Ragusa to riches (the toe-end of the boot)

[nerf]

Tuesday 1st January 2008

FIFA's annual awards ceremony unveiled French striker Thierry Henry as the player of the year for the second year in succession, while the Bayern Munich squad enjoyed a trio of trophy winners. Here is the full list:

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">World Player of the Year: Thierry Henry Arsenal

World Footballer of the Year: Ousmane Dabo Newcastle United

European Footballer of the Year: Claudio Pizarro Bayern Munich

European Goalkeeper of the Year: Maarten Stekelenburg Ajax

European Defender of the Year: Lucio Bayern Munich

European Midfielder of the Year: Michael Ballack Bayern Munich

European Striker of the Year: Mateja Kezman PSV Eindhoven</pre>

[nerf]

Sunday 6th January 2008

Our first test of the new year is a difficult one - an away trip up north to Mantova, situated halfway between Parma and Verona. Our hosts stand above us in fourth position, and have enjoyed a slightly more positive campaign thus far. We are further hampered by a fresh knock for Giancarlo Di Nicola, who will stay in Ragusa and could be sidelined for the first two weeks.

Serie C1/B Fixture #17

Mantova v Ragusa

Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Locatelli, Fumagalli©, Attewell, Sabellini; Grznar, Pellegrino, Mignani, Bonaffini; Marino, Costagliola.

Nearly 6,000 people in the Danilo Martelli stadium witnessed a slow and uneventful first half, seeing Nicola Marino waste the best chance on 40 minutes. Things brightened up for the home crowd after that though, when deep into first half stoppage time Daniele Facciotto swung in a corner from the left, and amongst the converging of players in the goalmouth, the referee whistled Sabellini for a push on Altiner. Mantova striker Gabriele Graziani stepped up confidently and crashed the penalty into the net, high to Lenea's right.

Massimo Costagliola was not having an impact on the match, mainly through lack of service, so he made way for Eddy Baggio at half-time and Simone Tamburro replaced Pavel Grznar, as I looked to add some experience and leadership for a second half comeback. It started to work less than ten minutes in. The ever-enthusiastic Carlo Mignani scrapped for the ball in midfield and sent Nicola Marino through, and when his shot was saved by goalkeeper Mirko Bellodi, Eddy Baggio was in the right place at the right time to stick home the rebound.

With the equaliser arriving so soon into the half, at that point we were confident of going on and taking control of the match. Instead, Baggio's goal preceded twenty minutes of hectic play that was to decide the result. Mantova struck back on 66 minutes when some scrappy football somehow managed to smuggle the ball into Graziani's path in the area, Fumagalli mis-timed an uncharacteristically rash tackle, and the defender had to accept his yellow card before watching his opponent tuck the penalty kick into the bottom corner.

Fortunately we were able to hit back straight from the kick-off. Baggio rolled the ball to Marino and it was fed to Bonaffini on the right via Mignani. Bonaffini's chip towards the edge of the box found Eddy Baggio pushing forward from the kick off, and he took the ball in his stride before hammering a sweet strike across the keeper into the far corner. Mantova had seen their lead evaporate again, this time within seconds, but we soon experienced similar problems and could only hold onto it for ten minutes. Gabriele Graziani's triumphant hattrick arrived on the end of some neat build-up play, and when Caridi crossed he found himself wide open in front of goal with neither Attewell nor Fumagalli anywhere in sight, leaving him with the relatively simple task of a controlled sidefoot volley.

Final score: Mantova 3 - 2 Ragusa

[nerf]

Monday 7th January 2008

I thought we had a chance to go on and win at 1-1, and then a likely chance of a draw at 2-2, but a defensive lapse allowed Graziani to take the game and make Mantova's new year a much better one than ours. It's yet another loss and one that we really should have avoided. Two silly penalties and one moment of absent marking gave Mantova three goals that otherwise they would have struggled to find. The home side did not play badly at all and might even feel that they deserved their win, but before and after the goals I don't recall them coming close to threatening Giuseppe Lenea.

Three positives that I can dig out of another away defeat, are Gaspare Pellegrino's all-round performance, the improvement of Carlo Mignani after a poor first half, and two decent goals by Eddy Baggio, but aside from that we were pretty average. If Mantova can be accused of failing to threaten our goalmouth then we could perhaps be accused of the same in return, as we certainly missed Di Nicola's creative influence. Now that we have played seventeen matches and reached the mathematical middle of the season, we are really going to have to pick up the pace in the second half to get back into the race for the playoffs. Taranto at the top are already looking untouchable from where we stand.

[nerf]

Sunday 13th January 2008

Considering the low level of our recent form, the last thing we want is an away trip to the second-placed team in the division. Of course, that's what we get. The Tombolato in Cittadella welcomes a Ragusa side missing Carlo Mignani through suspension, so Claudio Gallicchio will slot into the centre alongside Pellegrino, Simone Tamburro takes over from Alessandro Bonaffini on the right of midfield, and Eddy Baggio is rewarded for his two goals with a start today. Giancarlo Di Nicola is still missing through injury, but Luca Orlando safely emerged from a very solid performance for the Under-20s on Friday and returns to the bench.

Serie C1/B Fixture #18

Cittadella v Ragusa

Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Locatelli, Fumagalli©, Attewell, Sabellini; Grznar, Pellegrino, Gallicchio, Tamburro; Marino, Baggio.

Cittadella began the match at a brisk pace, forcing two good saves from Giuseppe Lenea within the opening minutes. The home side then dominated possession for the entire first half, but after those two early scares we were able to keep them at bay, reducing them to sideways passes and forcing them to settle for hopeful - and inaccurate - long range efforts. This remained the pattern of play through and beyond half-time, but sadly it was not to last. Minutes after Costagliola and Bonaffini arrived as second half substitutes, Cittadella's Vincenzo Sommese welcomed the new arrivals to the match by reversing his team's fortunes from distance. This particular 35-yard howitzer did not discharge harmlessly into the terracing behind the goal, but instead emerged as a stupefying strike that screamed into the top corner of the net.

We had been concentrating all week on tightening our defending in training, and after seeing all our planning and hard work wiped out by one wonderous Sommese effort, the players' heads dropped for the final ten minutes. Cittadella's Enrico Maria Amore then just rubbed our noses right in it, by selecting the 90th minute to double the score with a roasting 25-yard volley. Once is gut-wrenching, twice is taking the...

Final score: Cittadella 2 - 0 Ragusa

Positives, positives, positives. One, the effort in training this week showed true for seventy minutes, as we defended far more intelligently than we did in Mantova; two, well... that's about it. We did come close to a very good away point, before Sommese and Amore both connected to devastating effect, but the fact remains that we have yet another loss to our name and we have conceded five times in two matches. Such frailty on the road is worrying. Our readjustment to concentrate on staying secure at the back also had the obvious side-effect of making us fairly neutral in attack, as I can barely remember us having a shot in anger. Plenty to ponder. The new year has not been very welcoming to say the least, and from 8th position the playoffs are becoming an increasingly difficult prospect, but we're still quite close considering our rocky form. It's now becoming crucial that we start to put a few consecutive wins together; sooner rather than later.

[dpc_4891]

Been reading your story over the last week and I must say it's been a great read and I really am looking forward to the continuing rise of the mighty Ragusa!

KUTGW nerf!

[nerf]

Thanks dpc_4891

Sunday 20th January 2008

Considering the low level of our recent form, the best thing we could ask for is a home fixture against a side who are struggling at greater depths. Gubbio, for example, who are seventeenth and have an even worse away record than we do. For once, that's what we get. Less fortunately, we are also the recipients of further suspensions and significant injuries. Pavel Grznar's back strain needs two weeks of rest, while Di Nicola and Orlando have both suffered set-backs to their recovery process; Giancarlo's injury flared up again in training this week, whereas Luca picked up a fresh infliction whilst shining for the Under-20s on Friday night. Also watching from the stands today are Nicola Marino and Stefano Fumagalli, both suspended for amassing four yellow cards each.

Serie C1/B Fixture #19

Ragusa v Gubbio

Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Locatelli, Attewell, Alderuccio, Sabellini; Tamburro©, Pellegrino, Mignani, Bonaffini; Costagliola, Baggio.

A better team might have made us regret our absent first-teamers, but that is a term that can rarely be applied to Gubbio, especially when they are as low on confidence as they are. We started slowly but soon claimed full control over the game, and once the upper hand was allowed to be gained, we rarely looked like letting it slip. Fortunately we were able to capitalise on our dominance in the 36th minute, when Costagliola's cross from the left met Eddy Baggio's dart to the near post, culminating in neat control and a sharp flick past the keeper.

Young winger Antonio Matera replaced a quiet Alessandro Bonaffini at half-time, and the second period continued where we left off the first. Costagliola double our lead by sticking home a rebound from a tight angle, after Pellegrino had set up Baggio with a shooting opportunity. The third arrived in the 74th minute and presented Eddy Baggio with his 15th of the season, again from an assist by Costagliola, and the striker swept a right footed effort around over-exposed Gubbio goalkeeper Giustolisi.

