With the price tag that was attached maybe a bite isn't the worst thing that could happen lol.
Alpha Romeo Metaphor II
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With the price tag that was attached maybe a bite isn't the worst thing that could happen lol.
Enrico Pucci
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Something to look forward to in FM16 maybe
You know how this would work. It would only happen to your players and about every other season.
No kidding. Suarez certainly has been well-behaved since joining Barca.
Enrico Pucci
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View attachment 266988Sunday, 27 December 2015
We got beat by Sampdoria in the Winter Cup Final. But here's what matters. Nearly 18K showed up to watch Sampdoria-Napoli yesterday. Nearly 28K showed up yesterday to watch our Juventus match. Another 28K showed up to watch the Juve-Napoli 3rd place match and 14K saw us lose to Samp. That's a lot of tickets, beer and assorted other income.
View attachment 266989
Furthermore, for calcio-starved Italians, the matches were televised on RAI2.
We earned EU375K in TV revenue plus the gate and all the other matchday income. This cup competition generated around 750-800K in revenue.
We got beat by Sampdoria in the Winter Cup Final. But here's what matters. Nearly 18K showed up to watch Sampdoria-Napoli yesterday. Nearly 28K showed up yesterday to watch our Juventus match. Another 28K showed up to watch the Juve-Napoli 3rd place match and 14K saw us lose to Samp. That's a lot of tickets, beer and assorted other income.
View attachment 266989
Furthermore, for calcio-starved Italians, the matches were televised on RAI2.
We earned EU375K in TV revenue plus the gate and all the other matchday income. This cup competition generated around 750-800K in revenue.
Enrico Pucci
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View attachment 266972Monday-Tuesday, 28-29 December 2015
View attachment 266971
It is one long-*** flight to Uruguay. Thankfully, Bologna paid for a first class seat. ****, I'd have stumped for it if'n they hadn't. With the help of two glasses of wine, a sleeping pill and some noise-canceling headphones, I slept pretty decently. I awoke to a text from Director of Football Savoia that Nacional were all set to accept my offer of EU 1.5M for Alejandro.
I've had a soak in the hotel gym's hot tub, shower and now I'm awaiting Alejandro, his parents and his agent in the hotel's restaurant.
I recognize Alejandro as they all walk in.
"So nice to meet you," I say as I shake everyone's hand. We chit chat about my flight, the weather and then the waiter takes our order for lunch.
"I'll cut directly to the point," I said. "I won't waste any of your time. I have watched a lot of video of you, my scouts have been watching you since last summer and, obviously, you've talked with David Palaez a bit. I think you are a rare talent and I'd love to have you join Bologna. I think I can turn you into a top striker."
"Thank you," Alejandro said. Then he looked down at his hands.
"We appreciate that you flew all the way here," Sebastian Pintos said jumping in. "My wife, Alejandro and I appreciate that you've flown all the way here."
"Yes, I feel like I'm a bit ignored," Alejandro said glancing up at me. "The training isn't all that challenging. Not like when I train with the Uruguay U20s. I'm really challenged then."
"I can tell you this much," I began. "We are using the latest fitness metrics and testing systems. We'll monitor your progress really closely. We have a physio team to keep you massaged, adjusted and as healthy as possible. We'll teach you about eating right. We have great chefs at Casteldelbole, our training facility. We have a great fitness team to help you improve your strength and endurance. Also, we apply the latest kinesiology to make sure you are running and moving in the most efficient manner for your body. We have a large coaching staff who will work with you on all aspects of the game."
"Furthermore," I said. "I moved to Europe when I was just a bit older than you and I'm very conscious of what it's like to acclimate to a new country and professional football. We have several options for your living situation should you choose to join us. You could live with an older player or with one of our host families with boys your age. But, I'm getting that look from Adrian that I'm getting a bit ahead of myself."
"Yes," his agent said. "Nacional are prepared to let him go provided we like your offer."
"I know he's on youth wages now," I said. "What general numbers would you like? I am here to make you an offer that, as we Italian-Americans like to say, that you can't refuse."
"You're American?" Isabella asked. "I've had the hardest time placing you're accent."
"Not surprising," I said. "I learned Spanish in school and from Mexicans and various South Americans I played with growing up. But I've played and managed in Spain. So it's a weird mishmash of a bunch of accents."
"Yes," Adrian the agent said. "We'd like a two year contract for at least 3,000 euros per week."
