FM 06: Napoli Soccer

[MalcPow]

So I've been playing FM again, and work has slowed down slightly, so... a dynasty!

We'll be picking up just before the halfway point of the 06/07 season, and following the trials and tribulations of Italian manager Giuseppe Viaggio as he attempts to bring Napoli Soccer back to the top levels of Italian (and maybe European, who knows?) football. Due to recent financial troubles Napoli begins the 05/06 season in the Italian Serie C1/B (essentially the Italian equivalent of the English League 1, except it is split into a northern A division and a southern B division) despite being one of the most passionately supported clubs in all of Italy. In many ways it is necessary to know the history of Napoli to understand the importance of the club's return to prominence and the cultural pressures associated with bringing the club of the South back onto the pitch against the rich Northern giants.

Team History

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

A.C. Napoli (Associazione Calcio Napoli) was formed in 1926 as Internaples (after the marger of two exisisting clubs: Internazionale Napoli and Naples) and spent most of its history in Serie A, often being the sole representative of the Italian South in the country's top division. The club changed its name to S.S.C. Napoli in 1963. Players who played for Napoli include Guillermo Stábile, José Altafini, Dino Zoff, Ruud Krol, Diego Maradona, Careca, Ciro Ferrara, Laurent Blanc, Gianfranco Zola, and Fabio Cannavaro.

It was Maradona who put Napoli on the world soccer map, leading them to two scudetti in 1987 and 1990 and the UEFA Cup in 1989. They also won the Coppa Italia in 1962, 1976, and 1987, a Coppa delle Alpi in 1966 and a Supercoppa Italiana in 1991.

After Maradona's farewell, it started a slow decline for the Neapolitan team. A first relegation to Serie B came in 1998, and Napoli fans had to wait till 2000 to see their team going back to the Italian top division.

Napoli dropped again to Serie B in 2001, but that was not the worst to come. With a debt estimated up to 70 million euros, the club became bankrupt in August of 2004. A new club, Napoli Soccer, was born to ensure Naples wouldn't be left without football.

[MalcPow]

The 05/06 Season

Napoli is one of the more interesting clubs to start an FM career with as they have a massive stadium (the 78,400 capacity San Paolo), top training facilities, a healthy balance sheet, and an initial roster well-equipped to handle promotion from their initial league. But there are challenges.

Club Chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis informs me, over the growing hum of an enraged fan base gathered outside the stadium, that despite my relative lack of managerial experience I have the full confidence of the club's Board. He gives me a more than adequate transfer budget, considering the club's level and initial roster strength, but asks me to do whatever I can to raise the club's profile.

He reminds me that he is living in the shadow of his father, Dino De Laurentiis, legendary producer of films such as Serpico, Three Days of the Condor, and, um, King Kong Lives.

I promise to do what I can and set out to mold this team into something that can actually follow through on everyone's all or nothing expectations of a C1B League Title.

[MalcPow]

Napoli's intial roster is top heavy with three very good up front players. Strikers Roberto Sosa (30 yr old Argentinian), Inacio Pia (23 yr old Brazilian), and Emanuele Calaio (23 yr old Italian) are all of exceptional quality for the C1B, and my only concern is getting them all on the field somehow in my preferred 442 system. What we lack is a dependable back line, and what I usually try to build a team around, a couple of very good central defenders that can dominate in the air.

I set out about trying to bring in some players that I feel like will give us more depth and some much needed toughness to go with a lot of attacking flair. And I also send scouts out all over to try and pick out a few promising and undervalued youngsters. I ultimately end up disappointing De Laurentiis in his quest for making a splash with a big name transfer (despite his compliments for a couple of moderate initial signings), even though he makes an offer to dip the club into the red if I find the right player. But I just never found a move that made sense, or a truly great player willing to play in a 3rd division league, and so I pass on his offer. This frustrates him and sends perception of my ambition plummeting.

But regardless, we run out clear winners of the C1B, finishing with 86 points from 34 games, with our nearest rival coming in at 57 points. We play almost the entire final third of the season with title clinched, make it to the finals of the Serie C Cup (losing to Genoa on away goals), and then win the Serie C1 Super Cup (having our revenge with a complete dismantling of C1A winner Genoa). Any concerns about what little splashing we did in the transfer market are more than overcome by this success and the fans and Board are both delighted with me at the end of the year.

Arsenal win the English Premiership by a point on the final day of the season over Chelsea (who console themselves with a Champions League win over FC Schalke). Real Madrid win La Liga in equally dramatic fashion with only a point separating them from Valencia when the season closes (with Barcelona finishing a dismal 9th and Rijkaard polishing his resume). Inter dominate the Serie A, winning by 17 points, and Juventus bring home the Coppa Italia.

[MalcPow]

The 06/07 Season

After winning promotion to the Serie B we spend the offseason bringing in some more players that we think will shore up the squad for the higher level of play, but I'm not sure what to expect. When you dominate a lower league the way we did it is tough to have perspective on just how good you might be, and how much better you need to get.

I make what in retrospect appears to have been a bit of a mistake, and unload ST Emanuele Calaio to a club in Portugal's top flight for 5M Euros. I make this move because I feel like I need to do something to stabilize the club's finances, as well as to give me the opportunity to bring in a real star-caliber player. Well I fail to account for the fact that, unlike the previous C1B season, we are drawing more fans and will turn a regular monthly profit over the first half of our Serie B campaign. And I also fail to account for the fact that there are still not many star-caliber players interested in toiling in a second division squad. So I end up stuck with a lot of cash on hand, but without my team's most prolific scorer from the previous season.

The season starts extremely positively though, with our guys cruising through the first three qualifying rounds of the Italian Cup, and looking quite good. We enter the Serie B campaign perhaps a little overconfident because of this, and we really struggle to find our rhythm over the early months, and I become nervous that the two teams sitting in the automatic promotion spots are off to torrid starts (recently demoted Messina, and a surging Modena). We appear to be slipping further and further away from these top two, but still maintaining a respectable league position.

Modena begins to falter in late November (but Messina appears to be an unstoppable force at the top of the table) and despite a first round exit in the Italian Cup at the hands of a much stronger Palermo squad, we find ourselves sitting in 4th here in mid-December, and in the midst of a four game Serie B winning streak.

Much of our inconsistency over these first few months can at least to some extent be attributed to an incredible run of injuries. We have had a few less than stellar settlings from some of our new arrivals, but without the injury problems we would probably be in much better shape at the moment and poised to make a run. As it stands however, it looks like things might only be getting worse, with our first string keeper going down for 2-4 weeks following our last win against rivals Rimini.

[MalcPow]

The Squad

Strikers

Roberto Sosa - 31 yr old Argentinian - We held onto Sosa this season because I felt like we could depend on his consistency, his leadership, and his ability to both win balls in the air upfront and finish chances created by others. His best days are probably behind him, but he has yet to see decline in ratings. He is the sort of player who has much more use to us than he does transfer value, and I like the determination and influence he brings, so I plan on keeping him around until the bitter end.

Inacio Pia - 24 yr old Brazilian - In our recent run I've changed our conventional 442 to a diamond midfield and have been playing Pia in an AMC position. He has responded well, but he is a player with some great ratings who plays a step or two below what might be expected. He still offers a great deal of quality, and a number of big clubs are always poking around with offers for him. He is one of the club's favored personnel and certainly not expendable for us at the moment, so he stays, but some day I will be looking for good value from his departure.

Dariusz Zjawinski - 20 yr old Pole - Zjawinski is player we purchased during the 05/06 season on the recommendation of one of our scouts that he was a player of potential. He has been a frustrating player to deal with, inconsistent, never dominant, occasionally "good," but always demanding playing time. I wish he were more determined, and finished a little more often, but his value has skyrocketed since joining us (now at 2.3M Euros) and there is something so magnetic about him that nearly half my team has rapidly acquired a favored personnel opinion of him. I received a decent offer for him, but I passed primarily because I thought it might upset an already delicate lockerroom balance.

Rawez Lawan - 19 yr old Swede - Another player with potential brought in last season. His value has skyrocketed as well (2.6M) but other than a nice run of play the last month or so due to injuries he hasn't seen much of the pitch. To be honest, he is so much less demanding than Zjawinski that I hadn't noticed his quiet improvement into probably the better player. He'll probably remain a sub for the time being simply because he hasn't demonstrated much more consistency, but we will look to get him more time.

Boyd Mwila - 22 yr old Zambian - Brought in just a few weeks ago off an expiring contract somewhere in Scandinavia. He has 19 pace and is described as explosive striker. Hasn't done much in two substitute appearances.

Daniel Eres - 19 yr old Swede - Came in of a similarly expiring Scandinavian contract and promptly broke his wrist after landing in Naples. His value is incredibly high for the unpolished skills he has (3.6M) so we will have to give him a look when he returns to fitness.

