Serie A 2016/2017: Pre-Season
Transfers Summary
View attachment 225390
Typical, busy stransfer session for San Marino: all the money from league, TV deals and European competitions gave us an excellent budget to chase top class targets and add depth to face Champions' League. Certainly we were very active on the market, though the vast majority were minor deals like co-ownerships, free youngsters, loan deals etc - old habits from my LLM days...
Key Signings for First Team
View attachment 225392View attachment 225393View attachment 225394View attachment 225395
- Ezequiel Rossi (1.9M from Boca Juniors): Italian/Argentine centre-back with terrific size and bags of potential. Already an U21 international for Italy at only 18, Ezequiel is currently touted as the new Franco Baresi which shouldn't be that bad. Joins the likes of
Giuseppe Prestia and fellow new signing
Salvatore Vender to form an exciting, young group of defenders.
- Serge Aurier (8M from RC Lens): I had just signed a wonderkid right back for another 6M but the kid broke his leg during one of his first training sessions with the club so had to find a replacement. Aurier is a more than decent consolation prize and is actually an international class fullback who could be San Marino first choice for present and future.
- Kara (8M from FC Twente): Kara is simply one of the best - if not the best - defensive midfielders in the game, and as soon as he got his EU passport after 5 years in Holland I was keen to make a move for him. An excellent addition for San Marino at both CB and midfield positions, and also a great mentor for our youngsters.
- Federico Carraro (free): I have to admit I missed my main targets for AML/right-footed playmaker position: I had agreed deals for
Marco Verratti and
Georginio Wijnaldum as their clubs were keen to sell, unfortunately they both rejected San Marino. I couldn't find another class playmaker that I both liked AND could afford, so decided to go with freebie Federico Carraro: he's a gifted attacker once regarded as one of the brightest prospects in the country, his attributes look decent but he has the some of best PPM's for his postion, and I must say I really enjoy his style of football.
New Strikers: Looking for the Next Ailton
View attachment 225402View attachment 225403
- Darwin Quintero (3M from Al-Wahda): a well-known name for many of my fellow football managers... Quintero was making money somewhere in Qatar when I offered him the chance to play real football for a real club. He's clearly a short-term solution, but I needed a reliable poacher at reasonable price and Darwin was simply the right man at the right time.
- Alex (475K form America MG): the new Brazilian hope. Alex is a young, talented striker who could develop into world class and become the next big thing in San Marino. At only 18 he might not be ready to become automatic first choice from day one but will get consistent playing time and hopefully improve quickly. A 5-star prospect who only cost me 475K, Ailton who?
Projected First 11 and Season Expectations
View attachment 225406
We have a good team here, and new signings like Kara and Aurier really bring a lot to this club. I would have liked to do something more for DL and AML positions, and our goup of strikers lack a real, bonafide superstar but in the end I'm pleased with the quality of my squad.
After last year's 2nd place the board are asking for Europa League qualification which I think is a fair request for this team. However Italy as a league has gained back an extra Champions' League spot so 4th place will be enough to qualify for CL, and that is my goal for the season. The likes of Napoli, Inter and Juventus are still much stronger than us in my opinion, while other big spenders Milan and Roma don't scare me much these days... My prediction for San Marino is somewhere between 2-4!