[FM16] U.S.D Novese, The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

[Northwood_DK]

After reading the brilliant story by Abe Sargent about the raise of UD Melilla I wanted to give LLM a shot.

I have never stated this low in the divisions and with an amateur team before so there will be a learning curve and plenty of mistakes.

I last played the FM14 so this is my first attempt on FM16 and the new and updated tactics upset witch will not help either.

So what I am trying to say is that this might be a bumpy run.

Enjoy.

[Northwood_DK]

The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo, Part I

I find the history of the Italian soccer leagues fascinating and have spent hours on Wikipedia and obscure Italian websites (thanks google translate) reading stories about raises and falls of long forgotten Italian football powers. A deep dive in the thesefootballtimes.co calcio pages is also highly recommended.
I knew I wanted to write a story about a team from the lower Italian leagues and in my hunt for an interesting narrative I came over the name Vittorio Pozzo and the story of the 1921-22 season.
That was the season when Italy crowned two champions!!

The story starts like this.

Vittorio Pozzo was born in 1886 (84 years before me, to the day) in Turin, Italy. He was born into a family with enough money to give him a chance to travel Europe after he had finished school in Turin.
The already football interested youngster sucked up all the knowledge he could about the beautiful game from around Europe. He traveled to Manchester to go to school (and play football) and on his way back to Italy in 1905 he stopped in Switzerland be become a professional footballer for Grasshopper Club Zürich.



When he returned to Italy he became one of the founders of the club Torino FC and played professionally for the club for five years.
The Torino team that would later be famous around the world under the name Il Grande Torino, for dominating Italian and European football, would call its stadium “Stadio Comunale Vittorio Pozzo" all the way up until 2006.


In 1911, 25-years old, Vittorio retired from professional football and took a job with Pirelli.

This could easily have been the end of the Vittorio Pozzo story.

But Vittorio kept his interest in football and already in 1912 he was back in the game, when he was appointed “commissioner” for the Italian football team traveling to Stockholm for the Olympics. The team didn't do well, getting knocked out early by the Finland, and Vittorio resigned and went back to his desk job with Pirelli.

But still he kept working as the Torino FC manager and on and off for the national team until 1929 when he took over the Azzurri full time. And he never looked back.
In the following years he would lead the Italian national team on an unbeaten run spanning from 1934 to 1939.
The run included the 1934 World Cup held on home turf, where Italy won the final 2-1 against Czechoslovakia after extra time. And four years later he repeated the feat winning the World Cup in France, beating Hungary in the final keeping the streak alive.
He is still the only coach to win back to back World Championships. And he did so using a formation he had been part of developing himself, known as the Metodo (2-3-2-3).

[Northwood_DK]

The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo, Part II

So what has all this to do with our story?

When Charlie Stillitano, chairman of Relevant Sports sat down with five of the big clubs in England to talk about the possibility for an European Super League just a few weeks ago, a lot of the smaller teams in Europe were complaining and upset about being shot out of the good company.
What many failed to understand was that this was a not an modenage problem for european football created by the success of the Champions League.
Already back in the twenties, there were disagreements between the big and the small teams in Europe and that's where we meet Vittorio Pozzo again.

In 1921 Vittorio Pozzo was asked by the Italian Football Association to come up with a solution to a problem.

The big Italian teams, mostly from the north, wanted to reduce the number of teams in the top division while the smaller teams were afraid to be left out.
Vittorio Pozzo was asked before the 1921-1922 season to draw up a solution reducing the number of teams in the top division to “just” 24 teams.

Many of the smaller teams and especially USD Novese, from the small town of Novi Ligure (population 30.000), who had just been promoted saw their chance to play with the big boys slipping away with the new suggested league format.



Vittorio Pozzo came with his suggestion but the teams could not agree and before the 1921-1922 season it came to full war between the two fractions and as a result a new league was created.
The F.I.G.C (Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio) arranged one championship for the small teams while the C.C.I (Confederazione Calcistica Italiana) went ahead and made an own tournament with the big Italian teams.
Both leagues would claim to crown the Italian champion.

Among the big teams Pro Vercelli had no problem taking home their 7th Italian title in the summer of 1922. It was to be Pro Vercelli's last title for many years until an American named Brian Phillips took command over the team and took them back to glory.
But that's another story (you can read here) in another parallel universe.

In the F.I.G.C division 27 teams were fighting for the vacant title. In the end it all came down to a showdown between newly promoted USD Novese and Sampierdarenese.

The two first finals games between the teams both finished in 0-0 draws and a third game was arranged. On the 21. May 1922 the two teams meet for a third time on a neutral field in Cremona in a winner takes all game and USD Novese took home the title with a 2-1 win after extra time.

With that USD Novese could take their place in the history books and is today one of just sixteen Italian teams to have won a Scudetto.

After the season the F.I.G.C and C.C.I finally came to an agreement and the two leagues were again merged into one. Now 36 teams in three groups would fight it out to find a winner, and Italy were back to crowning just one champion.

You can read the full story here

For USD Novese, the 15 minutes of fame was quickly over.

With the league's merging the year after, USD Novese failed to make an impact in the new Northern League in the new season, and already the year after in the 1923-1924 season the team found themselves last in their division and they were relegated.

From there the team disappeared into the black hole of the lower italian leagues never to be heard from again.

Until now.

I found the team in Serie D, without a manager, getting ready for the upcoming 2015/16 season. The Serie D is the top level of non-professional football in Italy where close to 170 teams split into 9 different regional divisions fights for promotion to the Lega Pro.

USD Novese, or the Bianco-azzurri as they are known among the loyal fans, were predicted to finish 18th out of the 20 teams in the league by the press and were a hot candidate for relegation.

USD Novese was not just in a slump. Since they were crowned Italian champions all the way back in 1922 they had never won anything. They have been relegated (a lot) and promoted but never as division winners. They were on their 92nd season without a trophy. That's a streak only beaten by the baseball team Chicago Cubs.

USD Novese is a team with a (sad) history and a Scudetto to its name and now it's my turn to make it a team with a future.

[Izulde]

Welcome to amateur life! It's as maddening as it is fun.

[Northwood_DK]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Welcome to amateur life! It's as maddening as it is fun.

Guess I have nothing to complain about at level 4 in Italy compared to your level 23 !!

But it takes some getting used to having too evaluate players with all single digit attributes.

Fun thing is that it feels like your managing means that much more on this level.

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

July 2015

So let's get started. We have a lot to do.

First thing first, I need a scout. We don't have any. We sign 38 year old Silvio Chiarugi.
9 in judging ability and 8 for potential. The best I can afford and who is willing to come to Novi Ligure.

I also meet the owner and try to get him to set up an affiliate club but he doesn't want to go down the road of loan players ?!!
We just stepped up the degree of difficulty.

I have no clue where we are compared to the other teams in the league. Most of them I have never heard about.
Correction, just checked the league table and I have never heard about ANY of the other teams!
I go safe and just promise to be competitive. I get £15K to use on transfers and a £5.225 p/w wage budget. That's £994 more than the £4.231 we are currently spending.
The media have us ranked 18th in a 20 team league.

So, what do I have to play with.

The top player on the team is 19-year old Denys Zhytarchuk from Ukraine. He is a striker (finishing 13) who has just joined the team this season and we pay him a team high £375 per week. He came from Alma Juventus Fano where he only started three games last season.
Not a glorious resume exactly.
Defensive winger Massimo Lucarelli got five star potential and is locked into a two year contract. I need to get him involved, but I have never played with a defensive winger before.

We make our first move in the transfer market. It's a loan deal for a 17 year old Brazilian midfielder (M LC / AM LC) from Inter. We don't need to pay anything and we welcome Matias Antonini Lui to the team. He is still a youth player but might be good enough to make the team.

We also signs a new keeper. We pick a guy recommended by our new scout. The young man in question is 22 years old and is called Michael Vezzani and will walk straight into the starting lineup.

We are in desperate need to find a DL before the season kicks off.

I get away with a win in my first game in charge of U.S.D Novese. A narrow 1-0 win against A.S.D Albese. Goal came of a beautiful volley by a 19 year old AMR Federico Micillo.
Not a bad start.

The first home game is a loss to a team from the league above us. 312 people showed up to watch.

The chairman comes to his senses and we sign an agreement with Napoli. It will not only give us access loan players but also £57k per year and a friendly. Happy days.
We make a loan offer for two players straight away. Napoli players Biagio Setola (A/AM L) and Antonio Granata (D C) joins us for depth. They are both 18 years old.
To bad that they don't have any DLs to loan us.

I will need to add some experience and determination. With the lack of talent in the lower leagues I plan to go for determination and teamwork instead.

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

August 2015

More friendlies.

I checked the rules book. Only the division winner earns promotion. Nice to know but I have a feeling that we don't have to worry too much about that this season. Let's take a look at relegation instead. The good news is that no teams will go down this season.
The only way is up


We quickly lose another home friendly-

We finally find a DL in the scrapheap of free agents. Gaetano Adamo joins us on trail for 4 weeks.

Another home friendly and another loss. Not helping moral. GK Thomas Masneri played the second half and allowed two soft goals and an own goal. Not a good day at the office. He just took a step back in the pecking order.

More players arrives on trails. This time a DMC/MC named Andrea Rota. Oh did i forget to mention that he is 38 years old !!

Another home friendly, another loss. But then again it's difficult to win without a single shot on goal. Tried to keep up the moral in the locker room. Still 365 people showed up to watch. Poor souls.

Next time it will be for real with the season opener coming up. I chose GK Michael Vezzani as team captain.

He might be 38, soon to turn 39, but Andrea Rota did very well in the friendlies so i sign him. I can afford £140 per week. The local press was not impressed.

Opening day roster


In the preseason I tried to play the players in positions where they had the best chance of succeeding. That resulted in a funky 4-1-4-1 DM WB asymmetric formation. And the results were horrible.
I decided to go back to something more classic for the first league game to make the players feel a bit more comfortable.

My first team looked like this.

GK - Michael Vezzani
DL - Matteo Miron
DC - Riccardo Lucarino & Antonio Granata
DR - Francesco Savarise
DM - Luca De Feo
ML - Matias Antonini Lui
MC - Andrea Rota
MR - Massimo Lucarelli
AMC - Vincenzo Perna
ST - Denys Zhytarchuk

@ home vs. Derthona F.B.C
1.089 showed up for the season opener against our rivals Derthona. Had they not been told what happened in the preseason?
What just happened? After scoring a total of two goals in the five pre season games we start the season by scoring 3 within the first 26 minutes. Two by our Ukrainian friend Zhytarchuk and one by the Inter player Matias Antonini Lui.
In the second half Matteo Poggio comes on for Perna who is not playing good as AMC. Daniele Pagano on for De Feo who picked up a yellow card.
After struggling in the preseason Denys Zhytarchuk gets his hat trick and PoM with a 9.6 Rat. A total of six Novese players finish with a rating over 8.0.