[MalcPow]

Midfield

Freddy Guarin - 20 yr old Colombian - A transfer pickup at the end of last season, and an absolute favorite of mine from FM 05, we brought Guarin in to have a great player in the midfield that could give us the quality to control games. He injured himself for three months before joining us, so there was an initial reacclimation to regular play and a need to rebuild some fallen ratings. I've been disappointed with him so far, although he has come as late with some solid performances since moving to the DMC role in our new diamond. I question whether language and settling issues might be preventing him from playing to his potential at the moment.

Valery Mezague - 23 yr old Cameroonian - A Bosman pickup coming into this season I was very impressed with his all-around ability. He was definitely our best midfielder for the first months of the season until we lost him to broken ribs. He is listed as both a DMC and an AMC, and is too good to sit, so he might force a shuffling when he returns to the lineup (unfortunately that won't be for awhile).

Antonio Laurendi - 20 yr old Italian AMLC - We brought him in as a transfer this summer because our scouts saw his potential and he has been great for us with the team's top average rating (7.61). We sold a very capable and experienced attacking left winger when we knew he would be arriving and Laurendi has made us look very smart on that one.

Cataldo Montesanto - 29 yr old Italian DMRC - Our captain the last two years. He has been in and out of the lineup with injuries, but we don't seem to have a standout alternative so we'll settle for his grit and leadership on the right wing.

Patrik Stahl and Fredrick Holster - 20 and 18 yr old Swedes - Both brought in for their potential, both not quite good enough to see starting action but we've had too many injury problems to loan them out.

Charles Andre-Doudin - 20 yr old Swiss AMRC - Has some nice skills, another acquisition with upside. Value of 2.6M makes him intriguing.

Adriano Marzeglia - 20 yr old Italian AMR - He's a great dribbler and crosser and has great stats for his age. Unfortunately, he has all the characteristics of an early bloomer who won't get much better, and his play has been spotty at best.

[MalcPow]

Defenders

Ciro Capuano - 25 yr old Italian DLC - Was brought in at the beginning of last season to be our rock at the back in central defense. He was a huge part of what we did last season, but he's been battling injuries now for the last few months and recently went down for another four weeks with knee cartilage problems. This is really bad for us.

Gianluca Grava - 29 yr old Italian DRC - A solid player who has played well for us as both a right back and in central defense. That flexibility is key for us, but he's been out for weeks with a broken toe, and still looks to spend a few more on the trainer's table. Again, not good.

Marco Pecorari - 29 yr old Italian DC - We brought him in at the beginning of this season because he fit a profile that has been very successful for us over the years: find a guy that can just outjump and outhead everyone at the back and who has the speed to not look like a total idiot on through balls. FM 06 seems to have made strides to neutralize these types of players some, as Pecorari's lack of great mental and technical abilities has kept him from being the rock we'd hoped for when we signed him. He's great when paired with Capuano, but that hasn't been possible this season with much consistency. Needless to say Pecorari recently went out for three weeks with a pulled hammy. Not cool.

Mirko Savini - 27 yr old Italian DL - A durable (geez it's like I'm asking for it) and consistent if unspectacular left back. He could be better but he is the least of our real problems.

Fredrik Stoor - 22 yr old Swedish DRLC - Another guy we brought in from Scandinavia last season and his versatility has been a lifesaver for us. He has great ratings for his age, but my coaches don't seem to think he's got much more upside than we're seeing right now. Probably more of a natural right back, but he's working wonders in the central defense for us right now, a very polished all around package.

Tommaso Romito and Marco Frabotta - 24 and 19 yr old Italian D's - Romito is a bum, the bottom of our central defense barrel and I can't believe we've won two in a row with him on the pitch for 90 minutes. Frabotta is a young DR with some supposed potential, but he is lost at this level. He was made a total fool of in the second leg of our Italian Cup elimination against Palermo, but right now, we're looking for warm bodies in our backline.

[MalcPow]

Keepers

Radoslaw Janukiewicz - 22 yr old Polish GK - We picked him up because our scouts liked him at the beginning of last season. He's been our first team keeper, and a good one, for basically our entire tenure. He was just injured in our last match for up to a month.

Others - Apparently we have another keeper, and whoever they are, they're going to have to play...

[MalcPow]

12/17/06

Napoli vs. Cesena

We come into this one needing to keep our good form going but with a very patchwork backline and a keeper who hasn't seen match action in over a year. I'm hoping that the home crowd can lift us to victory somehow.

Lineup
GK Iezzo
DR Frabotta
DL Savini
DC Stoor
DC Romito
DMC Guarin
ML Laurendi
MR Montesanto
AMC Pia
ST Zjawinski
ST Sosa

Kickoff

4th: AMC Inacio Pia takes down one of their midfielders from behind and picks up a yellow card. It's pretty unnecesary as the guy had nowhere to go and someone else closing him down in front of him, but hey, what can you do.

12th: Laurendi with a long ball forward to Sosa. He dribbles forward and leaves it for Pia outside the area. Pia with a poor touch has it knocked away. But it falls to the feet of Zjawinski... he powers it home! Goal! 1-0 Napoli.

20th: DC Romito is outclassed in the air as one of their strikers nods the ball forward to the feet of another. Cesena's Ferreira Pinto makes space for himself... shoots! Great save from Iezzo! And he holds safely.

...Cesena pressures with a few more chances...

Halftime

55th: Guarin plays the ball out left to Laurendi off a freekick. Laurendi gets to the touchline... crosses... it's met by the head of Pia! Goal! He wins the aerial battle and sends it across the goalmouth. 2-0 Napoli.

62nd: Iezzo makes another nice save under pressure. I'm starting to wonder if we can hold up under the pressure. DL Mirko Savini seems to have picked up a minor injury so I bring him off to avoid aggravating it. The only problem is I don't have any more defenders, so he's spelled by one of our extra midfielders.

66th: I pull a tiring Guarin for DMC Francesco Montervino.

70th: Ferreira Pinto drops deep to receive a ball in front of our defense. He skips past Stoor. He's in on goal one on one! And tucks it away. Crap. 2-1

...I crank up our time wasting, and drop our attacking mentality to normal...

75th: Laurendi flicks the ball forward up the left wing. He's past his marker... still going forward... he swings in an early cross... Sosa on the end of it! Goal! 3-1 Napoli, and we're breathing easier.

85th: Iezzo with a long freekick forward to Lauredi. Laurendi hesitates on the ball in the midfield. He sends a chip forward to a breaking Sosa... Sosa jumps! Powers a header home! 4-1 Napoli. Sosa is in the crowd, this one is over.

Final: Napoli Win 4-1

A good win for us. The stat line is nowhere near as convincing as the scoreline, so we're probably pretty vulnerable right now, but we'll take it. Striker Roberto Sosa is man of the match with two goals, and young winger Antonio Laurendi puts in a great performance as well with three assists.

[MalcPow]

12/19/06

Roberto Sosa is named to the Fastweb.it Team of the Week.

The press is speculating that Empoli might be interested in young DR Marco Frabotta. We have no interest in selling as Marco is a promising player and an absolutely necessary piece of our tattered defense at the moment. I issue a hands-off warning.

We currently sit in 3rd place in the league table, four points back of 2nd place Modena and seventeen back of the blistering Messina squad, but we've played one less match than each of them. We've got an away trip to Modena tomorrow which comes at a bad time for us. I'd love to make up some points but it's going to be difficult on short rest and undermanned.

[MalcPow]

12/20/06

Napoli at Modena

We're away in a crucial match to try to pick up a few points against 2nd placed Modena. I'll be happy to draw, but squeaking out a win would be great. We'll play all out and hope for a quick goal so we can go into lockdown mode.

Lineup

GK Iezzo
DR Frabotta
DL Savini
DC Stoor
DC Romito
DMC Guarin
ML Laurendi
MR Montesanto
AMC Pia
ST Zjawinski
ST Sosa

Kickoff

...Both sides trading chances. We look to be controlling things to start...

26th: Freddy Guarin upends a Modena midfielder... the referee comes over. Yellow Card! That's his second! Guarin is sent off.

And we're in deep crap. I bring DMC Montervino on for ST Zjawinski, playing essentially the same formation but with one less striker. We'll see how well this works out.

30th: Not so well. Modena's AMC Gasbarroni picks out Christian Bucchi with a beautiful pass in the area. Bucchi buries it. 1-0 Modena.

45th: Just before half time, Modena brings the ball forward. Christian Bucchi keeps it moving. He plays a pinpoint pass to Roberto Colacone! Goal! Modena 2-0. We look like crap!

