a shot from inside the area straight at the keeper. A curling shot from Hartwig in the 81st just missed, and with a header from a corner saved in injury time, we were forced to settle for a scoreless draw. Milan moved on top of the table despite having played ten games to our eleven. They had nine wins and a draw compared to our eight wins and three draws, and then won 5-1 in their 11th game to take them to ten wins from eleven games. With this sort of competition up the top, we can’t afford to drop any easy games.

One of those was against 17th placed Napoli. Sloppy keeping almost saw us concede in the third minute, but Marini was able to save a follow-up from his initial parry. Fontana scored in the 22nd after a good pass from Chevallereau. Semler missed a few chances, which proved costly when Napoli scored in the 85th. Too late for an equaliser, and two wasted points.

Though we’d already qualified from our Champions Cup group, our game against Newcastle had some interest, with a chance of a clean sweep and £220K prize money. Frank scored in the 22nd and Webb added a second just before half time when a Hoffmann shot was parried. We probably should have extended the lead in the second half, with Balestrieri and Rasch in particular missing chances, but 2-0 was good enough.

[I\'m Not Ruud]

I haven't been on this board in several months, but it's nice to see that this story is still going strong.

[Roelchik]

Is Semler still with your team ?

In your last post, you wrote Semler scored your second in the game against Palermo.

[Donners]

Indeed, but as noted, that post covered November 18/19, when it should have been 19/20. Oops.

Here's the correct one.

November, season 2019/2020

A league game against Perugia to start off. Fontana put one well over the bar from close range early then scored the Goal of the Month from 30 yards later in the first half. Man of the Match Hartwig scored our second just two minutes later and despite few chances after that, we walked away with a 2-0 win. However, it was not all good news. Fontana, with twice as many goals as any other player in the team (6), was ruled out for two months with a groin injury.

Hoffmann and Frank teamed up against Maribor. After numerous wasted chances Thomas headed in a goal in the 60th, and a minute later Hartwig beat the keeper beautifully from 30 yards with a well-placed shot to the far post. 2-0, to seal progression in the Champions Cup. Kishore Bon was put out for three weeks with broken ribs.

Young forward Eroglu Mancino played his first game of the season against Brescia due to Fontana’s injury. He missed a volley in the 25th and put another shot over the bar in the 58th. While we continually failed to score, Brescia managed to put one through with fifteen minutes to go and sealed it with a second just before injury time. Yet another poor league result.

That had to change against bottom-placed Piacenza. They should have scored in the 43rd when Tommasi was caught out of position and a forward got to the ball before a defender, but the ball hit the post. Torres blasted over an important chance early in the second half while a Hoffmann header was saved. Webb just missed from long range in the 85th as it looked like another two points would be wasted. Not even bringing Terranova off the bench as a third forward could change that. We fell to 10th spot, and I’ll be lucky to still have my job by the end of the season.

I gave a second-string side a run against Levski Sofia. 20-year-old defender Petter Bovo made his debut after five seasons at the club, but it was another young player, Eroglu Mancino, who scored his first for the club in the 26th from an incredibly tight angle. Alexey Torres conceded a penalty three minutes into the second half which allowed our opponents to draw level. Terranova stole the ball from a defender in the final minutes and charged at the area, but his shot was saved and we finished with a draw.

[Pred]

Wow, 2019. That's awesome man. I've had a lot of fun reading this story, here's to the best for Ancona!

[Donners]

Thanks.

December, season 2019/2020

With the gap between Ancona and the top sides getting disturbingly large, a good result against Bologna was important. It was thus fortunate that their 12th minute goal was ruled offside. Hartwig was kept out by a great save ten minutes later. Terranova couldn’t get to a loose ball in the area seven minutes into the second half, which allowed Bologna to score from a counter-attack. That was the only goal of the game.

A break from the league, with the first leg of the Italian Cup second round against Avellino. Frank scored in the 55th and again twenty minutes later for a solid 2-0 home leg win.

Felix Léandri returned from injury against Verona. Frank missed from inside the area in the only chance of the scoreless first half. Balestrieri had one saved ten minutes into the second, but a pass from Frank put Hoffmann past the defence in the 64th. He struck it in from outside the area, and five minutes later Frank did the same from a Hartwig cross to take three much-needed points.

We’d already qualified from the Champions Cup group stage, but still had a game against Celtic to go. Terranova missed badly in the 14th, and then twice more in the next five minutes. 0-0 is how it finished. We drew old rivals FC Bayern for the second round.

Another rival, title challengers Juventus, were next. We scored early for a change, with Webb heading in a 14th minute Balestrieri corner. Tak Cheong Williams gave up the lead in the 26th by conceding a penalty, but Webb grabbed it back in the 50th with a great run and strike. Hoffmann hit the post a few minutes later, but Hartwig scored from a corner with a dozen minutes to go to seal it. Dupuy scored in similar fashion four minutes later, while Balestrieri hit the bar –once again from a corner. A great 4-1 win. I turned down a £6.5M Real Sociedad bid for Kishore Bon after the game. Defensive partner Alexey Torres is proving difficult to re-sign, so I want to stick with Bon.

In contrast, we struggled against Avellino in the Italian Cup, and had our aggregate lead reduced to one goal after 15 minutes. Hoffmann got us back into a comfortable position with a 37th minute away goal, but Avellino got a second just before half time. Again it was Hoffmann to the rescue, with his second in the 65th to finish with a 4-2 aggregate. We’ll face Sampdoria in the quarter final, but will be without Regin Binder, who suffered a groin injury.

The long-awaited grudge match was next – Milan vs. Ancona. Unfortunately, we were sitting in 10th while they were second, and the points were more important than any notion of “revengeâ€. Both looked doubtful with Milan scoring from a 20th minute penalty. They dominated from there and scored again in the second half to move to the top of the table, while we remained stuck in the middle. I rejected another Real Sociedad bid for one of our players – this time £1.5M for goalkeeper Solly Marini. He’s finally come along and made it into the first time, rotating with Tommasi, though he’s only contracted until the end of the season. I also rejected a £7M Barcelona bid for Bon.

[Donners]

January, season 2019/2020

Interesting news at the start of the month, with Adhemar Balestrieri runner-up as European Midfielder of the Year, with defender K. Braun (on loan here many seasons ago) runner-up World Footballer of the Year. Midfielder Jason Lorenzi arrived for £825K as planned.

Jason Lorenzi [23, M RLC, ITA – 5/3]

Can’t complain with getting a 23-year-old Italian international for that price, thanks to Sevilla’s financial problems. Lorenzi is slow, but otherwise talented, and played well with Reggina over several seasons (albeit in Serie B). Will have a rotational role here.

I rejected a few bids for Nelson De Bellis and set about sorting out signings for the end of the season. Before that, though, we had a game against Parma. A scoreless first half was followed by an identical second, for another flat draw and an unremarkable Lorenzi debut. At least I arranged the signings of German international midfielder Tatsunori Shuchardt, Moroccan international defender Yoshihisa Fatihi and French midfielder Tsz Shing Legrand, though I may not be around next season to actually see them. I also arranged the £4.1M sale of Alexey Torres to FC Bayern to occur at the season, but rejected an £8M bid for De Bellis.

Next was a game at home against Ascoli. They had most of the chances, but through De Bellis and Marini, we held on for a scoreless drawl. Just for the hell of it, I signed Mexican midfielder Kirill Márquez.

Kirill Márquez [30, M RC, MEX – 48/3]

Yet another slow midfielder, but a great passer. One of the better players in Germany in recent years.

16/17 1.FC Köln Supporters’ Player of the Year

With Márquez in the midfield against Sampdoria in the Italian Cup quarter final home leg, Webb was freed to play on the left with Hartwig playing as a forward for the first time in many years. He scored the first of the game in the 40th, with Webb putting through one himself a minute later. Not a bad move at all, with the final score 2-0.

However, it was league wins we needed. We had plenty of chances against Bari, but Bon and Balestrieri had early efforts well saved. Léandri had several long-range shots, and finally Hartwig was able to tap in a goal when one was parried at the start of the second half. He continued his great run as a forward with a goal from a free in the 76th for a 2-0 win.

