[FM14] I Gondolieri - A New Club in Italy

2014 – 15 November Review

AS Venezia played Brescia, Bari, Catania, Entella and Pescara this month.

BRESCIA 0-2 AS VENEZIA

Line Up: AS Venezia: (4-1-1-3-1) Kuszczak, Seitaridis, Terlizzi, Bacchetti, Biraghi, Bottone, Seijas, De Silvestro, Valenta, Barillá, Anelka
Line Up: Brescia: (4-4-2) Arcari, Zambelli, Paci, Giannetti, Kukoc, Defendi, Mandorlini, Coletti, Abero, Caracciolo, Corvia

Just over 4,000 people were inside the Mario Rigamonti when they saw their team suffer an expected, yet well-deserved win for AS Venezia. Jiri Valenta put I Gondolieri in front after four minutes, and then netted again to give ASV the victory.

Jiri Valenta (4)
Jiri Valenta (24)
Valenta

AS VENEZIA 1-0 BARI

Line Up: AS Venezia: (4-4-2) Kuszczak, Seitaridis, Sørensen, Neill, Sini, Bottone, Barillá, De Silvestro, Seijas, Iaquinta, Anelka
Line Up: Bari: (3-5-2) Guarna, Gasparetto, Samnick, Masi, Galano, Romizi, Sciaudone, Delvecchio, Calderoni, Insigne, Novothny

The next game saw Venezia play Bari at the Stadio Pierluigi Penzo, with 10,023 people packed inside. Right Back Giourkas Seitaridis got injured just before half time, and is out for three weeks. Just after half time, Venezia captain Iaquinta gave them the lead. ASV kept threatening through-out, but couldn’t score again.

Vincenzo Iaquinta (49)
Iaquinta

AS VENEZIA 3-1 CATANIA

Line Up: AS Venezia: (4-4-2) Kuszczak, Neill, Terlizzi, Sørensen, Biraghi, Bottone, Barillá, De Silvestro, Seijas, Iaquinta, Anelka
Line Up: Catania: (4-4-2) Frison, Peruzzi, Spolli, Legrottaglie, Monzón, Izco, Lodi, Almirón, Leto, Bergessio, Calaió

The next game saw ASV face the league leaders, Catania. They are unbeaten, but Iaquinta gave the visitors a shock at the Stadio Pierluigi Penzo, in front of 10,246 people, when he scored to put I Gondolieri in front. Just after half time, Calaió pulled one back for Catania, but Luis Seijas put Venezia back in front. When Catania gave away a penalty late on, Baros stepped up and scored. Spolli was then sent off for two yellow cards late on.

Vincenzo Iaquinta (33)
Emanuele Calaió (46)
Luis Seijas (73)
Milan Baros (pen 81)
Nicolàs Spolli (90)
Seijas

VIRTUS ENTELLA 1-2 AS VENEVIA

Line Up: AS Venezia: (4-2-1-3) Kuszczak, Neill, Terlizzi, Sørensen, Biraghi, Bottone, Barillá, Valenta, Anelka, Iaquinta, Baros
Line Up: Virtus Entella: (4-3-1-2) Balistreri, Falcier, Nossa, Rodrigo Ely, Pastore, Gagliardini, Botta, Troiano, Ricchiuti, Mitrović, Jogan

The next game saw ASV play Entella at the Comunale, where 1,347 people saw AS Venezia scrape a win. Entella got the early lead with Ricchiuti scoring a close range effort. Iaquinta then got an equaliser, and then scored the penultimate winner in added time.

Adriàn Ricchiuti (11)
Vincenzo Iaquinta (22)
Vincenzo Iaquinta (90+1)
Iaquinta

PESCARA 1-2 AS VENEVIA

Line Up: AS Venezia: (4-1-1-3-1) Kuszczak, Neill, Piccolo, Sørensen, Biraghi, Bottone, Seijas, De Silvestro, Valenta, Barillá, Iaquinta
Line Up: Pescara: (4-3-3) Pelizzoli, Zauri, Sosic, Capuano, Garofalo, Ilori, Rizzo, Bjarnason, Cutolo, Caprari, Samassa

The final game of the month saw ASV face Pescara, a team formerly of Serie A, but it didn’t take long for Venezia to take the lead. Iaquinta opened the scoring after two minutes. Sørensen then scored from point blank range to make it two. Samassa then pulled one back for Pescara

Vincenzo Iaquinta (2)
Frederik Sørensen (21)
Mamadou Samassa (30)
Sørensen

OVERVIEW

LEAGUE TABLE

AS Venezia now sit an outstanding 2nd in the table. The wins against Catania has boosted ASV’s chances of promotion, now only five points behind. Venezia have won 10 games, drawn 5 and lost 1, in the process scoring 26 and conceding 14, leaving them with a goal difference of +12

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NEXT MONTH: DECEMBER

I Gondolieri will play five games next month, against Bologna, Spezia, Perugia, Livorno and Carpi.

