Monday, January 7
Venezia v Padova – Serie C1A
Sometimes I wonder if all the trouble I make for myself as a manager is really worth it. Then there are days like today, where I wonder even more.
We should have won at a canter today but we then got a taste of what we have been inflicting on the rest of Serie C1 late in today’s match at Pierluigi Penzo. The result of that sad situation was a five-goal thriller that didn’t need to be anywhere near as thrilling as it turned out to be.
The squad met at Euganeo at lunch for a final meeting and a team meal before we headed east late in the afternoon. Our mood was excellent and our focus was even better. Both the new players, Antonazzo and Caputo, were straight into the squad with Caputo in the starting XI.
They were determined to see their Padova careers off to positive starts, but Antonazzo wasn’t completely match fit yet so I wanted to break him in a little more slowly.
We arrived at Pierluigi Penzo two hours before kickoff and had a little time to relax in the visitors’ changing room prior to warmups.
I did nothing to change the focus of the group, which was quiet and confident. Finally, though, before the warmup began, I stepped to the front of the room and as one, the players looked to me for the team talk.
“Gentlemen, you have done brilliantly to make this match mean something tonight,” I began, and several of the players fluffed themselves up with the praise I offered. “Yet tonight is where it all starts. This is where you should want to be – playing for the top of the table in front of unfriendly fans. You’ve got a chance to go into this place and make a statement that you are here for the long haul. You’ve beaten this team already, on this very pitch – do it again and tell everyone you’re not to be trifled with.”
I saw looks of belief on their faces and I decided not to push too hard for fear of overheating the players.
“Watch for Marco Veronese, keep him under control and above all, don’t put yourself in exposed situations where their pace can exploit you,” I said. “As always, play hard for each other and help each other on the pitch. You can do it. Make it happen.”
Quietly, we then went out to do the business. Unfortunately, about 24,000 supporters came to the match dressed as green seats and benches, so the atmosphere in the stands wasn’t what I had hoped to see. There were just 3,618 in attendance tonight – which had to be hugely disappointing to the home club for a top of the table clash.
We started strongly but the match featured a fair amount of back-and-forth in the early going. Muzzi, who hasn’t been scoring goals of late, still found a way to contribute and that got us on the board twelve minutes into the match.
Orlandoni came forward to take a free kick about ten yards out of his box and put the ball right on Muzzi’s head forty yards downfield. Roberto brought the ball to ground with a wonderful first touch and found Gentile sneaking between the central defenders.
Gentile in turn hit Andrea with a delightful touch pass and he was off to the races, beating Giuseppe Aprea to his left-hand post for his fifth goal of the league season.
That got us going, but we also got two large, if unfortunate, breaks before halftime.
They came in the form of two Venezia substitutions, with their Brazilian midfielder Mateos going off after injuring himself issuing a hard challenge on 37 minutes – and their strong center half Emanuele Pesoli limping off injured one minute before half.
That sixty-second stretch was vital to us, as it turned out. Pesoli was unfortunately injured while defending Baú’s entry ball to the box for Varricchio that he played out for a corner.
To add insult to the literal injury, after he was helped off the pitch we proceeded to score our second goal from the ensuing set piece. This time it was Vasco Faísca who rose to head home from Gotti’s corner to score his first goal for the club.
I couldn’t have picked a better time for him to score it given the circumstances, and we headed to the changing room after dealing our opponents a serious blow.
I told the squad I was pleased with their effort but that they should not rest on what they had done. In the second half, it’s fair to say the referee took over the match.
The last time we saw Fabio Manera, he was sending off Crovari in our goalless draw at Cavese. I had no argument with him at that time, but I sure did by the time this match was over.
He gave 26 out of 41 fouls in the match to us, but despite it all we went three to the good on 74 minutes. We put together a first-class three-way passing play to set up the goal, and along the way I learned something about one of my new signings.
Baú, who didn’t start but was a 70th minute substitute for Gentile, started it by breaking free down the right touchline. He cut toward the middle to loft a wonderful forty-yard cross-field ball to Caputo, who took it in full flight.
He looked up, saw Varricchio moving and cut sharply to his left to get the ball wide before zig-zagging past the defender and back to his right.
He was free and clear and then whipped an inch-perfect cross to the middle. Massimiliano made no mistake and we looked like we would turn the match into a rout.
However, we soon had issues. After Varricchio’s goal, we ran into real trouble.
Four minutes after our third goal, Baú conceded a dodgy penalty when he was judged to have pushed Marco Veronese while the striker shot the ball into Orlandoni’s chest on 79 minutes. The home crowd reacted as you would expect they would, and Veronese wrongfooted Orlandoni to make it 3-1 with 11 minutes to play.
We’ve had an unusually high number of penalties awarded to us so far this season, but as the match wore on we learned how the rest of the league has lived.