Just 37 games to go and just a week to the transfer deadline.
Need to make some smart moves but it's difficult with just 2% world knowledge. Needs a better option at AMC.

We sign Rixhi Elezaj. A 20 year old Albanian who can play DMC and MC. Not much to see now but plenty of upside. We also add the DL Gaetano Adamo who came on a trail on a permanent basis.

Denys Zhytarchuks hat trick has been noticed and his is called up to the Ukrainian U21 team for two matches. That will be his first ever international duty.



@ S.S.D Argentina (Yes that’s what they are called. From the city of Taggia.)
I am not a complete idiot, so only changes from last week's team is new signing Gaetano Adamo gets to start as DL. Ask them to pick up where they left off. Not the hardest peptalk to figure out.
Not as easy this time around. We struggle to control the ball. Then after 41 minutes we suddenly puts a beautiful attack together. Start out from the keeper and after several passes within the team Matias Antonini Lui crosse the ball to Denys Zhytarchuk who easily puts it away for his 4th goal of the season. We change to counter.
Argentina equalize after an hours play.
GK Michael Vezzani saves the day with three huge saves within the last 15 minutes. Happy to get away with a point in the end.


Before the transfer deadline we spend the first 3k of our transfer budget. We buy 20 year old Mattia Piotto from Pro Settimo & Eureka. An advanced playmaker with good decision-making, work rate and flair.
As it turns out that makes us the highest spenders in the division as nobody else actually pays for a player.

Just minutes before the deadline we make a final deal. Brice Bonelli was released by Parma and we pick him up on a free. The young Frenchman is a striker and got the attributes I like. Determination, workrate and composure.

Filippo Giordano and GK Michael Vezzani both improves in training.

[Young Drachma]

Cool story. Good luck with this. I still haven't done my FM LLM or anything, but I keep watching BPL each week and know once I dive in, there's no coming out. Will be following.

[bbgunn]

Jeez, you guys make me want to start a Football Manager dynasty thread! I currently have a decent Fort Lauderdale Strikers career going in FM14 (can't buy FM16 currently, but hopefully sometime in the summer, or wait until FM17 comes out), and I don't know if people want to hear about a dynasty from an older game.

Anyway, I'm following. Keep it up!

[Northwood_DK]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

Cool story. Good luck with this. I still haven't done my FM LLM or anything, but I keep watching BPL each week and know once I dive in, there's no coming out. Will be following.

Thanks for reading

Originally Posted by bbgunn

Jeez, you guys make me want to start a Football Manager dynasty thread! I currently have a decent Fort Lauderdale Strikers career going in FM14 (can't buy FM16 currently, but hopefully sometime in the summer, or wait until FM17 comes out), and I don't know if people want to hear about a dynasty from an older game.
Anyway, I'm following. Keep it up!

Thanks for reading bbgunna

No one cares witch version you are playing as long as you have a good story to tell.

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

September 2015

The new month starts with a testimonial for a guy named Massimo Lechthaler. He has played all his career with Virtus Vecomp Verona and I have never heard about him or his team and don’t need this game now. We play the backups and losses 0-3.
Not a big deal.

@ home vs. A.S.D Oltrepò-Voghera (again, I promise that I don’t make up these names)
Zhytarchuk is not back from international duty yet and new signing Brice Bonelli steps inn.
22 minutes is played when Riccardo Lucarino scores his first goal of the season when the visitors fails to clear a corner.
Almost got a second to open the second half but Massimo Lucarelli misses from point blank range. 10 minutes before full time we give up the equalizer. The goal was pretty but we were the better team today and should have won.
Riccardo Lucarino picks up a PoM.

@ home vs. Borgosesia Calcio
Borgosesia is in second place but i feel much better with Denys Zhytarchuk back in the lineup.
We starts out with some solid passing and that gives us a penalty after 14 minutes. Luca De Feo converts. Nothing more happens in the first half. Francesco Savarise looks complacent. He is out at the break and is replaced with Matteo Miron.
Riccardo Lucarino is having a bad day and is replaced with Daniele Pagano. We are under pressure and tries to counter instead. We hang on for the narrow win and moves up to 3rd in the standing. 987 people watched the game with 150 of them having paid the £107 for a season ticket.
Luca De Feo is PoM but even with regular playing time his skills are dropping. I will have to give Rixhi Elezaj a chance in the lineup over the next few week.

We move a few of the frenz players who is not close to the starting lineup down to the U20 team.

@ G.S.D RapalloBogliasco
Matias Antonini Lui hits the post after 13 minutes but only a minute later he gets revenge when he scores on a beautiful cross. After 33 minutes we take advantage of a free kick and Gaetano Adamo slides in the rebound for his first goal of the season
Keep focus is the word in the break. Vincenzo Perna is still not giving us much as AMC. He is out and Brice Bonelli inn for the second half.
We are under pressure but they don't produce anything really dangerous. Matias Antonini Lui is tired, inn comes Poggio with 25 minutes left to play. The game is decided with six minutes left when Denys Zhytarchuk is back on the scoring liste, finishing a surprisingly impressive team move.
Massimo Lucarelli gets two assists and a 9.0 Rat together with the PoM award.

@ F.C.D Sporting Bellinzago
The last game of the month and I go with the same team that won 3-0 last weekend. There are so many strange formations in Italy. Sporting Bellinzago plays something that can best be described as a 4-5-0-1.
We are a man down in the second minute. Massimo Lucarelli is injured and Matteo Miron will have to step up and play out of position. We are outplayed in the first half and hardly sees the ball (60% - 40%). GK Michael Vezzani is the big hero keeping us in the game.
I make a gamble. If we stay the same we will loss. I change to a classic 4-4-2 and ads Brice Bonelli up front next to Zhytarchuk and try to pump balls into the box.
Second half is much better and we end up with 5 shots on goal compared to two for them.
The game is a 0-0 draw and Vezzani is PoM in goal with an 8.2 Rat.
The six games unbeaten is a new team record.

Massimo Lucarelli will be out for two weeks. I don't have anyone to replace him. That is not a good thing.

Matias Antonini Lui, the young Brasilian from Inter is improving leaps and bounces in training. Guess we will not be able to keep him for long. Old man Rota is also doing well on the practice field.

Denys Zhytarchuk is called back for two more U21 games for his country. I miss him already.

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

October 2015


With Massimo Lucarelli out i make some changes. I go even more old school with a classic 4-4-2 formation .
The starting lineup looks like this

GK - Michael Vezzani (only allowed two goals in league play)
DL - Gaetano Adamo (The former Parma player)
DC - Riccardo Lucarino & Antonio Granata
DR - Francesco Savarise
ML - Matias Antonini Lui (The young brazilian from Inter)
MC - Andrea Rota & Vincenzo Perna (The 38 year old next to another former Parma player)
MR - Biagio Setola (First start for the Napoli loan player)
ST - Denys Zhytarchuk & Brice Bonelli (A player from Ukraine and a France on top)

@ home vs. A.S.D Chieri
Denys Zhytarchuk scores his 6th goal of the season on a long shot after a failed clearing by the Chieri team at the 25 minute mark. We keep Chieri without a shot in the first half.
After 56 minutes Biagio Setola makes a great move but hits the post. Who is there to clean up. It's Zhytarchuk again and he gets his second of the day.

It's not fancy but it's still a solid win. No surprise that Zhytarchuk is PoM with an 8.8 Rat.
After seven rounds we are in a surprising second place just a point behind league leaders Fezzanese.

@ S.C Caronnese
Massimo Lucarelli is back from his injury and steps back inn as MR. The success of Denys Zhytarchuk has a price. He is once again away on international duty for the U21 national team. We go back to playing with “only” one striker for this game.
Caronnese plays with three strikers and three deep midfielders. Not sure what is the best formation against that. We play the formation we know.
Both teams take plenty of shots in the first half but they all fail to hit their targets. Matias Antonini Lui has struggled in the first half and that gives Biagio Setola a new chance.
In the second half we struggle to be creative forward on the field.
Please come back soon Zhytarchuk.
Caronnese scores after 77 minutes on what was clearly a poorly hit cross. They will never admit that.
Not much we can do about it. We try to overload in the final minutes but to no avail.
The 7-games-without-a-loss streak is broken.

In Ukraine, Denys Zhytarchuk gets his first ever goal on the national level when his U21 team surprisingly beats England 2-1 in a Euro quals game.

@ U.S.D Lavagnese
Denys Zhytarchuk is back. I switch from 4-1-3-1-1 to a 4-1-3-2 formation. sideline Vincenzo Perna who is still not working as a AMC and bring inn Brice Bonelli behind Zhytarchuk as a deep lying forward.
We struggle with possession and is without a shot in the first 30 minutes. We go down 0-1 a few minutes before the break when we are out muscled by the Lavagnese strikers.
The new formation is not working. Out with Brice Bonelli again after a horror half (6.3 AvR) and back inn with a AMC.
Nothing works. It's just one of those days. We finish the game without a shot on goal. That was not pretty and we drop to 5th in the league.

@ home vs. A.C Bra
Both team comes into the game on a bad streak. We go back to the classic 4-4-2.
18 year old Michele Grossi gets a chance to play up top as a targetman. It will be his debut.
He scored after 15 minutes when he slides inn to meet a cross at the back post. Not a bad start. Keep it upp young fellow.
We also gets a great start to the second half when Massimo Lucarelli gets highest on a free kieck and directs the ball in with his head.
Lucarelli is PoM in a solid win.

I pick a fight with DC Mariano Rudi. He wants to play, it tell him he has to wait and he gets all bent out of shape. My two central defenders are doing good and i don't want to change a thing that is actually working. He will just have to eat it and wait. I ask my Ass man if he can finds him a new team. No such luck.

@ U.S.D Sestri Levante
Last game of the month against the worst team in the league. Let's keep the streak going (is 1 win a streak?) The newspapers say it's an easy win, didn't know they existed, even in Serie D.
It's a horrible game. In the end we are lucky to get away with a 0-0 draw.
Denys Zhytarchuk has our only real chance but messes it up. Looks like he plays better when he is alone up front.

Denys Zhytarchuk and DC Antonio Granata both show improved ball control in training while Old-man Rota is losing strength. Not a huge surprise i guess.

[Greyfriars Bobby]

Originally Posted by bbgunn

Jeez, you guys make me want to start a Football Manager dynasty thread! I currently have a decent Fort Lauderdale Strikers career going in FM14 (can't buy FM16 currently, but hopefully sometime in the summer, or wait until FM17 comes out), and I don't know if people want to hear about a dynasty from an older game.

Anyway, I'm following. Keep it up!

I'll read a good FM story anytime, even if it's not based on the latest edition. I like FM14 a lot; in fact, there are a few things I like better about it than either of the last two editions of the game.