At three-nil we started to relax a little... a little too much. Twice Gubbio strikers were let in on goal thanks to some lack of concentration in the centre of our defence, but twice the visitors spurned golden opportunities and we were let off the hook. Eddy Baggio then made Gubbio pay for missing their chance to get back into the game, by latching onto Simone Tamburro's 83rd minute diagonal ball and striking it low under Giustolisi for his hat-trick.

Final score: Ragusa 4 - 0 Gubbio

It was a relief to finally get a win, and also to do it in dominating fashion. That said, this is exactly what we should be doing - winning home games in this manner against relatively poor teams - so we have merely resurfaced at the point where I would expect us to be, rather than making any progressive strides forward. Still, it's an important starting point. Lets hope that we can make this the beginning of a strong run.

[nerf]

Tuesday 22nd January 2008

Although Eddy Baggio collected the man-of-the-match accolades for a hat-trick of three fine finishes at the weekend, it did not go unnoticed that most of our good play was directed by Gaspare Pellegrino from the centre. This opinion made it all the more difficult to stomach when Gaspare pulled up short during a training session today, and headed off to see physio Guido Ferraris. The quick diagnosis reported a dislocation that could deprive us of a key midfielder for another two months. Once again we are left feeling disappointed by Gaspare's injury proneness, although the one iota of consolation is that this time it is not a repeat of his old groin injuries.

Another sliver of solace might be found in the steady improvement of midfielder Carlo Mignani. The 21 year old has come on leaps and bounds in the past six months, progression that is testament to level of effort and enthusiasm that he has shown; Carlo has always been the first one onto the training pitch this season and has played his part in matches with typical gusto. The shift from wide midfield to central midfield has exposed his tenacious qualities and allowed him to make more of an impact, and at this rate he will make the money we spent, on an unproven youngster, look like a shrewd bargain.

[nerf]

Thursday 24th January 2008

Another Englishman has relocated to Italy today, as Leeds United's Seth Johnson completed a £7 million transfer to Sampdoria. The Birmingham-born midfielder spent six years at Elland Road and has been earning rave reviews of late, but has yet to add to his single international cap.

Meanwhile, experienced England defender Sol Campbell has joined Newcastle United for a knockdown £2.5 million from Arsenal. The 33 year old announced that he intends to see out his career at St James' Park, a decision no doubt made easier by the extortionate wages that he is reputed to have negotiated. Several critics have since blasted the move, claiming that Campbell has moved purely for an easy pay-day and that Newcastle will be wasting big money on a player whose career is rapidly winding down. Sol scoffed at those rumours and said that there was no reason why he could not play at his usual high standard for the length of his new contract, and fully intends to lead by example in the club's quest for honours over the coming seasons.

[nerf]

Sunday 27th January 2008

We're back on the road and we're off to Avellino, another club based not a million miles away from Naples. The bulky 33,500 all-seater Stadio Partenio, named after the mountain that rears high over the valley, is large enough to hold half of the town's inhabitants, but it will no doubt be very empty today; Avellino are struggling in an uninspiring sixteenth position and have lost three of their last five matches. Back in September at the Aldo Campo we routed them convincingly by four goals, which is in fact the same number that we put past them here in the Partenio last season. More of the same would be very nice indeed.

Partly due to our continuing injury troubles and partly due to a respectable second half display last weekend, sixteen year old winger Antonio Matera has earned his first ever league start, on the right of midfield. The other alterations from the team that dominated Gubbio are Claudio Gallicchio's return to fill the hole left by Pellegrino's injury, and Stefano Fumgalli's return from suspension to the centre of defence.

Serie C1/B Fixture #20

Avellino v Ragusa

Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Locatelli, Fumagalli, Attewell, Sabellini; Tamburro©, Gallicchio, Mignani, Matera; Costagliola, Baggio.

With the pyschological edge both on recent form and on past meetings, we were able to get off to a livelier start than we did last week, taking just eight minutes to forge the first real chance of the game. In a repeat of the first goal against Gubbio, Massimo Costagliola raced onto a Locatelli ball down the left and swung in a searching cross for Eddy Baggio. This time, however, last week's hat-trick hero was beaten to the ball by Avellino's Giuseppe Cossu, but only at the cost of the defender inadvertently diverting it towards his own goal. The ball bobbled agonisingly towards the far corner, only for goalkeeper Domenico Cecere to get down well to his left and spare his teammate's blushes.

I felt that we were able to retain our standing as the better team from then on... and throughout the first half... and onwards into the second half... . Avellino looked very much like a team off-form and were unable to sustain a serious threat, much to the disappointment of the subdued fans dotted around the mass of concrete, yet the longer the game went on, the more worried I became that we would let slip a good opportunity for a valuable away win. Fortunately that changed on 72 minutes. Marco Locatelli looked long again from left-back, this time seeking Eddy Baggio, and from Eddy's clever flick-on we found the necessary breakthrough via Massimo Costagliola's right boot, as he fired through Cecere. Better late than never, and it proved to be the difference. Marino and Grznar both got runs out for the last ten minutes.

Final score: Avellino 0 - 1 Ragusa

My word, what's this? An away victory? Surely not! Three more important points on the board and suddenly we are up into sixth position, with a mere three points separating us from Arezzo in the playoff positions above us. It's amazing what two wins can do.

[nerf]

Sunday 3rd February 2008

If we needed a test to expose whether we truly have rediscovered our form, today Taranto have strolled into town to provide it. The league leaders have been perched atop the division for most of the season so far, having won an impressive fifteen of their twenty matches. It goes without saying that they are unlikely to roll over in the way that Gubbio and Avellino were kind enough to do; a win today could really give us a great confidence boost for the remainder of the season.

Last week was a successful week for this year's crop of youngsters. Marco Locatelli and Antonio Matera both did themselves great credit in the Partenio, while Nicola Marino's late substitute appearance signalled a full return to fitness, so all three will be required to stand up and be counted this afternoon. Marino will don a smaller version of the shirt vacated by Massimo Costagliola, after the big forward endured a less satisfying week thanks to the groin strain suffered during training. Otherwise, the team is unchanged.

Serie C1/B Fixture #21

Ragusa v Taranto

Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Locatelli, Fumagalli, Attewell, Sabellini; Tamburro©, Gallicchio, Mignani, Matera; Marino, Baggio.

A very tense, very full Aldo Campo watched both teams trade possession in the opening stages, as both sides took their time to settle in. The first goalscoring chance came to Taranto when the ball found Gianluca Triuzzi in the box on 16 minutes, but to our relief he snatched at it in uncharacteristic manner and blazed the effort over the bar.

It took double the amount of time for us to finally create a clear opportunity. Danilo Sabellini chipped the ball upfield and Baggio rose high to flick on, sending Marino scampering in behind as the crowd rose to their feet. Goalkeeper Antonio Di Mauro and teammate Rosario Bennardo both rushed in quickly to close him down, good work that resulted in Di Mauro successfully narrowing the angle to ensure that he blocked the first shot, but as the ball squirmed away and trickled wide of the goal, Marino was sharp enough to chase it down and clip it into the net as he tumbled over the touchline.

The lead was sustained through to half-time, at which point Luca Orlando came off the bench to replace Claudio Gallicchio. I felt that Claudio had put the effort in, but with Luca's calming influence on the ball we could perhaps start to control possession and try to take the sting out of the second half, as I expected Taranto to come roaring out of the traps after half-time. It transpired that it was us who actually looked more dangerous early on - Eddy Baggio blasting narrowly over the bar on 58 minutes after Marino slid the ball into his path.

In the 65th minute Orlando tried to play Marino into space down the left flank, but this time Bennardo beat him to the chase and humped an innocuous long ball back up the pitch without fuss. It looked like a simple, routine clearance as Stuart Attewell stepped forth to come and win the header, but somewhere along the way he completely lost the flight of the ball. This allowed Giovanni Pompei an uncontested flick-on, and by the time we realised the significance of this error, it was already too late. Gianluca Triuzzi had already gambled and was suddenly floating free in behind our defence, leaving Fumagalli helplessly wrong-footed in his wake, and this time the striker fired hard past the advancing Lenea to equalise.

Despite the tactical intentions of my half-time substitution, the match seemed to be picking up pace as the second half progressed. Simone Tamburro was starting to look like he was tiring, even though the aging captain stubbornly denied it when asked, so on 74 minutes I sent on Pavel Grznar as his replacement. I was hoping that Pavel's fresh legs could help with extra defensive cover for Locatelli and Fumagalli, as Taranto's attackers had their tails up now. Five minutes later a Taranto free-kick was nodded into our penalty area and Triuzzi was onto it in a flash, but Giuseppe Lenea reacted just as quickly and sped off his line to smother the effort.

On 84 minutes Taranto goalkeeper Di Mauro tried to launch another attack with a long kick upfield, but this time vice-captain Stefano Fumagalli took charge with a commanding shout and won the header cleanly. Substitute Pavel Grznar picked up the scraps and immediately looked over the top, suddenly releasing Eddy Baggio on goal out of the blue, and Eddy took advantage of the unprepared Taranto defence to take to ball to Di Mauro's right and hook it past the stunned goalkeeper. From out of nowhere we were back in the lead!