Halftime

I'm too frustrated and aware of the hopelessness of the situation to even give a speech.

46th: Frabotta plays a ball up the right wing to Cataldo Montensanto. He brings the ball forward. He's looking upfield. Plays an early cross near post... Sosa up for it! Goal! He powers a header home. Will Sosa lead us back? 2-1 Modena.

49th: Modena's Ivan Tisci controls the ball in the midfield. He looks up and plays a ball forward to Colacone. Colacone skips past Romito... powers a low shot from just outside the area... Goal. Bleh. 3-1 Modena. We're hanging our heads...

74th: We are still battling for pride despite the scoreline. Marco Frabotta makes an excellent intervention as Roberto Colacone tries to dribble past him. But the ball takes a deflection and falls right at the feet of Christian Bucchi, guess the news: Goal. 4-1 Modena.

I bring on a few subs for no apparent reason.

Thomas Romito is flagged for a handball in the box in extra time. Modena converts the penalty.

Final: Modena 5-1

This is the worst loss of my tenure at Napoli and we are completely dominated. Playing a man down for most of the match does not help, but we spend long stretches in total disarray. We need our defense back in order, but that does not look to be happening any time soon. Hopefully we can tread water through our next few games and go into the new year with a healthier squad and at least an outside chance at catching Modena in 2nd place for an automatic promotion spot.

[sovereignstar]

My first serious FM career ever was with Napoli a few months ago. Had similar success like you in Serie C1 as well (duh), then got a little sidetracked with school and haven't gone back to the career. Looks like it didn't take you too long to make a few changes as well. I immediately found a young Brazilian keeper and signed Ciro Capuano as well. Pia was amazing, but Calaio stepped in marvelously for him after an injury.

[Emiliano]

Cool! And I love your name: Giuseppe Viaggio... Fantastic.

[TazFTW]

I hate Napoli, Inacio Pia, and Calaio.

Everytime I played them, Calaio would be running through my back line and scoring (he had 4 goals in a playoff game against my Catanzaro squad). Inacio Pia wasn't as tough but he would still put up some goals against my squad. I then got promoted to Serie A where my problem would be trying to compete with Inter, Juventus, Milan, and Roma spending $100 million on transfers each season.

[MalcPow]

Thanks for the feedback and support guys (I think that was support right Taz? ). Napoli's one of those clubs that can make for a really fun career, hopefully I can keep the momentum going and make it to Serie A this year. There are some very big (but admittedly aging) names that look to be available as Bosmans if we make it to the top flight.

[MalcPow]

12/23/06

DR Marco Frabotta backs up my hands off warning by going to the press to talk about how happy he is here at Napoli. He makes it clear that he plans to be with the club for a long time despite strong speculation linking him to Empoli.

DMC Freddy Guarin has sustained a chest injury while lifting weights. I'm given the option of pumping him full of painkillers to see him through our upcoming match against Triestina, but I elect to send him to physiotherapy, hoping to see him return sooner rather than later over the next 1-4 weeks.

DRC Gianluca Grava, who recently returned to training from injury, is finally looking like he might be fit enough to see the pitch. This will be crucial for the team because it will allow us to put DC Romito back on the bench where he belongs (if he even belongs there, something tells me he would do well to start practicing his grocery sacking skills).

[MalcPow]

12/27/06

ST Boyd Mwila is called up by the Zambian national team for their 12/30 African Nations Cup Qualifier against Chad. It will be good for him to get some playing time as he has shown some progress in training (and his pace is now 20), but I've been too tentative to start giving unproven guys runs in the first team with all our other problems. He also needs a lot of polishing.

AMLC Gaetano Grieco, a decent player with no real place in our team, has gone to the media with a plea for first-team football. His only real usefulness was as a backup left-winger, and with the acquisition earlier this year of versatile (but average) MRLC Hamalainen there just isn't a spot for Grieco even on the substitute's bench. I tell him that he's a backup and should be patient (because who knows, half our midfield could get hit by a bus at any moment the way things are going), but I don't have any real intention of playing him unless forced to.

DC Marco Pecorari resumes full training. It'll be a little while before he's actually ready for match play, but it's a relief to have him wandering about on the training grounds again.

U20 ST Martin Sentov, a 21yr old with some rough potential, has a bruised head and will be out for between 4 days and 2 weeks. This doesn't impact us too much, but he has been developing and I hate to see injuries start to curtail those gains.

[MalcPow]

12/27/06

Napoli at Triestina

Another game on the road, but this time we're at least a little rested and have a few guys on the path back to fitness. DRC Gianluca Grava comes back and will pair with DC Fredrik Stoor in our central defense, giving us the most competent backline we've had in a month. Hopefully he won't be too rusty in his first match back. We don't have Freddy Guarin for this one but DMC Francesco Montervino will play in his place. Montervino was a key cog for us last season and if he had better stamina would probably still be a starter for us. I worry that this coupled with his lack of match action might cause him to fatigue rapidly in his DMC role, but we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it.

Lineup

GK Iezzo
DR Frabotta
DL Savini
DC Stoor
DC Grava
DMC Montervino
ML Laurendi
MR Montesanto
AMC Pia
ST Zjawinski
ST Sosa

Kickoff

...It's a slow start with both teams feeling each other out. A few balls blazed over from outside the area, but no one really getting much of a sniff at this point. Grava definitely seems to have shored up our defense a bit...

30th: Slow buildup in the midfield with Laurendi and Pia playing one-two's with each other. Pia brings the ball forward. Both central defenders come out to close on him. He leaves it for Sosa with space! He shoots... Goal! Sosa finds the net! 1-0 Napoli.

Halftime

So we head in with a 1-0 lead and we look solid. Pia and Montervino both have 8's, and Montervino looks like he's holding up fine as far as fatigue. We seem to be in control but a one goal lead on the road isn't much of a cushion, we'll come out gunning in the second.

47th: And just like we drew it up... DR Marco Frabotta waits with the ball deep on the right wing. Frabotta's letting things develop, displaying a lot of patience before playing a brilliant long pass forward to Sosa down the right hand channel. Sosa cuts it in, dribbles past a defender, and buries it! Great stuff from Sosa! 2-0 Napoli.

...Sosa is really carrying us these days...

66th: Triestina puts together a nice sequence, a great buildup with a series of one-touch passes creates some space for their striker Godeas and he makes us pay. 2-1 Napoli.

...They've found new life with the goal and are putting a lot of pressure on us here...

75th: I bring off a tiring Pia for AMRC Holster, and Zjawinski (after another anonymous performance) comes off for Rawez Lawan. I also crank up the time wasting, and drop the team's mentality down from our usual attacking style.

83rd: Roberto Sosa finds himself alone in front of the goal following a brilliant pass from Laurendi, but he can't convert. We really could have used that one to seal things as they're putting a lot of pressure on us.

...We're sweating out the final two minutes of extra time with Triestina deep in our half. And we're very happy when the whistle finally blows...

Final: 2-1 Napoli

This is a very big win for us. Bigger than I'd even realized as the game was going on. We're coming off a pretty devastating defeat, are away from home, and still shorthanded, this could have been a bad situation and we prevented a slide down the table away from the leaders with a gritty win. I'm really proud of the team and tell them they've done well.

Inacio Pia is man of the match, and Fredrik Stoor rates a 9 from his DC position. Grava also does well in his return with an 8.

[MalcPow]

12/28/06

Gaetano Grieco issues a public apology for his earlier cry to the media for more playing time. He says something about his respect for me and how I pick the team. Not that it really would have mattered but it's always nice to see these things blow over. I am concerned that we're starting to see a number of these little media outbursts, it can't be good for the team.

Inter boss Roberto Mancini has issued a statement saying that he is willing to listen to offers for 33yr old Brazilian fullback Ze Maria. He says there doesn't seem to be a place for the player and Ze Maria is only valued at 120k (assume from here on that I will always speak in Euros. This is a fantastic price and I put an offer in. Ze Maria would be a definite upgrade over Marco Frabotta (although he's developing) at the right back position and any chance to land a player of his talent and experience is worth a shot.

DC Ciro Capuano resumes full training following his knee injury. When he is back to full strength we will be in much better shape with a little bit of depth at all positions again. I doubt he'll make it back for our 1/5 match at Fiorentina (although we could really use him), but I don't want to rush him into another injury.

[MalcPow]

12/30/06

Chievo have come in with a bid for AMC Patrik Stahl. It's pretty low, and I'd never accept, but it's nice to see that other teams see the promise in your youngsters. I wish I could get Stahl more time, but it's going to be difficult.