[Greyfriars Bobby]

I just finished catching up with your story. I'd read a little about Pozzo somewhere, but I had no idea his tale was that interesting.

Good luck with USD Novese. I usually manage in the lower leagues myself, and it's a heck of a lot of fun. You're telling the story well, too.

I'll be following from here on!

[Northwood_DK]

Originally Posted by Greyfriars Bobby

I just finished catching up with your story. I'd read a little about Pozzo somewhere, but I had no idea his tale was that interesting.

Good luck with USD Novese. I usually manage in the lower leagues myself, and it's a heck of a lot of fun. You're telling the story well, too.

I'll be following from here on!

Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. That makes it a lot more fun to post

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

November 2015

Bad start to the month. AMC Mattia Piotto goes down in training with a torn groin muscle (sounds painful) and will be out for up to three months. We struggles at AMC from before so this will not help.

We are also told that Denys Zhytarchuk will leave (again) for four days in the middle of the month to play for his national U21 team.

@ home vs. A.S.D Pro Settimo & Eureka
A real challenge to start the month as we go up against the #2 team in the league. This should give us a pretty good indication on where we are this season. A loss and I will have a hard time seeing us competing for promotion this year.

Back to the formation with Denys Zhytarchuk alone on top and give Matias Antonini Lui a chance to try as AMC. Biagio Setola will play the ML.

We are behind after 20 minutes. I gets worse 10 minutes later when Zhytarchuk takes a knock thats sends him off the pitch. He is out and is replaced with Michele Grossi. This is not looking good at the break.
We get lucky after 56 minutes. Biagio Setola scores his first ever goal for us. The line ref might have been sleeping and missed and offside. Not that i'm complaining.
And just three minutes later we do it again. On a counter attack it's the sub Grossi who is last on the ball this time. Against the flow of play we have turned the game around.
Out with DC Riccardo Lucarino who is playing bad and inn with the guy who was complaining. Let's see if he can play.
We put lots of players behind the ball. It's not enough. With five minutes to play we give up the equalizer.
We get away with a draw and a very undeserved point. PoM is our GK Michael Vezzani with a 9.1 Rat.

Baaaaad news.
Denys Zhytarchuk will be out for 4 weeks with a groin strain.
At least he will not be going to the U21 game.

@ home vs. F.C Vado
Michele Grossi replaces Zhytarchuk up front. He is missing match practice. No other changes.
It's reported that several of the 1.241 people in the stands fell asleep during the first half.
Second half is better even if we fail to produce a single highlight. Another 0-0 and the fans starts to complain.
We are still 5th and “only” seven points out of first place. Novese fans should be use to a lot worse. You have not won anything in 92 years. Don't you think you can wait another year?

We loss our most important player GK Michael Vezzani for 10 days with blisters?

@ Pinerolo F.C
Thomas Masneri takes over in goal. Not happy about that but i got no better options. After three ties we need a win. Pinerolo F.C is a bad team and under normal circumstances we should have a fair chance, even on the road. But without our star striker and keeper I am not so sure.
We slow the game down to a work to get some possession and try to counter.
A horrible mistake by Francesco Savarise cost us after 42 minutes and we are one down.
Second half is not much better and we finish the game without a single shot on goal.
Back to the drawing board.

We loss Vincenzo Pernafor four weeks with a knee. The injuries are coming in a steady stream now.

@ U.S.D Castellazzo Bormida
Michael Vezzani is back in goal. Denys Zhytarchuk is still a few days away but I decided to gamble and play him anyway. Let's see how long he holds. Goes for a 4-4-2 formation and tries to counterattack. Giacomo Rolleri from the U20 team is taken into the team and will start in the central midfield.
Two again after twenty two minutes. Massimo Lucarelli equalize after 37 minutes. The architect behind the goal is Denys Zhytarchuk on one leg.
Gives the old “we can still pull this one out” in the break.
Goes up after 54 minutes when Matias Antonini Lui heads in a cross.
Pulls a very tired/injured Zhytarchuk and replace him with Luca De Feo as the DM in the 4-1-4-1 formation.
It's still not enough. We give up the equalizer with 2 minutes left on the clock.

Its pretty obvious. The players I have i just not good enough to earn us promotion this season. I will have to make a move when the transfer window opens in January.
Only catch is that the salary budget is used already so i will have to try to locate a few amateurs who will play for “free” non-contracts but who can still improve our team.

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

December 2015

I get my christmas present early as I am offered a new contract to start the month.
They offer me a 2-year deal with a stunning £500 p/w in compensation. No bother to argue now. Hopefully I can make it up in the future.

To celebrate I sign a new striker. Denis D'Onofrio comes for free and will be paid £100 for each appearance and another £25 per goal. I will have no trouble paying out a few of those £25 each week.

After a horrible november I badly need a win .

@ S.C.D Ligorna 1922
After x games on the road we finally gets a home game. Denys Zhytarchuk is back in the starting lineup and so is Denis D'Onofrio. He hits the upright after 18 minutes. Promising start. Two minutes later he steals the ball at midfield and sets up Zhytarchuk. He misses.
Promising.
We have to wait an hour for the goal. A well known recipe. Cross from Massimo Lucarelli is headed inn by Zhytarchuk.
This time we make no mistakes and pulls in the narrow 1-0 win.

We release two backups with no upside and instead sign Andrea Doardo. He is a MC at age 32 who will play for money. We will pay him £85 pr appearance. With 15 in teamwork and determination he is hopefully worth the money.

@ home vs. Acqui
First home game in a month. Andrea Doardo and Denis D'Onofrio will both start.
First 30 minutes we play some attractive football and have several big chances without scoring. The ball bounces off the woodwork three times in the first half.
Still it's 0-0 at the half.
After 65 minutes Acqui has a man sent off for a second yellow card. We press forward.
Matias Antonini Lui has to limp off. It doesn't look good.
Last 10 minutes we go all out attack without accomplishing much.

17 year old Brazilian ML Matias Antonini Lui have improved hugely since arriving on loan from Inter and played in 17 games. Now he will miss the next two months with a broken collarbone.
The next day one of our U20 players is ruled out for 5-6 months with a broken foot.
We take the consequences and sign an extra physio.

The starting eleven now looks like this

GK - Michael Vezzani ( only conceded 8 goals in 17 league games)
DL - Gaetano Adamo
DC- Antonio Granata & Riccardo Lucarino
DR - Francesco Savarise ( one of four player with 18 apps)
ML - Biagio Setola ( Napoli loan player in for injured Matias Antonini Lui )
MC - Andrea Rota & Andrea Doardo ( a combined 71 years old !!)
MR - Massimo Lucarelli (A team high 7.34 AvR)
ST - Denys Zhytarchuk & Denis D'Onofrio

@ home vs. A.S.D.C Gozzano
For a change we get off to a good start when Andrea Rota scores after just 21 minutes. Zhytarchuk is the creator. Its Old man Rotas first for goal for us.
Zhytarchuk scores a second just two minutes later on our best attack of the year. A perfect overlap is followed up with a super cross and the Ukrainian makes no mistakes.
The guests pulls one back a minute into extra time.
I try to encourage the team in the break.
To no avail. It takes just 22 seconds before they equalize.
Then Massimo Lucarelli joins the party with his 3rd goal of the season. We have had three shots on goal and they have all gone inn.
66 minutes and we once again gives up the lead on a fast break. We are the team supposed to be playing counter attack?
D'Onofrio gets a chance to be matchwinner with 3 minutes left but puts it outside alone with the keeper.
The game finish 3-3.
Just one more game before new year.

@ Fezzanese
The last game of the year is also the final game of the first half of the season.
On the second day of x-mas 181 people shows up for a borrowing 0-0 game.

We have played a total of 19 games in the 120th best league in the world. We have won six, lost three and drawn ten for a total of 28 points. That is good enough for 7th place. We are 9 points away from the top of the league and 12 points away from last place.
We have scored 22 goal with Denys Zhytarchuk scoring nine of them.
Massimo Lucarelli got the most assists and also the highest AvR (7.31).
In the other end of the field Michael Vezzani got a league high 11 clean sheets and only allows 0.61 goals pr 90 minutes.
We are the only team to average more the 1000 people pr home game.

It comes as a surprise to all but we don't have any players selected in the FIFA world team this year.
I AM SHOCKED.

Just before new year we offer trails for three new players. Let's see if we can improve a little.

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

January 2016

@ home vs. S.S.D Argentina Arma
We get go ahead to to start the second half of the season. Its old man Andrea Rota who scores first in the new year.
We still struggle to score goals but stay solid in the back of the field. We hold on to the narrow lead.
That was a good start to the year.

I up the expectations to a mid table finish and I have my wage budget moved up to £6.2K p/w. That gives us another £1k to play with.

We get a chance to pick up a few more Napoli players on free loan deals. Most of them a 17 year old spoiled brats who think they are to good to spend time in Novi Ligure playing for us.
Manolo Cioffi is the only one worth giving a try. He is a AM who can both play on both the right and left side of the field.

I also add another defender in Antonio Silvestri. He comes on a free transfer and is paid £70 pr start on a non contract.
We are losing money every month. Not much and the board is not complaining.

@ Derthona F.B.C
We have a soft start to the new year. This time we play Derthona who are currently in 19th place. Let's see if we can repeat the 4-0 win we had against them last we meet.
A fun fact about Derthona is that their stadium is named after the italian cycling legend Fausto Coppi.
Both teams have horrible defensive mistakes during the first half that cost goals. First Riccardo Lucarino tries to clear a ball right into the center of the field and Derthona scores an easy goal.
Five minutes before the half it's Derthona to make a mistake. The keeper drops a cross and Massimo Lucarelli can easily roll the ball into the net.
We play a lot better second half but still only comes away with a draw against one of the worst teams in the league. We have not lost in the last seven games but only got two wins.

We go back to the 4-1-3-1-1 formation with Denys Zhytarchuk alone on top.
The starting lineup today looks like this.
GK - Michael Vezzani
DL - Gaetano Adamo
DC - Riccardo Lucarino & Antonio Granata
DR - Francesco Savarise
DM - Luca De Feo
ML - Biagio Setola
MC - Andrea Rota
MR - Massimo Lucarelli
AMC - Mattia Piotto
ST - Denys Zhytarchuk

@ Oltrepò-Voghera
We play in front of a season low 150 people in the city of Stradella.
We hit the upright already after 30 seconds. That's about all we accomplice in the first half.
It turns out it's the only thing we accomplish all game.
We will not win any prices for entertaining football. We now got six 0-0 games in the league.

We almost loss our scout to rival A. C. Bra but i manage to talk him into staying.