With little over five minutes to protect our advantage, all we had to do was hold out for the final whistle. Unfortunately a trend has developed over the course of the season that has shown us to become very nervous when attempting to defend a lead. As the minutes crawled by with excruciating slowness, I was becoming very jittery on the sideline and it was reflected both in the crowd and on the pitch. A few frantic clearances, a few brief scares... this was not going to be an easy finish. With two minutes remaining of the ninety, Taranto captain Vincenzo De Liguori demanded the ball and sprayed it wide left to substitute Baldo, who steadied himself and swung a cross deep into the danger area. Fumagalli and Giovanni Pompei tussled as the ball dropped... as the ball dropped over their heads... and then Pompei was turning quickest, reacting the sharpest, and connecting the sweetest to blast in his fifteenth goal of the season from eleven yards.

The equaliser left us feeling stunned and a little deflated, so the referee did us no favours by finding three minutes of stoppage time. Determined to help his side push on for all three points, the influential De Liguori won a tackle in midfield and once again looked wide early, this time to where Pompei had drifted right, but Locatelli stepped in to make a stretching interception. Unfortunately this merely sent the ball back into the middle, where De Liguori flew into another tough sliding tackle on Matera, and the ball fell for the left foot of teammate Catanali, centrally, some 25 yards out. His connection was as clean as Pompei's and the low drive torpedoed towards the bottom corner, but Giuseppe Lenea was down quickly and he stretched to his left, parrying the fierce shot to safety to protect our point.

Final score: Ragusa 2 - 2 Taranto

[nerf]

Monday 4th February 2008

A point is no mean feat against the strong league leaders, but having been in front twice I can't help but feel a little disappointed that we were unable to secure a victory. I felt that we marginally edged the possession of the football, although admittedly chances on goal were evenly distributed and in all honesty we were fairly lucky not come away empty handed, considering only Giuseppe's injury time athleticism separated us from a 2-3 defeat. Still, we let them back into it on two occasions, initially by handing them their first equaliser via a defensive error, then by predictably collapsing under pressure when it came to the crunch late on. I suppose it is a positive thing that we feel disappointed to only have drawn against the team that top the division.

Taranto do indeed remain on top despite failing to win, as Cittadella passed up their opportunity to get their noses in front by being held to a similar 2-2 draw at twelfth-placed Viterbese, so they stay in second position. The result of a draw is less favourable to us, as we drop a couple of places back down to eighth, but it remains very tight amongst the teams around us and there are still plenty of points to play for. If we can continue to improve on the performances in our last three matches, we're maintaining confidence that it will be only a matter of time before we nudge our way back into the playoff spots.

[nerf]

Wednesday 6th February 2008

The revolving injury door carries on a-spinning; one back in, one out. Franco Chiavarini returned to training today following a lengthy lay-off of almost three months with the customary torn groin muscle, but that has been balanced out by Simone Tamburro suffering a calf strain that will potentially require up to three weeks of rest.

In the first legs of the Coppa Italia Semi-Finals tonight, first half goals from Andriy Shevchenko and Laurent Robert enabled AC Milan to down Parma 2-0 in the San Siro, while over in Turin, the home side emulated that scoreline thanks to a strike from Matteo Brighi and a late free-kick by veteran Alessandro Del Piero, to give Juventus a 2-0 aggregate lead over Roma.

[Ninjafish]

I'm still reading nerf, fantastic as always! ;-D

[Gino]

Yup, me to. This is fantastic. The best on the board

[James M]

What they said...I can't believe this story has been going to almost a year

Still great

[Get on Teletext!]

I think your attracting the Burnley Fans! Well me and Gino at least. It is known that we do have an eye for good literature

Still fantastic, keep it up nerf!

[watchous]

I rarely comment on stories, and even more rare is for me to read one of this length but this is superb. The story isn't like most of the absurd instant success stories and the detail is enough to feel like a supporter. Hope it continues!

[smiller]

Nerf,

Just picked up your wonderful tale after a 4-month reading absence and found it as engrossing as ever. Even inspired me to pick up my own game which I had let hang for quite a while.

[Dark_Soccer]

WOW now this is a story...keep it up Nerf

[nerf]

Wow, thank you all so much for the very kind words. It's great to hear that people are still reading.

Sunday 10th February 2008

Our arrival in Lecco last night was greeted by dark clouds and a lashing of rain, but despite predictions of a continued storm throughout the weekend, the downpour ceased overnight and conditions in the Rigamonti-Ceppi have improved to be generally dry, give or a take a light smattering of surface water on the pitch. Pavel Grznar fills in on the left for the injured Simone Tamburro, and the other change from last week's eleven is the full return of Luca Orlando to the starting lineup for the first time since October.

Serie C1/B Fixture #22

Lecco v Ragusa

Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Locatelli, Fumagalli©, Attewell, Sabellini; Grznar, Orlando, Mignani, Matera; Marino, Baggio.

Thirteenth position might be unlucky for Lecco, but thirteen minutes was certainly unlucky for Carlo Mignani. Wet turf or not, his pain did not appear to be any lessened by the softening of his fall, following a particularly crunching tackle in the centre of the pitch early on. The brunt of the crunch seemed to be borne by his right ankle, which buckled under the challenge and was the object of his concern as he writhed in the sodden aftermath. Unable to apply any weight to it, he was stretchered off under Guido's guidance while Claudio Gallicchio warmed up to make an early appearance.

Back to the game at hand, yet for all the hustle and bustle offered by either team, only one shot skidded successfully on target in the entire first half - Lenea alert to block well - and we departed at half-time all square. Giancarldo Di Nicola was unleashed for the second period despite being less than fully fit, in the hope that he could provide the spark down the left that Pavel Grznar had not managed.

As it transpired, the goalless scoreline was maintained across the next forty-five thanks to good work by both goalkeepers. The deceptively strong wrists of Guiseppe Lenea produced a fabulous stop in the 63rd minute, flying to his right to parry a decent effort away from goal and out of danger, then up the other end it looked like Eddy Baggio had a chance for us to steal all three points with five minutes to go, only for Lecco 'keeper Emanuele Concetti to display good handling on a slippery ball and deny us that opportunity.

Final score: Lecco 0 - 0 Ragusa

Like the errant forecast of rain, today we promised much yet delivered little. Still, it's another point on the road and an extension to our little unbeaten resurgance. Unfortunately it has arrived at a hefty price - Carlo Mignani's injury has revealed itself to be a broken ankle, as suspected, and early predictions are that we will not see the emerging midfielder in action again at all this season. It's a disappointing blow for Carlo, who has put his heart and soul into his second season at the club and had fought his way into a regular first-team slot.

[nerf]

Monday 18th February 2008

There's a slight alteration to the usual routine as we shift to a Monday evening kick-off, for the arrival of the team occupying twelfth position, Fano. The extra day's delay gives us an opportunity to peruse the league table and adjudge the result-dependant rewards on offer - a win would guarantee a move upwards into 7th place above Teramo, but Ternana's 2-1 defeat of playoff-rival Vis Pesaro yesterday means that they have a six point lead on us at kick-off this evening, so 7th is as high as we can achieve today.

Mignani's injury allows Claudio Gallicchio the chance to quickly hop back into the team, while Giancarlo Di Nicola starts on the left of midfield as we attempt to show more creativity and incision than we did in Lecco.

Serie C1/B Fixture #23

Ragusa v Fano

Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Locatelli, Fumagalli©, Attewell, Sabellini; Di Nicola, Orlando, Gallicchio, Matera; Marino, Baggio.

Still almost three weeks before his seventeenth birthday, Antonio Matera was enjoying his fourth consecutive senior start... for about four minutes. At that point he decided to cut a pass infield towards Luca Orlando without looking first, presenting the ball on a plate for Fano's Paco Soares, who sidestepped Fumagalli and let fly from twenty yards. The ball crashed off the inside of the near post with Lenea beaten, only for Locatelli to hook the ball securely out of touch as it bounced free along the six yard box.

Fortunately it proved to be no more than a blip, as both Matera and the rest of the team improved throughout the rest of the first half. With the young winger working hard in tandem with Sabellini down our strong right flank, and Luca Orlando directing the show single handedly from the centre, we started to look a lot more threatening. On 29 minutes Nicola Marino dribbled into the area and lashed an effort narrowly over the crossbar, then Matera himself got his head onto Di Nicola's 44th minute corner only for Fano goalkeeper Fabrizio Pinelli to make the save.

Left-back Marco Locatelli made way for Pavel Grznar at the break, then five minutes into the second half we made our increasing dominance count. Matera won another header to supply Eddy Baggio with possession, who turned and floated an early ball along the breeze to where Di Nicola had broken forward in support of Marino, and the two Ragusa youth products found themselves on a two-versus-two break against Vago and Urbano... Di Nicola brought the floated pass down neatly and knocked it ahead into Marino's path, who dribbled into the area away from Urbano and hammered a scorching strike across goal. The power belied the sixteen year old's small frame, and the shot flew past Pinelli to nestle in the top corner for his tenth of the season.

The goal provided a further boost of confidence and we were in control from then on. Fumagalli and Attewell kept Fano's attack silent by winning everything in the air, while our four midfielders dominated their opponents both in the air and on the ground. Marino once again grazed the top of the crossbar and Eddy Baggio hit an effort straight at the keeper as we dictated most of the play, although all that good work was almost squandered when Fano midfielder Danilo Stefani drove the ball inches over Lenea's goal in a scary final minute. As it was, the deserved three points remained intact and Fano departed under the weight of a fourth straight defeat.