"Well then you'll be pleased with this," I said reaching into my inside jacket pocket. "Have a look. 5,250 is our base young pro salary. Length will run to June 2018. Pay raise each year of 20%. But I've seen that you, Alejandro, are a driven and aggressive player. I've included a generous goal bonus of 6K per goal and if you score 15 in a season, you would get a bonus of 75K."
I slid the envelope across the table.
"I envision you progressing quickly to become our main attacking threat," I said. "My current first selection striker is a loan-signing. I want you to get used to Italy and play some with the senior side with an eye to competing to be the first selection striker next season."
They all read it over. All eight eyebrows raised. My offer was having the effect I intended. Sebastian looked at Alejandro. The kid looked unable to swallow at the moment. He was, as we used to say back in the States when I was growing up, a bit 'verklempt.' An unspoken message passed between father and son. Sebastian looked at his wife. She nodded.
"We obviously want to talk this over," Adrian said. "It's a very generous offer that we like. When do you fly out?"
"Late tonight," I replied. "Ahh, here's the food. I propose a toast. To Alejandro's long and goal-drenched career."
We toasted.
View attachment 266971
It is one long-*** flight to Uruguay. Thankfully, Bologna paid for a first class seat. ****, I'd have stumped for it if'n they hadn't. With the help of two glasses of wine, a sleeping pill and some noise-canceling headphones, I slept pretty decently. I awoke to a text from Director of Football Savoia that Nacional were all set to accept my offer of EU 1.5M for Alejandro.
I've had a soak in the hotel gym's hot tub, shower and now I'm awaiting Alejandro, his parents and his agent in the hotel's restaurant.
I recognize Alejandro as they all walk in.
"So nice to meet you," I say as I shake everyone's hand. We chit chat about my flight, the weather and then the waiter takes our order for lunch.
"I'll cut directly to the point," I said. "I won't waste any of your time. I have watched a lot of video of you, my scouts have been watching you since last summer and, obviously, you've talked with David Palaez a bit. I think you are a rare talent and I'd love to have you join Bologna. I think I can turn you into a top striker."
"Thank you," Alejandro said. Then he looked down at his hands.
"We appreciate that you flew all the way here," Sebastian Pintos said jumping in. "My wife, Alejandro and I appreciate that you've flown all the way here."
"Yes, I feel like I'm a bit ignored," Alejandro said glancing up at me. "The training isn't all that challenging. Not like when I train with the Uruguay U20s. I'm really challenged then."
"I can tell you this much," I began. "We are using the latest fitness metrics and testing systems. We'll monitor your progress really closely. We have a physio team to keep you massaged, adjusted and as healthy as possible. We'll teach you about eating right. We have great chefs at Casteldelbole, our training facility. We have a great fitness team to help you improve your strength and endurance. Also, we apply the latest kinesiology to make sure you are running and moving in the most efficient manner for your body. We have a large coaching staff who will work with you on all aspects of the game."
"Furthermore," I said. "I moved to Europe when I was just a bit older than you and I'm very conscious of what it's like to acclimate to a new country and professional football. We have several options for your living situation should you choose to join us. You could live with an older player or with one of our host families with boys your age. But, I'm getting that look from Adrian that I'm getting a bit ahead of myself."
"Yes," his agent said. "Nacional are prepared to let him go provided we like your offer."
"I know he's on youth wages now," I said. "What general numbers would you like? I am here to make you an offer that, as we Italian-Americans like to say, that you can't refuse."
"You're American?" Isabella asked. "I've had the hardest time placing you're accent."
"Not surprising," I said. "I learned Spanish in school and from Mexicans and various South Americans I played with growing up. But I've played and managed in Spain. So it's a weird mishmash of a bunch of accents."
"Yes," Adrian the agent said. "We'd like a two year contract for at least 3,000 euros per week."
"Well then you'll be pleased with this," I said reaching into my inside jacket pocket. "Have a look. 5,250 is our base young pro salary. Length will run to June 2018. Pay raise each year of 20%. But I've seen that you, Alejandro, are a driven and aggressive player. I've included a generous goal bonus of 6K per goal and if you score 15 in a season, you would get a bonus of 75K."
I slid the envelope across the table.
"I envision you progressing quickly to become our main attacking threat," I said. "My current first selection striker is a loan-signing. I want you to get used to Italy and play some with the senior side with an eye to competing to be the first selection striker next season."
They all read it over. All eight eyebrows raised. My offer was having the effect I intended. Sebastian looked at Alejandro. The kid looked unable to swallow at the moment. He was, as we used to say back in the States when I was growing up, a bit 'verklempt.' An unspoken message passed between father and son. Sebastian looked at his wife. She nodded.