@ home vs. G.S.D RapalloBogliasco
Antonio Granata sits out with a cold and is replaced with new signing Antonio Silvestri. I need to start rotating some players.
After playing some of the worst team in the league we now play the #2. At least we are at home.
For a change we actually control the ball in the first half but we are still unable to create chances and get shots on goal.
Four minutes into the second half Denys Zhytarchuk scores his 10th goal of the season. Once again he gets his head on a cross.
A few minutes later Zhytarchuk has to leave the field with a hurt foot.
We go to counter attack and moves the AMC down so we play with two DMs.
Brice Bonelli scored on a perfect counter
The last 15 minutes are not pretty. Lots of people behind the ball. We gives up a lot of shots but none of them are close to goal.
Great win. DR Francesco Savarise is the big player with a 8.7 Rat.

The bad news is that Denys Zhytarchuk is out for another four weeks.

I have the Verona coach on the phone complaining about the lack of playtime for Matteo Miron.
I promise to play him more, but let's see what happens. This is my team and I am deciding who is playing and who is not.

@ home vs. Sporting Bellinzago
Today's opponent is currently just three points in front of us in second place in the league table. The young frenchman Brice Bonelli replace the injured Zhytarchuk. Antonio Granata is back from his cold
Bonelli gets his chance just before the break when the defends misses a clearance. He misses alone with the keeper and it's the usual 0-0 at the break.
After an hour I can't take it anymore and gets ready to pull Bonelli. With a 6.3 Rat I can't just sit and watch any more. But before the sideline ref gets up his sign, Bonelli is last on a cross and scores.
Bonelli is still replaced with D'Onofrio and his first touch on the ball is a goal. Just like that we are up by two.
Sporting Bellinzago scores after 70 minutes. It will be another close finish and we dig inn.
Its decided ten minutes before the end when Denis D'Onofrio gets his second of the day. He finish the game with a 8.8 Rat and we moves up to 4th place in the league.
It was fan day and a record 1391 people saw a great performance resulting in a 3-1 win.

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

FEBRUARY 2016

The month opens up with some good news. We get a new main kit sponsor. That will earn us another £84K. That takes us back into black numbers for the year.

Its transfer deadline day. Nobody even looks at our players but several teams are still coming after our scout Silvio Chiarugi.
I offer him a new contract and he accepts.

Feels like we have to make a move before the deadline so we sign another DL named Omar Cristiani to a non-contract.

We have some tough games in front of us with several of the top teams coming up.

@ Borgosesia
Matias Antonini Lui is back from his injury but will start on the bench. Only change from last week is Andrea Doardo inn for Old man Rota. Just to mix it up.
We play an inspired first half and crest several chances. Best is a shot on the upright by french youngster Brice Bonelli after 30 minutes.
Then its no good when we allow a goal from a corner after 40 minutes.
We can still win this is the theme at the break.
And Bonelli got the message and scores the equalizer after 63 minutes when he gets behind the defends on a cross. I give Matias Antonini Lui 30 minutes in the central midfield as replacement for a poor Andrea Doardo.
We create a few good chances but fail to score and for once we dominate time of possession.
We are slowly getting better

@ A.S.D Chieri
In the first 30 minutes we had the possession lead at 58% to 42% but they had all the shots 5-1.
Bad day for Brice Bonelli and he is replaced with Denis D'Onofrio up front
In the second half we tries to press a bit more forward. D'Onofrio almost scored after an hour but a great safe by the opponent's keeper keeps the game at 0-0.
We pile on the pressure.
After 78 minutes the A.S.D Chieri striker takes a shot. Looks like an easy safe for Michael Vezzani but the ball takes a deflection off Antonio Granata and into the net.
Unlucky.
We go on attack to get back in the game. Hitting the upright is the closest we get. Our first loss in 12 games.

@ home vs. Caronnese
There are five teams within one point of the leader of the division. We are just behind those teams four points back. Today's opponent Caronnese is one of the team in front of us.
Riccardo Lucarino is out with a yellow card ban but we have Denys Zhytarchuk back.
He is out of game shape and will start on the bench.
The first half is a bore and the two teams combine for just two shots.
After an hour it's time for Zhytarchuk. Matias Antonini Lui is also coming on and we instantly creates three huge chances.
But that's it. We don't produce a lot more and we have to settle for another 0-0 draw.

The final game of the month is against division leaders A.C Bra.
Both Zhytarchuk and Matias Antonini Lui is back in the starting lineup.

The starting 11 looks like this:

GK - Michael Vezzani
DL - Gaetano Adamo
DC - Antonio Silvestri & Antonio Silvestri’
DR - Francesco Savarise
DM - Luca De Feo
ML - Matias Antonini Lui
MC - Andrea Rota
MR - Massimo Lucarelli
AMC - Mattia Piotto
ST - Denys Zhytarchuk

@ A.C Bra
There is snow on the field on game day and -4 degrees but the stadium is sold out (800 people).
We start out cautiously. AC Bra didn't show much either and we had the only shot on goal in the first half.
Could we afford to push forward a bit more in the second half?
I decided to try as we need a win to stay in the promotion hunt. In the 72nd minute we got rewarded when Zhytarchuk out sprints the defenders and score.
Only to find out that the linesman's flag was up.
Offside !!
I chicken out and pull back to defend the one point and we ended up with another 0-0 game. We were now six points back with five teams in front of us with just 9 games left to play.

We finished the month without a win and just one goals scored in four games. Only mitigating circumstance is that we played against some of the best teams in the league.

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

MARS 2016

@ home vs. U.S.D. Lavagnese
For the tenth home game in a row we have more than 1000 people showing up. And this time we finally got to show them a goal. Massimo Lucarelli to Denys Zhytarchuk and we take the lead after 21 minutes.
U.S.D. Lavagnese pushes us back in the second half. Luckily it's mostly long shots and they are off target. Halfway thru the second half they got 11 shots with 0 on target.
We hold on for the narrow win.

Next up is Sestri Levante. A mid table team we need to beat to keep the dream of promotion alive.
Antonio Silvestri did not impress in the center defends and is back on the bench.

@ home vs. Sestri Levante
First chance within 50 seconds and the fans loves it. They don't love it four minutes later when Sestri Levante plasters a long shot attempt from 25 yds out into the right corner.
It's a beauty, but one I could have been without.
We keep up the pressure. Over 60% possession but we struggle to get shots on goal.
We need a corner to get on the board. Antonio Granata dominates the air (heading: 13) and heads in the equalizer.
Denys Zhytarchuk is not playing good. I give him the “I-believe-in-you” speech at halftime.
He looks happy-
It doesn't help. He still plays badly (6.3 Rat). He is out and Brice Bonelli is inn.
After 75 minutes I take a gamble. Pushes forward to a 4-2-3-1 formation looking for a goal.
It doesn't help. 1-1 is the final result and we are now 7 points out of first place.

Denys Zhytarchuk is called up for international duty again. I ask for him only to play a half.

We try something new. Gianluca Migliaccio has played well in the U20 team as AMC. He gets a chance in the starting lineup today.

@ Pro Settimo & Eureka
Loss the ball in our own half and we pay the ultimate price. We are down 0-1 after 20 minutes.
After 37 minutes I get to feel good about my managing skills when the U20 youngster Gianluca Migliaccio scores.
We get close to taking the lead after 53 minutes but the header Denys Zhytarchuk have scored on all year long, this time hits the crossbar instead. He is still struggling and I replace him with Denis D'Onofrio.
And once again I am proved a genius when Denis D'Onofrio heads in the ball from a free kick after 84 minutes.
(let's face it, it was pure luck)
We are under heavy pressure the last 10 minutes but holds on.
Gianluca Migliaccio is PoM.

Denys Zhytarchuk was selected captain for the Ukraina U20 team in their loss to France.

@ home vs. Pinerolo
No surprise that U20 sensation Migliaccio gets a second chance and I also go with D'Onofrio instead of a tired Zhytarchuk just back from international duty
Migliaccio to D'Onofrio almost gives us a go ahead goal in the 34th minute. Only a reflex from the keeper denies us.
We have the ball 60% of the first half but both teams are still scoreless.
Pushes a bit more forward (control) and ask them to keep going.
After 64 minutes we are once again punished by a longshot in the corner. Vezzani is chanceless in goal.
Pulls the DM and goes for two strikers and goes on attack.
We create several huge chances but the ball will not over the line.
Instead they score a second.
It's over.
8 points out of first with 6 games to play and five teams in front of us on the table.

Let’s prepare for another season in the swamp known as the Italian Serie D.

[SirFozzie]

Considering you were picked 18th, still a very good result!

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

April 2016

Lots of contracts are about to expire for both staff and players. I renew just a few of them. Looking for a complete rebuild this offseason.

For some reason we only got three games this month.

Against the #18 team in the league at home I decide to gamble and go for a complete reshuffle of the formation. 4-1-2-2-1 asymetric is the result.

@ home vs. Castellazzo Bormida #18
Not a success. We get away with another 1-0 win. The lone goal comes from a penalty.
We have the best defends in the league and have only allowed 20 goals in 33 matches with the second best team 6 goals behind at 26 in 33.
Before next season I need to rebuild the attack and find a formation that works on this level.

Why wait. I made the first move already. Agreed to release striker Denis D'Onofrio on a free transfer. He want garanties for first team football and I am not willing to give him that and we agreed to part ways.
I said goodbye to 13 starts, 3 goals and a 6.82 Rat. I will still be able to sleep at night.

Finally back on the pitch after a two weeks break. Back to the old formation.
I bench Antonio Granata. He is a Napoli loan player and will probably not be back next season so i replace him with our own Antonio Silvestri to give him some valuable first team football.

@ F.C. Vado #10
Denys Zhytarchuk scores after 10 minutes. Its his first goal in five games.
We are embarrassed after 25 minutes when F.C. Vado scores on a free kick when we completely forget to cover and only looks at the ball
Not much more to report. The game ends 1-1.
We loss 20 year old MC Vincenzo Perna for the rest of the season. He will be out 2 months with a damaged knee.

All the way at the top of Italian football, Juventus takes home the title with three games to go. It's their 5th Scudetto in a row.
We are coming for you !!!

@ Acqui U.S. #20
Acqui U.S. might be the worst team in the league but they are also our biggest rival .
It starts after 14 minutes when we take the lead on a goal from Matias Antonini Lui.
He adds a second and his 5th of the season a few minutes later on another great cross.
Then Denys Zhytarchuk gets inn on the action and finally DR Massimo Lucarelli.
All before the break. We have played the perfect half*.
The second half is a letdown.
No more scores and we go home with a 4-0 win against our bitter rivals.
Lucarelli is MoM and one of three player with a rating over 9.0.

*it turns out that I at some point have messed around with the tactics and have lost all the player instructions. Pretty sure that's why we have struggled with possession in the last few games.
Stupid mistake by me.

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

May & June 2016

The italian team's releases youth players. I try to sign a few of them but they are all delusional and still thinks they are to good to play for a team like U.S.D. Novese.
Wake up guys. There is a reason why you were just released on a free transfer.