I receive notices regarding all of our players that currently have six months remaining on their contracts. The three most important players on the list are DMC Francesco Montervino, DRC Gianluca Grava, and DMRC Cataldo Montesanto. I take a look and all three are demanding contracts well above the value they have. I might start playing Sosa as our captain more to start to shift leadership responsibilities away from a probably leaving Montesanto.

ST Boyd Mwila rates an 8 and scores a goal for Zambia in their match against Chad in African Nations Cup Qualifying. The Zambian coach has Mwila playing in an MR position but pushing all the way forward. We might want to try using Mwila's pace on the wing as well if he's capable of putting in these kinds of performances.

[MalcPow]

12/31/06

Our offer for Ze Maria is accepted, and amazingly, he's actually interested in discussing terms with us. He wants 875k/yr, along with 170k to sign. He'd also like a very short term, June of 2007 termination date (six months from now). It's expensive, but I'm intrigued by the kind of football we can play with him at rightback, and make the offer, extending the termination date another year to June of '08. I figure by that time Ze Maria will be done and we will have either brought in someone else or Marco Frabotta will be up for taking over the reigns.


1/1/07

Start of the new transfer window (more on that below).

I get a training report from my assistant manager. It looks like, among others, the aforementioned Marco Frabotta is really benefitting from his run of first team play and his ratings are shooting up. This makes me vaguely hesitant about bringing in the elderly Ze Maria, but the quality gap between the two players is so large that there isn't much to think about.

Possibly reading my mind (seriously Marc Vaughan has some explaining to do) a handful of clubs come in with loan and co-ownership offers for Marco Frabotta. Without knowing what will happen with Ze Maria, we can't accept.

GK Radoslaw Janukiewicz has resume full training, and looks like he might be ready in time for our important showdown with our rivals, the Viola of Fiorentina on 1/5.

Five ( ) of our players make the Fastweb.it team of the week: Stoor, Grava, Montervino, Pia, and Sosa.

The Board calls, and chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis says, "Hey, we're delighted with you." Then he says, "Hey, guess what, we're giving you another 4.4M in transfer funds."

This is pretty good news, the only problem of course being I still had some 8M left over because nobody worth that much wants to play for us (or maybe it's me ). So now we have something like 12.5M to spend, but no real targets.

We also have some new signings from a little bit of transfer dabbling we did about a month and a half ago. The new additions:

D/WBL Adilio (21yr, Brazilian) from Guarini for 700k. This guy looks very good (but not so good I couldn't kind of forget he was coming), and although DL Mirko Savini was not a glaring weakness, Adilio is a definite upgrade. He's going to be a dynamic threat at leftback and should give us a lot more fluidity between our midfield and defense.

D/WBL Giorgos Ntovas (23yr, Greek) from Ethnikos on a free. A solid player who should offer some squad depth.

DL Daniel Panizzolo (20yr, Swiss) from Genoa for 60k. A promising youngster that will be a bit of a project. (Apparently I went through a desperate "leftback phase" last month, and promptly forgot about it. I'm weird like that.)

ST Filippo Fratesi (17yr, Italian) from Cattolica for 100k. Fratesi looks like a promising youngster who can spend a few years in our U20's before he starts demanding first-team time. He could be a good one.

[MalcPow]

1/4/07

ST Filippo Fratesi has barely unpacked here in Napoli when we get a call from Lazio offering a co-ownership arrangement. I reject it quickly but it is a nice bit of validation when a big club regards a player's potential highly enough to make an offer.

Fiorentina ask about buying AML Antonio Laurendi, an inquiry so absurd that I wonder if they are trying some kind of sneaky gamesmanship ahead of our crucial clash tomorrow. I tell them that unless Laurendi loses both legs in a bass-fishing accident he's not for sale.

D/WB/DMR Ze Maria agrees to terms! He turns down a couple of other offers to join us and we are very excited. Despite his age (again, he's 33) he looks to have plenty left in the tank for this level, and should be a Serie B difference maker for us. He makes it known following his signing that he is relieved to have a first-team opportunity again, and he's very happy to join us.

DRC Gianluca Grava is worried by the signing and says he might have to look at leaving if there won't be a first team place for him. I make a couple of comments to the media calling Ze Maria a very good player who should have an important place in the team. I decline to directly address Grava's concerns, but with 6 months left on his contract, and borderline delusional salary requests, it's probably a safe bet that Grava will not be with the squad next season.

ST Daniel Eres, the young Swedish striker with an enormous, um, value, returns to training following the wrist injury he immediately sustained upon joining the club last month. We'll have to give him some time when he is up to speed as well.

[MalcPow]

1/5/07

Napoli at Fiorentina

This game is looking extremely important at the moment with both the fan's and the Board hungry for a win over our rivals, and Fiorentina's dangerous 4th place table position just a few points beneath us. A win would get people excited and provide a little bit of cushion as we try to ascend to the level of the two teams hovering above us at the moment. The match also sees the debuts of our two new Brazilian fullbacks, DR Ze Maria and DL Adilio, and the return from injury (possibly a little early) by first-team GK Radoslaw Janukiewicz. DC Capuano does not look ready, so Grava will play despite his media concerns earlier in the week.

Lineup

GK Janukiewicz
DR Ze Maria
DL Adilio
DC Stoor
DC Grava
DMC Montervino
ML Laurendi
MR Montesanto
AMC Pia
ST Zjawinski
ST Sosa

Kickoff

5th: We come out blazing with Adilio pushing forward and finding Laurendi on the wing. Laurendi goes to the touchline and whips in a cross for Sosa. Sosa powers a header! Goal! 1-0 Napoli. Great start!

11th: Francesco Montervino picks out a streaking Ze Maria down the right wing. Ze Maria is pushed very far forward. He's pushing the ball upfield. He cuts inside a defender just outside the right edge of the area. Ze Maria pushes a pass through to the feet of Sosa! He has to score! He does, Sosa buries it. 2-0 Napoli. And the traveling Napoli supporters are jubilant!

21st: Fiorentina fires back. Striker Sardo buries an opportunity in space and bring the Viola crowd back to life after the opening double salvo from Sosa. 2-1 Napoli.

45th: Just before half time. In the last seconds of stoppage time before the break. You guessed it: Sardo again. Fiorentina hit the lockerrooms with a packed Artemio Franchi Stadium going wild, and an all even, 2-2 game at the break.

Halftime

We obviously go into halftime a little stunned. A rivalry game is always emotional and to go up two like we did put us on an incredible high, coming into the break having given that lead away can absolutely devastate a team. So I tell them we can win this, come on, but I can see they're still shaken. I wonder if having a couple of new players in the squad (and another player upset about one of the new guys) will make it even harder for these guys to band together on the road and make something happen. I decide to come out with an attacking mindset, and hope we can steal some of the momentum back.

...Uh yeah, not so much with stealing momentum. We're getting dominated and if Janukiewicz wasn't playing out of his mind to start the second half we'd be down two already...

60th: I am frustrated by Zjawinski's completely nonexistent presence in this game and I'm looking for a spark with Rawez Lawan coming on off the bench.

61st: I love when I look smart... Even though it's mostly Pia with some nice moves and a beautiful pass to find Lawan in space that provides the spark, Lawan finishes it. We go up 3-2 and our supporters rally us to finish them off.

70th: This game is still going back and forth as each team trades chances at every turn. I get nervous and pull us out of our attacking mindset, and crank up the time wasting. I'm remembering that we're on the road, and up against a good team, we need to try tighten up.

...Things slow down some, but the match still looks very even. Fiorentina looks to turn up the heat bringing more and more players into attack...

88th: Pia again in the midfield moving forward, causing havoc. He draws a few defenders to close on him and then leaves a beautiful pass to Laurendi with space in front of him. Laurendi has no interest in driving forward into that space and instead absolutely blisters a shot from 30 yards that splashes home in emphatic fashion. Our players mob him along the left hand side of the pitch with our supporters rattling the fences of the visitor's stands.

Final 4-2 Napoli

A massively important win, both emotionally and for our promotion hopes. Laurendi takes home man of the match honors on the strength of his 9 rating and his 30 yard screamer of an exclamation point to end things. Adilio debuts strongly with an 8, and Ze Maria brings down an adequate 7 (despite seemingly warranting more from the highlights). So an all around great match for us. I may finally have run out of patience with Dariusz Zjawinski as well and we may see Rawez Lawan at the start of our next match.

[MalcPow]

1/5/07

Well, I was right, we may see Rawez Lawan on the pitch at the start of our next match. Unfortunately, we'll also probably see Dariusz Zjawinski because it looks like we've lost Roberto Sosa for at least 2 weeks to a hamstring injury. I think we can deal with this, but he is by far our most consistent scorer and I'll go into our next match wondering what kind of attack we may or may not have.

I get another call from chairman De Laurentiis describing his delight. "It's always good to beat a rival," I say.