Final score: Ragusa 1 - 0 Fano

[nerf]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Vostra Ragusa #342, Venerdì Il 22 Febbraio 2008

Pagina 18 - Il Calcio

In a brand new feature to Vostra Ragusa, over the coming months we will be looking at a trio of the promising youngsters lighting up Ragusa Calcio this season. First up, Nicola Marino.

IL MAGO PICCOLO

Interview by Amadeo Carrollo

The eyes have it. The eyes do not contain the confident experience of a seasoned veteran, despite how the feet may flatter to decieve. By usual expectation, these eyes shouldn't really reflect the achievement of a ten goal season... by usual expectation. In fact, the eyes betray a sixteen year old boy who should, by rights, be playing his football on the park lands and in the school yards, not in front of thousands of cheering spectators inside professional Serie C stadia.

"It has all happened so fast", admits Nicola Marino, uncomfortable. "A year ago I was playing for my school team. Now I'm playing for Ragusa. It's a lot to take in". Understatement from the underage. It is still only four months since he exploded into the concious of the Ragusa public, an announcement made in the form of two breathtaking goals on an otherwise drab October evening in Gubbio, mere days after his sixteenth birthday. From that point, Marino went on to score five goals in his next seven starts, and Ragusa's youngest-ever goalscorer already has ten goals to his name for the season. "Things are going well for me so far", he smiles sheepishly.

It's easy to get carried away. Some of those present that night on the fertile slopes of Monte Igino would swear that they witnessed the birth of the second coming. A dazzling messiah of wingéd foot, keen mind and blue-dyed heart. How does a young boy from a modest part of Ragusa Ibla keep such apocryphal feet on the ground? "I have my parents, my family. They want me to continue with my Upper Secondary education, so I'm still in school and have to study when I'm not training. The coaches keep reminding me to work hard. I know there's a long way to go and this is only the start".

The feet may not literally fly but the mind is clearly keen enough, and on level shoulders. As for the azzurro heart, Nicola reveals it was once a case of bianconeri. "I grew up supporting Juve", he smiles. "My grandfather was in Turin, and when I was six years old we went to visit and he took us to see Juventus-Milan. Del Piero scored twice, Juve won 4-1, and of course they won the Scudetto that year". And now? "Now I only support Ragusa, of course", he grins.

It has been commented on more than one occasion that, from a distance, the small physique and mop of curly brown hair draws comparisons with Argentina's Pablo Aimar, but Nicola's hero is far closer to home and much more predictable. "I wanted to play like Alessandro Del Piero", he confesses, with the assured knowledge that it is a boyhood dream shared by millions of Italians of a similar age. You can almost see the influence when he plays. The quick, cultured feet, the stylish technique... Nicola laughs off the comparisons. "If only! To be half as good as Del Piero... he can do many things I can only dream of".

Reassurance is gained from the knowledge that, however brash the youth, here's one who appreciates the value of working on weaknesses. "The 'Mister' is helping me to practice my shooting at the moment. He says I often go for power, to make it spectacular, when I could get better results by focusing on placement. I also need to use my voice more, communicate better on the pitch. These are things I can improve. There are always things to improve. It takes time". Time to be spent with Ragusa, or with Juventus? "Ragusa, of course", he laughs, the eyes lighting up. "I'm very optimistic about my future here. Maybe one day I will play in Stadio Delle Alpi. Maybe it will be with Ragusa, who knows? I hope that only the sky is the limit".

With those wings on his feet, perhaps not even the sky will contain il mago piccolo.

mese prossimo: Next issue, Amadeo meets Giancarlo Di Nicola.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[nerf]

Sunday 24th February 2008

Someone must have been fooling the Terni locals into thinking that The Beatles were making a comeback and playing their local stadium; no less than 17,051 fans have piled into the Libero Liberanti this afternoon to form what is by some distance the largest crowd we have yet to experience as a team. It adds extra spice to what is already a tense occasion, as Ternana are just one place above us in sixth. A win for us would bring us level on points, whereas a win for them would see them re-open that six point gap.

We also have to face it without - once again - the injury prone Giancarlo Di Nicola. Perhaps we rushed him back into the last couple of games too quickly, but he is looking at another four frustrating weeks on the treatment table. Pavel Grznar fills the gap on the left in the only change from last week's eleven.

Serie C1/B Fixture #24

Ternana v Ragusa

Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Locatelli, Fumagalli©, Attewell, Sabellini; Grznar, Orlando, Gallicchio, Matera; Marino, Baggio.

For the opening quarter of an hour the teams shared possession evenly, and although Ternana threatened earliest they were only able to put one effort comfortably into Lenea's hands and another harmlessly over the bar. Nicola Marino then went close on two occasions, first of all being ushered wide enough by the goalkeeper to only find the side-netting, then secondly having a shot parried wide following some neat play with Grznar down the left.

Thrice more Ternana spooned the ball over Lenea's crossbar and into the mass of fans behind the goal, and after linking back and forth with Marino through the centre, Eddy Baggio did exactly the same by blasting over the bar on the stroke of half-time. It crowned a poor half on Eddy's part, as he had really struggled to get a grip on the game. This could not be said about Luca Orlando, who was looking the most assured player on the park, and while Nicola Marino had yet to apply the end product he had at least been lively and involved.

Baggio's second half did not start in much greater glory. On 51 minutes Pavel Grznar sailed a fantastic crossfield pass onto his chest and the big forward cut inside, but he blazed wide under little pressure. Ten minutes later I withdrew Eddy along with Antonio Matera and sent Costagliola and Chiavarini on as straight swaps, for Franco's first appearance since November.

Sometimes you just get the substitutions right, sometimes it just clicks and you bask in the glory as your decision spurs the team toward goals and victory. Other days, you make an innocent change and the match rears up and bites you hard. For whatever reason, following the substitution we went downhill rapidly. Within four minutes Ternana opened the scoring, Zaniolo capitalising on a weak Sabellini pass to release Davide Sinigaglia with a great diagonal ball, and the striker stole in behind Locatelli too easily before stretching to poke the ball past Lenea.

Less than ten minutes after the substitution we were two down. Edusei exchanged a one-two with Sinigaglia on the corner of our penalty area and then lined up a testing shot, which was parried by Lenea. The ball dropped to Zaniolo to finish from five yards, only for Giuseppe Lenea to spring back up and make an amazing reaction stop, but he was left helpless at the third time of asking as Antonio Gallo sauntered in at the far post for a nonchalant tap-in.

Final score: Ternana 2 - 0 Ragusa

[This message was edited by Peacemaker7 on 07 April 2004 at 0:59.]

[nerf]

Monday 25th February 2008

We really were poor after the substitution yesterday, the tide really changed in Ternana's favour. Lenea, Marino and Attewell came out with dignity, but although Orlando had a very good first half he had an equally bad second half. As for the rest, much improvement is required. Ternana climb to 5th position while we stay 7th, now facing a five point gap between us and Arezzo in 6th.

It could be far worse, as others managed to prove emphatically this weekend. At the other end of the table, 17th-placed Pro Vercelli slumped to their twelfth defeat in thirteen matches, and the one they didn't lose was no better than a draw. The struggling team have now not scored a single goal since December 16th - a run of nine matches. A little bit of perspective is often handy...

[Guest]

Great job Nerf.

So far to me your Ragusa and (Juni's) Varsea are the most appealing stories.

Keep it up. We are anxiously waiting for more.

[nerf]

Thanks xxxHZxxx

And thank you PM for the scoreline correction

Sunday 2nd March 2008

As we enter the final ten matches of the regular season, another potential playoff rival looms over our fixture list. Vis Pesaro hold fourth position, just above Ternana, even though they arrive in Ragusa on the back of two straight defeats. Yet another full house will be in attendance today to see if we can extend that to three, and get back on our feet after last week's setback.

The opportunity to do so is presented to almost the same team that started in Terni. The only change is the return from injury of Simone Tamburro, who strides back into a side desperate for his kind of leadership and determination. Pavel Grznar shifts backwards into defence, with young Marco Locatelli dropping to the bench for the first time this calendar year. Perhaps not the best thing he could wish for a month before his eighteenth birthday, but he has had a long run in the team and will probably benefit from a rest.

Serie C1/B Fixture #25

Ragusa v Vis Pesaro

Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Grznar, Fumagalli, Attewell, Sabellini; Tamburro©, Orlando, Gallicchio, Matera; Marino, Baggio.

Perhaps the entire team should be taking a rest... today we got off to the worst possible start. A lapse in Stuart Attewell's concentration initiated it all, when his mistake let Nonis through on goal right from the kick-off. Stefano Fumagalli sped across to cover and attempted what I thought was a cleanly timed last-ditch sliding challenge, but despite his and my claims that he took the ball, referee Antonio Scala flashed the yellow card and awarded the penalty. Giuseppe Lenea's first touch of the ball was to dig it out the back of his net, after Vis Pesaro fullback Nicola Rostellato had stroked home the spot kick.

I don't know if something was said during the away side's provocative celebrations, but from that moment on there was a running fued between Pavel Grznar and Pesaro's experienced midfielder Gianluca Segarelli. In the 11th minute Pavel lost his rag after some further verbal exchanges, and pushed Segarelli in the chest off the ball. As if the yellow card wasn't deserved enough, Pavel then yelled a torrent of Czech-Italian at Signor Scala and earned himself a further warning.