"We obviously want to talk this over," Adrian said. "It's a very generous offer that we like. When do you fly out?"
"Late tonight," I replied. "Ahh, here's the food. I propose a toast. To Alejandro's long and goal-drenched career."
We toasted.
Last edited:
Enrico Pucci
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View attachment 266936I'd finished my dinner then took a half hour stroll around the center of the city as the sun set. Then wandered back to my hotel to catch my taxi to the airport.
As I entered the lobby, my mobile jangled.
"This is Enrico."
"It's Adrian. I call with good news. They are prepared to accept your offer."
"Excellent," I replied. "Please contact Mr. Savoia back in Bologna and let's get it all finalized and registered in both countries."
"It's been a pleasure doing business with you," Adrian said.
"Likewise."
"Have a good flight back and we'll be in touch soon," he said. "Goodbye."
"Ciao."
As I entered the lobby, my mobile jangled.
"This is Enrico."
"It's Adrian. I call with good news. They are prepared to accept your offer."
"Excellent," I replied. "Please contact Mr. Savoia back in Bologna and let's get it all finalized and registered in both countries."
"It's been a pleasure doing business with you," Adrian said.
"Likewise."
"Have a good flight back and we'll be in touch soon," he said. "Goodbye."
"Ciao."
Enrico Pucci
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View attachment 854361Wednesday, 30 December 2015
The Pintos deal is done. Because of some weirdness with the FIGC registering his professional license and his age, the Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol, aka the AUF, won't let Alejandro fly to Bologna until 16 January. Fine, whatever. I'll get him eventually.
On the flight back, I had Roberto Savoia contact Empoli about another kid who has been on my radar since the summer: Marcelo Trovò. The kid is is big, strong for his age, reads the game well and is already getting Serie A minutes. He'll need to work on his quickness and speed, but any kid his age that's as big as he is needs that -- but he's pretty agile and it's just a matter of getting used to his body after a 10cm growth spurt inside the last year.
View attachment 266858
View attachment 266857
Empoli want EU 10.5M for the kid. Yup. Taint got that kind of scratch in the bank. But trust me, I'll get him in the summer.
The Pintos deal is done. Because of some weirdness with the FIGC registering his professional license and his age, the Asociación Uruguaya de Fútbol, aka the AUF, won't let Alejandro fly to Bologna until 16 January. Fine, whatever. I'll get him eventually.
On the flight back, I had Roberto Savoia contact Empoli about another kid who has been on my radar since the summer: Marcelo Trovò. The kid is is big, strong for his age, reads the game well and is already getting Serie A minutes. He'll need to work on his quickness and speed, but any kid his age that's as big as he is needs that -- but he's pretty agile and it's just a matter of getting used to his body after a 10cm growth spurt inside the last year.
View attachment 266858
View attachment 266857
Empoli want EU 10.5M for the kid. Yup. Taint got that kind of scratch in the bank. But trust me, I'll get him in the summer.
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Gian Rossi
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Ciao Enrico I've been a silent reader of this and the last story really enjoyed them both.
PatrickLFC
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That Italian looks like the real deal!
Disclaimer89
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This is a fantastic read, only on page 24 but enjoying every minute of it! Keep it up 
Enrico Pucci
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Thank you very much. Glad to have you on board.
Doesn't he. The Italian regen players haven't looked particularly great so far aside from him and a couple others. I'm hoping (finger's crossed) that this spring provides a bumper crop.
This is a fantastic read, only on page 24 but enjoying every minute of it! Keep it up
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the ride.
Enrico Pucci
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View attachment 266773Thursday, 31 December 2015
So I turn my sights from northward and Empoli to a southeasterly direction and toward Cesena. They have a young fullback, Danilo Bernabini, that we rate very highly. My right back Gyorgy Garics is still solid, but he's 31 and his back-up Luca Ceccarelli is 32 and he's not capable of doing the job. I will likely sign Gyorgy to another year, but I'd like to start preparing for the future now.
Danilo is a mighty might. He'll only ever win one or two headers per season and that's mainly because the other guy will slip or fall down. He's very agile and athletic and he's got great stamina and work rate for a kid. He's not quick, yet, but he's fast once he's going. His reading of the game is alright, but he relies on his pace too much at this point. Furthermore, we'll have to work long and hard on the offensive side of his game. His passing, dribbling and crossing need work.
Graziano and I have even managed to watch him live a couple of times. We think he'll develop into a very good Serie A fullback.