Only a single minor change from last week's team. Gaetano Adamo is back in at DL after a weeks of rest and that puts Omar Cristiani back on the bench.
Pick up where you left off is the obvious theme in the pep talk.

@ A.S.D.C. Gozzano #17
We have a goal disallowed just before the break. Its an obvious mistake by the referee (if you ask me).
We have to wait until the 75th minute. Its Zhytarchuk with his 14th goal of the year on assist from our new AMC Gianluca Migliaccio, who have been doing great since promoted from the U20 team. In the five games he played he got a 7.42 Rat.
It's enough for another win and we moves into 3rd place in the standing.
Too little, too late. We are still eight points back from G.S.D RapalloBogliasco in first place with only six points left to play for.
There is alway next year.

We will now have to wait another two weeks to play the next game.

With nothing left to play for i move old man Andrea Rota out of the team. He will not be back next season. Not because he did bad this season. He played 33 game and had an 7.03 AvR, but walkers will not be allowed on the field next season. Therefore he has announced that he will retire after the season.
He is replaced with 18 year old Giacomo La Piana from the U20 team. He is the best young midfield we have and I need to see what he can do. (Teamwork:14, Passing and workrate 11)


@ home vs. S.C.D. Ligorna 1922 #14
Ligorna takes the lead within the first minute of play. We haven't even touched the ball.
We play a horrible game.
Cannot keep control of the bal and don't produce any chances. Giacomo La Piana is not to blame as he has a decent performance in central midfield.
It's our first home loss this season.
Just one game left to play.

We sign a new deal with defender Riccardo Lucarino. He have played almost every game for us this season and will get another chance next season.

@ home vs. U.S. Fezzanese #7
Final game of the season. No big changes.
We commit a penalty before 5 minutes is played. Luckily for us it's a horrible attempt and Michael Vezzani saves it easily.
It doesn't help as we give up the go ahead goal ten minutes later instead.
Zhytarchuk bails us out after 25 minutes. Assist by Matias Antonini Lui. I will miss him when he goes back to Inter Milan in a few days.
Three minutes later we are behind again.
For once it's our defends letting us down, with all of them underperforming.
Last halftime speech of the year.
Show some passion.
We pushes forward but got nothing left in the tank.
We loss the last two games of the year
That is disappointing.

The season is over.

We finish in 5th place, nine points behind the winners.
We “only” scores 42 goals in the 28 games. That's middle of the pack.
The positive is that we only allows 24 against. That a league best, 8 goals in front of the second best team. We are also best in the league in goal differential (+18).

Massimo Lucarelli wins “Fans player of the year” and “Young player of the year”.

Highest AvR
ITA Gianluca Migliaccio 7.46 (in 8 apps)
ITA Francesco Savarise 7.24
ITA Massimo Lucarelli 7.23

Goals
UKR Denys Zhytarchuk - 15
BRA Matias Antonini Lui - 5
ITA Massimo Lucarelli - 5

Assists
ITA Massimo Lucarelli - 10
BRA Matias Antonini Lui - 5
ITA Francesco Savarise - 5

PoM
ITA Massimo Lucarelli - 4
ITA Francesco Savarise - 3
ITA Michael Vezzani - 2

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese - Season 2
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

July 2016


In France where the big boys play, Italy is knocked out of the European Championship by Portugal in the first knockout stage after penalties.
Portugal goes on a losses the final to Denmark !!

I don't have time to go to France. I got work to do. I have 50 days before we open the new season against S.S.D. Argentina Arma.
Let the rebuilding begin.
I have made a list of problems I need to address. It looks like this.

DC
We had the league's best backline last season. Antonio Granata have gone back to Napoli and we need to replace him. Antonio Silvestri did not show enough to earn the spot in the starting lineup and at age 31 his physical attributes have started to decline already. Especially his pace is a concern.

AM L
We will miss Matias Antonini Lui who was on loan from Inter. Inter is willing to loan him back to us for another season but he don't want to come back.

MC
Andrea Rota is retiring. I need a player with a bit of experience who can boss the midfield like Rota did. He had the team's best pass completion rating at 84% last season.
Who will control the ball for us this season?

AMC
Gianluca Migliaccio came up from the U20 team for the last 8 games and was a revelation. The problem is that he was on a non-contract last season and now he refuses to sign a new deal with us.

ST
The lack of goalscoring held us back last season. Denys Zhytarchuk did well with 15 goals but behind him it was scary empty. Matias Antonini Lui and Massimo Lucarelli were second with five goals each.
It was also a concern that Zhytarchuk played best as a lone striker and that he went cold for long periods of time.

It turns out that signing players to a semi professional team is not that easy. Lots of interesting players to look at but not a lot of them is willing to play for free (or the peanuts that we can offer them).
When it's all set and done we have added a total of eight new players to the team. Three will join us on loan, two on part time contracts while another three plays on non-contracts with only appearance fees.
This was not the way it was supposed to play out. I am not sure this years team is better than last years team.

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese - Season 2
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

AUGUST 2016

We play the first friendly of the season against another fallen giant in S.S.D. Parma Calcio 1913. Might be a bit of a stretch to call us fallen giants but we got one more Scudetto than Parma can claim.
With several new players on the team we play a surprisingly good first half. Parma is the heavy favourite but it's Denys Zhytarchuk scoring first after 36 minutes. The creator is new man (and former Parma player) Gianmaria Cucurnia.
Subbing almost the entire team for the second half. After 75 minutes it cost us when we give up the equalizer.
Still a lot of positive. Ask them to keep it up.
We control the ball for almost 60% against a Parma team that won their Seria D division by a mile last season.
PoM is Gianmaria Cucurnia with a solid 8.8 Rat. Let's just hope he can keep it up.

The bookmakers don't believe in us this year either. We got 81-1 preseason odds and is ranked 15th. The hot favourite is Ischia Isolaverde who was just relegated.

In the next preseason game we easily brushes Colligiana aside. On the road we keep them without a shot on goal. We get the game winner from Zhytarchuk again.

The final pre season game before the season kicks off is against the mighty Napoli.
A record 3.417 (3.500 capacity) sees us get hammered in the first half. We are down 0-3 before 25 minutes is played and Hamsik and Co decided to go easy on us.
We keep them scoreless for the remaining of the game and avoids the total humiliation and can instead add some money to the bankaccount.

@ home vs. Argentina Arma #NA
We start the season at home against S.S.D. Argentina Arma. They finished last season in 9th place.
Starts out horrible. Giving away the ball and several big chances.
Lucky to not give up a goal and even more lucky to be rewarded a penalty after 33 minutes. Zhytarchuk makes no mistakes from the spot. It's our first shot on goal.
The second half is much better. We take control of the ball and create several chances.
We runs out of power in the last 15 minutes.
Our best player last season Massimo Lucarelli limps off injured. Lots of tired legs from the Napoli game (just 3 days earlier) and the final 5 minutes is pure survival. We hang on to the 1-0 win and a good start to the season.
New signing Luca Dimasi was a revelation with a 8.9 Rat.
It's a slight concern that we have scored three goals in the four games we have played this year. All scored by Zhytarchuk

Massimo Lucarelli will be out for 4-5 weeks. Not good as it's one of the position we don't have much depth.

We now got two player leaving us for international duty. Both Denys Zhytarchuk and Albanian defender Armando Sykaj will miss the first match of august due to play for the national U21 team.

I got a tired team already and Massimo Lucarelli is out. On the ML Pasquale D'Addio is not fully recovered from the last game and is replaced with new signing Nicolò Condorelli.
A total of five changes is made from the first game.

@ Oltrepò-Voghera#20
We have good control and dominates the first ten minutes but then gives up a goal .
After 24 minutes we are back to equal when Zhytarchuk scores again on a nice pass from Condorelli. He is still our only goal scorer and will be away next week.
Gianmaria Cucurnia is exhausted and has to come out at the break. 32 year old Andrea Doardo replaces him.
After an hour we are lucky when the opponent has a goal call back from a questionable offside.
We have the ball the most and take the most shots but without hitting the goal a lot and we have to settle for a draw.
A tired team crawls off the field.

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese - Season 2
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

SEPTEMBER 2016

Missing half of my defends with Armando Sykaj away on international and Francesco Savarise out with a dead leg.
Up front Denys Zhytarchuk is also away for his country.
This might get ugly-

@ home vs. A.C. Bra #1
As expected we struggled early. Not much comes of the first half with A.C. Bra having the only shot on goal.
With Denys Zhytarchuk gone It's Brice Bonelli up front. He is not accomplishing much.
A.C. Bra scores after 57 minutes when we fail to clear a cross and their striker gets two attempts to put it over the line.
We got nothing.
It's an uninspired 0-1 home loss where nobody manage a rating over 7.1.

And the injuries keeps coming. Next on the list is Andrea Doardo who will be out for 5 weeks with a broken arm.

Playing against a team with three pure strikers only happens in the italian lower leagues i guess. But that is was awaits us when we play S.C.D. Ligorna 1922 on the road.

@ S.C.D. Ligorna 1922#19
We are looking good the first 20 minutes dominating the ball (65%) without creating any big chances. And that's the way it continues for the rest of the first half. Neither team manage a shot on goal.
Second half is not much better. Have to wait until the last 10 minutes for some action. We hit the crossbar twice but cannot score.
A 0-0 draw

We have sold 160 season tickets. That 10 more than last season.
Small steps.

With just two goals in the four first games i need to try something new. Back to the 4-2-2 formation with two pure strikers.

@ home vs. Borgosesia #8
Massimo Lucarelli is back on MR and thats a good thing. He scores his first goal of the season after just six minutes. That's the result at the break.
Second half is a display in effective football.
Brice Bonelli first and then two by Zhytarchuk gives us a fantastic 4-0 win. We move into 4th place in the league.
Both Denys Zhytarchuk with two goals and Nicolò Condorelli with two assists finishes the day with a rating over 9.0.
We take a season high 19 shots today.

Next up in the last game of the month is Ischia Isolaverde. The team the bookmakers had as heavy favourites before the season are off to a rough start with only two wins and two draws in the five first games.
I go with the same formation that won 4-0 just a week ago.

@ Ischia Isolaverde#7
The moral is high but i still decide to go out low and try to counter. We have two big chances within the first ten minutes. We have a single good counter attempt just before half but beside that nothing much more happens in the first half.
Keep it up, we can still win i tell the same 11 players before the second half.
Brice Bonelli is not playing well up front. I replace him with Luigi Mentana as AMC. Mentana last 10 minutes on the field before he goes off injured. Next AMC up is [b][/Vincenzo PernaB]
Six minutes before full time we roll up a perfect attack. Ball moves all the way from the keeper and six different players touches the ball before Pasquale D'Addio puts it in the net.
For the last 5 minutes we drop our last striker and ads Luca De Feo as a DM instead.
We run out the clock without trouble.