It was something we could do without as we were fighting to get back into the first half, but the two players just seemed more interested in fighting each other. The referee failed to pull the pair aside for a chat, which I felt may have helped to defuse the situation, so instead it just escalated. First the two players collided in a full-blooded aerial challenge, which Pavel won, and that was followed by a clash in midfield that neither player was happy about. The ball was soon worked up Pesaro's right wing again and was put out of play by Grznar for an away throw-in, at which point Segarelli had more vocal wisdom to share. Pavel reacted and something was said that he didn't like, and before any of us from the dugout could intervene, the Czech shoved his opponent away for the second time. The actual push wasn't much of anything really, but Pavel had raised his hands and he was already on a final warning. Segarelli became a picture of innocence while our player recieved his marching orders. 28 minutes in; not only a goal down, but now a man down too.

Tamburro dropped into defence, the midfield became a three, and Marino was asked to float in the gap between them and Eddy Baggio. For the rest of the half and the start of the next we failed to produce anything of note, although we did at least hold our own despite having fewer players on the pitch. By the time the 71st minute rolled around, it had become apparent to me that Eddy Baggio was tiring as the lone striker, and that Claudio Gallicchio wasn't exactly putting in his best ever performance. They were both withdrawn in favour of Costagliola and Chiavarini.

If anyone can figure out why an almost identical substitution would change one match so badly, and another so positively, I would like to know. One of the benefits of the earlier forced change in formation was the discovery that Nicola Marino's freedom of movement was causing Pesaro some headaches as they struggled desperately to get a handle on his floating role, so perhaps the introduction of Chiavarini infused our midfield with the sort of pace necessary to make use of the gaps. Whatever the reason, the substitution worked in our favour this week and there was a marked improvement. We actually started to threaten, and the two subs combined as Costagliola dragged a half-chance wide.

That said, it was all Marino. Where we had taken four minutes post-substitution to concede last week, this week it took that time to score. Marino dropped off deep once more to collect Fumagalli's clearing header, laid the ball off to Orlando, and then suddenly turned and sprinted forward for the one-two. Luca was on the same wavelength and measured the return pass beautifully, sliding it neatly through the defence to send his onrushing teammate in on goal. Marino remained calm, faked to try and go round the keeper, then stabbed it under De Juliis' diving body to equalise.

Final score: Ragusa 1 - 1 Vis Pesaro

[nerf]

Monday 3rd March 2008

Not a bad point, if you consider that we were 0-1 down and had a man sent off within the first half an hour. Luca Orlando stepped up in the second half, but Nicola Marino was simply superb. It looked increasingly like Vis Pesaro would win it, with Rostellato and Michele Palmieri particularly impressive for them, but the little magician inspired us again. He revelled in the free role and really gave his opponents a torrid time with his slippery movement.

Pavel Grznar will now miss two matches through suspension. The club has stopped short of giving him what would have been an expected and arguably deserved fine for such irresponsible behaviour. Pavel knows he was wrong and has apologised, and beyond that he doesn't really strike me as being a particularly happy chap in general of late. I'll give him a break and hold back on the fine, justified though it may be. He will at least have Eddy Baggio to cheer him up, as the striker will also miss the next two weeks thanks to a back strain.

After 25 matches, the Serie C1/B table looks like THIS. With nine matches left that five point gap between us and the playoffs still remains. We really must start stringing some wins together if we still want to make the playoffs, as there's a real danger of us getting sucked into the midtable quagmire.

[nerf]

Wednesday 5th March 2008

For a sixth consecutive year the Coppa Italia will once again be going to either Milan or Turin, the two cities that have shared it solely between them for the past five years. Current holders AC Milan had done enough in the first leg to sustain their progress despite Adrian Mutu's goal giving Parma a 1-0 second leg victory, while a single goal from Italian international Fabrizio Miccoli completed Juventus' 3-0 aggregate triumph over Roma. Milan and Juve will meet in May to decide which city keeps the trophy this year.

There is good news of a different kind for English Premiership club Liverpool, who today announced that the receivers have been appeased and the club has finally emerged safely from the debt-ridden hell it had previously been subjected to.

[nerf]

Sunday 9th March 2008

With injuries to Di Nicola, Pellegrino, Mignani, Baggio, and this week Matera (calf strain), added to Pavel Grznar's suspension, the team will effectively pick itself for the visit of Trento today. Costagliola and Chiavarini step up from the bench to the starting lineup to fill the shoes most freshly vacated by those injured, while Marco Locatelli's rest turned out to be a necessarily brief one as he is recalled at left back. It goes without saying that Nicola Marino starts today's match with strong encouragement to move as freely as he did against Vis Pesaro.

Our opponents are wallowing in 14th position in the table, but they did successfully overcome Ternana by a single goal at home last weekend and have recently enjoyed a big improvement to their season overall. When we met back in October in rain-swept conditions, they were propping up the division and succumbed to one of our oh-so-rare away victories.

Serie C1/B Fixture #26

Ragusa v Trento

Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Locatelli, Fumagalli, Attewell, Sabellini; Tamburro©, Orlando, Gallicchio, Chiavarini; Marino, Costagliola.

There were no early strikes for either team this time, in fact it took us half an hour to really threaten. On 31 minutes Franco Chiavarini made a mark, nimbly intercepting in midfield for the benefit of Marino. The teenager immediately looked up and sent a ball over the top to put Costagliola in the clear, who made sure that it counted and put us in the lead.

Trento were getting plenty of possession but had thus far been unable to muster anything resembling a shot on goal, so it must have been doubly frustrating for them when we doubled our lead deep into first-half stoppage time. Marino jinked and darted, cut the ball back from the left byline, and Costagliola climbed high at the near post, above Trento's brilliantly-named captain Diaw Doudou, to power a header downwards for his second.

Our two forwards had been a handful for the entire first half, and when it came to the crunch we had proven to be the more incisive team. Trento emerged for the second half sporting a new formation in an attempt to change things around, but it didn't yield much success. With the two-goal cushion we looked very comfortable and relaxed into a pattern of neat football, knocking the ball around and maintaining possession in a pleasing manner. Orlando and Chiavarini, who was enjoying his return to the team with one of his best performances for a good while, tended to be at the fulcrum of the play. It all became a bit too frustrating for Trento left back Simone Rossi, who took a leaf out of Pavel Grznar's book and shoved Franco over to earn himself a late red card.

Final score: Ragusa 2 - 0 Trento

An excellent second half crowned three important points, as we played some nice football and allowed Trento no route back into the game. Danilo Sabellini lead the charge for the man-of-the-match award, closely followed by Chiavarini, Orlando and Gallicchio. The bad news is that we still stay 7th and remain five points adrift of the last playoff place, now occupied by Ternana.

[nerf]

One year and counting...

Thursday 13th March 2008

The club has been involved in negotiations with two players recently. The first was Gianluca Berardi, a 17 year old on the books at fellow Serie C1/B side Lecco. He's a firey and enthusuastic midfielder who can play in the centre or on the right, and has good physical agility to go with an aggressive and hard-working style of play. A little bit in the Gattuso mould, you might say. Recently he has been restricted to Lecco's reserves while the head coach overlooks him for promotion to the senior squad, so we were hoping to steal him from under their noses. Unfortunately, despite agreeing a bargain £2,000 fee with the club, Gianluca demanded wages of £700 per week, which would have installed him as one of the highest earners at Ragusa. When you compare this with his current part-time contract of £65 per week, and consider the fact that he is unproven at any level, it's clear to see that we were not overly enthusiastic about agreeing. Rather than suffer another Giacomo Domizzi incident, we chose instead to nip it in the bud there and then. I don't know where these young players are getting their advice...

The other player was free agent Gleison Pinto dos Santos, or simply Santos to you and everybody else. A commanding centre-back who can also play left fullback, the towering 26 year old Brazilian defender used to play in Serie A with Atalanta but had been without a club for a while. When we finally made our move, it transpired that we were not the only ones to be tracking him as Serie C1/A outfit Brescello were in first to open negotiations, but Santos also agreed to talk to us and in a rare moment of transfer market triumph, the player decided that Ragusa was the club for him and he officially signed today. It's our first new signing since June 2006.

He should certainly be able to do a good job for us at left back, because I think it's all a bit too early for Marco Locatelli as yet. Santos will also provide another option at centre back, where we have been relying heavily on Stefano Fumagalli and Stuart Attewell for a long time now. Perhaps some competition will help step Stuart's game up a bit, as his consistency has dropped a little this season.

[nerf]

Sunday 16th March 2008

4,835 fans in the Comunale will feel desperately in need of a win today. Teramo had been hoping to feature in playoff contention this season, but failure to win any of the last five fixtures has seen them sink to 9th position and dented their chances significantly. We certainly won't be looking to do them any favours however, as we are boosted by the signing of Santos and the return to training this week of Gaspare Pellegrino, although both players are severely lacking match fitness and will only start on the bench.

Serie C1/B Fixture #27

Teramo v Ragusa

Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Locatelli, Fumagalli, Attewell, Sabellini; Tamburro©, Orlando, Gallicchio, Chiavarini; Marino, Costagliola.