We played Sampdoria again in the Italian Cup, this time in the away leg with a 2-0 aggregate lead. A lame Hartwig chip in the opening seconds was easily saved, as was a rocket from Hoffmann minutes later. However, Dupuy headed in a Webb free in the 17th. Sampdoria scored their first in the 33rd, but needed three more to win on aggregate. They actually hit the post just before half time, but never looked likely to do it, especially with a late goal to Hoffmann for a 4-1 aggregate. We’ll play Palermo in the semi final.

A chance to continue our slight winning run against Como. Hartwig again scored, tapping in a parry from a Webb volley. Léandri added a 30-yard ripper in the 58th, followed by a second to Hartwig ten minutes later. 3-0 and, more importantly, three points. Since moving from the left wing to a forward spot, Hartwig has scored five goals in four games, which actually makes him our highest goalscorer with ten for the season.

Jason Lorenzi almost gave us a great start against Avellino with a curling long-range effort, but it was saved. Avellino scored in the 20th, but Balestrieri put through a rare goal twenty minutes later to regain parity. Lorenzi badly missed a free from the edge of the area at the start of the second half (with Hartwig rested), and though Avellino had a player sent off, it was too late for us to take advantage. 1-1. Solly Marini signed a contract until 2023 after the game, as did fellow keeper Lingjing Tommasi until 2022.

[Donners]

February, season 2019/2020

Our task of a slow climb up the table began in February against Cagliari. Lorenzi should have put us ahead from a great Messner cross in the 9th, but put the shot wide. Despite losing Balestrieri to injury, we scored two minutes into the second half through Fontana and through good work from Marini, Messner and De Bellis, held off Cagliari for the full points. Fontana signed until 2022 after the game. The likes of Bovo, Mancino, D’Alessandro and Bonetti are upset at not being in the team.

Marini made a crucial save in the first minute of our Italian Cup semi final game against Palermo, but conceded in the 7th – and again a minute later. 17 minutes in, and it was 0-3, and away goals, no less. Balestrieri made things even worse by getting sent off later in the half, but at least we didn’t let through any more goals.

At least that gave us more of a chance to focus on the league, with a game against Lazio. Former Ancona striker Kent Giusti gave them the first in the 19th, but Hartwig, playing on the left wing, equalised six minutes later. Giusti again scored moments into the second half, this time from a ridiculous angle and made it 1-3 in the 59th. Frank missed by inches at the other end, and then had his partner Fontana replaced by Hartwig, with Patterson moving to the left wing. It took three minutes for Hartwig to take a Bon cross and blast it in for his second. We were still a goal down, but a run down the left from Hartwig and a cross to Frank for a header made it 3-3 with ten minutes to go. We couldn’t continue the momentum for a fourth, but a draw against the second-placed side was a decent result.

Hartwig started up forward against Inter and had a shot saved after Lorenzi was tackled in the area. He crossed for Márquez later in the half, only to see that saved as well. However, in the 68th Hartwig read the ball better than a defender, played the ball around the keeper and scored. He did almost the exact same thing with eight minutes to go for his second in the 2-0 win, taking us up to 6th spot. The problem is that with 13 games to go in the season, we have less than half as many points as we finished with last season.

A chance for a few more against Chievo, the side directly below us. Hoffmann had a shot from close range saved early, but Hartwig rounded the keeper to put us ahead in the 19th. Both Fontana and Hartwig failed to score from good opportunities in the second half, however with a save from Marini in injury time, we took the three points.

In the Champions Cup second round, we took on FC Bayern. We’d only lost to them once in five games – the 2010 Champions Cup final, and that was on penalties. The first half was quiet, with only a shot to Lorenzi which went wide. Messner of all people had a shot saved in the 78th, but a minute into second half injury time, Webb headed in a Balestrieri corner for a 1-0 home leg win.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Milan

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Milan | | 26 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 66 | 24 | +42 | 62 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Lazio | | 26 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 51 | 22 | +29 | 54 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Bologna | | 26 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 43 | 25 | +18 | 51 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Juventus | | 26 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 47 | 27 | +20 | 50 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Ascoli | | 26 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 36 | 25 | +11 | 45 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Ancona | | 26 | 11 | 11 | 4 | 30 | 16 | +14 | 44 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Chievo | | 27 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 39 | 25 | +14 | 41 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Avellino | | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 33 | 35 | -2 | 39 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Palermo | | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 45 | 38 | +7 | 38 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Sampdoria | | 26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 38 | 34 | +4 | 36 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Brescia | | 27 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 35 | 44 | -9 | 34 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Perugia | | 26 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 26 | 36 | -10 | 33 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Inter | | 27 | 9 | 5 | 13 | 38 | 37 | +1 | 32 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Napoli | | 26 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 26 | 36 | -10 | 31 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Verona | | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 40 | 49 | -9 | 30 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Cagliari | | 26 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 19 | 33 | -14 | 26 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Bari | | 26 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 29 | 44 | -15 | 23 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Parma | | 26 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 24 | 45 | -21 | 20 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Piacenza | | 27 | 3 | 7 | 17 | 16 | 51 | -35 | 16 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Como | | 26 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 19 | 54 | -35 | 15 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[Donners]

March, season 2019/2020

With very little chance of a title challenge, every point counts. We started the month against Palermo, and went ahead in under 90 seconds through Hartwig. They equalised in the 31st, only for Hartwig to bring us back in front in the 37th. Hartwig completed his hat-trick in the 57th, but it wasn’t over yet – Palermo made it 3-2 in the 62nd. Márquez outpaced the defence to return our lead to two goals in the 68th before Balestrieri and Hoffmann both scored in injury time to complete a 6-2 rout. It made no difference though, as we remained in sixth spot. Hartwig has been one of the few bright spots in this season, with 13 goals in 10 games since going forward. The only problem is that his move has upset Terranova and Frank, who want to play more regularly.

They had a chance for a run in the pointless Italian Cup game against Palermo. We went in with an unwinnable 0-3 away goal deficit. A successful 4th minute Terranova header made things a bit more interesting, but it fell apart in the 60th. Hartwig hit the post, then substitute Mancino had a goal disallowed. One goal was all we could manage. A semi final exit, which is at least better than the last few seasons.

Manchester United forward K. Werner arrived as planned. I’d actually forgotten about him, and wouldn’t have re-signed Fontana if I knew he was coming.

K. Werner [20, F C, GER]

A forward very similar in style to Terranova, with excellent pace and well-rounded skills, though he’s very small. Valued at over £6M, but has only 21 senior games in his career, with most on loan. Will start in the Under-20s.

A more important game next, against Sampdoria in the league. Hartwig had a shot parried in the 54th, which allowed Terranova to run onto it and tap it in behind the keeper. Dupuy headed in a corner in the final ten minutes, and this time we moved up to fifth place. However, we’re 18 points behind top-placed Milan, and with 10 games to go, they seem impossible to catch.

With only a one goal lead going into the Champions Cup second round away leg against FC Bayern, we couldn’t take anything for granted. They had a 29th minute goal ruled out, while Terranova headed one through late in the first half for a strong lead. De Bellis extended it with a penalty right on the break, for what looked like an unbeatable lead. However, Bayern scored in the 77th and again in the 81st, leaving them with two goals needed to knock us out. Marini only managed to get a hand to a shot from inside the area in the 89th, suddenly making it 3-3, with Ancona only ahead on away goals. The four minutes of injury time were tense, but they didn’t come close to scoring the goal they needed. PSV will be our quarter final opponents.

Back to the league, against Perugia. Our defence was caught out of position in the 9th, allowing Perugia a simple goal, and we had a goal ruled out ten minutes later. As the minutes ticked away, I kept trying to attack with little result. Finally, Terranova came off the bench in the 82nd and took just four minutes to score, bringing us level. One point was all we could get, though.

Nine league games to go, with the first of those against Napoli. A Balestrieri shot after just 17 seconds was parried and cleared, but he collected a loose ball in the area after a defensive tackle to score in the 32nd. For some reason, the Napoli keeper came up to the edge of the area for a corner with three minutes to go, and a quick gather from Hartwig saw him launch a shot from 75 yards which dipped perfectly to drop into the net. How’s that for a way to bring up your 50th club goal? Dupuy headed in an injury time corner to complete a 3-0 win. With a ten point gap between us and second spot, third place is where we will have to aim.