Our intel is that Cesena will want somewhere between EU 2.5M to 4M for him. So I start off at 2M. Director of Football Gianluca Nani demands 7M. I met him a decent number of occasions and have gotten to know him a little bit so I scoff at his demand and tell him to get reasonable. I then insist that 2 million isn't unreasonable for a player of his age and potential but that since I respect him, I'd be willing to spend 2.4M.
Gianluca laughs and hangs up.
I call him back after an hour. First, I confirm that he's not angry with me. He's not. I can tell that he want to **** with me, though. So I offer 2.5M now and another 500K when he plays 20 matches for us.
Apparently, Gianluca is in a boysterous mood and makes several jokes at my expense that are actually rather funny. He then demands 4M with 1M after 10 matches. I counter with 3M now and 1M after 20 matches.
There is silence on the other end of the line.
I think I faintly hear his fingers drumming a beat on something.
He takes a deep breathe.
Then he sighs.
"Enrico you shaven-headed, phallus-resembling monstrosity," Gianluca blurts out at last. I know I have him now. Let him rant, the player is mine. "You common highway robber. You rotten slice off a salumi that's been sitting out in the sun. I know that if I don't let you part with your filthy, ill-gotten lucre and my President and Board hear that I wouldn't sell a pre-pubescent boy for three million, that they'd first castrate me. After that un-anesthetized procedure was completed, they'd rip my heart out and shove it down my throat. Then they would decapitate me."
There was silence.
"Where do you get all this money, Enrico. Seriously? How are you able to spend so much on mere babes? Don't you have any fullbacks in your youth system? I know you do. We're monitoring several of them."
"But none of them are right backs, are they?" I said.
Another sigh on the other end of the phone.
"Savoia will be in contact very soon to wrap this all up," I said. "Pleasure doing business with you Gianluca."
"You kill me, Enrico. Murder me. Now **** off before I change my mind. Ciao."
"Ciao."
So I turn my sights from northward and Empoli to a southeasterly direction and toward Cesena. They have a young fullback, Danilo Bernabini, that we rate very highly. My right back Gyorgy Garics is still solid, but he's 31 and his back-up Luca Ceccarelli is 32 and he's not capable of doing the job. I will likely sign Gyorgy to another year, but I'd like to start preparing for the future now.
Danilo is a mighty might. He'll only ever win one or two headers per season and that's mainly because the other guy will slip or fall down. He's very agile and athletic and he's got great stamina and work rate for a kid. He's not quick, yet, but he's fast once he's going. His reading of the game is alright, but he relies on his pace too much at this point. Furthermore, we'll have to work long and hard on the offensive side of his game. His passing, dribbling and crossing need work.
Graziano and I have even managed to watch him live a couple of times. We think he'll develop into a very good Serie A fullback.
Our intel is that Cesena will want somewhere between EU 2.5M to 4M for him. So I start off at 2M. Director of Football Gianluca Nani demands 7M. I met him a decent number of occasions and have gotten to know him a little bit so I scoff at his demand and tell him to get reasonable. I then insist that 2 million isn't unreasonable for a player of his age and potential but that since I respect him, I'd be willing to spend 2.4M.
Gianluca laughs and hangs up.
I call him back after an hour. First, I confirm that he's not angry with me. He's not. I can tell that he want to **** with me, though. So I offer 2.5M now and another 500K when he plays 20 matches for us.
Apparently, Gianluca is in a boysterous mood and makes several jokes at my expense that are actually rather funny. He then demands 4M with 1M after 10 matches. I counter with 3M now and 1M after 20 matches.
There is silence on the other end of the line.
I think I faintly hear his fingers drumming a beat on something.
He takes a deep breathe.
Then he sighs.
"Enrico you shaven-headed, phallus-resembling monstrosity," Gianluca blurts out at last. I know I have him now. Let him rant, the player is mine. "You common highway robber. You rotten slice off a salumi that's been sitting out in the sun. I know that if I don't let you part with your filthy, ill-gotten lucre and my President and Board hear that I wouldn't sell a pre-pubescent boy for three million, that they'd first castrate me. After that un-anesthetized procedure was completed, they'd rip my heart out and shove it down my throat. Then they would decapitate me."
There was silence.
"Where do you get all this money, Enrico. Seriously? How are you able to spend so much on mere babes? Don't you have any fullbacks in your youth system? I know you do. We're monitoring several of them."
"But none of them are right backs, are they?" I said.
Another sigh on the other end of the phone.
"Savoia will be in contact very soon to wrap this all up," I said. "Pleasure doing business with you Gianluca."