1/7/07

Chelsea's keeper Peter Cech and defender John Terry, as well as Barca's Ronaldinho and Juve's Ibrahimovic, take home their respective positions' European Player of the Year awards.

Arezzo come in with a 32k offer for one of our long dormant squad players, AMRL Marco Capparella, and we accept. I feel like there is a little bit of a hangover around the training grounds following the Fiorentina win. We'll have to be extra wary of a letdown next match, especially without the veteran Sosa on the pitch.

[MalcPow]

1/7/07

DMC Francesco Montervino has come down with the flu. I send him home hoping it won't spread to the rest of the squad. We'll have to wait and see when he's available to return.

1/8/07

AML Antonio Laurendi is named to the Fastweb.it Team of the Week.

1/9/07

We sign a 20 year old promising central defender, Ezequiel Garay, off an expiring contract. He won't be joining us until July, but he's an intriguing prospect and we're glad to have picked him up.

1/11/07

Lazio come in this time with an offer to co-own ST Filippo Fratesi. The 17 year old is attracting a lot of interest. I'll have to see if there are any opportunities to give him a brief run in the first team later this year.

Catania have made an offer of 2.8M to co-own Inacio Pia. We reject it. There's just simply no point in accepting, we don't need the money, and he's young and one of our best players.

Crystal Palace also inquire about Pia and I tell them he's not for sale. There seem to be these little spurts during each transfer window where teams start bidding on Pia. I'm hopeful that it won't somehow unsettle him.

[MalcPow]

1/13/07

Messina manager Bartolo Mutti speaks highly of me in the press ahead of our match. Mutti seems to think we could be real good buddies and such, so I respond positively, and mention that Messina have to be taken seriously for promotion. (And basically something ridiculous would have to happen for them to miss out on promotion at this point as they're almost 20 points clear at the top of the table.)

He responds even more positively upon hearing my remarks. I think this means he's going buy me a virtual beer some day soon.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is named European Footballer of the Year. Barcelona's Samuel Eto'o and Ronaldinho take 2nd and 3rd respectively.

[MalcPow]

1/14/07

Napoli vs. Messina

Messina are the runaway leaders of the Serie B at the moment, so coming away with three points would be a very nice windfall for us. Especially since although they are clearly top of the table, there is a lot of season left and a loss or two could turn the tides of the title race.

We're forced to make a few adjustments to cover for injuries, and Fredrik Holster gets the call to start out on the right. Cataldo Montesanto will be playing the DMC role, and I refuse to start Dariusz Zjawinski so I move Pia upfront and start Patrik Stahl as our AMC. Ciro Capuano also returns to start at DC.

Lineup

GK Janukiewicz
DR Ze Maria
DL Adilio
DC Stoor
DC Capuano
DMC Montesanto
ML Laurendi
MR Holster
AMC Stahl
ST Pia
ST Lawan

Kickoff

The first half is almost completely uneventful. Each side trades a couple of half-chances, but nothing of note. Capuano does appear to have brought some stability to our backline. But they're still outshooting us at the half, and probably deserve a lead more than we would.

Halftime

...More half-chances and wild shots from distance. But they're spending a lot of time in our end. I'm not sure we can withstand the pressure...

75th: I bring Lawan off as he hasn't done much, and bring on Zjawinski against my better judgment.

82nd: Ciro Capuano intercepts and controls the ball. He looks downfield. Plays a long ball forward to Zjawinski. He knocks it down just outside the area. Takes it off a bounce with his right foot! Goal! Zjawinski comes on and buries one. Messina are in shock! 1-0 Napoli.

87th: Laurendi moving forward down the left wing. He leaves a pass into the center of the field for Zjawinski. Zjawinski with his back to the goal just outside the area. He finds some space with a lovely move! Blisters a shot! Off the crossbar! So close!

92nd: Guarin controls the ball in the midfield. Napoli looking to set something up. He plays a ball forward toward the head of Zjawinski but it's headed out by the defense. It falls to the feet of Messina's Riccardo Zampagna. He starts streaking forward up the right wing. Napoli is slow getting back! Zampagna plays a long cross in for Dieter Van Tornhout! Headed home! Goal! He pumps his fist! Heartbreak for Napoli! 1-1.

Final: 1-1 Draw

They still outshoot us and probably have the better overall match. But this is a devastating way to go down, and the team is comatose following the emotional swings of the final ten minutes. I tell them they've done well and try to focus on the positive. Taking three from Messina would have been great, but we have to move forward.

[MalcPow]

1/16/07

Ze Maria is named to the Fatweb.it Serie B Team of the Week. He rated an 8 in the draw against Messina.

In somewhat ironic news, striker Dieter Van Tornhout (the heartless shite that headed home Messina's last second equalizer) joins Crystal Palace on loan. This couldn't have happened a couple days ago?

We have another game almost immediately on top of the last one against Messina.

[MalcPow]

1/17/07

Napoli at Catanzaro

This is a game we should win, and it'll offer us an opportunity for some revenge as Catanzaro opened our Serie B season with a shocking victory at the San Paolo. But I'm nervous that a number of our players are still a little tired from the hard-fought match from a few days ago. On the strength of Zjawinski's ten minutes last match I decide to start him upfront with Lawan and move Pia back to the AMC role. I also start AMRC Charles Andre Doudin on the right wing hoping for a little spark.

Lineup

GK Janukiewicz
DR Ze Maria
DL Adilio
DC Stoor
DC Capuano
DMC Montesanto
ML Laurendi
MR Doudin
AMC Pia
ST Zjawinski
ST Lawan

Kickoff

...Bleh...

Halftime

We look really flat and go into halftime down 2-0. We are looking so sloppy and turned around that it's not even worth writing about. I make an angry halftime speech hoping for something (although from the fatigue I see around the lockerroom there might not be much more to wring out of them).

...We battle back in the second half and draw even in the 75th minute. Needless to say, Catanzaro answers back in the 81st with a third goal, and we never threaten again. We lose, albeit on the road, to a not-impressive Catanzaro team.

Final: 3-2 Catanzaro

No one really produces a performance of much quality, and we leave the game with a number of players dealing with low morale. If we're not careful this could be a dangerous stretch for us. We cannot afford to let Messina and (more importantly) Modena start running away from us. We will need to rebound from this in a major way.

[MalcPow]

1/18/07

DMC Francesco Montervino returns to training following his bout with the flu. He's a welcome sight on the grounds, and his veteran presence seems to have a calming effect on the squad's frazzled nerves.

DL Mirko Savini goes to the press asking for a new contract. Savini is a solid player whose contract is set to expire at the end of June, but with our recent influx of leftbacks he is surplus to requirements. I tell him that he will not be receiving a new deal at this time, especially since he'd like to be the second highest paid player in the squad with his contract demands.

1/19/07

Mirko Savini goes back to the press again. Standing his ground and demanding a new and improved contract. There isn't an option for my reply this time, so I'm assuming there's a picture of me alongside his latest outburst with a sort of semi-constipated glare on my face.

1/21/07

FC Bayern's Michael Ballack wins Football of the Year, with Chelsea's John Terry coming second, and Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand taking third.

FC Bayern defender Lucio is named World Player of the Year, with Juve's Zambrotta, and Inter's Stankovic behind him in the voting. (Does anyone really get the difference between all these awards? It's always been one of those 'huh' things for me.)

[MalcPow]

1/21/07

Napoli vs. Brescia

Another game without very much rest, and we're really hoping to bounce back from our spotty run here. This is a very important part of the season for us and we need to keep ourselves in a position to capitalize if the teams in front of us stumble. DMC Freddy Guarin is back to fitness and will start for us in the midfield. I'm now feeling the same sort of frustrations with Rawez Lawan as I was feeling with Zjawinski before (probably because they're both freaking worthless) so I decide to move Pia upfront again and pair him with Zjawinski. Patrik Stahl has looked good in training lately, and I'm convinced he should be able to be productive for us in the AMC role. I also make Pia our captain today with Sosa injured and Montesanto out of the lineup (I just think he doesn't offer much flair on the wings), so we'll see how that turns out.

Lineup

GK Janukiewicz
DR Ze Maria
DL Adilio
DC Stoor
DC Capuano
DMC Guarin
ML Laurendi
MR Doudin
AMC Stahl
ST Pia
ST Zjawinski

Kickoff

We make a few tactical changes today as well. I give each of the fullbacks arrows forward into wingback positions and move my defensive line settings up to try and shorten the field.

13th: Adilio moves forward down the left wing. He sends a chip into the box. Streaking onto the end of it is Patrik Stahl! He gets his head to it... Goal! 1-0 Napoli.