That is a huge win on the road against a quality tem. Team moral is suddenly excellent and we are 3rd in the league after six rounds is played and the fans loves it.
Only negative is that we will be without Luigi Mentana for four weeks due to an injury.

We are informed that we will miss Armando Sykaj (ALB) and Denys Zhytarchuk (URK) in next month's game against bitter rivals Acqui because of international U20 callups.

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese - Season 2
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

OCTOBER 2016

@ Gozzano#6
Not a good start to the month.
After just six minutes keeper Vezzani try to clear the ball but gets unlucky and hits Lucarino in the part of the body just below the lower-back and the ball bounces into the goal for an embarrassing own goal.
At least we got 84 minutes to try to repair the damage.
We try to take control. We have the ball but don't produce a lot in the first half.
Show me something else. The team reacts well and seems motivated.
Doesn't help on the field.
We gives up a second goal after 53 minutes.
Mattia Dendi has replaced Brice Bonelli again and we gets one back after 65 minutes on a Mattia Dendi goal.
Still hope to get a result.
Last 10 minutes we press forward to try to get the equalizer. Takes out a defender and adds a AMC to the mix.
We win the shots statistic 18 to 11 but we can't overcome the own goal.

That's a stupid loss. We were the better team all day.

Getting ready for one of the biggest games of the year against rivals Acqui U.S. For a change we have a few journalists around the practice ground and we even have to hold a press conference before the game.
I try to keep calm.

It's not ideal to be without two regular starters for a game like this but Sykaj and Denys Zhytarchuk will not be available today as they play international football.

The team looks like this:

GK - Michael Vezzani
DL - Gaetano Adamo
DC - Riccardo Lucarino & Antonio Silvestri
DR - Francesco Savarise
ML - Nicolò Condorelli
MC - Pasquale D'Addio & Gianmaria Cucurnia
MR - Massimo Lucarelli
ST - Mattia Dendi & Brice Bonelli

@ home vs. Acqui U.S.#16
We start out a bit slow.
After 24 minutes we hit the post on a longshot and Bonelli puts inn the rebound.
Only to have it disallowed for a questionable offside.
Just a few minutes later we almost gives up a goal when Antonio Silvestri tries to play out of defends instead of just clearing the ball.
We hit the crossbar just before the break.
And again to start the second half. Another ball in the woodwork.
Now it's just getting comical. The fourth ball bounces off the Acqui upright.
In the 87th minutes we finally breaks thru. Substitute Vincenzo Perna scores his first goal of the season.
Thats enough to earn us the “hugely important” win over our rivals from 45 minutes down the road.

@ home vs. Lavagnese #14
The attack on the uprights continues. This week we start out with a header from Zhytarchuk in the crossbar.
Tied 0-0 at the halfway mark
Puts DC Luca Riggio on the field just after the break. He just needs 3 minutes before he scores from a corner. His first goal of the season.
Replace a striker with a DMC and go counter.
Denys Zhytarchuk scores our second a few minutes later on a direct freekick. The keeper didn't look good.
Winger Nicolò Condorelli has to leave the field with an injury but we comfortably controls the rest of the game for the easy win.

First place team S.C. Caronnese losses big on the road and we move into first place in the division (tie on points with two other teams).

Nicolò Condorelli will miss the next game. He got an 7.8 AvR over the last five games. Will be missed.
We will also be without Gianmaria Cucurnia for 4 weeks with a knee. He has also played in all nine games this season.
Will need to make a lot of changes on the midfield next week.

In the top division our affiliated club Napoli is struggling. Have only won two of their 8 first games to start the season and manager Massimo Carnevale might be in serious trouble.

33 year old Andrea Doardo and xx replaces Condorelli and Cucurnia with Pasquale D'Addio moving out as ML.

@ Sestri Levante #13
After 13 minutes of play Sestri Levante gives up a silly penalty and Denys Zhytarchuk has no problems converting. We have several big chances to add a second goal but fail to do so. Let's just hope it will not get back and bit us.
Nothing much happens in the first 30 minutes of the second half.
We pull a striker and again adds a DM only to give up a few huges chances.
Luckily Zhytarchuk saves us with his second of the day and 7th of the season when he slides inn the ball after 83 minutes.

Nicolò Condorelli is back from his injury but still not in game shape. I keep D'Addio on the ML for now. I also replace Brice Bonelli. He has been our worst player over the last 5 games with a 6.60 AvR. 17 year old Luigi Mentana from Napoli will get a chance to replace him.


This week's game will be a bit more tricky as we lost both home and away to Pinerolo F.C. last season.

@ Pinerolo F.C. #6
They Napoli youngster Mentana only needs 7 minutes before he gets his first big chance but he fails to score. We play a solid first half and keeps Pinerolo F.C. without a shot on goal.
Now we just need to turn all our posession (60%) into some goals in the second half.
The last 30 minutes we try to push a bit more forward but to no avail.
It finish in a 0-0 bowring draw.

I have a talk with Denys Zhytarchuk about his performance at training. He admits to have been slacking and will do better. Just to bad we will miss him for the next two games due to yet another international call up.
Same goes for DC Armando Sykaj.

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese - Season 2
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

NOVEMBER 2016


I make room for both Nicolò Condorelli and D'Addio in the left side of the midfield.
Luigi Mentana will also get a second chance this time in his natural role as AMC

@ home vs. U.S. Fezzanese#7
For the first time this season, not counting the Napoli game, more than 1.300 people showes up to watch us play.
It's Fezzanese dominating the first 10 minutes and they even have a goal disallowed. Then we takes over. We take plenty of shot but struggles to get them on goal.
Its 0-0 at the break.
Second half we keep shooting and now they are hitting goal. It just takes two minutes before it also hits the net. Nicolò Condorelli is the scorer. We keep pushing and gets a second just shortly after when Luigi Mentana (the 17 year old loan player from Napoli) scores his first of the season.
Final 30 minutes we add a DM and just hang on to the lead.
We are suddenly looking solid in the back again and have played 5 league games without allowing a single goal.

We put in an offer for a young striker called Marco Cortellazzi from Bagnolese in the league below us. He scored 12 goals and had 7 assists last season and a AvR over 7.3.
If he agrees to the non-contract, he will arrive after new year.

Gianmaria Cucurnia is back from his injury but we are without Denys Zhytarchuk and Armando Sykaj who are both on international duties.

@ home vs. A.S.D. Chieri #9
We completely dominates the game in the first half and keeps Chieri to just a single shot (not even close to goal) in the first half.
We take plenty of shots with several of them hitting target but striker Mattia Dendi is not having a good day. He is out at the break. I ask for more of the same. The goals have to come.
And they do after an hours play. First Riccardo Lucarino and 10 minutes later Massimo Lucarelli.
He also wins PoM with a 9.0 Rat.


Three teams have made a breakaway in the league table, all with 27 points. Its A.C. Bra who finished 3rd last season and S.S.D. Argentina Arma who finished 9th.
The fourth place team is four points back.

We are back on the road against the worst team in the league. This is a must win if we are to keep on pace with Bra and Argentina Arma.

Luckily we have our two international travelers back.

@ A.S.D. Pro Settimo & Eureka #20
The first 45 minutes is horrible. Zhytarchuk looks like a zombie upfront (6.2 Rat) and the rest of the teams is not looking much better.
We struggle with possession against the worst team in the league and only gets a single shot on goal in the first half.
I rip into the team at the break and they are motivated. Out with Zhytarchuk and inn with Mattia Dendi
We take control of the ball and get a few more shots on goal.
For the longest time it looks like we will only get away with a single point. In the 88th minute and cross from Massimo Lucarelli gets all the way thru the penalty area and Pasquale D'Addio is there for the simple score.

That was ugly but we got away with 3 points.

AMC Luigi Mentana got a damaged shoulder and will be out for 4-5 weeks.

The game against S.C. Caronnese will be much tougher. Luca Dimasi will replace the injured Luigi Mentana. I struggle with an out of form Zhytarchuk but decided to give him another chance.

@ S.C. Caronnese #5
For some reason the bookmakers have us as heavy favorites on the road. The first 25 minutes is a chess game without any mistake by any of the teams. We take the first shot on goal after 30 minutes without it being really dangerous.
Instead we give up two goal in the next three minutes. We look horrible in the central defends.
Zhytarchuk pulls on goal back after 40 minutes. It's the first foot he puts right in this game. We still have a chance if we can stop the leak in the back.
We are not playing bad in the second half but fails to produce much. We overload the final 10 minutes to no avail.
We loss for the first time in 8 games. Only good thing is that Argentina Arma also losses to Ischia Isolaverde, and we are again three teams tied on 30 points on top of the league.

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese - Season 2
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

DECEMBER 2016


We only got three games to play in december but it's the top 10 teams coming in a steady stream.

I might have located the problem with our defends. There is no way i can keep playing Riccardo Lucarino and Armando Sykaj side by side in the defense. With 7 and 8 in pace they are simply to slow. I add Antonio Silvestri (pace 14) to the starting lineup instead of Lucarino.

I decide to give a tired Denys Zhytarchuk a rest.

@ home vs. F.C.D. Sporting Bellinzago #6
We create a few big chances in the first half but more importantly we keep tight in the central defends. Its scoreless at the break.
The first hour of the game is easy to forget but the last 30 minutes of the game is a blast.
First AMC Luca Dimasi scores a beauty after 63 minutes when he puts a corner clearance into the top corner.
Just a few minutes later the defends losses the lone Sporting Bellinzago striker and we are even again.
Then two minutes before full time it's right back Francesco Savarise who saves the day when he scores his first goal of the season on another long shot.
The bad news of the day is that we losses Massimo Lucarelli for the rest of the month. The MR has a team high AvR of 7.52 for the season and will be missed.

We releases Luca Riggio on a free transfer after he has complained about lack of playing time several times in the last few weeks.

@ U.S.D. Castellazzo Bormida #15
Denys Zhytarchuk is back in the starting lineup.
After the first half it's obvious that is a mistake. We are behind after just 16 minutes. This time it's not speed that is the problem but an offside the referee missed.
C'mon man. What we doin' out here man!
Out with Zhytarchuk at the break and we go from 4-4-1-1 to 4-4-2.
Mattia Dendi and Brice Bonelli are the two strikers. Its Dendi saving the day for us when he heads inn the equalizer with 15 minutes left on the clock.