"You kill me, Enrico. Murder me. Now **** off before I change my mind. Ciao."
"Ciao."
Enrico Pucci
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View attachment 266765Saturday, 2 January 2015
We play a friendly against our neighbors Modena to get warmed up for the restart of Serie next Wednesday against Ternana. Modena play a 352 and play very direct like Ternana. We let them have the ball and hit on the counter. My starting XI play well. Gaël Kakuta, Federico Casarini and Andrea Russotto all score. My second stringers play the second half and my new signing, Danilo Bernabini gets his first minutes.
View attachment 266769
Please allow me to introduce Danilo Bernabini to you. He agreed to a EU 4K/week salary once he turns 17 this May that last until June 2018. This includes a clean sheet bonus, goal bonus, 20K if he bags five goals and an optional extension for us.
View attachment 266768
View attachment 266766
We play a friendly against our neighbors Modena to get warmed up for the restart of Serie next Wednesday against Ternana. Modena play a 352 and play very direct like Ternana. We let them have the ball and hit on the counter. My starting XI play well. Gaël Kakuta, Federico Casarini and Andrea Russotto all score. My second stringers play the second half and my new signing, Danilo Bernabini gets his first minutes.
View attachment 266769
Please allow me to introduce Danilo Bernabini to you. He agreed to a EU 4K/week salary once he turns 17 this May that last until June 2018. This includes a clean sheet bonus, goal bonus, 20K if he bags five goals and an optional extension for us.
View attachment 266768
View attachment 266766
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Enrico Pucci
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View attachment 266561Sunday, 3 January 2015
View attachment 266560
December was another good month financially. Grossed EU 7.69M, spent 4.34M. That's 3.35M banked. And don't forget that around 750-800K was from the friendly cup competition.
Merchandise is always just over EU 208K per month.
We just over EU 20M in liquid funds and we're projecting a profit of EU 46 million. Just contemplating that number makes me drool because I'm going to have a really nice transfer war chest.
View attachment 266562
View attachment 266560
December was another good month financially. Grossed EU 7.69M, spent 4.34M. That's 3.35M banked. And don't forget that around 750-800K was from the friendly cup competition.
Merchandise is always just over EU 208K per month.
We just over EU 20M in liquid funds and we're projecting a profit of EU 46 million. Just contemplating that number makes me drool because I'm going to have a really nice transfer war chest.
View attachment 266562
Enrico Pucci
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Serie A: Ternana v. Bologna
View attachment 266200Wednesday, 6 January 2015
View attachment 266199
We took a three hour bus ride south into deepest, darkest Umbria and the small city of Terni (population 112K). It's 120km north-ish from Roma. The city doesn't have much of anything old as it got the **** bombed out of it during WWII (it was a manufacturing hub). The Stadio Libero Liberati is surrounded with nice views of the pretty hills that surround the city.
And it's packed. The stadium is a shallow bowl with a moat so it's definitely not an intimidating place to play.
I was dressed in full arctic mode. It was quite a chilly night.
View attachment 266198I was expecting a direct assault, but Attilio Tesser fooled me. He played three in central midfield and their attacking midfielder Lucas Castro dropped deep to overwhelm us. They played short passes and we chased shadows. They always had two or three passing options. They opened the scoring in the 9th minute.
They played the ball out to our left flank. My left winger Gaël Kakuta hadn't tracked back and my left fullback Francesco Migliore had pulled inside. As Migs charged out, Ternana right fullback Pasquale Fazio zipped a pass into the vacuum where midfielder Damjan Djokovic now stood. Bernardo didn't anticipate this well and dover over late with an attempted block tackle. Djokovic just let the Colombian landslide surge past him and then buried the ball into the side netting from 10 meters.
0-1
If it wasn't for the poor finishing from Ternana's striking partnership of Felipe Avenatti and Federico Bonnazoli, we'd have been down by a lot more. I'd gotten rid of Robert Aquafresca by loaning him to them and he'd been their main source of goals. Luckily for us, he was out injured.
I walked into the away changing room at halftime contemplating what to say. They'd had nearly 65% possession and we'd been unable to do ****. Our marking had been haphazard. We'd either been charging out to close a player down when we shouldn't or sitting back and waiting when that wasn't the correct defensive posture.
Should pull out the old trusty flamethrower and let them have it? Should I talk tactics and encourage them. Hmmm ...
"Well, that sucked," I said as Graziano closed the hallway door. "Did you all enjoy chasing them around all of the first half? How is it that they always had a two-on-one situation? How is it that our man-marking can be this bad? How is it that we rarely have any passing options?"