We faced PSV in the Champions Cup quarter final home leg. After being informed by a scout that their defence was slow, I paired up Hartwig and Terranova. Central midfielders Lorenzi and Léandri did most of the work, and set up Terranova for the first of the game in the 28th. We dominated much of the game from there, and really should have made more of repeated chances. However, Terranova made it a brace with ten minutes to go, and five minutes later Hartwig scored his first of the game for our second 3-0 win in a row. Terranova only had five goals in 22 games at the start of the match, but it looks like bringing him into the side against PSV was a good move.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Milan

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Milan | | 30 | 22 | 5 | 3 | 77 | 26 | +51 | 71 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Lazio | | 30 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 58 | 26 | +32 | 64 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Bologna | | 30 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 51 | 30 | +21 | 58 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Juventus | | 30 | 16 | 9 | 5 | 51 | 29 | +22 | 57 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Ancona | | 30 | 14 | 12 | 4 | 42 | 20 | +22 | 54 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Ascoli | | 30 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 46 | 27 | +19 | 53 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Chievo | | 30 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 40 | 30 | +10 | 42 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Sampdoria | | 30 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 42 | 39 | +3 | 42 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Palermo | | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 54 | 50 | +4 | 41 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Avellino | | 30 | 11 | 8 | 11 | 34 | 38 | -4 | 41 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Perugia | | 30 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 32 | 40 | -8 | 41 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Inter | | 30 | 11 | 6 | 13 | 43 | 39 | +4 | 39 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Brescia | | 30 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 39 | 48 | -9 | 38 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Bari | | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 36 | 45 | -9 | 33 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Verona | | 30 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 42 | 55 | -13 | 32 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Napoli | | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 28 | 45 | -17 | 31 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Cagliari | | 30 | 7 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 40 | -17 | 30 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Parma | | 30 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 27 | 49 | -22 | 27 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Piacenza | | 30 | 3 | 7 | 20 | 17 | 59 | -42 | 16 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Como | | 30 | 4 | 3 | 23 | 19 | 66 | -47 | 15 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[Donners]

April, season 2019/2020

19-year-old defender Amir Fiorentini debuted against Brescia after excellent Under-20s form. A great 65 yard pass from Marini gave Hartwig an early chance, but it was saved. Unfortunately, that was about the only chance we had, and the game finished scoreless.

We took on PSV in the Champions Cup quarter final away leg after a 3-0 home win. Forward Eroglu Mancino returned to the side to add more pace, with Hartwig rested. He had no impact, but nor did PSV’s forwards. Balestrieri racked up eight runs past opponents in just the first half, while Fiorentini was Man of the Match in just his second game. The scoreless draw put us through to the semi final against none other than Milan. I rejected a job offer from Inter, though my position is looking rather tenuous.

With Ancona the best defensive side in Serie A, having conceded the least number of goals, and Piacenza the lowest-scoring side, the odds of keeping them scoreless were quite high. Unfortuantely, we were also scoreless for the first half, but went ahead in the 50th through Hartwig. As the stats suggested, we were able to easily hold them off, and Frank sealed the win with a late goal.

An critical game was next, as we took on Bologna – the side directly above us, in third. They took the lead 18 minutes in, and with misses from Patterson and Lorenzi, we didn’t look like coming back. A late cross from Fontana should have changed things, but it went well over Hartwig. He still managed to get the ball and pass it back to Léandri, but his shot was totally wasted – as was our chance to move into third spot. I arranged the signing of young defender/midfielder Suwareh Bucchi after the loss, which ended a run of 14 league games without a defeat.

Another huge game followed – the home leg of the Champions Cup semi final against the side that beat us in the final and took top spot in Serie A last year – Milan. Hartwig missed through injury, which proved even more of a problem when Milan scored after just 15 minutes. Terranova hit the side netting at the start of the second half and a Hoffmann shot was parried a few minutes later. Things just got worse with Balestrieri sent off for a second yellow, meaning he will be banned for the second leg in which we simply must score to stay alive in the competition.

Having dropped to 6th spot, nothing less than a win was needed against Verona. Too many draws look to have cost us, just as they did last season. Our chances of changing that against Verona were not helped by Münch missing several shots, but Terranova scored in the 15th. Two minutes later, defender Thomas headed in a corner to have us in a much better position. Terranova scored his second in the 31st after a pass from Hoffmann floated over the defenders, and it was still 3-0 at the end.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Milan

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Milan | | 34 | 26 | 5 | 3 | 88 | 30 | +58 | 83 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Lazio | | 34 | 21 | 8 | 5 | 61 | 26 | +35 | 71 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Bologna | | 34 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 56 | 33 | +23 | 64 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Juventus | | 34 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 54 | 33 | +21 | 63 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Ancona | | 34 | 16 | 13 | 5 | 47 | 20 | +27 | 61 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Ascoli | | 34 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 46 | 28 | +18 | 61 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Chievo | | 34 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 45 | 31 | +14 | 52 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Palermo | | 34 | 14 | 6 | 14 | 61 | 55 | +6 | 48 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Perugia | | 34 | 14 | 5 | 15 | 40 | 49 | -9 | 47 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Avellino | | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 40 | 47 | -7 | 46 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Sampdoria | | 34 | 12 | 7 | 15 | 47 | 46 | +1 | 43 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Brescia | | 34 | 9 | 14 | 11 | 41 | 52 | -11 | 41 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Napoli | | 34 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 31 | 48 | -17 | 38 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Inter | | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 44 | 49 | -5 | 37 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Verona | | 34 | 9 | 9 | 16 | 48 | 65 | -17 | 36 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Bari | | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 39 | 52 | -13 | 35 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Cagliari | | 34 | 8 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 42 | -16 | 34 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Parma | | 34 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 31 | 53 | -22 | 33 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | R | Como | | 34 | 5 | 5 | 24 | 24 | 65 | -41 | 20 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | R | Piacenza | | 34 | 4 | 8 | 22 | 22 | 67 | -45 | 20 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[Donners]

Sorry, I'm back at uni now, so updates may be a bit infrequent.

May, season 2019/2020

One of the toughest games of the season next. We needed a win, but faced league leaders Milan. Revenge was irrelevant – we simply needed points to get into the Champions Cup next season, unless of course, we could beat them in the semi final three days later. The first half was scoreless, though we surprisingly had the most chances. Terranova missed too many shots, and in the 61st had another parried. However, this time it fell to Hartwig, who struck it in for a shock lead. Somehow, we held on to take three vital points. With a draw to Juventus, that put us ahead of them on goal difference. However, Bologna won, leaving them three points clear in third.

As noted, we faced Milan again just three days after our surprise win in the away leg of the Champions Cup. Having lost 0-1, we needed at least one goal. Both Balestrieri and Lorenzi were suspended, replaced by the uninspiring pair of Babatunde Taylor and Kirill Márquez. The first half was scoreless, but six minutes into the second a Milan defender misjudged a Leandri pass, allowing Terranova to run straight into the area and score. It all fell apart after that. Milan’s Won-Chul Parisi – a player I could have signed for free many seasons ago, who has scored 44 goals this season alone – scored two minutes later, and defender Thomas was sent off. Milan scored again in the 73rd and then answered a second goal to Terranova with their third of the game, and fourth overall. 2-4 in total, to knock us out of the Champions Cup again.

That made the next league game against 5th placed Juventus all-important. A loss here would all but eliminate any chance we had of playing in the Champions Cup next season. A 26th minute goal to Juventus was just what we didn’t need. They added a second six minutes later and still led 0-2 with five minutes to go. Lorenzi and Balestrieri made matters worse by missing sitters and a last-minute goal for Hartwig was far too late. We fell to 6th place, and will perhaps barely make the UEFA Cup.

Our second-last league game was at home to Parma. Léandri scored from a header in the opening minutes and Hartwig made it 2-0 through a penalty. Webb scored our third in the 20th and despite a late goal to Parma, we walked out easy winners. More importantly, both Juventus and Ascoli lost their games, shooting us back up to 4th spot. However, to take third, we would need to win our last game and have Bologna lose their last two. It looked a bit less unlikely a day later, with Bologna suffering a surprise loss to Vicenza.