@ home vs. Derthona F.B.C. #20
When our fierce rivals comes to town 1480 shows up to watch first against last in the last game of the calendar year.
We play a solid first half. Control the ball and don't let Derthona take any shots on goal. Forward on the field we are not that impressive early on.
We get a goal after 24 minutes from a corner. Its 17 year old Pasquale D'Addio putting in the rebound.
D'Addio is also involved in the second goal after 62 minutes. He takes the shot and this time it's Nicolò Condorelli putting away the rebound.
Vincenzo Perna gets some playing time and scores a beauty on a longshot.
The last goal is scored by Brice Bonelli on a penalty. He has again replaced Denys Zhytarchuk who has now only scored once in the last seven games.
D'Addio is the man of the day with a goal, two assists and a 9.4 Rat.

The fans loves the solid 4-0 win and they are even more pleased when they are informed that Argentina Arma lost today. That was a nice pre christmas present.

What was not a nice surprise was that DM Luca De Feo got injured in a U20 game and will be out 2-3 months with a dislocated shoulder. Our other DM Rixhi Elezaj is also out with injury for another 2 to 3 weeks.
Good news that we don't have any game to play the next 20 day.

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese - Season 2
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

JANUARY 2017



A guy named Lionel Messi wins his 6th FIFA Ballon d'Or and second in a row but home in Novi Ligure we have more important thing to worry about.

We sign DR Francesco Savarise to a new contract keeping him for another year. The new contract is worth £24.000.
Despite his current slump we also sign Denys Zhytarchuk for another year.

Several other players is without a contract at the end of the season. Most of them will not be good enough to play in the division above if we make it there and if we don't they can easily be replaced.

The bad news is that our best player the last season and a half and the only player i really want to renew, Massimo Lucarelli is not willing to sign a new deal.

Massimo Lucarelli was born in Pisa is 1993. He started his professional career as a 17-year old in the Empoli youth academy back in 2010/11. That was to big a challenge for him and he didn't get any playing time and was released.



The season after he secured a contract with Città di Pontedera 1912 in the Serie D. The young player got 22 league starts for the Pontedera team that won the league that season. That was enough to open some eyes and among the clubs interested in the young man was his hometown club A.C. Pisa.
It was a dream coming thru for Massimo playing for his hometown team but on the field struggled. Playing in front of his childhood friends and supporters and only got two starts in the 2012/13 season. The year after was not much better and after just 7 starts for Pisa before new year he was sent to U.S. Gavorrano on a loan deal. That gave him another 13 starts in Serie C2.
21 year old Massimo was back with a Pisa team now in Lega Pro B but he was also back on the bench with little chance of playing time. It was a horrible year for him and he didn't get a single minute of competitive football all year.
His career was at a crossroad.
Massimo decided to give it a final shot but instead of staying on the bench in Pisa he decided to drop down a few divisions and travel north to Novi Ligure to play for U.S.D. Novese.



When I took over U.S.D. Novese in the summer of 2015, Massimo had arrived in Novi Ligure just a few weeks earlier.
In a group without very little star potential, Massimo Lucarelli and his five star potential stood out. He was the natural selection as the MR and he was the starter from day one.



He finished his first season in Novi Ligure with a 7.23 Rat and was voted both young player and fans player of the year.

Now i needed him to sign a new contract.

The transfer window opens on the 4th january. I tell the board that we can challenge for the title and they increase the salary budget to £7.39K.

We sign two new players.

Marco Cortellazzi is a 19 year old advanced forward with double digit skills in both dribbling, finishing and first touch. He even got a 14 in workrate.

The other is 34-year old Mario Tacchinardi. He is a ball winning midfielder but can play all nine positions in defends, defensive midfield and midfield. I love his 15 determination and 12 in workrate.

We also get to take a look at the Napoli loan players. It's all 17 year old players with low current ability and limited potential. I see no reason to ask for any of them to join us at this point.

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese - Season 2
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

JANUARY 2017, Part II


We have a tough month ahead of us. It's only four games but we will play # 3 Argentina Arma and then #2 Bra in back-to-back games on the road.

MR Massimo Lucarelli is finally back from injury.

So for the first game of the new year the starting 11 looks like this

GK - Michael Vezzani
DL - Gaetano Adamo
DC - Gaetano Adamo & Antonio Silvestri
DR - Francesco Savarise
ML - Nicolò Condorelli
MC - Pasquale D'Addio & Gianmaria Cucurnia
MR - Massimo Lucarelli
AMC - Luca Dimasi
ST - Denys Zhytarchuk

I add new signing Mario Tacchinardi as a sub as he can be used in so many different positions on the field.

@ F.C. Vado #19
The first game of the new year is a must win game against #19 F.C. Vado .
Either Denys Zhytarchuk have really enjoyed his christmas or perhaps he is just happy about his new contract because he shows up looking like a different player. He dominates the first 30 minutes and gives us the lead on a solo raid.
In the second half we take plenty of shots but fail to make them count. I don't feel safe with just a 1-0 lead.
We pull the AMC and give Mario Tacchinardi his first start as DM.
The last 15 minutes we try to control and F.C. Vado is never realy close. They don't have single shot on goal all day.
To make the day even better we are told that Bra lost on the road to Ischia Isolaverde and we are now alone on top of the table, three points clear.

I decide to go all inn.
I am not sure i can handle another year in this division and we can not ask for a better position before the second half of the season start.

I sign two more players.

We finally get a chance to address one of our weak points. Gaetano Adamo has not shown much as DL and we bring in some backup.
31 year old journeyman Andrea Pippa will join the team. He has played more than 300 games for 10 different clubs and will hopefully be an upgrade.

Arrigo Berera is another MC


@ S.S.D. Argentina Arma #2
We are considered favourites but counter attack sound like a good solution when playing the #2 team in the league on the road.
Mario Tacchinardi starts as a fifth midfielder in a flat 4-5-1 formation.
We give up a penalty after 27 minutes. Luckily for us it's a horrible taken penalty that not even hits the goal.
Still 0-0
It only last three minutes before we give up a goal from a corner.
5 minutes into the second half we loss track of the S.S.D. Argentina Arma top scorer Loreto Lo Bosco for a few seconds and we are behind 0-2.
Debutant Mario Tacchinardi scores after 83 minutes to pull one back. We push forward but are never close.
Only god news of the day is that Bra losses again and remains three points back in the standing where we are now tied with Argentina Arma


@ A.C. Bra #3
We are hard pressed in the first twenty minutes. But we are creating a few chances and take the same number of shots on goal as the home team.
In the 32 minute we get a penalty and Gianmaria Cucurnia make no mistakes from the spot and we can go into the half one goal ahead.
After 68 minutes we are outplayed and A.C. Bra gets the equalizer.
10 minutes before the final we are lucky when A.C. Bra hits the crossbar on a free kick.
And a few minutes later luck evens out when Zhytarchuk sees his shot bang off the upright.
The game ends in a 1-1 draw.

This was not the results I was hoping for agains the two other promotion contenders.
We are now 2 points behind Argentina Arma in the standing.


@ home vs. A.S.D. Oltrepò-Voghera #14
Finally back home and not against a top ten team.
We treat the home crowd of 1282 people to a goal already after 8 minutes. It's the well tested combination of a cross from Massimo Lucarelli and a header from Zhytarchuk that puts us in front.
We get a second after 22 minutes when a corner deflects off a A.S.D. Oltrepò-Voghera player for an own goal. And after just 30 minutes we score the 3rd of the day. This time Vincenzo Perna scores after a new corner. We have had two shots on goal and scored three goals.
The second half is a letdown and we looks complacent.
I take the opportunity to give playing time to some of the fringe players in the second half.
We get the sollid 3-0 win and the bonus when S.S.D. Argentina Arma losses on the road the we take back the table lead.

Massimo Lucarelli was the big player in the game and finished with a 9.0 Rat.
It was his fourth PoM awards already after half the season and his Rat is now a team high 7.51 AvR but he is still completely unwilling to talk about a new contract.

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese - Season 2
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

FEBRUARY 2017

Two new players join us on non-contracts before the transfer deadline. It's signings mostly in the blind as we don't have the time to go scout the players before we sign them.

Davide Sala is another DL where we have still not found a solution i trust.

Valerio Traversari is an advanced playmaker

Ligorna 1922 plays a funky formation with a single striker but three AMC just behind him. We have struggled with that before and moves our AMC to DM to counter the move. That gives Mario Tacchinardi a place in the starting lineup as Rixhi Elezaj is not game ready yet and Luca De Feo is still injured.
The bad news is that we leaves Zhytarchuk very alone on top.

@ home vs. Ligorna 1922 #7
We don't accomplice much in the first half and neither does Ligorna 1922
It's more of the same to start the second half
After 52 minutes we get the goal when we put together a perfect attack. Zhytarchuk is last man on the ball and scores his goal number eleven of the season.
Tacchinardi is not playing any good in his debut and i replace him with Riccardo Lucarino playing out of position after an hour.
We hold on and but with two minutes left we give up an equalizer after a failed clearance by Armando Sykaj. The minute after we almost gives everything away but GK Michael Vezzani saves us with a monster-save.
Instead late in overtime, Zhytarchuk gets his second goal of the day but the referee has blown for a questionable offside.
I will need to see that one again.

Another tough game, this time against 5th ranked Ischia Isolaverde. We go back to the 4-3-1-1 formation we know.

@ home vs. Ischia Isolaverde #7
We play surprisingly well in the first 30 minutes and have the best chances.
Then just second before halftime we get a goal when Zhytarchuk sneaks behind the backline for the easy score.
In the second half we get a bit more under pressure. Luca Dimasi is not accomplishing much as the AMC and I take him out and replace him with Rixhi Elezaj as DMC.
Once again we give up a goal late. This time on a counterattack.
Instead of giving up I order the team forward and we go on the attack and Nicolò Condorelli looks like the hero when he scores a minute into extra time.
But it's not to be. Three minutes into extra time Rixhi Elezaj makes a clumsy penalty and we have to settle for a draw.

A.C. Bra loss again and have only won once in their last six games and is falling behind. Argentina Arma also struggles and only get a draw on the road.
We are only one point behind with 14 games left to play.

We go on the road but it's against one of the worst teams in the league so this is a must win. Davide Sala gets a chance from start as the DL and can hopefully give us some attacking power we have been missing on the left side

@ Borgosesia #18
Not a good start. We give up a goal after just 18 minutes. The defense is still to slow. Reminder for next season that speed in the back line is a must have.
Then Zhytarchuk has two magic minutes. He scores in the 25 and the 26th minute. Both real poacher goals. Outruns the defense and scores easily.
And just before the break Pasquale D'Addio adds a third.
We have completely turned the game around.
Second half we just controll.
Zhytarchuk picks up a knock. I take no chances and replaces him.
No more goals.

The day turned out just perfect when the news that Argentina Arma has lost 0-2 on the road and we had taken over the league lead by two points. And Zhytarchuk`s knock was just that. A knock and he is 100% for the next game.

AMC from Napoli Luigi Mentana is finally back from his virus but a long way from match fit. Will have to play a few U20 games before he is ready for the first team.