"You all know the answer to these questions," I said. The answers just in case you haven't been in every training session with me this is is: 1) No; 2) Communication; 3) Communication; 4) Moving your feet.
"I expect better out of you in the second half," I said. Then the coaches and I left the locker room and crammed into the tiny little away coaches office.
The second half started off well. Ternana's extra man in midfield had disappeared.
In the 49th, Bernardo thundered a free header from a Russotto corner off Avenatti at the near post and in. Poor Avenatti barely had time to blink before the ball was bouncing off his arm, off the keeper and into the net.
Attilio Tesser came sprinting off the bench, screaming at his players for letting the towering Colombia go un-marked at a corner.
We won the ball back straight away from the kick-off and Loris Damonte set up Federico Casarini for a pile driver. It whistled a centimeter or two wide.
A cold mist began to fell and the match changed to a frozen icicle. Neither side generated much of anything. But most importantly from my perspective is my players had sorted out how to defend against them.
Kakuta was looking tired so I replaced him with Modibo Tounkara in the 58th minute. That didn't do anything to freshen up our attack. Tesser pulled off the hapless Avenatti a minute later. I replaced Damonte with Antonio Vacca in the 66th.
In the 69th, Tounkara got hauled down by Fazio about 45 or so meters out. Russotto jogged across the field because he was going to curl one towards the back post. Bernardo and Damonte, our tallest two, crashed near post and most of the Ternana defenders followed them.
View attachment 266197But Dedryck Boyata didn't sprint forward immediately like the rest of his teammates. I could see him tracking the ball. He shrugged off the defender who was trying to bear hub him and connected with the ball on a perfectly executed volley. The poor Ternana keeper had his hands up and the cannonball hit his hand. Alberto Brignoli was lucky Boyata's shot didn't sever his hand off at the wrist.
1-2
Tesser was up off the bench again screaming at his players and flailing rage-filled punches into the night sky. I think I know what they'll be practicing tomorrow morning.
The only other excitement came in the 80th minute, when my keeper Dejan Stojanovic saved us all three points by tipping a shot by Avenatti's replacement, Manuel Fischnaller, around the post.
We just got away with highway robbery.
View attachment 266200Wednesday, 6 January 2015
View attachment 266199
We took a three hour bus ride south into deepest, darkest Umbria and the small city of Terni (population 112K). It's 120km north-ish from Roma. The city doesn't have much of anything old as it got the **** bombed out of it during WWII (it was a manufacturing hub). The Stadio Libero Liberati is surrounded with nice views of the pretty hills that surround the city.
And it's packed. The stadium is a shallow bowl with a moat so it's definitely not an intimidating place to play.
I was dressed in full arctic mode. It was quite a chilly night.
View attachment 266198I was expecting a direct assault, but Attilio Tesser fooled me. He played three in central midfield and their attacking midfielder Lucas Castro dropped deep to overwhelm us. They played short passes and we chased shadows. They always had two or three passing options. They opened the scoring in the 9th minute.
They played the ball out to our left flank. My left winger Gaël Kakuta hadn't tracked back and my left fullback Francesco Migliore had pulled inside. As Migs charged out, Ternana right fullback Pasquale Fazio zipped a pass into the vacuum where midfielder Damjan Djokovic now stood. Bernardo didn't anticipate this well and dover over late with an attempted block tackle. Djokovic just let the Colombian landslide surge past him and then buried the ball into the side netting from 10 meters.
0-1
If it wasn't for the poor finishing from Ternana's striking partnership of Felipe Avenatti and Federico Bonnazoli, we'd have been down by a lot more. I'd gotten rid of Robert Aquafresca by loaning him to them and he'd been their main source of goals. Luckily for us, he was out injured.
I walked into the away changing room at halftime contemplating what to say. They'd had nearly 65% possession and we'd been unable to do ****. Our marking had been haphazard. We'd either been charging out to close a player down when we shouldn't or sitting back and waiting when that wasn't the correct defensive posture.
Should pull out the old trusty flamethrower and let them have it? Should I talk tactics and encourage them. Hmmm ...
"Well, that sucked," I said as Graziano closed the hallway door. "Did you all enjoy chasing them around all of the first half? How is it that they always had a two-on-one situation? How is it that our man-marking can be this bad? How is it that we rarely have any passing options?"
"You all know the answer to these questions," I said. The answers just in case you haven't been in every training session with me this is is: 1) No; 2) Communication; 3) Communication; 4) Moving your feet.