The confidence carried over from the second half against Trento could still be sensed amongst our team at kick-off, and consequently we started fairly brightly. Claudio Gallicchio had one of his better days last week and was intent on maintaining that form, displayed by a quite exquisite diagonal chip over the top in the 11th minute, which cleverly released Nicola Marino through on goal. The young striker made rounding the goalkeeper look like the easiest thing in the world and we had the early lead.

That pace did not continue however, and the rest of the half was very even as took our foot off the gas. Teramo had a header saved and two free-kicks that flew narrowly wide, while up the other end Marino had one effort saved from a Sabellini cross, and when Costagliola's pace down the right left the defence trailing, Marino danced on the ball in the area but again could not find the target.

Teramo started to gain the upper hand either side of half-time, until we hit them on the break in the 64th minute. Marino drifted left to recieve the pass out of defence and then clipped a ball into the centre that Costagliola should never have reached, but Massimo utilised his speed advantage against Teramo's slow defence and sprinted through on goal, before slamming the ball low through the goalkeeper's legs. A two goal defecit proved too much for Teramo's young striker Riccardo Rosselli, who followed in the dubious footsteps of Grznar and Rossi a minute later, by kicking out at Luca Orlando petulantly and receiving a red card to go with a roasting from his manager as he left the pitch. With the game effectively won, I took the opportunity to give Pellegrino and Santos twenty minutes of match fitness.

Final score: Teramo 0 - 2 Ragusa

[nerf]

Monday 17th March 2008

Not a great performance by us, but certainly not a bad one either and the three points remain just as vital. The best news of all arrives from elsewhere. Arezzo surprisingly lost 2-1 at home to Avellino yesterday, allowing us to move up into 6th place, while tonight Ternana travelled to Viterbo for their game in hand. Close range finishes by Santoruvo and Mura on 63 and 67 minutes were sufficient for Viterbese to see off Ternana in gale-force conditions, which means that the gap between us and Ternana in 5th is reduced to just two points.

A further blessing is bestowed upon us by Head Physio Guido Ferraris, who reports that Giancarlo Di Nicola is fit enough to return to full training from tomorrow.

We are not the only ones experiencing renewed optimism. This weekend Pro Vercelli beat Taranto 2-0 in the Silvio Piola to finally record their first league win in 16 matches.

[karanfett]

I havent read any part of this story. Just thought you should know, its been 1 year and 2 days since you started. KUTGW.

[BobBev]

Well I've read every word and it's as entertaining and readable as ever. Here's hoping that we get another year from the maestro

[nerf]

Thanks karanfett and BobBev . Hey, if you combine your usernames, you get... no, not Karan Bev... oh never mind...

I agree Bob, we are all hoping that we get another year from you, but you shouldn't talk about yourself like that

Thursday 20th March 2008

Tonight I settled down in front of the television to catch up with the second legs of the UEFA Cup Quarter Finals. First up Chelsea, who needed to overturn a 0-3 defecit against Shakhtar Donetsk from Ukraine. Unfortunately, two goals by Italian forward Salvatore Bruno were not enough at Stamford Bridge this evening, and the 2003 finallists crashed out 2-3 on aggregate to the tournament's surprise package. Leeds United had more luck at Elland Road, nabbing two goals in the last ten minutes to beat Werder Bremen 4-1 and dramatically sneak the tie 5-4 on aggregate.

Elsewhere, Aston Villa did what Monty couldn't do and conquered Arnhem. 22 year old Finnish sensation Mika Aaritalo added another goal against Vitesse to go with his First Leg brace, before captain Gareth Barry rounded off the 4-0 aggregate win from the penalty spot. In the remaining Quarter Final, a double by veteran Brazilian striker Dodo propelled Tenerife through 4-3 on aggregate by defeating fellow Spaniards Valladolid on their own turf.

[nerf]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Vostra Ragusa #343, Venerdì Il 21 Marzo 2008

Pagina 17 - Il Calcio

Continuing our look at Ragusa's rising stars, Vostra Ragusa is proud to present Giancarlo Di Nicola.

IL TOTTI SEGUENTE

Interview by Amadeo Carrollo

How's the groin? It's not a question that you can often get away with asking, nor find the need to do so, but Giancarlo Di Nicola sees the humour and laughs. "It's good, thanks for asking", he grins, sitting down and adjusting the band in his floppy, medium length hair. "I've been back in training since Tuesday without any problems, so it's going okay".

This season has proven to be a frustrating one for 19 year old Giancarlo thus far, with injury troubles repeatedly restricting the number of appearances he has made. In fact, he has only started seven matches this season and consequently has only found the net once. "It has been frustrating, absolutely. I've had some problems with my shoulder too... it just seems like one thing after another. Hopefully I'm over that now. Like anyone else I just want to get out there and play, do my bit for the team".

It just so happens that Giancarlo's 'bit for the team' is often highly significant. Last season the athletic and energetic young forward scored sixteen goals, but that was only a small part of his contribution to the team. It is a widely held belief that a Ragusa featuring Di Nicola is noticeably greater than a Ragusa without him. He assists as many goals as he scores, and appears to inject extra energy into the team when he is on the pitch. "It's important to be a team player. I look at great players like Francesco Totti. Sure he can also score goals, but there's so much more to offer tactically, to link up play, to work hard off the ball. He has an influence on the players around him".

In his debut season, Giancarlo looked to another role model for influence and inspiration. "I feel very lucky to have played with Daniel Fonseca in my first season. Just to watch him in training and out on the pitch... you can learn a lot from watching the top players. I picked up a lot from him, particularly when he would help me practice dead-balls in training. I'm very grateful for that".

Although last season he was seen as the direct replacement for the retiring Fonseca, many Ragusa fans have long been proclaiming Di Nicola as their own version of Roma's Totti; a tall, home-grown, flamboyant and exciting forward, who could be the figurehead and lead the club onto greater things. "I'm very enthusiastic about the future of this team. We have several good young players coming through and the coaches know what they are doing. We're pushing hard for promotion and believe we will achieve it, but even if we don't make it this season, it's not the end of the world. Time is on our side. I hope for some exciting years ahead of us".

mese prossimo: Next issue, Amadeo talks with Luca Orlando.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[nerf]

Sunday 23rd March 2008

Viterbese were of great assistance to us on Monday with their victory over Ternana, but their own fortunes have not been so great. That win was their only one in four matches, with the other three being fairly convincing defeats, and they remain anchored in 13th position. When we met in November, however, two goals by Paolo De Luca doomed us to a 1-3 defeat in one of our worst performances of the season.

Home advantage and recent form provides some reassurance that there will be no repeat, and further optimism comes from glancing across our list of substitutes. Di Nicola, Baggio, Pellegrino, Santos and Grznar all join Alderuccio on the bench, though most are still not yet 100% fit, so the starting eleven remains the same for the third week in a row.

Serie C1/B Fixture #28

Ragusa v Viterbese

Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Locatelli, Fumagalli, Attewell, Sabellini; Tamburro©, Orlando, Gallicchio, Chiavarini; Marino, Costagliola.

There's an even balance to the start of this match. Costagliola's curling shot forced the goalkeeper into an early save, but Viterbese's attackers were looking equally lively and Fumagalli was doing well to guide the defence safely through the pressure. In the 24th minute Danilo Sabellini was typically first to a loose ball and fed Franco Chiavarini, who looked to play a high, long, diagonal ball into the area. It sailed over Costagliola's head and didn't look too dangerous, until Marino's marker failed to notice the kid drifting away behind him, and after some instantaneous control of the dropping ball, the young forward clipped in his 13th goal of the season.

Aside from that one minor lapse, both defences were looking tight and on top. In fact Viterbese's defence were seeing a lot of the ball, but only because our four midfielders were winning the battle in the middle, meaning that the away side were struggling to get out of their own half due to our incessant pressing. We were looking the sharper team in midfield, and then directly after the break we were quickest off the mark. From the second half kick-off, Marino fed the ball wide to Tamburro. His opponent Cardinale got too close and our captain knocked the ball round him and ran on. Another defender came across but Tamburro managed to dig out a cross to the near post, where Marino brought the ball under his influence and twisted to stab it high into the net from ten yards.

At two nil the game still wasn't over, until ten minutes later that changed. Viterbese fullback Ricci attempted an honest sliding tackle on Chiavarini right in front of the dugout, which looked clean enough to me but left Franco in a heap on the turf. Luca Orlando didn't share my view and rushed across to the sideline to have a word or two with Ricci in retribution, which initiated a tame melee as bodies piled from the dugouts to 'calm things down'. It didn't seem that heated until Viterbese midfielder Giuseppe De Grossi took offence to Luca's reaction, and raised both hands to push our midfielder away. This was all too familiar. In an unlikely sequence of events, a player was dismissed for violent behaviour for the fourth Ragusa match in a row! There must be something in the air this month.

Chiavarini hopped the couple of yards off the pitch to be replaced by Di Nicola, and in a triple substitution Gallicchio and Locatelli made way for Pellegrino and Santos. For the remainder of the half there was only one team in it, as we completely dominated. There was even time for Santos to announce his arrival in style, when he steamed onto the end of a 67th minute Di Nicola corner and rose high to head into the net at the far post.