20th: Pia dribbling into the right side of the area. He tries to skip past a defender, he's through on goal! No! A last ditch tackled and he's dispossessed, but the loose ball falls to the feet Zjawinski! He can't miss! (And he doesn't). 2-0 Napoli.

43rd: Some nice one-two's through the midfield. Stahl finds Zjawinski in the area. He's shoved as he turns with the ball! Penalty! The referee points to the spot. Ze Maria will take it, and slide it inside the right post. 3-0 Napoli.

Halftime

Whatever we're doing it's working. The boys are riding high.

60th: Laurendi is knocked down outside of the area. Guarin stands over the freekick. Will he shoot from here? He drives it in low... Goal! Guarin with a blistered freekick that pings in off the inside of the post! 4-0 Napoli.

67th: I decide to bring some people on. Mwila replaces Zjawiniski, and Holster is on for Stahl, both of whom receive standing ovations from the home crowd. I also bring Gianluca Grava on in the defence and move Stoor to leftback where a lacklustre (relatively) Adilio comes off.

70th: Mwila takes a pass from deep and makes a great run into the area, he has a go from a tight angle... the keeper spills it! Pia is there! Goal! Pia off the rebound! 5-0 Napoli.

76th: Brescia salvages some amount of pride as Ingrimbelli gets onto the end of a cross, but the damage is done. 5-1 Napoli.

Final: 5-1 Napoli

An incredibly convincing victory for us, we have an astonishing five players rate 10's for the match (Ze Maria, Doudin, Laurendi, Zjawinski, and Pia) as well as three more with 9's (Capuano, Stahl, and Guarin). Inacio Pia is named Man of the Match, and I can't help but tell the lads they've done well after this one. Is it possible we've come out of our little funk and are ready to make a push?

[MalcPow]

1/22/07

Ze Maria and Guarin are named to the Serie B Team of the Week. (I thought we might have most of our team make it but then I realized our loss to Catanzaro fell within this week's timeframe as well).

1/24/07

Midfielder Valery Mezague resumes full training. He's a valuable weapon that we'll have a lot of use for when he returns.

The transfer deadline is in one week. I take another look at the market, and although I don't think we're beyond improvement, it just doesn't seem like there are any great opportunities for a move.

Midfielder Valentin Negru (a squad player who saw a lot of substitute action last season but has since fallen from grace) is asking for a first team run. I inform him that he's a backup and that he should be patient. He apogizes following my remarks.

[MalcPow]

1/26/07

Ahead of our match today my assistant manager Carlo Tebi takes me aside to tell me that Inacio Pia is playing an important role for the club and that we should do whatever we can to help his form.

"No shit Carlo," I say and walk back into my office to watch some film.

Napol vs. Bari

Hopefully we can carry that momentum forward from the Brescia game and pick up the three points at home. Charles Andre Doudin is very tired (and seems to generally have fatigue problems) so captain Cataldo Montesanto starts on the right wing.

Lineup

GK Janukiewicz
DR Ze Maria
DL Adilio
DC Stoor
DC Capuano
DMC Guarin
ML Laurendi
MR Montesanto
AMC Stahl
ST Pia
ST Zjawinski

Kickoff

...They're pressuring us but we seem to be controlling the match. Neither side is able to make much happen though. I am somehow convinced that this is Montesanto's boringness on the right wing that is stalling us. We go to the half 0-0...

Halftime

I'm thinking about making an adjustment, particularly with regard to Montesanto, but I stick with the usual. But I do tell the guys that we can win this one, just to prod them a little.

58th: Inacio Pia seems to have picked up a small injury, he doesn't necessarily need to come off but I'm not taking any chances. Lawan comes on.

78th: I make a couple more changes with nothing happening. AMR Marzeglia comes on for Montesanto, and I bring Daniel Eres on for a tiring Zjawinski.

83rd: The changes pay off. Marzeglia makes a nice run down the right wing and puts in a beautiful cross for Lawan. He's open in space, and finishes to put us up 1-0. We all breathe sigh of relief, that we're not going to give away points in a match we're controlling.

90th: Apparently we decide to keep sighing in relief for seven more minutes until Bari hits us on a quick break and their striker Carrus pumps one home to tie things up.

Final: 1-1 Draw

We're burned by another late goal. I'm starting to question my tactics in the final minutes. I might need to start bringing another defender on, and trying to really grind these final minutes out. We can't afford to give away these points, but we do, so we'll see what happens. Stahl is our lone bright spot, rating an 8 and playing fairly well (including an absolute screamer in the first half that hit off the crossbar from distance).

[MalcPow]

1/27/07

Striker Boyd Mwila twists his ankle while on international duty and will be out for between 2 weeks and a month after I send him to our physios.

1/29/07

I decide to accept a couple of loan offers that come in for AMRC Fredrik Holster. He's not getting any playing time with us, and if he's going to reach his potential he'll need some first-team football.

1/31/07

Holster ends up accepting a loan offer from Lanciano is the Serie C1/B. I am able to recall him if necessary, but hopefully he'll be able to get some seasoning and improve a little playing in the lower leagues.

Olympiakos come calling with a bid of 950k upfront plus 2.8M over the next 24 months for Striker Dariusz Zjawinski. They also include a 20% sell-on fee, but we can't make this deal right now, just wouldn't make sense. Although it is strange to me that other teams find Zjawinski this intriguing. He either has a lot more talent to grow into or I'm just not using him properly.

2/2/07

Roberto Sosa returns to full training. Thank God.

And U20 player Martin Sentov sustains a concussion. He'll be out for at least two weeks.

[MalcPow]

2/4/07

Napoli at Cremonese

Another important match, they all are from here on out if we're going to have any hope of catching Modena. Charles Andre Doudin is back starting on the right wing for us.

Lineup

GK Janukiewicz
DR Ze Maria
DL Adilio
DC Stoor
DC Capuano
DMC Guarin
ML Laurendi
MR Doudin
AMC Stahl
ST Pia
ST Zjawinski

Kickoff

...We seem to be in total control of this game, but can't capitalize on our chances...

45th: Adilio comes up the left wing. He cuts inside. Leaves a pass for Zjawinskin in space! Buries it! Goal! 1-0 Napoli.

Halftime

I decide to bring Valery Mezague on for Patrik Stahl at the half hoping for a little spark.

71st: We give away possession in the midfield. And Cremonese hit fast on the break. Taddei finishes. 1-1.

76th: Freddy Guarin stands over a freekick. Steps up... it's bending toward the post... saved! But the keeper spills it! Zjawinski is there! Goal! 2-1 Napoli.

80th: I go to a more defensive mentality and crank up the time wasting. Let's try to grind this one out.

83rd: So much for that. We get caught out again on a quick attack. Cremonese plays a long ball forward to Taddei, and again, he finishes. 2-2

Final Draw 2-2

We try to crank up the attacking mentality again at the end but we can't muster anything. We definitely were the better team, but just couldn't put things together. I am very much not liking this run of late equalizers we've been allowing. This team has me scratching my head.

[MalcPow]

2/4/07

Following our match, and with the team descending again into frustration with itself, waste of life Tomas Romito decides to go to the press with a bold, "Play me or lose me!" statement. Without an adequately hilarious reply available to me I decide to go with the ever calming, "Be patient," tack in my statement. Although I make it particularly ambiguous whether he should be patient about playing or getting lost.

2/6/07

Romito goes nutso in the press again. Angry about my response, and proclaiming that he doesn't see a future for himself at the club, he threatens to leave at the earliest opportunity. La Gazzetta dello Sport runs a front page picture of me with tears running down my face.

In all seriousness though. I'm convinced that all these malcontents and their weekly outbursts are what's destroying our consistency (it can't possibly be my tactics ).

MRLC Hamalainen sustains a calf strain in training. He'll be out for at least two weeks.

[MalcPow]

2/11/07

Napoli vs. Ternana

We're hoping to right the ship here at home against Ternana. Roberto Sosa is not quite all the way back but we're going to start him anyway, hoping for something. We also start Valery Mezague in the AMC position and AMR Marzeglia on the right wing. I am starting to make these decisions somewhat willy-nilly, with a kind of different must be better attitude. We'll see how that works out.

Lineup

GK Janukiewicz
DR Ze Maria
DL Adilio
DC Stoor
DC Capuano
DMC Guarin
ML Laurendi
MR Marzeglia
AMC Mezague
ST Pia
ST Sosa

Kickoff

...We spend a great deal of time pressuring but can't find the net. We go to the half 0-0...

Halftime

I'm frustrated that we don't have a lead at this point. I tell the squad we can win this. And I want to tell them that if we can't win this, we're in big trouble, but I don't.

57th: I bring Zjawinski on for a tiring Sosa.

67th: Zjawinski picks up a small injury so I bring Lawan on for him.