"I expect better out of you in the second half," I said. Then the coaches and I left the locker room and crammed into the tiny little away coaches office.
The second half started off well. Ternana's extra man in midfield had disappeared.
In the 49th, Bernardo thundered a free header from a Russotto corner off Avenatti at the near post and in. Poor Avenatti barely had time to blink before the ball was bouncing off his arm, off the keeper and into the net.
Attilio Tesser came sprinting off the bench, screaming at his players for letting the towering Colombia go un-marked at a corner.
We won the ball back straight away from the kick-off and Loris Damonte set up Federico Casarini for a pile driver. It whistled a centimeter or two wide.
A cold mist began to fell and the match changed to a frozen icicle. Neither side generated much of anything. But most importantly from my perspective is my players had sorted out how to defend against them.
Kakuta was looking tired so I replaced him with Modibo Tounkara in the 58th minute. That didn't do anything to freshen up our attack. Tesser pulled off the hapless Avenatti a minute later. I replaced Damonte with Antonio Vacca in the 66th.
In the 69th, Tounkara got hauled down by Fazio about 45 or so meters out. Russotto jogged across the field because he was going to curl one towards the back post. Bernardo and Damonte, our tallest two, crashed near post and most of the Ternana defenders followed them.
View attachment 266197But Dedryck Boyata didn't sprint forward immediately like the rest of his teammates. I could see him tracking the ball. He shrugged off the defender who was trying to bear hub him and connected with the ball on a perfectly executed volley. The poor Ternana keeper had his hands up and the cannonball hit his hand. Alberto Brignoli was lucky Boyata's shot didn't sever his hand off at the wrist.
1-2
Tesser was up off the bench again screaming at his players and flailing rage-filled punches into the night sky. I think I know what they'll be practicing tomorrow morning.
The only other excitement came in the 80th minute, when my keeper Dejan Stojanovic saved us all three points by tipping a shot by Avenatti's replacement, Manuel Fischnaller, around the post.
We just got away with highway robbery.
Enrico Pucci
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PatrickLFC
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So is Enrico Pucci Brendan Rodgers in disguise then? :O
Enrico Pucci
Member
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- Nov 22, 2013
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Not as far as I know. Enrico and Brendan have been seen at the same awards events while Enrico was managing AFC Wimbledon. And I'm pretty sure Liverpool played in one of the Don's cup competitions.
But let's just put this question to rest ... do they look alike? Enrico is 6'0" while the Northern Irishman is lacking in the height department.
View attachment 265930 View attachment 265929
Enrico Pucci
Member
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2013
- Messages
- 2,187
- Reaction score
- 225
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- 63
View attachment 265742It's a bit of a bus ride back from Terni so I didn't catch the beginning of the Roma-Napoli match live. Thankfully, DVRs exist. So I settled down with a plate of pasta, a bowl of salad and a glass of wine to watch.
Roma were in the mood for love and were caressing the ball around the middle of the park but going nowhere dangerous. Then Gervinho set off on one of his trademarked runs from inside his own half down the Napoli left flank. Napoli left back Christian Maggio and midfielder Gokhan Inler weren't brave enough to attempt a tackle on the slippery Ivorian and Gervinho created more than enough space for himself (and he doesn't need a lot) to zip in a pass to Totti's feet.
They foolishly gave The Eternal Captain time to turn and blaze a shot off their keeper Rafael who was deputizing for the injured Salvatore Sirigu. Sheesh. That looked as easy as some of the gems we let him score against us.
As I was watching the replays of the goal, I heard a high-pitched squeal from the vicinity of upstairs. I hit pause. Was that Gwen?
I got up. I walked to the bottom of the central stairwell.
"You okay up there?" I hollered.
Silence.
I jogged up the stairs. It was late and Gwen had a flight in the morning so she was heading to bed early so I turned at the top of the stairs and walked toward the master suite.
"Gwen?" I said. "Everything okay?"
I heard the toilet flush. WTF was going on? I knocked at the bathroom door.
The door flew open and a pajam-clad Gwen was bouncing up and down and had thrust something small, thin and white in my face.
"Sweet Mary Mother of God what has gotten into you woman?" I queried as I tried to fend off this white toothbrush or Q-tip or whatever thing she was attacking me with.
"Look!" she squeaked barely able to contain herself nor hold the white stick still.
That brought me up short. Gwen is usually snarky and articulate. Something had turned her into a babbling, monosyllabic idiot.
I grabbed her hand. It was a white stick with a blue stripe on it.
Then it dawned on me. Who's the idiot? Me. I picked her up in a bear hug and spun her around the bathroom three or four times.