Varricchio then went into the book on 83 minutes. Crovari, who had come on as a substitute for Paz, then was carded three minutes later for a challenge on Alberto Rebecca. The captain fumed, but silently – having learned his lesson both with this official and with me.
I then learned something about my other new signing.
Antonazzo, who was an 80th minute substitution for Gotti, was playing aggressive defense against Veronese on a frantic Venezia rush with two minutes left in normal time, and both players fell over in a tangle of arms and legs at the edge of our penalty area.
Manera rushed in and awarded a second penalty, and also showed Antonazzo a straight red for a professional foul.
Antonazzo reacted, but by the hardest he held his temper. Getting sent off on your debut is no way to make a good impression and he knew it.
Gleefully, Veronese grabbed the ball out of Orlandoni’s hands to put it on the spot, which raised my goalkeeper’s ire. I headed to a sideline television monitor to view a replay and I wasn’t happy when I was done.
I was now on my way to the fourth official to remonstrate. There was no clear goal-scoring opportunity but I had other fish to fry as well.
“They were pushing each other,” I yelled. “But worse, my guy wasn’t the last man! How could he get sent off?”
The official, as he had to do, waved away my protests, telling me that only one of the players in the exchange had the ball in a position to score. By that time, Veronese had already blasted the second penalty home to make it 3-2 and create the kind of atmosphere I was wondering if we might see at the beginning of the match.
It looked like everything might unravel. Down to ten men and with Donadoni thankfully on as a late substitution after the first penalty, I pulled back to a 4-4-1 formation with Muzzi dropped back to midfield and Varricchio as the lone up-front man.
Then I looked at the fourth official again, as he held up the board showing an incredible five minutes of stoppage time added for injuries I hadn’t seen.
I had made three substitutions that are supposed to account for thirty seconds apiece. Venezia, having made two of their alloted three moves in the first half due to injuries, only made one in the second half, so I was fuming over what I felt was too much time being added to the match.
They piled forward, and Veronese put a blazing shot off Orlandoni’s crossbar almost straight from our kickoff and subsequent gift of possession to the home team, which put my heart squarely in my throat.
At last, Manera sounded the full time whistle and what was a rout with eleven minutes to play turned into a very close shave indeed.
I shook hands perfunctorily with Favaretto as our supporters sang loudly to celebrate a result on our rival’s turf. I left the pitch shaking my head, the shouts and taunts of the Venezia supporters ringing in my ears.
We won, but at the end it sure hadn’t felt like it.
Venezia 2-3 Padova
Venezia v Padova – Serie C1A
Sometimes I wonder if all the trouble I make for myself as a manager is really worth it. Then there are days like today, where I wonder even more.
We should have won at a canter today but we then got a taste of what we have been inflicting on the rest of Serie C1 late in today’s match at Pierluigi Penzo. The result of that sad situation was a five-goal thriller that didn’t need to be anywhere near as thrilling as it turned out to be.
The squad met at Euganeo at lunch for a final meeting and a team meal before we headed east late in the afternoon. Our mood was excellent and our focus was even better. Both the new players, Antonazzo and Caputo, were straight into the squad with Caputo in the starting XI.
They were determined to see their Padova careers off to positive starts, but Antonazzo wasn’t completely match fit yet so I wanted to break him in a little more slowly.
We arrived at Pierluigi Penzo two hours before kickoff and had a little time to relax in the visitors’ changing room prior to warmups.
I did nothing to change the focus of the group, which was quiet and confident. Finally, though, before the warmup began, I stepped to the front of the room and as one, the players looked to me for the team talk.
“Gentlemen, you have done brilliantly to make this match mean something tonight,” I began, and several of the players fluffed themselves up with the praise I offered. “Yet tonight is where it all starts. This is where you should want to be – playing for the top of the table in front of unfriendly fans. You’ve got a chance to go into this place and make a statement that you are here for the long haul. You’ve beaten this team already, on this very pitch – do it again and tell everyone you’re not to be trifled with.”
I saw looks of belief on their faces and I decided not to push too hard for fear of overheating the players.
“Watch for Marco Veronese, keep him under control and above all, don’t put yourself in exposed situations where their pace can exploit you,” I said. “As always, play hard for each other and help each other on the pitch. You can do it. Make it happen.”
Quietly, we then went out to do the business. Unfortunately, about 24,000 supporters came to the match dressed as green seats and benches, so the atmosphere in the stands wasn’t what I had hoped to see. There were just 3,618 in attendance tonight – which had to be hugely disappointing to the home club for a top of the table clash.
We started strongly but the match featured a fair amount of back-and-forth in the early going. Muzzi, who hasn’t been scoring goals of late, still found a way to contribute and that got us on the board twelve minutes into the match.
Orlandoni came forward to take a free kick about ten yards out of his box and put the ball right on Muzzi’s head forty yards downfield. Roberto brought the ball to ground with a wonderful first touch and found Gentile sneaking between the central defenders.