To get up to third, we needed Bologna to lose to Milan, and us to win against 5th placed Ascoli. How ironic that we should depend on Milan, the side that hurt us so badly last season, to help us out now. A loss could see us fall as low as 6th. Amir Fiorentini was suspended, so Nurullo Messner lined up at right back for what is really his last game at Ancona. Amit Lang started in the midfield in what appears to be his last game, since his wage demands for a new contract are outrageous. We got the perfect start, with a goal to Terranova in under a minute. In the second minute, Milan also went ahead – ironically through former Ancona player Alexandre Rasch. It was 1-0 in both our games at half time, and we sat in third spot on the live league table. Terranova continued his fine form with a second goal in the 54th, but in the 66th Bologna got a goal back to draw level with Milan. That meant they moved back ahead of us on the table. With no ability to influence the result, we could only watch as that game finished in a 1-1 draw. Hartwig gave us a 3-0 win, but it was ultimately meaningless, with Ancona trapped in 4th place. I’m not sure if that will be good enough for a Champions Cup spot next season, but at least I will still be in charge.

[Donners]

The season in review

Summary

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Milan

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | C | Milan | | 38 | 28 | 6 | 4 | 92 | 32 | +60 | 90 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Lazio | | 38 | 24 | 9 | 5 | 67 | 28 | +39 | 81 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Bologna | | 38 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 60 | 37 | +23 | 71 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Ancona | | 38 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 55 | 23 | +32 | 70 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Juventus | | 38 | 20 | 10 | 8 | 60 | 38 | +22 | 70 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Ascoli | | 38 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 54 | 35 | +19 | 67 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Chievo | | 38 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 54 | 36 | +18 | 59 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Avellino | | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 47 | 55 | -8 | 53 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Perugia | | 38 | 15 | 6 | 17 | 44 | 54 | -10 | 51 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Palermo | | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 65 | 63 | +2 | 50 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Brescia | | 38 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 48 | 56 | -8 | 50 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Sampdoria | | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 52 | 57 | -5 | 46 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Verona | | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 55 | 69 | -14 | 43 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Inter | | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 49 | 57 | -8 | 41 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Bari | | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 44 | 59 | -15 | 41 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Cagliari | | 38 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 33 | 45 | -12 | 40 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Napoli | | 38 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 33 | 52 | -19 | 40 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | R | Parma | | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 36 | 59 | -23 | 39 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | R | Como | | 38 | 5 | 7 | 26 | 27 | 70 | -43 | 22 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | R | Piacenza | | 38 | 4 | 8 | 26 | 24 | 74 | -50 | 20 |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 4th in Italian Serie A

Squad Screen

| Pkd | Inf | Name | Apps | Gls | Asts | MoM | Pass | Tck | Drb | Sh Tar | Av R | Value |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MR | Unh | Balestrieri, A* | 48 | 4 | 11 | 10 | 58 % | 3.74 | 4.66 | 36 % | 7.56 | £17.25M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DC | | De Bellis, N | 47 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 76 % | 2.42 | 0.28 | 90 % | 7.19 | £6.25M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| FC | | Hartwig* | 45 | 25 | 9 | 7 | 71 % | 2.17 | 1.94 | 65 % | 7.49 | £16.5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| ML | | Webb, C* | 45 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 75 % | 3.64 | 0.62 | 51 % | 7.27 | £11.5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DC | Unh | Thomas | 36 (2) | 3 | 1 | 1 | 73 % | 2.66 | 0.17 | 100 % | 6.84 | £3.2M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Wnt | Bon, K | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 70 % | 2.89 | 0.79 | 50 % | 7.00 | £5.75M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DR | | Messner, N | 29 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 63 % | 3.45 | 2.38 | 28 % | 7.45 | £150K |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB5 | Trn | Torres, A | 28 (1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 72 % | 2.70 | 0.43 | - | 7.03 | £5.5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB1 | | Marini, S | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 % | - | - | - | 7.07 | £2.4M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| GK | | Tommasi, L | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 43 % | - | - | - | 6.71 | £1.7M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB3 | Unh | Hoffmann, M | 26 (5) | 8 | 4 | 2 | 63 % | 1.16 | 2.51 | 68 % | 7.29 | £10M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| FC | | Terranova | 26 (5) | 13 | 3 | 2 | 73 % | 1.23 | 2.35 | 48 % | 7.29 | £14.5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MC | | Léandri, F | 26 (3) | 3 | 6 | 3 | 75 % | 3.03 | 0.47 | 58 % | 7.10 | £5.5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB2 | | Dupuy, S | 24 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 76 % | 1.57 | 0.34 | 71 % | 7.13 | £2.5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Frank | 22 (2) | 5 | 6 | 2 | 68 % | 0.61 | 0.76 | 74 % | 7.17 | £7M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Lorenzi, J | 21 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 69 % | 2.69 | 1.47 | 33 % | 7.05 | £9.5M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB7 | | Fontana | 13 (7) | 7 | 1 | 0 | 70 % | 0.70 | 2.18 | 64 % | 7.05 | £5.25M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB4 | | Patterson | 13 (5) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 72 % | 4.22 | 2.47 | 27 % | 7.17 | £2.9M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB6 | Unh | Münch, R | 12 (7) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 74 % | 3.61 | 0.08 | 64 % | 7.05 | £7.25M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DL | | Williams, T | 12 (4) | 0 | 5 | 0 | 74 % | 2.61 | - | 100 % | 7.25 | £2M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MC | Inj | Lang, A | 11 (4) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 77 % | 2.97 | 0.36 | 64 % | 7.07 | £1.3M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Márquez, K | 10 (2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 75 % | 3.14 | 0.88 | 60 % | 6.92 | £1.7M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | Taylor, B | 8 (6) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 57 % | 3.86 | 3.64 | - | 7.07 | £3.8M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Fiorentini, A | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 61 % | 4.63 | 3.50 | - | 7.63 | £1.4M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | Mancino, E | 5 (2) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 63 % | 1.80 | 1.26 | 44 % | 7.29 | £2.8M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | D'Alessandro, W | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 73 % | 2.40 | 0.40 | 100 % | 6.40 | £2.2M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | Binder, R | 3 (5) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 67 % | 5.98 | 1.84 | 50 % | 7.00 | £3.7M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Inj | Bovo, P | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 62 % | 4.00 | 1.00 | - | 7.00 | £525K |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Req | Bonetti, N | 2 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 59 % | 1.71 | - | 50 % | 6.75 | £2.6M |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | | |

| -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

A mostly disappointing year, failing to win any competition and getting our worst league finish since 12/13. With so many key players still in the side, we really should have done a lot better.

It’s hard to pinpoint the exact reason, especially with the usual problem, goalkeeping, actually quite strong. Strikers Frank and Hoffmann were well down, and the improvement in our form when Hartwig moved forward was significant. Terranova was also flat for much of the season. That was the major problem from what I could tell, with the side scoring just 55 goals in the league season. They was only down seven from last season, but almost 30 less than eight years ago. We have so many talented forwards, that simply should not be happening.

I’m not sure of how to solve the issue, but we will need to do much better next season if I am to remain as manager.

[Donners]

Wrapping it up

Hartwig was runner-up as Serie A Player of the Year, I was third as Manager of the Year and Nelson De Bellis made the Team of the Year.

Mixed news for two departing players – Alexey Torres made his international debut for Germany at just 22 before joining FC Bayern for £4.1M while Amit Lang suffered yet another groin injury, sealing my decision to let him go.

Around the world: major awards and results

Ancona Supporters’ Player of the Year:

Hartwig

World Player of the Year:

Won-Chul Parisi (Milan)

World Footballer of the year:

Manikam Masi (Milan)

England:

Manchester United

Spain:

Atlético Madrid

Champions Cup:

Milan

UEFA Cup:

Juventus

[Donners]

Double update today, since I haven't done this for a while.