Final score: Ragusa 3 - 0 Viterbese

[nerf]

Monday 24th March 2008

Viterbese certainly seem full of favours for us these days. What had been quite a tight match was effectively ended with the unnecessary sending off, and from that moment on we cruised to an easy win, so they've certainly made a difference to our late push for the playoffs in the last two weeks. Having said that, it was still a very good performance by us all across the pitch and a lot of positives can be gained from it.

It should be noted that, after having three consecutive full games alongside each other, Marino and Costagliola have been looking like a very good pairing. Contrasting Massimo's height and power with Marino's elusive trickery has proved to be a good mix, as Serie C1/B defences have trouble coping with the target man while they are sent crazy by the smaller striker incessently hovering at their heels. Six goals shared between them across those three games is a very respectable return for the partnership.

Once again results have gone our way this weekend. Despite another two goals from Davide Sinigaglia, Ternana were held 2-2 at home by Sicilian club Messina and have allowed us to edge into fifth position, the final playoff spot, by virtue of goal difference. There are six matches to go.

[nerf]

Tuesday 25th March 2008

Having turned seventeen years old this month, Antonio Matera today signed a full-time professional contract until 2012. The rest of the coaching staff are not fully convinced about Antonio's prospects, but I'm a little more praising. He can play on either wing though he favours the right, he's got some quickness and flair and possesses a great spring that can make him a threat in the air. From his nine appearances this season I would agree that he hasn't exactly set the world on fire, but I think he has proved himself at least a capable backup. Whether he will ever develop into a starter remains to be seen.

Over in Spain, Vicente del Bosque has been installed as the new Atletico Madrid manager, returning to the Spanish capital for the first time since resigning as Real boss in July 2006. In the meantime he has endured short and not very successfull spells at Mallorca and Deportivo, before being appointed at Atletico this week. The 57 year old has a fight on his hands; Atletico are 18th of 20 teams and deep in relegation danger at the bottom of La Liga, which is currently topped by Real Betis. Del Bosque has just ten games to turn the club's fortunes around and keep Los Colchoneros up.

[Janz]

just spent two days reading all 18 pages...and it's really an awesome read nerf great job!!! hope u get into the playoffs and do better than last season

cheers!!

[Philip Rolfe]

Still as top as ever nerf

Lower league Italian football. Oh how I despise yet love it.

[Get on Teletext!]

You have inspired me to start my own Italian adventure (although I wont be writing about it!) with Fidelis Andria. How are they doing in your game?

Still a great story, KUTGW!

[nerf]

Thanks guys, and welcome to the story Janz. Juni, I know exactly what you mean!

Get on Teletext - Fidelis Andria were promoted to Serie C1 in my first season at Ragusa. They did the double over us that year and went on to win the Serie C2 playoffs, beating Tivoli and Palmese in the process. We tried and failed to sign Andrea Di Napoli from them, but we did manage to attract Stefano Fumagalli who has gone on to become an ever-present in defence for us so far. Best of luck!

[nerf]

Sunday 6th April 2008

Messina represent our shortest away trip of the season as we don't even have to leave the island, and a touch over 10,000 people are in the Giovanni Celeste to witness a Sicilian derby. Eddy Baggio is fully fit once more and raring to go, but I see no reason to split the Marino-Costagliola partnership on recent form. Santos and Pellegrino also remain on the bench for the time being, meaning the starting lineup is unchanged for the fourth consecutive match.

Serie C1/B Fixture #29

Messina v Ragusa

Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Locatelli, Fumagalli, Attewell, Sabellini; Tamburro©, Orlando, Gallicchio, Chiavarini; Marino, Costagliola.

Our hosts stand in twelfth position in the table and the only thing they have to play for is the unlikely chance of them being sucked into the relegation playoffs, but they appear to be unwilling to leave anything to chance and manage to edge the first half. In true derby tradition it begins as a scrappy affair; Simone Tamburro is booked, Stefano Fumagalli gets off with a warning, while Claudio Gallicchio earns every millimetre of his yellow card thanks to a particularly robust and ill-timed challenge. Plainly we were putting the shackles on Messina with some very tough battling, which was pleasing for me to see, but not, I suspect, for the bloated crowd.

Immediately after half-time we gave them something more productive to watch, if not to cheer. Three minutes after kick-off we forced a corner taken by Tamburro, who scuffed it at waist-height towards the near post where Costagliola was tussling with Valente. The ball apparently deflected out of play off the Messina midfielder's arm, an incident that was missed by most of us but spotted by the ref, and he waved away the home side's heated protests to award the penalty. Without a penalty taker of any note on the field, Simone Tamburro took the captain's responsibility and struck the spot kick much better than he had taken the corner, finding the net neatly under pressure from the partisan crowd behind the goal.

Mauro Valente was not too chuffed about conceding the penalty, but ten minutes later he was offered the chance to redeem himself. Ripa's cross into our penalty area was too deep, but when Cinelli did well to hook the ball back, Valente was able to connect with a first time volley that skimmed in off Orlando's back, giving Giuseppe Lenea little chance in goal. I'll have to remind Luca about turning his back on shots...

I played my trump card soon afterwards. Baggio, Pellegrino and Santos all arrived into a match that hung in the balance, and once again the substitution had an impact. In the 63rd minute a long Fumagalli clearance was chased down by Marino, who collected the ball by the left corner flag, faked Righetti out of the stadium and fired a cross in. Eddy Baggio had the strength to hold off his marker and arrive at speed at the far post, where he deflected the ball home past the hesitant 'keeper.

After that we sat back and attempted to hang on for the win, but we didn't have it all our own way. Messina's 18 year old substitute striker Davide Aquino was soon guilty of two missed chances that would have made him a derby-day hero, first scuffing straight at Lenea and then bobbling one over the bar when it seemed easier to hit the target. I sent out instructions for Pellegrino and Gallicchio to hold deeper and tighter in the middle, and we saw out the last ten minutes under pressure.

Final score: Messina 1 - 2 Ragusa

A very pleasing away win. All three substitutes did their job of having a positive impact in the second half, Simone Tamburro played every ounce of the captain's role, and the reliable Danilo Sabellini deserves great credit for a typically gutsy performance. Danilo is one of those players who might rarely get a mention or rarely do anything spectactular, but every week he's there giving his all and we'd miss him sorely if he wasn't.

Moreover, we now move up to the heady heights of fourth position. Mantova's 1-1 draw at home to Avellino saw them drop two places to the benefit of ourselves and Ternana, who recovered from recent rocky form to record a resounding 5-1 victory away from home. The five goals are still not quite enough to equal our goal difference however, so we keep our nose ahead. Cittadella's 3-3 draw with Gubbio was not a result to shout about but it does guarantee them at least a playoff place with five matches still remaining, though with a seven point lead over Taranto at the top they look odds-on for the title and automatic promotion.

[nerf]

Tuesday 8th April 2008

If physio Guido Ferraris looks concerned, it only reflects my own feelings. It's a serious matter when your most combative midfielder suffers the sixth occurance of the same injury within the space of two years, but that's exactly what has happened to the unfortunate Gaspare Pellegrino today. Despite my hesitancy in bringing him back into the action by cautiously dragging out his reintegration via several substitute appearances, it seems there's just no protecting him. One over-stretch in training today, yet another torn groin muscle.

We had started to believe that the problem was cured thanks to the rehabilitation he specifically underwent at the end of last summer. Now we will be denied his services for another two months and therefore the rest of the tense climax to the season, just when we need him the most. Gaspare is trying to remain upbeat - he has recovered from it once, or rather five times, he will just have to get his head down and do it again.

[nerf]

Monday 14th April 2008

Already eleven points adrift at the foot of the table, Meda are all but mathematically sure to take that automatic relegation spot and accept the relative ignominy of Serie C2 football. On paper, we should therefore approach this home fixture with great confidence. One possible spanner in the works is the absence of Pellegrino and Mignani through long-term injuries combined with the one-match suspension of Gallicchio, meaning that our central midfield options this evening are Orlando and... err, that's it.

As a result, Tamburro will once again shoulder the repsonsibility for others and shift inside to temporarily block the gap, with Giancarlo Di Nicola returning to the team to take up the wide left role. Behind him, Santos replaces Locatelli at left-back for the Brazilian's first ever start for Ragusa. In the final change, Baggio's goal and substitute appearance last week contributed to convincing me that he should displace Costagliola up front.

Serie C1/B Fixture #30

Ragusa v Meda

Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Santos, Fumagalli, Attewell, Sabellini; Di Nicola, Tamburro©, Orlando, Chiavarini; Marino, Baggio.

Another factor in my decision to rest Costagliola is how upbeat Baggio has looked in training since he recovered from his back strain. Tonight he took that and used it out on the pitch. Within the first three minutes Giancarlo Di Nicola showed us some of that missing creativity by chipping the ball deftly over the Meda defence, and despite Marino being wide open for the easy tap-in in the centre, Eddy Baggio selfishly yet successfully went for goal, leaving the goalkeeper stranded with an accurate lob. Soon afterwards the 'keeper gained a modicum of revenge, denying Baggio twice with saves in quick succession.