Gentile in turn hit Andrea with a delightful touch pass and he was off to the races, beating Giuseppe Aprea to his left-hand post for his fifth goal of the league season.
That got us going, but we also got two large, if unfortunate, breaks before halftime.
They came in the form of two Venezia substitutions, with their Brazilian midfielder Mateos going off after injuring himself issuing a hard challenge on 37 minutes – and their strong center half Emanuele Pesoli limping off injured one minute before half.
That sixty-second stretch was vital to us, as it turned out. Pesoli was unfortunately injured while defending Baú’s entry ball to the box for Varricchio that he played out for a corner.
To add insult to the literal injury, after he was helped off the pitch we proceeded to score our second goal from the ensuing set piece. This time it was Vasco Faísca who rose to head home from Gotti’s corner to score his first goal for the club.
I couldn’t have picked a better time for him to score it given the circumstances, and we headed to the changing room after dealing our opponents a serious blow.
I told the squad I was pleased with their effort but that they should not rest on what they had done. In the second half, it’s fair to say the referee took over the match.
The last time we saw Fabio Manera, he was sending off Crovari in our goalless draw at Cavese. I had no argument with him at that time, but I sure did by the time this match was over.
He gave 26 out of 41 fouls in the match to us, but despite it all we went three to the good on 74 minutes. We put together a first-class three-way passing play to set up the goal, and along the way I learned something about one of my new signings.
Baú, who didn’t start but was a 70th minute substitute for Gentile, started it by breaking free down the right touchline. He cut toward the middle to loft a wonderful forty-yard cross-field ball to Caputo, who took it in full flight.
He looked up, saw Varricchio moving and cut sharply to his left to get the ball wide before zig-zagging past the defender and back to his right.
He was free and clear and then whipped an inch-perfect cross to the middle. Massimiliano made no mistake and we looked like we would turn the match into a rout.
However, we soon had issues. After Varricchio’s goal, we ran into real trouble.
Four minutes after our third goal, Baú conceded a dodgy penalty when he was judged to have pushed Marco Veronese while the striker shot the ball into Orlandoni’s chest on 79 minutes. The home crowd reacted as you would expect they would, and Veronese wrongfooted Orlandoni to make it 3-1 with 11 minutes to play.
We’ve had an unusually high number of penalties awarded to us so far this season, but as the match wore on we learned how the rest of the league has lived.
Varricchio then went into the book on 83 minutes. Crovari, who had come on as a substitute for Paz, then was carded three minutes later for a challenge on Alberto Rebecca. The captain fumed, but silently – having learned his lesson both with this official and with me.
I then learned something about my other new signing.
Antonazzo, who was an 80th minute substitution for Gotti, was playing aggressive defense against Veronese on a frantic Venezia rush with two minutes left in normal time, and both players fell over in a tangle of arms and legs at the edge of our penalty area.
Manera rushed in and awarded a second penalty, and also showed Antonazzo a straight red for a professional foul.
Antonazzo reacted, but by the hardest he held his temper. Getting sent off on your debut is no way to make a good impression and he knew it.
Gleefully, Veronese grabbed the ball out of Orlandoni’s hands to put it on the spot, which raised my goalkeeper’s ire. I headed to a sideline television monitor to view a replay and I wasn’t happy when I was done.
I was now on my way to the fourth official to remonstrate. There was no clear goal-scoring opportunity but I had other fish to fry as well.
“They were pushing each other,” I yelled. “But worse, my guy wasn’t the last man! How could he get sent off?”
The official, as he had to do, waved away my protests, telling me that only one of the players in the exchange had the ball in a position to score. By that time, Veronese had already blasted the second penalty home to make it 3-2 and create the kind of atmosphere I was wondering if we might see at the beginning of the match.
It looked like everything might unravel. Down to ten men and with Donadoni thankfully on as a late substitution after the first penalty, I pulled back to a 4-4-1 formation with Muzzi dropped back to midfield and Varricchio as the lone up-front man.
Then I looked at the fourth official again, as he held up the board showing an incredible five minutes of stoppage time added for injuries I hadn’t seen.
I had made three substitutions that are supposed to account for thirty seconds apiece. Venezia, having made two of their alloted three moves in the first half due to injuries, only made one in the second half, so I was fuming over what I felt was too much time being added to the match.
They piled forward, and Veronese put a blazing shot off Orlandoni’s crossbar almost straight from our kickoff and subsequent gift of possession to the home team, which put my heart squarely in my throat.
At last, Manera sounded the full time whistle and what was a rout with eleven minutes to play turned into a very close shave indeed.
I shook hands perfunctorily with Favaretto as our supporters sang loudly to celebrate a result on our rival’s turf. I left the pitch shaking my head, the shouts and taunts of the Venezia supporters ringing in my ears.
We won, but at the end it sure hadn’t felt like it.
Venezia 2-3 Padova
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