The Transfers

Transfers In

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 1st in Italian Serie A

Transfers

| Date | Person | From | Fee |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 23.6.2019 | Grasso | Free Transfer | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.7.2019 | Binder, Regin | Crystal Palace | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3.7.2019 | Barbieri, Marcelino | Free Transfer | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3.7.2019 | Antonioli, Adamu | Free Transfer | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4.7.2019 | Graziano, Zama | Free Transfer | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11.7.2019 | Taylor, Babatunde Enitan | Wolves | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 24.7.2019 | Thomas | Rayo | £1M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6.8.2019 | Bonetti, Nasser | Free Transfer | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19.8.2019 | Léandri, Felix | Free Transfer | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.1.2020 | Lorenzi, Jason | Alavés | £825K |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14.1.2020 | Márquez, Kirill | Free Transfer | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7.3.2020 | Werner, K. | Man Utd | Free |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Total | | £1.8M |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

Transfers Out

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">1st in Italian Serie A

Transfers

| Date | Person | To | Fee |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 31.7.2019 | Semler, Borut | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 31.7.2019 | Briotti, Andrea | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 31.7.2019 | Chevallereau, Manjit | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1.8.2019 | Izquierdo, Saad | Wolves | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3.8.2019 | Rasch, Alexandre | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2.1.2020 | Reyero, Hussein | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6.6.2020 | Valsecchi | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6.6.2020 | Orsini, Casimir | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6.6.2020 | Baroni, Roi | Free Transfer | Free |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16.6.2020 | Torres, Alexey | FC Bayern | £4.1M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Total | | £4.1M |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | |

| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

In contrast to previous seasons, the transfers had very little impact on the side. Though Lorenzi, Léandri and Márquez became regulars in the side, they didn’t do much more than any of our other midfielders would have done. Taylor and Binder struggled to find a spot in the team. Thomas played regularly, but did not excel.

Chevallereau was the only real success of the players who left, scoring regularly for Aston Villa, though Alexandre Rasch played regularly for Milan. Bernal did nothing while out on loan.

[Donners]

Pre-Season 2020/2021

We picked up £23M in TV rights and only lost £5M to shareholders. We were again asked to win the Serie A title this season, with a transfer budget of £318M.

New signings Tsz Shing Legrand, Yoshihisa Fatihi and Tatsunori Schuchardt arrived as arranged. I missed out on a few more signings and only wound up with duds on trial, but did manage to get young German midfielder/forward Aaron Kientz and Spanish defender Abdullah Gutiérrez.

Petter Bovo chose to join Ipswich rather than re-sign with us, and defender Armstrong also chose to leave. Amit Lang, Albert Webb and Nurullo Messner were released at the end of their contracts.

We were fortunate enough to scrape into the Champions Cup, but will have to get through a third round qualifying match first.

[Donners]

The Squad

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre"> 1st in Italian Serie A

Squad Screen

| Pkd | Inf | Name | Squad Status | Basic Wage | Contract Expiry | Offer Options | Asking Price |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MR | Unh | Balestrieri, A* | First Team | £11,000 | 31.7.2021 | None | £17.5M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DR | Int | De Bellis, N | First Team | £12,750 | 31.7.2021 | None | £6.25M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB3 | | Gutiérrez, A | First Team | £7,500 | 31.7.2023 | None | £3M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| ML | | Hartwig* | First Team | £35,000 | 31.7.2021 | None | £17M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| FC | Unh | Hoffmann, M | First Team | £15,500 | 31.7.2021 | None | £9.75M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MC | | Lorenzi, J | First Team | £18,500 | 31.7.2024 | None | £9.25M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB4 | | Léandri, F | First Team | £11,000 | 31.7.2022 | None | £5.75M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DMC | | Schuchardt, T | First Team | £16,000 | 31.7.2024 | None | £6.25M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| FC | | Terranova | First Team | £9,750 | 31.7.2021 | None | £15M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| MC | | Webb, C* | First Team | £23,500 | 31.7.2021 | None | £11.5M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Int | Binder, R | Rotation | £4,600 | 31.7.2022 | None | £3.7M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DL | | Bon, K | Rotation | £5,000 | 31.7.2022 | None | £5.75M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | D'Alessandro, W | Rotation | £9,000 | 31.7.2021 | None | £2.2M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB7 | | Dupuy, S | Rotation | £6,500 | 31.7.2021 | None | £2.4M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Fatihi, Y | Rotation | £4,800 | 31.7.2023 | None | £4.1M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB2 | | Fontana | Rotation | £13,000 | 31.7.2022 | None | £3M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Frank | Rotation | £11,000 | 31.7.2023 | None | £7M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Kientz, A | Rotation | £2,500 | 31.7.2023 | None | £2.8M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB5 | | Legrand, T | Rotation | £5,000 | 31.7.2024 | None | £6M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| GK | | Marini, S | Rotation | £9,500 | 31.7.2023 | None | £2.4M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Int | Márquez, K | Rotation | £10,000 | 31.7.2022 | None | £1.6M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | Münch, R | Rotation | £7,500 | 31.7.2021 | None | £7.25M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB6 | Lmp | Patterson | Rotation | £14,000 | 31.7.2021 | None | £2.8M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Taylor, B | Rotation | £10,500 | 31.7.2023 | None | £4M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| DC | | Thomas | Rotation | £13,000 | 31.7.2024 | None | £3.2M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| SB1 | | Tommasi, L | Rotation | £8,500 | 31.7.2022 | None | £1.7M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Williams, T | Rotation | £6,750 | 31.7.2023 | None | £2M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Req | Bonetti, N | Backup | £7,000 | 31.7.2022 | None | £2.6M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | Fiorentini, A | Hot Prospect | £230 | 31.7.2021 | None | £1.5M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | Unh | Mancino, E | Hot Prospect | £220 | 31.7.2021 | None | £2.9M |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | |

| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

Total Players: 44

Wage Budget: £2,000,000

Total Weekly Wages at 2/8/20: £315,293

Goalkeepers

Solly Marini [28, GK, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 3, 48, 0

Finally showed his true ability with an excellent season, overtaking Tommasi as preferred keeper. It’s a shame the rest of the side couldn’t support him, but at least we have him for another three years.

Lingjing Tommasi [28, GK, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 6, 222, 0

A little inconsistent last season, but still kept 13 clean sheets in 28 games. Contracted for two more years, and will continue to rotate with Marini.

Defenders

Kishore Bon [23, D RL, FRA – Capped at U21 level] – 6, 77, 1

Subject of plenty of transfer bids, including some as high as £7M, but a key part of our defence with Torres and Messner gone. Under performed slightly considering his immense ability.

Wilfrid D’Alessandro [27, D C, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 4, 57, 1

Played just five games last season and is almost certainly in his last year at Ancona. Has little role to play with two new defensive signings.

Nelson De Bellis [23, D RC, ITA – 4/0] – 4, 176, 5

In the final year of his original contract after his £6.5M purchase, though I hope to re-sign him. A vital part of our defence.

19/20 Serie A Team of the Year

Syed Dupuy [30, Sw/D C, FRA – Capped at U21 level] – 9, 184, 6

Had his best season at Ancona in 19/20, though he still played a rotational role. Actually scored four goals last season, having scored two in the previous eight seasons. The best heading player in the side.

Yoshihisa Fatihi [26, D LC, MAR – 18/0]

Signed to help cover the loss of Messner and Torres, Fatihi is a decent player who did well with Rostock in the German First Division. Not greatly talented, but will play an occasional role.

Amir Fiorentini [19, D/DM RC, ITA] – 1, 8, 0

Came up after exceptional Under-20s form and looked great in the seniors even against the likes of Milan and PSV. Has raw ability but will need to spend a lot more time in the Under-20s to become more rounded.

Abdullah Gutiérrez [28, D RLC, ESP]

Has been an outstanding player in the “B†sides of Atlético Madrid and Zaragoza, but isn’t proven at the top level. A solid player who will get a rotational role.

Thomas [25, D RC, GER – 9/0] – 1, 38, 3

A solid player last season, probably looking like he justified a £1M transfer fee but no more. Now has a bit more competition for a centre back role, but should be in the starting side.

Tak Cheong Williams [22, D C, ENG – Capped at U21 level] – 4, 54, 0

Dropped out of the seniors in 19/20, but still looked good when he did play. Could struggle to get back in with the new signings.

Midfielders

Adhemar Balestrieri [24, M RL, ITA – 13/0] – 4, 130, 6

Another superb year from one of our stars, with the only downside that he is in the final year of his current contract. It will be costly to re-sign him, and I’m not sure whether I will yet or not.