80th: Still unable to finish I bring Stahl on for Mezague, hoping we can finally get over the hump.

Final 0-0

This is a very frustrating home result as we dominate but can't get the points. Ternana is not a good team and we outshoot them 17-2 (9-1 on target). Their keeper wins man of the match honors, and we're sitting around the training room wondering what we have to do.

[MalcPow]

2/15/07

We come to terms with a promising young Norwegian DC Esper Ivar Wiborg Iversen (yes, that's just one person). We put in a 100k offer to Brann for his services and were able to secure him on an extremely cheap contract. He's a regen, and has a thirteen year old boy's picture that is pretty hilarious, but he's got some great physical attributes and should have a bright future with us when he joins in July.

[MalcPow]

2/16/07

Napoli at Atalanta (TV)

We've got our first televised match in a while today against Atalanta on the road. I've decided to scrap our current diamond 442 and bring both the wingers into central midfield positions. I've given the fullbacks arrows forward to the halfline to make up for our lack of midfield width. Laurendi is capable of playing in a central position so he simply moves inside from his ML spot, whereas Valery Mezague is playing the other MC role as MR Marzeglia comes off. I bring Patrik Stahl on in the AMC role, and sit Sosa down for Zjawinski as the old man is looking very slow after his latest injury (pace has fallen to 8, if this is the beginning of the end for him we've really got problems).

Lineup

GK Janukiewicz
DR Ze Maria
DL Adilio
DC Stoor
DC Capuano
DMC Guarin
MC Laurendi
MC Mezague
AMC Stahl
ST Pia
ST Zjawinski

Kickoff

39th: Fredrick Stoor is holding Atalanta's Budan in the box. Penalty! Marcolin scores it. 1-0 Atalanta.

...We are not generating much of an attack. But they don't seem to be either...

Halftime

We go in down 1-0, but it's not clear if we're feeling things out or totally lost. We'll see what happens in the second half.

...Much of the same. Except to be honest, we look like we're starting to crack, they're breaking down our defense and getting better chances. We need to hit back somehow...

82nd: Atalanta with some rather mundane passing outside the area causes our defense to completely fall apart. Budan finishes with all day and a ton of space in front of goal. 2-0 Atalanta.

86th: Again with a slow buildup from Atalanta, this time Budan leaves it for Rivalta who buries it. We look completely out of our element. 3-0 Atalanta.

89th: Fredrik Stahl gets his head to a Pia cross and finds the net. But it's purely consolation. 3-1 Atalanta.

Final 3-1 Atalanta

A loss is never a good thing but we just get absolutely destroyed here. We look terrible, and unlike the usual quick break goals we've been leaking all season, today we are just outplayed and dominated all over the pitch. So much for this formation.

Adding to the loss we find out Ze Maria is going to be out for at least a week with a damaged elbow. We might be in a total tailspin shortly.

[MalcPow]

2/21/07

Napoli at Empoli

Another road game in the midst of our struggles. Empoli is a squad we should beat, but all bets are off right now. We go back to more or less our old formation but I make some tweaks. Our wingers have no arrows forward and the AMC now has an arrow backward to the central midfield. We have the same somewhat pushed forward defensive line as before. I'm starting Doudin again on the right wing, and Roberto Sosa appears to have recovered some of his pace in training this week (and we need everything we've got) so he starts up front in place of Zjawinski. We also move Stoor from the central defense to rightback for the injured Ze Maria and bring Gianluca Grava on at DC.

Lineup

GK Janukiewicz
DR Stoor
DL Adilio
DC Grava
DC Capuano
DMC Guarin
ML Laurendi
MR Doudin
AMC Stahl
ST Pia
ST Sosa

Kickoff

13th: Roberto Sosa finds himself through on a break. The defense is closing fast from behind and takes an early pop at goal. It's deflected by the keeper but falls into space onto the feet of Antonio Laurendi! He buries it! 1-0 Napoli.

24th: Inacio Pia drops out to the wing to receive. He makes a move to the byline. Whips in a cross... Sosa is there with the header! Goal! 2-0 Napoli. Sosa and Pia are all smiles.

39th: Laurendi gets a pass out left. He cuts inside now moving forward, finds Pia with a pass. Pia one touch with a beautiful pass to Sosa. He has time to call his mum and tell her to put the game on before he buries it in the right side of the net! Goal! 3-0 Napoli.

40th: Grava picks up a small injury and I bring Marco Pecorari on to replace him.

Halftime

We go in 3-0 up, and the boys are riding high. Morale is way up and it's good to see them loose again after such a stretch of mediocre results and people complaining in the press.

56th: I bring Zjawinski and Lawan on for Pia and Sosa with game locked up just to give them some playing time.

68th: Empoli grabs a goal off of a cross headed home by striker Tavano, and I'm instantly nervous we're about to fall apart again. 3-1 Napoli

...But we don't...

Final 3-1 Napoli

It's great to get a win like this, particularly on the road. The tides looked like they were against us heading into this one, and a betting man might've seen a good opportunity to make some money off a team in turmoil, but we battled back, rose to the occasion, and won convincingly. Antonio Laurendi, who has been so durable and great for us all season, rates a 9 and takes home man of match honors.

[MalcPow]

2/25/07

A quick look at the table has us 8 points down at the moment from Modena and in third place. There's still enough time for us to close that gap but 8 points is 8 points, it won't be easy. Messina are still very comfortably perched atop the table with another ten or so points separating them from Modena.

Chelsea win the English League Cup on penalties over Manchester City.

Young striker Filippo Fratesi has sustained a facial injury. He should be back sometime in the next two weeks.

Antonio Laurendi is named to the Fastweb.it Team of the Week.

Salernitana Manager Maurizio Costantini tells me he'll be going all out to beat us in our rivalry game tomorrow. I tell him he'll need to, because his boys don't have much chance of winning.

Modena and Fiorentina's managers get into a little verbal sparring of their own.

[MalcPow]

2/26/07

Napoli vs. Salernitana (TV)

The last time we played on TV we laid an egg and got our butts kicked by Atalanta. Um, let's not do that again. We go with the same lineup that brought us some life at Empoli.

Lineup

GK Janukiewicz
DR Stoor
DL Adilio
DC Grava
DC Capuano
DMC Guarin
ML Laurendi
MR Doudin
AMC Stahl
ST Pia
ST Sosa

Kickoff

8th: Right off the bat, Pia finds Sosa free on a break with a nice ball forward. Sosa finishes and pumps his fist! 1-0 Napoli.

10th: Antonio Laurendi is spread out wide down the left wing pushing forward. He swings a cross into the box... Sosa is there with the header! Two in two minutes! 2-0 Napoli.

...We're putting a lot of pressure on them...

35th: Doudin cuts in with the ball on the right wing. He leaves a pass for Sosa on the edge of the area. Sosa drills one unexpectedly from distance and it splashes home in the top right corner of the net! 3-0! The San Paolo is electric after Sosa's hattrick!

Halftime

We look great.

60th: Montesanto comes on for Doudin. And Zjawinski comes on for Sosa who gets a standing ovation.

70th: Pia comes off for Lawan as he starts to tire.

...They don't even get a sniff the rest of the match. The crowd is singing Salernitana Manager Maurizio Costantini's name mockingly, and chanting, "All-out, All-out"...

Final 3-0 Napoli

Another great win for us and we find out at the half that Modena drew with Fiorentina, bringing us six back. It can happen. Sosa is a deserved man of match and he and Laurendi both rate 9's.

[MalcPow]

3/2/07

The Board is delighted with our win over our rivals. There's a swagger that starting to return to this organization from the top on down. The squad is acting more like the squad of a year ago as they were running out clear winners of the Serie C1/B and dominating teams.

MRLC Hamalainen returns to training. He's yet to see much time for us but he offers some depth and I'd like to see him out there if possible.

By the way, I guess it should be mentioned, one of the reasons I am so concerned with catching Modena for second place is that I am starting to think only the top two Serie B teams will be promoted, and that there isn't a playoff structure. There are only two spots "blued-out" on the table screen for the Serie B and we're starting to reach a point where Messina would have probably qualified for the playoffs if one existed. The strange thing is that Serie A has three red slots. I am not sure exactly how things will be playing out at the end of the season, but I'd rather be in second with an assured promotion than find out.

[MalcPow]

3/2/07

Napoli vs. Avellino (TV)

We get a mediocre Avellino side at home while we're rolling, as well as a chance to show off in a nationally televised game. We also have the luxury of being able to start the same squad that has fueled our recent run.

Lineup

GK Janukiewicz
DR Stoor
DL Adilio
DC Grava
DC Capuano
DMC Guarin
ML Laurendi
MR Doudin
AMC Stahl
ST Pia
ST Sosa

Kickoff

6th: Doudin goes down with an injury. He has to come off and Montesanto comes on. I am inexplicably nervous that anything at all is going to ruin the rhythm we have going.