"Wow," is all I could manage. I repeated myself several times as I bounced up and down with her in my arms in some sort of bizarre goal celebration.
"I can't leave tomorrow," she gasped. "I've got to see a doctor. We've got to check that everything is alright. We need to find a doctor. How do we find a doctor here in Italy?"
"First, calm down," I said. "You're only gone for a couple of days. I'll find a doctor for us by then. There's nothing to worry about. People have been doing this for thousands upon thousands of years."
"I've got to call me Dad! And me Mum."
"Now hold on and just relax," I said. "There are such things as false positives. We'll find out for sure when you're back from Paris. There's nothing to worry about in the short-term. I don't want to let anyone know until you're a ways along."
"Oh my sweet and calm and thoughtfully strategic loverboy," Gwen said regaining her senses. "Of course you're right. You find us a doctor and all that and I'll just remain calm. Or at least as calm as I can keep myself."
I went back downstairs to turn off the TV and the lights. Roma won, BTW. I checked my mobile on my way back upstairs.
View attachment 265744
View attachment 265743
Roma were in the mood for love and were caressing the ball around the middle of the park but going nowhere dangerous. Then Gervinho set off on one of his trademarked runs from inside his own half down the Napoli left flank. Napoli left back Christian Maggio and midfielder Gokhan Inler weren't brave enough to attempt a tackle on the slippery Ivorian and Gervinho created more than enough space for himself (and he doesn't need a lot) to zip in a pass to Totti's feet.
They foolishly gave The Eternal Captain time to turn and blaze a shot off their keeper Rafael who was deputizing for the injured Salvatore Sirigu. Sheesh. That looked as easy as some of the gems we let him score against us.
As I was watching the replays of the goal, I heard a high-pitched squeal from the vicinity of upstairs. I hit pause. Was that Gwen?
I got up. I walked to the bottom of the central stairwell.
"You okay up there?" I hollered.
Silence.
I jogged up the stairs. It was late and Gwen had a flight in the morning so she was heading to bed early so I turned at the top of the stairs and walked toward the master suite.
"Gwen?" I said. "Everything okay?"
I heard the toilet flush. WTF was going on? I knocked at the bathroom door.
The door flew open and a pajam-clad Gwen was bouncing up and down and had thrust something small, thin and white in my face.
"Sweet Mary Mother of God what has gotten into you woman?" I queried as I tried to fend off this white toothbrush or Q-tip or whatever thing she was attacking me with.
"Look!" she squeaked barely able to contain herself nor hold the white stick still.
That brought me up short. Gwen is usually snarky and articulate. Something had turned her into a babbling, monosyllabic idiot.
I grabbed her hand. It was a white stick with a blue stripe on it.
Then it dawned on me. Who's the idiot? Me. I picked her up in a bear hug and spun her around the bathroom three or four times.
"Wow," is all I could manage. I repeated myself several times as I bounced up and down with her in my arms in some sort of bizarre goal celebration.
"I can't leave tomorrow," she gasped. "I've got to see a doctor. We've got to check that everything is alright. We need to find a doctor. How do we find a doctor here in Italy?"
"First, calm down," I said. "You're only gone for a couple of days. I'll find a doctor for us by then. There's nothing to worry about. People have been doing this for thousands upon thousands of years."
"I've got to call me Dad! And me Mum."
"Now hold on and just relax," I said. "There are such things as false positives. We'll find out for sure when you're back from Paris. There's nothing to worry about in the short-term. I don't want to let anyone know until you're a ways along."
"Oh my sweet and calm and thoughtfully strategic loverboy," Gwen said regaining her senses. "Of course you're right. You find us a doctor and all that and I'll just remain calm. Or at least as calm as I can keep myself."
I went back downstairs to turn off the TV and the lights. Roma won, BTW. I checked my mobile on my way back upstairs.
View attachment 265744
View attachment 265743
Enrico Pucci
Member
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2013
- Messages
- 2,187
- Reaction score
- 225
- Points
- 63
View attachment 265441Thursday, 7 January 2016
Juventus play Empoli today. It was the Paul Pogba Show this evening. And he is bad ***. With Inter's defeat yesterday, Serie A is threatening to become a two horse race between The Grand Old Lady and the Rossoneri.
View attachment 265443
Juventus play Empoli today. It was the Paul Pogba Show this evening. And he is bad ***. With Inter's defeat yesterday, Serie A is threatening to become a two horse race between The Grand Old Lady and the Rossoneri.
View attachment 265443