2019, 2020 European Midfielder of the Year runner-up

Regin Binder [21, DM R, GER – 2 U21/1] – 1, 8, 0

Got a brief run last season despite his superb record at Crystal Palace. He looked okay, but our midfield strength is such that he may not get much chance this season.

Nasser Bonetti [23, M C, ITA – Capped at U21 level] – 1, 4, 0

Showed little and does not appear to be a particularly talented player. Will likely see out his contract in the Under-20s.

Hartwig [29, F LC, GER – 30/8] – 9, 280, 56

Had his best season at Ancona with a move forward bringing 25 goals – almost half his total in the previous eight seasons. He will probably have to continue that role with no new forwards, but it all depends on how well our existing players go.

19/20 Supporters’ Player of the Year; 2020 Serie A Player of the Year runner-up

Aaron Kientz [19, AM/F C, GER]

One of our new signings, Kientz is a mediocre player who showed some promise at Nürnberg in Germany, but is unlikely to have much impact here. Will start in the Under-20s.

Felix Léandri [26, DM C, FRA] – 1, 29, 3

A solid midfielder for us last season, showing some scoring ability from long range and setting up a few goals. Also quite tall for a midfielder.

Tsz Shing Legrand [26, AM/F RC, FRA]

Yet another solid midfielder. Legrand has experience at Betis and Monaco, but aside from his height, is nothing remarkable.

Jason Lorenzi [23, M RLC, ITA – 5/3]

Not a great player considering his age and international caps, but decent enough for £825K. His versatility across the midfield is useful.

Kirill Márquez [31, M RC, MEX – 53/3] – 1, 12, 1

Played a bit part role in the side last season and is unlikely to do any better this year.

Ramzi Münch [22, DM C, GER – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 47, 2

Did not get a much of a go in 19/20 as he did the year before, but still looked good when given the chance. Has a heck of a lot of competition, and may not get many games.

Patterson [30, AM/F RLC, ENG – 1/0] – 2, 45, 3

In his final year at the club, and now rather redundant.

Tatsunori Schuchardt [26, DM C, GER – 8/1]

Our best new signing, Schuchardt has been a top player with Schalke 04 over the last three seasons. He has all the skills to be a star – though we’ve seen that that doesn’t always equal good performances.

19/20 Schalke 04 Supporters’ Player of the Year

Babatunde Enitan Taylor [25, DM R, ENG – Capped at U21 level] – 1, 14, 0

Another solid player stuck on the fringe of the side. His lack of alternative positions makes him unlikely to play much.

Chi Yuen Webb [28, DM RLC, ENG – 26/4] – 9, 256, 24

A veteran of the side now entering the final year of his current contract. Still important in the side, even with so many other options, but re-signing will depend on his demands.

12/13 Italian Young Player of the Year runner-up; Part of World Cup 2014 winners England; 14/15, 16/17 Italian Serie A Team of the Year

Forwards

Frank [26, S C, GER – Capped at U21 level] – 2, 58, 23

Inexplicably fell away last season, going from 18 goals to 5 for a season. Still a talented player, but must improve.

18/19 Supporters’ Player of the Year

Fontana [30, S C, ITA – 1/0] – 7, 177, 80

Continued to play a solid role from limited chances. Was actually one of our better forwards, scoring more than Frank in half the games, but still is unable to secure a regular spot.

Mohd Nizaruddin Hoffmann [28, S C, GER – 21/7] – 10, 280, 106

Another striker who struggled last season. With two bad years and a contract set to expire, this could be the final season at Ancona for the veteran.

16/17 Supporters’ Player of the Year

Eroglu Mancino [19, S C, ITA] – 2, 8, 1

Got a few more games last season, but still needs work on his skills. He’s playing well for the Under-20s, but the next step remains to be taken.

Terranova [26, F C, ITA – 7/3] – 3, 86, 42

Our best forward last season behind Hartwig, with 13 goals. He’s another player in the final year of his contract, and may not be re-signed.

[Donners]

The Likely Side:

(Due to our excess midfielders, I’m going to try a 3-5-2 with a defensive midfielder, but could change during the season)

GK – Solly Marini

LB – Kishore Bon

CB – Thomas

RB – Nelson De Bellis

CDM – Tatsunori Schuchardt

LM – Hartwig

CM – Jason Lorenzi

CM – Chi Yuen Webb

RM – Adhemar Balestrieri

CF – Terranova

CF – Mohd Nizaruddin Hoffmann

Sub – Abdullah Gutiérrez

Sub – Patterson

Sub – Lingjing Tommasi

Sub – Syed Dupuy

Sub – Fontana

Sub – Tsz Shing Legrand

Sub – Felix Léandri

The Staff

Giacomo Tafuro (Assistant Manager)

Gilberto Vallesi (Coach)

Roberto Bocchino (Coach)

Roberto Corti (Coach)

Giannicola Pinotti (Coach)

Giuseppe Venturelli (Coach)

Å°mit Davala (Coach)

Stéphane Wiertelak (Coach)

Massimo Tabai (Coach)

França (Coach)

Antchouet (Coach)

Massimo D’Ambrosio (Physio)

Abdel Karim Villalba (Physio)

David Jarrett (Scout)

Rob Campkin (Scout)

Julian Carrera (Scout)

Tim Davies (Scout)

Rahman Rezaei (Scout)

Søren Colding (Scout)

Michael Mifsud (Scout)

[itsginga]

Mate, I have been trying for an age to start a story yours just keeps rolling and getting better.

do you make notes as you go ?

do you have some general tips??

[Donners]

I have Word open and run the game in a window, so I write pretty much as things happen. I've been very lucky that my games have been so successful, so I'm not sure if I can offer any useful tips in that regard. Just work out a structure, find a team you enjoy playing and have fun!

August, season 2020/2021

Ancona 1 [Hartwig 6 (pen) drew Lyngby 1

Ancona 0 drew AB 0

Ancona 1 [Fontana 1] drew San Marino 1

Despite a £10M bid from Liverpool, I re-signed Nelson De Bellis for five more seasons. I also snapped up another player to fit in with my new formation.

Selvarajan López [31, D/DM C, COL – 35/3]

López is a tall and skilful player with solid performances at Laval, Atlético Madrid, Levante and Osasuna in his past. Will play a rotational role here, mostly at centre back but also as a defensive midfielder.

We were missing Balestrieri, Thomas and Taylor for the home leg of our Champions Cup third qualifying match against Red Star Belgrade, with De Bellis also out with Italy in the World Cup qualifiers. With López and Gutiérrez ineligible, we were left with a gaping hole in defence. Bon, Fiorentini and Dupuy made up the back three, with Schuchardt at defensive midfield. Our problems got worse with Bon injured early, while Fontana’s 26th minute goal was ruled offside. Chi Yuen Webb was also forced off injured in the first half. A Red Star player beat two defenders to give them an away goal in the 53rd and they scored again with 14 minutes to go. A late Schuchardt header was cleared off the line and he missed several shots as our Champions Cup campaign looked to have ended in August with a 0-2 home loss.

Ancona 3 [Frank 28; Lorenzi 51; Schuchardt 86 (pen)] d. Foggia 0

Ancona 0 lost to Gualdo 1

Our odds for the Serie A title were given as 10-1, which were the second-best. Milan are the favourites, as usual, with Lazio, Juventus and Bologna also up there. I accepted a £1.4M Palermo bid for Kishore Bon, but rest assured he isn’t going anywhere. It was only a first option, with the later ability to buy for £13M.

We needed two away goals against Red Star just to go to extra time. We suffered an early blow with Schuchardt sent off for a second yellow in under 15 minutes. However, a great run and cross from Bon saw Balestrieri score just five minutes after we were reduced to ten men. The first half ended with an aggregate of 1-2. Our task was made tougher with Hartwig injured at the start of the second half. Frank came on as a forward, with Terranova moving to an attacking midfield role. A Hoffmann header in the 75th was saved, but a Webb pass which deflected off a defender left Frank in a perfect position to bring us level with nine minutes to go. Marini made some wonderful saves, letting us see out the 90 minutes with a 2-2 aggregate. Though a goal would probably win us the game, with only ten men it would just be too dangerous to attack. Marini made another fine save in the 103rd minute, but with just six minutes to go, Red Star finally broke through to take the lead on aggregate. Shots from Balestrieri and Thomas were saved as we were knocked out of the Champions Cup in the qualifying round.