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MANAGER'S DIARY: ENTRY #5

This month has been amazing. The results have been out of this world. I never expected that, as you can tell from my last diary entry. “November will be a hard month, and to pick up three points form any of the teams would be an achievement. All but one of the sides were ones in Seire A to not so long ago, and have players that are used to playing at the highest level. If we want three points out of one game this month, the game against Entella is the one to do it, but we face hard games before, so I have no idea what the morale of the team will be like, but that is a challenge for the manager, keeping it high after tough results, and it is a challenge that I relish” is what I said. I am so happy that that didn’t happen. We managed to outplay Catania, who were top of the league, and unbeaten, for the entire season, until we beat them. We beat them in style, as well. It must have boosted my reputation of being a manager, as my agent, Jorge Mendes, was constantly contacting me about teams, big teams, tracking my progress. I would get a phone call often, with that news. But I have no intention of leaving this club. Not any at all. Even if Real Madrid or Barcelona or even A.C. Milan came calling, I would reject. Mr. Allery has given me a job to do, and I am very lucky to get the job. I will not leave unless I am asked too, or after I have done everything I can. The aim is to win the Champions League, as I said to Mr. Allery on the phone when he offered me the job. This month has put me one step further towards achieving that, and that is why I am very happy with these results.



The first game against Brescia was very good. They are a tough team and had a good defence that is hard to break down. Jiri [Valenta] ran the show. He played very well. To get us in front after only four minutes is great. He received the ball from Anelka and got free of the defenders, and struck the ball on the half volley, which beat the keeper. He then had a few more chances, while keeping the opposition at bay; a corner was passed to an in-running Luis [Sejas], who then found Davide [Bottone] who played a good ball to Jiri, who netted impressively first time. Brescia threatened rarely, and we did not concede late on, which means that severe team-talk I gave the team must have finally gone in, and also, the tactical tweaks I made must have worked. The win put us up in the table, to fifth, which is a playoff place, so to finish there at the end of the season gives us a chance of going up, and is above the expectation of the board.



The next game was against Bari. Bari are a very good team, and often get promoted from Seire B, just to get relegated again, but it shows that they have the quality to do well. The first half was poor from both teams, with no major chances created, and Giourkas [Seitaridis] got injured. He is a key component in the team, and any serious injury would hurt the team badly, and would mean that I would have to reshuffle the back line, which has proved a problem before. Our Head Physio, Simon [Maltby], later said he had damaged his knee cap and would be out for five weeks. This was a massive blow, as Giourkas is a massive part of the team and the way we play, and he offers so much going forward, and defensively. Therefore, Lucas [Neill] had to drop back as right back, a position he is very familiar with, but his age makes it harder for him to run up and down the pitch for a long time, and therefore it limits another attacking outlet, or the chance to counter. Just after half time, Elio [De Silvestro] found Vincenzo [Iaquinta], who rifled it home in to the top corner. The shot was very powerful, and it made the net shake, as if it was to emphasize the fact that we were again in a winning position, and that goal would be vital in the game. It turned out to be the winner, and it gave us an important win, and secured fifth place for another week, but it also extended our unbeaten run to eleven games, a real milestone, and an achievement, not only for the club, but for me, as I am such a new, young manager, and not even the best, most experienced managers can put winning runs together like I have, so I am very proud. The Man of the Match was Simone [Sini]. After me dropping him due to his