In the 19th minute Eddy saw his efforts rebuked on a third occasion, this time when he got his head onto an Orlando cross, but Nicola Marino was on hand to tap home his 15th goal of the season. The teenager should then have had his 16th as we cruised towards half-time, but leant back and lifted a shot over the bar when he should have done better.

At the halfway stage we were more than comfortable. Meda were making it easy for Tamburro to adjust to life in the centre, while Di Nicola and particularly Chiavarini were ripping them to shreds down the flanks. It was a symbol of our dominance when Luca Orlando scored his first ever senior league goal ten minutes into the second half, picking up the pieces from a half-cleared Marino cross and curling a sidefoot effort high into the net to make it 3-0.

It could have been more but we were in the rare and luxurious position of having no need to strain ourselves. Stuart Attewell was given an equally rare rest to allow Santos to show what he can do in the centre of defence, and as Baggio tired I sent Costagliola back on to give him a breather. With seven minutes to go Nicola Marino was also withdrawn, departing to a standing ovation. The youngster had thoroughly enjoyed himself against Meda's beleaguered and downtrodden team, and on this sort of form we are going to need him fresh for the final push.

Final score: Ragusa 3 - 0 Meda

[nerf]

Tuesday 15th April 2008

After 30 matches, the Serie C1/B table looks like THIS.

We stay in 4th place while Ternana's 2-1 win helped them to keep pace with us on 54 points, but Vis Pesaro's draw means that they are now only two points ahead. Other good news arrives in the form of Mantova losing 2-0 at 2nd-placed Taranto, so there is now a small but pleasant four point cushion between us and being out of the playoffs.

Right then, final run-in time. The last four matches, the last twelve points to play for. Although it is not yet mathematically true, realistically speaking Cittadella and Taranto are as good as out of our reach, so the battle for positions three, four and five looks set to go down between Vis Pesaro, ourselves, Ternana and Mantova, with one of us destined to miss out entirely.

Remaining fixtures:

Vis Pesaro - Viterbese(A), Avellino(H), Messina(A), Taranto(A)

Ragusa -- Pro Vercelli(A), Arezzo(H), Crotone(A), Mantova(H)

Ternana -- Arezzo(A), Crotone(H), Mantova(A), Cittadella(H)

Mantova -- Lecco(H), Fano(A), Ternana(H), Ragusa(A)

There are a couple of cracking fixtures left in the mix, most notably Mantova versus Ternana in the penultimate week and then us against Mantova on the final day, which is potentially very interesting. Mantova might be starting at the back of the pack, but there's no doubt that they'll feature heavily in the race. Our fixtures and Ternana's fixtures are very similar indeed, and we both start on 54 points. It's going to be tight. We can do ourselves a big favour by repeating Sunday's win in the same fashion over 17th-placed Pro Vercelli, which is a great opportunity for us to get off on the right foot.

One thing is for sure; after last year's regrettable learning experience, we will be going all out for that third place to try and claim the crucial advantage that league placing can offer in the playoffs, where aggregate ties are settled based on finishing position. We discovered that to our cost last season.

[nerf]

Sunday 20th April 2008

Even though they have mounted a valiant resurgance to win three of their last four skirmishes in the face of adversity, Pro Vercelli are still in seventeenth and are still almost certain to feature in the relegation playoffs. We march into the Silvio Piola expecting to find the habitants a little more rowdy than initially expected, but knowing full well that we have our own battle to win and cannot afford to distribute any favours. Our troops are lead once more by Tamburro, who despite turning 34 years old on Wednesday will once again take up position in the very centre of our thin blue line, thanks to Claudio Gallicchio picking up a minor short-term injury midweek.

Serie C1/B Fixture #31

Pro Vercelli v Ragusa

Ragusa lineup - Lenea; Santos, Fumagalli, Attewell, Sabellini; Di Nicola, Tamburro©, Orlando, Chiavarini; Marino, Baggio.

An early goal is a gift indeed. We endured a very shaky opening few minutes as Pro Vercelli started the better, right up until we launched an incisive breakaway against the run of play in the seventh. Eddy Baggio was played through in a similar fashion to last week, only for this time to be unselfish and square for his strike partner, and although Marino was pushed wide by the goalkeeper he still managed to hook the ball home from an acute angle.

The goal did wonders for our nerves, helping us to settle down and start to emerge as the better side for the rest of the first half. We appeared destined to go in at the break with a two goal lead, when Marino turned his man and dribbled into the area to force a save, but Eddy Baggio somehow sent an easy far post tap-in embarrassingly into the sidenetting.

Still, we had the upper hand going into the second period, and just after the hour mark Eddy was able to go some way to making amends. The striker had his legs taken away in the area by Pro Vercelli's Zattarin, and he got up to ram the penalty kick into the roof of the net for 2-0. The home side then applied extra pressure and almost got one back a few minutes later, but Giuseppe Lenea reacted brilliantly to stop Marco Ferro's close range header and Tamburro was on his toes to sweep it to safety. That could so easily have been a turning point.

For the last twenty minutes I rested Baggio and the quiet Fumagalli, with Santos taking over in the middle, Locatelli coming on at left back and Costagliola joining the attack. There was time enough for Massimo to make his mark, when Tamburro released Marino on the counterattack, who dragged defenders left and squared for his wide-open teammate, and Massimo did the rest with the easy finish to make the scoreline a little more flattering than perhaps we deserved.

Final score: Pro Vercelli 0 - 3 Ragusa

Deserved scoreline or not, we earned the win and the three points that come with it. It's not often we win 3-0 away from home. Previously unbeknownst to me, that is in fact no less than our sixth win on the trot, which is actually a new Ragusa club record. I have been saying repeatedly since Christmas that we need to string a run of victories together, and what a crucial time to hit such form.

Although Vis Pesaro won 2-1 at Viterbese to stay two points ahead, both Ternana and Mantova stumbled at the first hurdle with 2-1 defeats. After 31 matches, those results leave the table looking like THIS.

[nerf]

Tuesday 22nd April 2008

The UEFA Cup final will be an all-English affair this season. Leeds United almost threw their place away, winning the first leg of their semi final 3-0 but then going down 0-3 in Tenerife thanks to Goran Drulic's aggregate-equalising goal with eight minutes remaining. Extra-time passed goalless, then in the shootout Alexis hit the post and Paul Robinson pushed David Charcos' penalty over the bar, sending Leeds through.

They will be facing Premiership rivals Aston Villa in the decider, who had an easier time of their Semi Final against Shakhtar Donetsk despite blustery conditions at Villa Park. Following their satisfactory 1-1 draw in Ukraine in the first leg, another double by Mika Aaritalo safely guided the Villans towards a date in Rome in May.

[nerf]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Vostra Ragusa #344, Venerdì Il 25 Aprile 2008

Pagina 20 - Il Calcio

Completing the trio of Ragusa youngsters, this month Vostra Ragusa welcomes Luca Orlando.

IL COMPOSITORE

Interview by Amadeo Carrollo

Out on the pitch, Luca Orlando is a composer. He possesses the baton that makes the game ebb and flow, rising and falling to a beat that only he is privy to. His teammates form the string section, the brass, the percussion, and all the while he orchestrates them in a harmonic chorus from the centre. All at the age of eighteen. "The Mister encourages me; pass, pass, pass, all the time. Continuity, keeping possession, these things are so important. If you have the ball, the opposition do not. You hold the cards".

Don't be fooled into thinking that Luca's talents are one-dimensional, however. Athletic and taller than you would expect, this centrocampista has the ability to move into an extra gear if required. "I like to get on the ball and play it around, but when the other team has possession of the football, I know that to be a good midfielder you have to be able to work hard and get up and down and across the pitch all the time. You play with Gaspare for five minutes and you learn that quickly", he grins.

Off the pitch, Luca Orlando is relaxed and unruffled. With an easy smile and a permanent tan, he echoes the calm exterior that he demonstrates on the pitch more often than not. Listening to him talk football is a different matter, however, and probing underneath the top soil you uncover a depth of reason to his passion for this team. "I was born in Ragusa, I was raised in Ragusa, but I also supported Ragusa, back when nobody even knew we had a football team here. My older brother Paolo used to come to the 'Selvaggio' with his friends, and when I was old enough my mother demanded that he took me along with him. For as long as I can remember I was going to home games. We'd walk up the valley from Ibla and stand on the terraces. It was never full like it is now though, so even though I was small I could still see".

And his best memory from the terraces? Luca rubs his cropped scalp as he ponders the question. "Wow, I guess it would be over in Acireale three years ago, when we won promotion. I was there in the Tupparello with my brother. Then I went along to the trials later that summer and got in. I was a fan, then six months later I was training and playing alongside the same guys I'd supported. I still am. It was insane".

The memories may still be very recent, but Luca harbours ambitions to create bigger and better ones in the future. "Obviously Serie B is our target. I think we're looking good for the playoffs again this year, and hopefully we can do better than last time. It was very disappointing... we don't want to have that feeling again. But we're on great form at the moment. There are three games left to win and then I'm confident that we can achieve promotion this year". From the determination in those words alone, it's easy to get the impression that this is a very personal thing for Luca. "My brother Paolo still comes to watch, to see his little brother play. It makes me proud for people to see Ragusa doing well".

mese prossimo: Next issue features the calcio seasonal review.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>