However, we still apparently qualified for the UEFA Cup [though I have no idea why], and were drawn against Irish side Shelbourne for the first round.

We kicked off the league season against Ascoli. A great team move saw Lorenzi score with 25 minutes remaining what turned out to be the only goal for the game.

[Donners]

September, season 2020/2021

Fiorentina were our first opponents of the month. Bon cleared a header off the line while Marini made a few saves. Lorenzi scored his second in as many games early in the second half, but this time our opponents were able to equalise in the 59th. Both sides missed late frees to complete a 1-1 draw.

Our big game came early this year – Milan at home in the third league game of the season. Selvarajan López debuted at centre back They hit the upright mid-way through the first half, while the closest we came to scoring was through a parried Frank header. Tsz Shing Legrand debuted off the bench in the scoreless draw.

Our first UEFA Cup game since 08/09 saw us face Shelbourne, with the first leg at home. Terranova hit the crossbar in the opening minute, but Balestrieri scored the opener in the 26th. Sloppy defending and keeping left Shelbourne with an open goal to pull level just before full time, leaving us needing a goal in the next leg.

Midfielders Lorenzi and Léandri took on Sampdoria early, but it was striking team Hoffmann and Terranova with a goal each in the first half. Our defenders looked harried at times in the second half but a second to Hoffmann in the 78th completed a 3-0 win. Unfortunately, Terranova was put out for a month with a leg injury.

[Donners]

October, season 2020/2021

With yet another mediocre start to the season, a good result against Verona would be useful. Münch gave us a great start, volleying in a punch from the keeper in the 23rd. We had plenty of chances to extend the lead, finally doing so through a Hartwig chip after a good pass from Münch. Syed Dupuy completed our second consecutive 3-0 win in the 81st, with a header which deflected off former Ancona captain Andrea Briotti and into the net.

Hartwig played forward against Udinese. Both sides had a significant number of chances, but while the likes of Bon, Schuchardt and Hartwig put ours over, Udinese had seven of eight on target. Marini played well, but was beaten in the 39th by the only goal of the game.

We could not afford a loss in our next game – the second leg of our UEFA Cup first round game against Shelbourne. Having drawn 1-1 at home, we had to score to avoid going out on away goals. A scoreless first half did not help, but Chi Yuen Webb came off the bench at half time and scored eight minutes later from a Balestrieri cross. Just two minutes later, Shelbourne drew level, taking the aggregate to 2-2 – as it remained at the end of 90 minutes. Extra time was scoreless, so we went to penalties. Hartwig scored our first, but De Bellis missed the next one. Thankfully, Shelbourne also missed, making it 1-1 after two. It was 2-2 after three, with Webb successful, but on the fourth we took the lead thanks to a Hoffmann goal and a Marini save. Yoshihisa Fatihi missed the chance to win it, but Shelbourne’s fifth shooter also missed for a 3-2 result. It wasn’t convincing, but we went through to the second round to face Esbjerg fB.

Back to the league to face Juventus. Marini made a few quality saves while a Léandri volley was held at the other end. Hoffmann scored against the run of play just before half time, but it only took a minute for Juventus to reply. They scored again in the 49th to move in front, but this time Ancona responded in a minute – through a De Bellis penalty. A late Fontana header was brilliantly parried as each side walked out with a deserved point.

Defender/midfielder Suwareh Bucchi arrived after the game:

Suwareh Bucchi [21, D/M L, ITA – 8 U21/0]

An arranged transfer from some time ago, Bucchi is a mostly unremarkable young player. He’s been a decent player with Bari and is a good passer, but is not about to replace Bon any time soon.

Next, we took on Cagliari. I made a slight modification to my formation, moving one of the two flat central midfielders to a second defensive midfield position in an attempt to shore up the defence. They hit the bar in the 9th and had a goal disallowed for offside a minute later. Webb and Bon had good shots saved and Terranova and Lorenzi just missed. Despite 11 shots to three, we were still behind with 10 minutes to go, and then lost Thomas to a second yellow. That made a goal almost impossible, and we had to settle for a scoreless draw.

Only three days later we came up against Napoli. Thomas was suspended and Bon, Terranova and Münch were rested. Webb was injured late in the first half and replacement Léandri missed a long-range shot by inches. Another long-range effort from him in the 65th was parried, leaving Hoffmann with a simple tap-in. Napoli took only four minutes to score with their first shot of the day (to our 11) for a frustrating 1-1 finish.

Another three-day break, this time before a game against Palermo. Lorenzi, as usual, barely missed from long range, but Terranova scored in the 10th. Palermo had a player sent off in the second half but in classic fashion then scored with 20 minutes to go. Yet another league draw.

[Roelchik]

the reason why you qualified for the UEFA cup is because all losers of the round just before the actual Champions league (I think its the third round as you mentioned) will go automatically to the first round of the UEFA cup

It is kind of a protectionary rule for big teams losing just before they could have reached the money wells of the CL.

[Donners]

Ah, cheers. This game could really use some breakdown of cup and league rules somewhere, because I'm often suprised by things like this.

November, season 2020/2021

A UEFA Cup game to kick off the month, with Ancona hosting Esbjerg fB. A wonderful long free from Bon was almost headed in by Frank, but was barely turned away. Frank did it himself in the 19th, skipping past a defender and blasting the ball past the keeper. We had plenty of shots on goal for little result, until a 30-yard Lorenzi effort took a huge deflection and fell into the net with 15 minutes remaining. 2-0 was the final score, giving us a very strong chance of progressing.

One of the biggest league games was next, as we took on title challengers Bologna. They took less than three minutes to score from a corner and were 0-2 up after eight. Hoffmann pulled one back late, but we were clearly outplayed in the 1-2 loss.

Inter were our next opponents. Manch went off injured after only a few minutes and we went behind mid-way through the first half. We earned a penalty shortly into the second half which was put through by Hartwig. He should have scored again in the 76th with an open shot inside the area, but somehow put it wide. Thankfully, Fontana scored a few minutes later to give us a needed win. It later turned out that Hartwig had been injured in that match, and would miss two months.

We had a horrible start to our game against Genoa, with a shot from Fontana in the 10th being touched by the keeper just enough to stop it from rolling into the net. Hoffmann ran onto the ball and with an open shot from six yards, hit the post. Fontana scored in the 36th only for Genoa to come out of nowhere to equalise right on half time. We earned a penalty in the 53rd, which was put through by De Bellis in the absence of Hartwig. Despite numerous shots, Ancona failed to extend the lead, but 2-1 was good enough.

Schuchardt and Frank forced early saves against Chievo before a perfect cross from Webb just before half time drew the keeper out of position and left Frank with an open header into the net. Despite total domination from Ancona, we couldn’t manage a second – and naturally where we failed with 12 shots, they scored with one in the 65th. Frank missed a sitter but Hoffmann scored from a parry in the 74th to regain the lead. Our third straight 2-1 league win.

We took a pretty safe 2-0 lead into the away leg against Esbjerg fB, and even with a terrible miss from forward Tsz Shing Legrand, never looked like not moving to the third round. Legrand scored his first goal for the side late in the game with a shot which deflected off a defender, completing a 3-0 aggregate win. Zilina, whoever the heck they are, are our third round opponents. I re-signed Hartwig until 2023 on the same terms as his current deal. He has not played well this season, but I’m likely to lose Terranova, Webb, Hoffmann and Münch, so need to make signings where I can.

He was still injured when we faced Bari, but Terranova returned to partner Hoffmann – a pairing you almost certainly won’t see next season. Despite nine shots to one, we could not break the deadlock, and the game finished scoreless.

[Donners]

December, season 2020/2021

With Balestrieri suspended and Hartwig, Münch and Schuchardt injured, young Suwareh Bucchi debuted against Sampdoria in the Italian Cup. A ridiculous scene in the 19th saw Tommasi run out to join three defenders chasing the ball unopposed outside the area. Somehow the ball was cleared to the only opposition player in the half, who hit it into the open goal from 40 yards. Naturally, that was the only goal of the game, despite our 13 shots.