20th: Patrik Stahl with a great individual effort skipping past defenders outside the area... he shoots! Saved! But it falls right to Laurendi! Guess the news! 1-0 Napoli!

21st: Pia intercepts a terrible back pass from the defense. He goes round the keeper! Finishes in style! 2-0 Napoli.

Halftime

Again we are playing well, and controlling things.

...Nothing much happens in the second half...

Final 2-0 Napoli

Another big win, but they're all big now. Things are starting to come together.

[MalcPow]

3/2/07

Doudin is out for the next week with a dead leg. We are scouring the organ donor lists for a possible replacement thigh should it become necessary.

Graham Souness is fired by Newcastle.

3/4/07

Ze Maria resumes training. I think this is good, at this point I don't know anything. Except this, you don't mess with a winning streak.

3/5/07

Antonio Laurendi is named to the Serie B Team of the Week.

3/6/07

Newcastle have hired Louis Van Gaal.

MRLC Hamalainen is out again, this time with a stubbed toe for two weeks, just as he was looking to be ready to play again.

[MalcPow]

3/11/07

Napoli at Genoa

We're playing at Genoa, the other squad recently promoted to the Serie B, and having a pretty successful season as well. AMRC Charles-Andre Doudinwill be starting out on the right wing as we were able to revive his leg in the last few days. Ze Maria also returns from injury to start. This should be a tough game, but we have been looking very good.

Lineup

GK Janukiewicz
DR Ze Maria
DL Adilio
DC Stoor
DC Capuano
DMC Guarin
ML Laurendi
MR Doudin
AMC Stahl
ST Pia
ST Sosa

Kickoff

17th: Doudin, rescucitated leg and all, is streaking down the right wing. He turns in at the touch line. Plays a cross... Sosa is there with the header! Goal! 1-0 Napoli.

37th: Genoa strikes back quickly on a counter attack. Striker Joelson is through on goal and finishes. 1-1.

Halftime

We're even, and we look solid, but we need more than a draw at this point. I'm tempted to mess with something but, knowing my perfect record of poor decisions in both gaming and life, I go against my natural impulses and leave things be.

...A whole lot of nothing...

70th: I bring Lawan on for Pia.

83rd: We're pressuring. Doudin plays a pass to Ze Maria who is well forward just inside the area. He has a pop! And scores! 2-1 Napoli. Great stuff from Ze Maria!

84th: I bring Mezague on as a second DMC and bring Sosa off. Lawan is our only guy up front.

...They never really pressure us...

Final: 2-1 Napoli

Another big win on our run. And in huge news Messina takes down Modena 3-1, we're now three back of 2nd place, with Atalanta tight on our heels only two points back. Exciting stuff!

[MalcPow]

3/12/07

DC Ciro Capuano is named to the Serie B Team of the Week.

3/17/07

AMLC Gaetano Grieco makes a plea to the media for first team football. Just as I think everyone who could possibly complain about something has already complained, we get more whining to the media. I tell him to be patient, hoping that this will kill the situation for now and won't be disruptive during our great run of form. He apologizes later for his outburst.

[MalcPow]

3/17/07

Napoli vs. Piacenza

We take on a middletable Piacenza squad at home in another must win game. We can't afford to be leaking points at the San Paolo so we'll be going all out. Luckily, since we seem to be entering the home stretch of the season and we're not in any other competitions there is some time between matches now. We seem much more rested and the injuries have slowed with the less hectic schedule. This gives us the luxury of some consistency and we're starting the same group again this week.

Lineup

GK Janukiewicz
DR Ze Maria
DL Adilio
DC Stoor
DC Capuano
DMC Guarin
ML Laurendi
MR Doudin
AMC Stahl
ST Pia
ST Sosa

Kickoff

16th: Guarin stands over the corner. He drifts a ball into the six-yard box... it's headed down by Sosa to Pia just inside the area... he drills it! Goal! 1-0 Napoli

22nd: Piacenza see an opening on the break with a long ball foward to Degano. Degano brings the ball forward 30 yards out. Janukiewicz is a little lost well off his line. Degano chips him from way out! Goal! 1-1.

Halftime

We're in control, and their goal is pretty frustrating as it was a total brainfart from Janukiewicz. I'm confident we can find another goal in the second half, but I'd like it sooner rather than later.

50th: Handball in the box! Napoli is awarded a penalty! Who will take it? Ze Maria goes to the spot. He runs up... buries it! Goal! 2-1 Napoli!

56th: Inacio Pia drops deep to receive a pass. He's holding the ball in the midfield, letting things develop. He sneaks a pass into some space for Freddy Guarin coming forward. Guarin takes it one-time from well outside the area! Goal! A blistering shot from Guarin! 3-1 Napoli

70th: Montesanto, Zjawinski, and Lawan come on for Doudin, Sosa, and Pia. All three have worked hard today and are showing some signs of fatigue.

Final: 3-1 Napoli

We get a great win, our fifth in a row, and Modena falls 1-0 to Bari putting us in 2nd place on Goal Differential! We have no time to revel in any sort of success however as it's clear that we are still in the fight of our lives. Inacio Pia takes home Man of the Match with a 9 rating, but Freddy Guarin puts in another good performance and I'm finally starting to feel like he has settled into the squad during this run. His play from the defensive midfield has really helped us.

[MalcPow]

Our Recent Success

I wanted to step back for a second and take a look at what we're doing differently that has helped us on our recent run. I think that our charge is a function of a couple of factors, both of which are probably crucial in and of themselves, but taken together, they've really made us a very difficult team to deal with.

The first is a bit of a reversal of our previous injury problems. Although we've got a pretty large squad (evidenced by the fact that approximately thirty people have complained about playing time this year) many of those players are holdovers from the previous regime, and not reliable at this level of play. The fact that we are essentially in a situation where we need to win every game, and play at the highest level of our division, means that we need our best on the pitch as much as possible and we simply can't do what we need to do when we have to depend on inconsistent youth or crap veterans. Sosa's health has been particularly crucial, we're simply a different team with him in the lineup, and when we can pair him with Pia it's a lethal combination.

The second factor has been the recent tactical adjustments we have made. Until recently we had been playing diamond midfield 442 system with arrows forward for our wingers, and although we seemed to generate an adequate attack, we were prone to leaking goals and never had the sort of dominant performances that some of our talent would lead you to believe we were capable of. For a long time I blamed a lot of this on a central defense that may not have been up to the task, thinking that although they seemed as though they should be enough for this level they may just have been too limited to hold the backline for a team with title aspirations. After a frustrating patch of results though I took the forward arrows off of our wingers, gave our AMC an arrow backwards, and pushed our backline forward a little in an attempt to shorten the field. The results have been great. Many of our problems previously revolved around teams hitting us quickly on counterattacks and finding chances on breaks. I'm seeing clearly now that a lot of this was made possible by a huge expanse of open space in the midfield that existed when the wingers would push forward to attack but weren't able to backtrack quickly enough when possession was lost. Without the arrows, and with the AMC sprinting back when we lose possession, there's more of a link between our midfield and defense and we're able to deal with attacks better, and force teams to play a slower buildup game that is very difficult against our squad, and we also seem to be attacking more efficiently as well with our wingers choosing their spots better.

The third factor has probably been the emergence of AMC Patrik Stahl as a starter. I'm finally quite comfortable with what he can do for us in that position, and despite his youth, he has brought us a great deal of consistently solid play. This has allowed to move Inacio Pia out of that AMC role and back upfront, where he clearly seems to be more effective.

All of these things have basically made this run possible, and to be honest, we set up very well for the rest of the season. Even if we are to relinquish our spot in 2nd position I now know that there is a four team playoff for a final promotion spot. I would like to avoid that at all costs, but, it does offer a bit of a safety net to the rest of our season. Of course it's not much of a safety net if you look at the teams currently in those slots, all of whom are very capable of beating us badly on any given night.

[MalcPow]

3/21/07

AML Antonio Laurendi has gone to the media demanding a new contract. He's absolutely indispensable to us, and is clearly playing above the discounted rate we've been paying him since he came over on a free at the beginning of the season. We offer him a contract and respond in the media that talks will begin immediately.

3/24/07

Laurendi signs the new contract we offered him and scores twice in the Italy U21 team's 6-0 demolition of the Kazakhstan U21s.

3/25/07

Juventus have given manager Fabio Capello an ultimatum that the team must improve. Sounds like a job might be opening up.

Modena draws with Cremonese, moving them (temporarily I hope) back into 2nd place, but also opening the door for us to pull a few points clear if we can win this weekend.