Last game of the month.

@ home vs. Gozzano #6
Huge mistake from the Gozzano keeper after just three minutes when he fails to hold the ball on a corner. We take the lead with Massimo Lucarelli on the first shot of the game.
After 30 minutes Massimo Lucarelli have to leave the pitch with an injury. Arrigo Berera replaces him.
We have 60% possession in the first half but still give up a goal from a corner just before the break.
Both Vincenzo Perna and Zhytarchuk is playing bad today.
They start the second half better.
I try everything but we cannot get the goal we need. It all finishes in a unsatisfying 1-1 draw.

Luckily the Massimo Lucarelli injury was nothing big and he is ready for the next game against our rivals Acqui on the road.

Month end standing
U.S.D. Novese 50 p
Argentina Arma 50 p
A.C. Bra 46 p

[Northwood_DK]

U.S.D. Novese - Season 2
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

MARS 2017

We will be without ML Nicolò Condorelli for a few weeks due to injury. Pasquale D'Addio will have to move out left and I add Gianmaria Cucurnia to the central midfield. I give Arrigo Berera the change in the center.

@ Acqui #13
For a rivalry the first half is very boring with only a single shot on goal.
Arrigo Berera only last 40 minutes before he picks up what looks like a serious injury.
I normally have few complaints about keeper Michael Vezzani but just after the break he allows a goal in the keeper-corner. A shot he normally stops.
This time we are the team to score late. A minute into extra time Zhytarchuk saves us when he puts a D'Addio cross into the net.
Another tie game. It's the fourth in the last five games.

Argentina Arma also struggles and only gets a draw. A.C. Bra is winning and we might be letting them back into the promotion fight.

Arrigo Berera got a back strain and will be out for up to six weeks.

@ home vs. Sestri Levante #11
We score after 30 minutes only to see the goal getting called back due to Zhytarchuk pushing off.
In the second half we hit the upright after a corner but that was the closest we got.
1341 people is treated to another 0-0 game.

@ home vs. Pinerolo #14
Denys Zhytarchuk scores after just six minutes when Davide Sala finds him with a free kick.
Pinerolo pulls level just a minute after the break when the marking completely breaks down on a free kick. They get to take three shots without the defends reacting.
Denys Zhytarchuk scores a second with just five minutes to play when he turns away two defends and easily puts the ball in the net.
Last five minutes are not pretty but we finally manage to get a win.

@ U.S.D. Lavagnese #6
The closest we get in the first half is a ball in the crossbar from DC Armando Sykaj after a corner. We have good control and a lot of ball (62%) but Zhytarchuk is having a bad day up front, not hitting anything.
I replace him after an hour with Brice Bonelli.
After having full control in the first half the game for some reason changes at the break. U.S.D. Lavagnese takes over the game and we are under heavy pressure.
After 84 minutes we give up the lead after a freekick we fail to clear.
Looks like we again will loss late.
2 minute before full time Brice Bonelli give us an equalizer on our only shot in the second half.
We get another lucky draw.

Month end standing
U.S.D. Novese 56 p
S.S.D. Argentina Arma 56 p
A.C. Bra 55 p

[Northwood_DK]

USD Novese
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

APRIL 2017

new month, new opportunities. We need to win some games as we can not hope for our opponents bad form to continue.

We have 15 contrats running out at the end of the season with Massimo Lucarelli still being the most important name on the list.
He is still unwilling to resign.
The rest I don't care much about.

I offer new contracts to most of the staff.

@ U.S. Fezzanese #12
We finaly gets off to a good start and scores on our first attack. It's DC Antonio Silvestri who is last on the ball after a corner.
We are back to level after just 15 minutes.
And that's the way it looks like ending all the way until two minutes into extra time. Massimo Lucarelli (9.0 Rat. and PoM)makes his second assist of the day and find Nicolò Condorelli for his 4th goal of the season.

We loss Brice Bonelli for 3-4 weeks with a groin strain. We also loss 33 year old Andrea Doardo for 2-3 months with a knee injury.
We decide to release him.
It's a tough business being a semi professional footballer.

@ Chieri #8
It's the third road game in a row.
No shots on goal by either team in the first half.
In the end it's the old well known combination that comes thru for us. Massimo Lucarelli to Denys Zhytarchuk after 80 minutes and the win is a fact.
Again, it was not pretty but we are now up to a new team record 12 games without a loss.

Pro Settimo & Eureka is one of the team playing with one striker but three AMC just behind him. This is team and formation we have struggled with in the past and I got for a formation with a DMC instead of an AMC.

The starting lineup looks like this:
GK - Michael Vezzani
DL - Davide Sala
DC - Antonio Silvestri & Armando Sykaj
DR - Francesco Savarise
DMC - Luca De Feo
ML - Nicolò Condorelli
MC - Pasquale D'Addio & Pasquale D'Addio
MR - Massimo Lucarelli
ST - Denys Zhytarchuk

@ home vs. Pro Settimo & Eureka #15
The first half is not pretty with both teams struggling to get away shots.
Denys Zhytarchuk is replaced after an hour and Luigi Mentana is brought on instead. 10 minutes later I sub the DMC De Feo and replace him with an AMC Vincenzo Perna.
It take only 8 minutes before we see results when Luigi Mentana scores in the chaos after a free kick.
Just three minutes later we are rewarded a penalty. The referee say that Nicolò Condorelli is tripped but even I have a hard time seeing that. Vincenzo Perna makes no mistake from the spot.
We get a solid 2-0 win and both goals are scored by players off the bench.
Nicolò Condorelli is voted PoM with a solid 9.0 Rat.

We have now won three games in a row and not lost for 13 weeks but we still can't get away from S.S.D. Argentina Arma who have also not lost in 8 weeks.
We are still tied on points.

In training during the week Luca De Feo is injured (again). This time it's a serious knee injury and he will be out for two months. At christmas he was also out for two months with a shoulder injury.

Luigi Mentana played good last week so i decided to put him up front with Zhytarchuk in a 4-4-2 formation.

@ home vs. Caronnese #6
Denys Zhytarchuk got a chance to put us ahead after just 3 minutes but misses the goal completely.
Then we manage to give up two goals in just four minutes. One from a corner and one from a freekick.
We take a few shot before the break without creating much.
We are in trouble.
Down one at the break and S.S.D. Argentina Arma is also in trouble in their game.
A minute into extra time Denys Zhytarchuk scores from 30 yards out. Not like him to score on a long shot, but I take it.


I sub a bad playing DM Antonio Silvestri with Riccardo Lucarino.
We play better in the second half.
In the 81st minute we score the equalizer. Massimo Lucarelli puts the ball into the top of the net from the edge of the box. Great goal.
We go ultra defensive and protect the one point. Thats enough for us with S.S.D. Argentina Arma losing 0-3 on the road to Ischia Isolaverde. We are one point clear on top of the table with just four games left to play and none of them against top-10 teams.

I decided to go with the same team and same formation in the last game of the month.

@ home vs. Sporting Bellinzago #13
We have three shots on goal within the first 11 minutes but no goal to show for it.
Then it's Sporting Bellinzago taking over, creating several chances but they also struggle with the final touch.
2 minutes before the break we get a penalty when Luigi Mentana i brought down.
No mistakes by Zhytarchuk who puts the ball hard in the middle of the goal. I don't think we have missed a penalty since I took over as manager.
Lets keep it that way.
At the break we switch to counter and moves Mentana back to AMC again.
We own the ball in the second half.
After 73 minutes Gianmaria Cucurnia scores our second of the day and his just second of the season. That's settles it and we can cruise the last 15 minutes.

S.S.D. Argentina Arma only draws 1-1 against the worst team in the league and it's now A.C. Bra closest behind us with three games to go.

Month end standing
U.S.D. Novese 69 p
A.C. Bra 67 p
S.S.D. Argentina Arma 66 p

[Greyfriars Bobby]

Keep it up, and win the league!

[Northwood_DK]

Originally Posted by Greyfriars Bobby

Keep it up, and win the league!

You make it sound so easy

[Northwood_DK]

USD Novese
The legacy of Vittorio Pozzo

MAY 2017

Only three games left on the schedule but they are spread out over the next six weeks.

Antonio Silvestri is suspended so Riccardo Lucarino will take over as one of the central defenders next to Armando Sykaj.
That makes us desperately low on speed but I have few other options.

The press tries to make a story about my dislike for the Derthona manager. I don't want any of it and refuse to take the bait.
I no comment all the questions from the newspapers.

The starting 11 against our rivals looks like this:

GK - Michael Vezzani
DL - Davide Sala
DC - Riccardo Lucarino & Davide Sala
DR - Francesco Savarise
ML - Nicolò Condorelli
MC - Pasquale D'Addio & Gianmaria Cucurnia
MR - Massimo Lucarelli
ST - Luigi Mentana & Denys Zhytarchuk

@ Derthona #18
It just takes 13 minutes before we are in front. It's Luigi Mentana scoring on a cross from Sala. It's our first shot of the game.
And then we get a second after 21 minutes. A free kick thrown into the box is not cleared and Mentana scores his second of the day.
I pull back a little after the break. Luigi Mentana down as AMC again and a poor Zhytarchuk out for Marco Cortellazzi.
Nothing happens in the second half. Derthona can not produce anything and we don't want to take any chances.
Another 2-0 win in the books. Great win against a rival on the road.

Luigi Mentana finish the game with a 8.8 Rat and is the PoM by a mile.

Both our rivals gets come from behind wins.

Now we again have to wait two weeks for the next game.

We are so close now. With Bra and S.S.D. Argentina Arma playing each other today the right results and we might be winning the league but just a minor slip up and we can be in a world of trouble.

A record 1529 people shows up for the game.

@ home vs. U.S.D. Castellazzo Bormida #11
The players for the first time this season looks nervous. Is the pressure getting to them?
First goal of the season for Marco Cortellazzi.
Two assist by Nicolò Condorelli and a 9.0 Rat to go with his PoM

After the game the press for the first time link me to other clubs. I have no intention in taking over Savona F.b.c. or S.E.F. Torres

The A.C. Bra vs. S.S.D. Argentina Arma game was decided by an own goal in the middle of the second half. It was S.S.D. Argentina Arma winning and we now “only” needed one point in the last game to win the division. We will have to wait another two weeks for that game against the worst team in the league F.C. Vado.

We will be without Luigi Mentana in the last game. He hurt his knee and will be out for 4-5 weeks.
But more importantly we will also be without Armando Sykaj and Denys Zhytarchuk in the most important game in the team's recent history. They will both be traveling after a U20 game.
They have a combined 65 games between them this season.
That is just bad planning.

Anyone remember Matias Antonini Lui by the way?
Inter Milan releases Brazilian Matias Antonini Lui who did really well for us last season as the ML. I try to sign him but he is unwilling to come.
I will try again later.