We took the lead against Avellino just before half time thanks to a great Münch cross and equally good Frank header. They hit the bar with a chip seconds into the second half and scored in the 54th to make it 1-1. Eight minutes later Avellino snatched the lead with their second. Münch missed two late free kicks and to add to the list of stupid goals against us, they scored from 75 yards when our keeper came up for a corner. I decided to switch back to a straight 4-4-2 after the game.

That was probably a good idea, with surprise league leaders Brescia – on a 13 game winning streak – our next opponents. Webb headed in a Balestrieri corner in only 90 seconds and in the 24th Frank played Hoffmann around the keeper for our second. Frank sealed a great 3-0 win with a header in injury time.

We needed at least one goal in the second leg of our Italian Cup tie with Sampdoria, and that’s exactly what Frank provided in 90 seconds. Lorenzi and Taylor missed chances to give us the aggregate lead, but in the 24th Taylor beat the keeper for a high ball and passed it to Frank, who tapped in his second. He completed a first half hat-trick in the 45th, but a quick burst mid-way through the second half saw Sampdoria score twice, making the aggregate 3-3 with 25 minutes to go. They scored again in the 70th to take the aggregate lead, but just a minute later we received a penalty after a defender handled the ball. De Bellis put it through – 4-4 on aggregate, but we had three away goals to their one. Thomas sealed it with a header in the 84th – 5-4 on aggregate to get through to the quarter final against Ascoli.

With an increasingly unhappy side, a good result against Perugia would be very useful. Lorenzi curled in a ripping 17th minute free and four minutes later added his second from a Balestrieri corner. Those two were enough to take us up to 6th – still a few places behind where we need to be, but at least on the right track.

A game against 4th placed Lazio would be a strong indicator of how we could go against the top sides. A mistake from Bon allowed them an open run at the goal to score in the 17th. Lorenzi and Frank forced parries in the following minutes, but it was through a tremendous Hoffmann run that we drew level late in the half. Frank should have put us ahead in the 55th, but took a shot where he should have passed to the open Hoffmann, and wound up missing. A Hoffmann goal in the 62nd was ruled offside and our former striker Rungratsamee naturally scored for Lazio in the 78th. Our former keeper Daniel Ferrari saved a late Frank shot to deny us any points, even though we looked the better side.

In the yearly awards, we had three third places: Nelson De Bellis as European Player of the Year, Hartwig as European Striker of the Year and Balestrieri as European Midfielder of the Year.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Milan

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Brescia | | 19 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 39 | 28 | +11 | 39 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Bologna | | 19 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 33 | 18 | +15 | 38 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Lazio | | 19 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 32 | 20 | +12 | 38 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Juventus | | 19 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 36 | 18 | +18 | 36 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Milan | | 19 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 30 | 18 | +12 | 33 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Ancona | | 19 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 26 | 16 | +10 | 31 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Avellino | | 19 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 27 | 24 | +3 | 31 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Cagliari | | 19 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 24 | 22 | +2 | 30 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Inter | | 19 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 19 | 12 | +7 | 29 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Genoa | | 19 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 25 | 24 | +1 | 27 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Verona | | 19 | 7 | 4 | 8 | 16 | 26 | -10 | 25 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Fiorentina | | 19 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 32 | 35 | -3 | 24 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Bari | | 19 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 26 | 28 | -2 | 23 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Palermo | | 19 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 27 | 33 | -6 | 22 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Udinese | | 19 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 18 | 30 | -12 | 21 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Ascoli | | 19 | 5 | 2 | 12 | 22 | 36 | -14 | 17 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Perugia | | 19 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 20 | 28 | -8 | 16 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Sampdoria | | 19 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 19 | 31 | -12 | 15 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Chievo | | 19 | 3 | 5 | 11 | 22 | 27 | -5 | 14 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Napoli | | 19 | 3 | 4 | 12 | 17 | 36 | -19 | 13 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>

[Donners]

January, season 2020/2021

I arranged a potentially huge signing at the start of the new year – Milwall left winger Martin. Unfortunately, he won’t join for another month, but he has exceptional pace and ball skills.

Oddly, we faced Lazio for the second time in a row in the league. We looked the better side in the previous game but still lost 1-2. With half the season gone already, we couldn’t afford to do that again. They hit the post in the second half, while at the other end a shot from De Bellis deflected off a defender and into the net for what was the only goal of the game.

Our opponents in the Italian Cup quarter final were Ascoli. The first leg was away. Fontana was sent off late in the first half, and though Hoffmann did well, he was badly outnumbered. Ascoli scored twice in the final four minutes to leave us with a huge task in the home leg.

We played Ascoli again in our next game, this time in the league. Hoffmann should have scored twice in the early minutes, but missed both. However, a wonderful exchange of passes between the strikers saw Hoffmann score just before half time. A solo run from Balestrieri sealed the game 2-0 in second half injury time.

To complete the hat-trick, we faced Ascoli once again, this time with a 0-2 deficit in the Italian Cup quarter final. Needing three goals to win, I played Terranova as an attacking midfielder behind strikers Hoffmann and Frank. In the 14th, Terranova hit the ball ahead for Frank. He fired it in from inside the area, but the keeper parried it. There for the rebound was Balestrieri, scoring our first. With two minutes left in the half, Münch passed to Terranova in the midfield. He wandered forward, and just as it looked like he was waiting for an open player to pass to, launched a curling 35-yard-effort that landed in the back of the net. 2-2 on aggregate, but we needed one more and couldn’t afford to concede an away goal. Marini made a few solid saves and despite the loss of Hoffmann and Balestrieri to injury, we took the lead in the 72nd through Frank. We held on despite late corners to Ascoli, mostly thanks to strong work in the air from Dupuy, making it to the semi final. I re-signed Chi Yuen Webb until 2024, but Balestrieri, Münch and Terranova rejected offers.

Balestrieri was put out for two weeks with a wrist injury, missing our league game against Fiorentina, but he was well replaced by the returning Hartwig. It was that man who set up Frank in the 32nd for the opener. Terranova came close with a chip but it was Frank who sealed it in the 64th with his second. I re-signed Syed Dupuy for two more seasons and loaned out Amir Fiorentini to Empoli. Most importantly, I re-signed Adhemar Balestrieri on significantly increased wages (up to £30.5K) for four more seasons.

For a change, we were ahead of Milan – 5th to 7th. A Fontana header was barely saved late in the first half, while Hartwig missed a free in injury time. It was a tight game, but in the 81st a cross from Frank gave Terranova a simple tap-in. Two minutes into injury time, though, Milan equalised to deny us the three points. Still, 10 points from four games is an improvement.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">Holders - Milan

| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 1st | | Juventus | | 23 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 44 | 24 | +20 | 45 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 2nd | | Bologna | | 23 | 12 | 9 | 2 | 40 | 22 | +18 | 45 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 3rd | | Brescia | | 23 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 46 | 33 | +13 | 44 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 4th | | Lazio | | 23 | 13 | 3 | 7 | 38 | 25 | +13 | 42 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 5th | | Ancona | | 23 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 32 | 17 | +15 | 41 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 6th | | Milan | | 22 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 34 | 20 | +14 | 38 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 7th | | Cagliari | | 23 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 31 | 24 | +7 | 38 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 8th | | Inter | | 23 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 22 | 12 | +10 | 37 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 9th | | Genoa | | 23 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 32 | 28 | +4 | 34 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 10th | | Avellino | | 23 | 10 | 4 | 9 | 30 | 32 | -2 | 34 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 11th | | Palermo | | 23 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 31 | 40 | -9 | 29 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 12th | | Bari | | 23 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 30 | 32 | -2 | 28 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 13th | | Verona | | 22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 22 | 34 | -12 | 28 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 14th | | Fiorentina | | 23 | 8 | 3 | 12 | 36 | 41 | -5 | 27 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 15th | | Sampdoria | | 23 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 26 | 33 | -7 | 25 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 16th | | Udinese | | 23 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 21 | 39 | -18 | 24 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 17th | | Napoli | | 23 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 37 | -18 | 19 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 18th | | Perugia | | 23 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 32 | -12 | 18 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 19th | | Ascoli | | 23 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 26 | 45 | -19 | 18 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| 20th | | Chievo | | 23 | 3 | 5 | 15 | 24 | 34 | -10 | 14 |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

| | | | | | | | | | | | |

| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

</pre>