The next game was against the almighty Catania. They had not lost since the start of the season, and were looking strong. But when Vincenzo went and scored, I could not believe my luck. It was like the dream I had last night, where everything went perfect. We won, and emphatically. This was not quite what happened in real life though, as Catania scored after just kicking off for the second half. At that point, my heart sunk. I knew again, that this wasn’t going to be easy. They attacked, we defended for long periods in the second half. But when they had the ball in the defence, and were almost playing with us, Luis went in for the tackle. He got the ball, but in all honesty, it should have been a foul, but the referee didn’t give it, so Luis found himself in on goal. With the form that he is in, he is un-droppable, and was not going to miss. He put it past the keeper after he saved it, as it was an open goal. At that moment, I was jubilant. We took the lead again, and it was a chance to show the Italian media what we were about and make the other clubs fear us. Lots. I then decided it wasn’t worth conceding again, and not getting the points. So I changed to a 6-2-1-1, and made us play really defensive. It worked, limiting their chances. Then, an Anelka corner found Frederik [Sørensen] who met it with his head, but then was tripped by Calaió, giving away a penalty. Milan [Baros] stepped up, and scored comfortably. And, almost to rub the salts in the wounds, the referee sent a Catania player off. This match was obviously God’s doing, making up for that practical joke he played on me, and my team. And I thank him. We are the only unbeaten team left in the league now, and that is good, so we have something to play for, but equally, teams will want to end it, and end our pride. But we weren’t going to let that happen, anytime soon.



And we didn’t, but after a fight, playing and beating Virtus Entella. On paper, they were the weakest team that we would play this month, having just been promoted from the league below, and the lowest in the table. But, as always the way, they made it hard. We were behind after eleven minutes, and I was livid. Everytime I knew the camera was focusing on me, I made sure I displayed my anger. It only took ten minutes, though, to respond, with Vincenzo equalizing, Kuszczak kicked the ball up field, with Milan on the end. He then found Jiri, who was bursting through the middle, who then gave it to Davide, who got tackled, and the ball broke to Vincenzo, who netted easily. It then got to half time, and I told my team I wasn’t happy, despite my assistant telling me they played well. Playing well is two nil up at half time, not drawing one all with a team that has just been promoted. The second half bought no more luck, and no more chances, just a few yellow cards. I was getting worried that it would end as a draw, which was not going to happen. I went all out attack, and forgot about the defence. Least, if we did loose, we could say we tried. But, in the first of three added minutes, the Entella goalkeeper’s goal kick was not accurate, finding one of our players. Soon, the ball was on the right side of the field. Pantelis [Kafes], who has had a quiet season so far, gave the ball to Anelka, who immediately fed Iaquinta who made no mistake. We had won. The feeling when your team scores a late, important goal, is immense, nothing quite like it. You feel happy, relieved and adrenaline all running through you at once. It is a great feeling when you are a player, especially if you contributed or scored the goal, but as the manager, you really feel it, as your tactics, that you have been working on so hard, have made the difference, and resulted in a goal. Because of this win, were now sitting fourth in the table, and did not look like we would start slipping down the table any time soon.



The next game, and the last of the month, was once again, challenging. We had to play Pescara, a team that was in Serie A not so long ago, away. I knew we were in for a tough game, but I knew, deep down, we could win it. After telling my team this, before the game, I was very, very happy about the start we made. Vincenzo, yet again, got us in front, after two whole minutes. From then on, we looked dangerous, allowing very few chances and creating so many. Then, a Seijas corner was played short to Iaquinta, a move we had been working profusely on the training ground. He then waited for the right moment, and then crossed it to the near post, where Felice [Piccolo] was waiting, who knocked it on, where it met Frederik’s head at point blank range. Frederik has really impressed since joining from Juve, and looks like he will be some player. Why Juve did not want to sign him on a new contract, I will never know, unless we got in there first, which is always a possibility. Anyway, Pescara then scored, and we lived dangerously from then on, committing way to many fouls in the process, twenty-three to be exact. But at least it worked, and we didn’t concede. The win also boosted us up to second, which holds an automatic promotion spot.

Next month should be slightly easier. We still have some tough games, against the likes of Bologna, which could be a pivotal game for the automatic promotion spot. If we win, we can go two points clear at second, which is always good. We then play Spezia, who’s form has been average, but have lost quite a few games recently, which means we should, fingers crossed, touch wood, get the three points. We then play Perugia, which is being broadcasted live on TV, a rarity for the Serie B teams. We must perform, so we can show the rest of Italy what we are about, and that will be in the flight soon. We then play Livorno, a very good team, and it will be a very tough game. We are also playing away, which makes it a lot harder. For the final game of next month, we play Carpi, who are one place higher in the league than Spezia, sitting in thirteenth. Their form, has seen plenty of wins and losses alike, and should be another opportunity to pick up more three points.

Also, January is coming up, which means one thing, the transfer window. I have a few targets in mind, a winger and probably a new centre forward, as we have no quality backups on the bench when we play with our three strikers at once. Therefore, if one gets injured, we are limited on our tactics. But, I guess, we will have to wait to see how it goes.