[FM08] American Calcio

Thursday, October 18
I’m starting to feel a bit of the pressure that goes with this game, and concurrently with the position I am starting to hold in this league.

The media previews are starting for the weekend’s matches and the story here is whether Biancoscudati are going to be able to handle the pressure of travel with a rookie manager. And an American, at that.

I’m going to have to get used to it – but there is nothing that says I have to like it, and I certainly don’t. I will face queries about my competence until I win something and maybe after that time as well. It’s not going to be easy.

Yet, that’s why I’m here. Run from the challenge, and you are through.

Opinion columns and fanzines, which seem to abound around in these parts, are reserving their judgment until more of the season is played. In short, people are waiting for me to fail.

When that happens I am quite sure they’ll be merciless, as is the case with managers the world over, in all sports. One commentator wrote:

“Padova’s travel to Cavese was as spectacular for its futility as it was for its distance. Biancoscudati have played reasonably well at home but it remains to be seen if Ternana will do what a mid-table Cavese side did: humble visitors from the north.”

I disagreed with that premise. We didn’t lose at Cavese and should have taken three points in my view.

However, this is a competitive world unlike any I have ever seen. We will need to be at our very best to get these three points.

Players read the papers too, though, and I found a surprisingly motivated side at training today. =\

“They don’t think you can do it,” I reminded the players as I walked up and down their rows as they stretched. “They’re waiting for failure and when they get it, don’t think for a moment that they’ll spare any of us. It is up to you how you react, but even if the only people who believe in you are within these walls, that’s fine. We’re the only ones who have to know.”

Baú, who remains very quiet and upset, still managed to nod assent and that was a good thing to see. We’re going to need him on Sunday.

Yet, as negative as the media has been at times, the supporters are generally upbeat.

They are very pleased with the play of the three people I brought in – Orlandoni, Sacchetti and Paz. Sacchetti especially has earned the praise of the faithful and he’s a big reason why we went almost a month without conceding in the league. His veteran presence has been everything I had hoped it would be, and he’s discovered he doesn’t mind being told he has done well.

Since the quality of his play has given me little other option, I suppose that has to be taken into account as well!

Yet, if I could I’d praise just about everyone to this point for the jobs they have done. I can’t think of anyone who’s truly out of form, and morale is decent on a total squad basis because everyone’s getting to play a bit. I am settling into the regular XI upon which I’ll rely as we go deeper into the fixture list, but I still have the Cup to use squad players where possible.

Friday, October 19
We are prepared to travel south tonight after a last day of hard work to prepare for Ternana and Borsoi. I think we have a good plan in place to deal with him, and I do believe if we can shut him down we can shut down our hosts.

The media may help me with that. During my daily briefing today I was asked about Borsoi as a dangerman and I laid it on pretty thick.

“We’ll need to get him stopped,” I said. “We’ve had one game this season where the other guys had a productive striker and we didn’t get him marked. That result wasn’t pleasant for anyone in our colors. We’re going to have to do a better job on Borsoi because if we don’t we’ll have the same trouble we had at Sassuolo.”

I saw smiles on the faces of the press members in attendance and I knew that even though the Yankee manager might take some stick in the press, they’d repeat what I said. Borsoi will be under the spotlight on Sunday and we’ll see how he handles it.

I think we can deal with him. Sassuolo has a better overall club than Ternana, through a cursory look at the table as well as at joint results. My goal is to take their main threat – which Borsoi clearly is – out of the match, and then do the business.

I also decided I’m going to make Monday’s scouting trip in one day. By the time we get back home Sunday night I’m going to be wiped out and the thought of driving to Milan straight off the bus makes me sick to my stomach. So I’m not going to do it.

Masolini will take light training with the senior squad on Monday morning but since we don’t play again until the following Sunday, we aren’t in a hurry to train hard the day after the match.

Today’s sermon to the players was on the importance of a strong start. I’d like to see a little more zip out of the gate than I’ve been seeing, and even though we have buried a few of our opponents in recent weeks I wouldn’t mind making them chase the game a little earlier than they have been. I know, I ask for a lot, don’t I?

Saturday, October 20
We traveled today and we’re in Terni this evening. The ride was uneventful but what was more eventful, at least to me, was today’s EPL result from Reading.

My old club now tops the table, having beaten Manchester United 2-1 before what had to be a mostly delirious crowd of 24,161 at the Madejski Stadium. Reading is top, Liverpool is second and Arsenal is third as United sank to fifth place in the league with the result.

I checked the scores on my BlackBerry as we rolled south today and smiled to myself. A lot of good people are very, very happy tonight and I thought back to some very nice memories of playing there.

I even thought happily about Kate, which has lately been a little difficult to do, and in so doing I felt a very powerful need to talk with Patty. So I did. She’s still moderately upset that I can’t see her on Sunday, but understands the peculiarity of my situation at the same time.

I don’t want conflict with Patty since we’re off to such a strong start, but I can ill afford conflict with my board on top of it all. No wonder this game is so hard on families.


And I was right about the media. Most of them have speculated that the American manager has no idea what he’s talking about proclaiming Borsoi as a threat. I don’t really care about their opinion – what I want is for Borsoi to read the papers.

Sunday, October 21
Ternana v Padova – Serie C1A
There’s a lot to smile about tonight as we won, we kept a clean sheet, and we scored in the first ninety seconds of the match as well.

I’ll say this too, for Eder Baú: the fact that he’s down in the dumps didn’t affect his play. He got the start on the right side of midfield and his mazy run right after the kickoff resulted in a shot at goal and a corner just after the first minute had expired.

Gotti ran over to take the set piece, and when he whipped a useful ball into the box, there was Muzzi to head past a shocked defense and home for the first goal of the match.

The coaches and bench players were still getting settled and already they were out of their chairs celebrating the opening goal. Muzzi smiled as he ran back to his position, and he chose to tweak me a bit, all in good fun.

“Was that quick enough?” he laughed, as he ran past me.

I shook his hand as he passed and I had to admit that it was.

From that point forward, we were in nice shape even though statistically, Ternana fought us to a standstill. My goal was for Sacchetti to be Borsoi’s second skin and to hound him out of scoring positions. That strategy worked brilliantly until the twenty-five minute mark, when Stefano lost track of Ternana’s top scorer.

Borsoi gained possession deep in our area and had Gotti been in proper position Borsoi would have been offside. But he wasn’t, so Ternana’s top gun suddenly found only eight yards and a wide-eyed Orlandoni between himself and the equalizer.

Yet somehow as Paolo bravely charged to collect at the striker’s feet, Borsoi managed to screw his shot wide. He looked down with an expression of utter disgust and slowly ran back up the pitch. That shot had affected him, and everyone knew it.

His frustration began to show, especially as Sacchetti put the clamps on him through the ensuing ten minutes. When crosses didn’t find him, he threw his hands in the air. When he was offside, he was barking at the linesman. He was not concentrating and that was showing as well.

Meanwhile, we used the advantage we had gained to pick up our second goal before halftime and again it was the dispirited Baú who was the creator. This time he stuck to his wing and stopping short of the byline he lofted a perfect cross into the six-yard box for our best header, Varricchio, to finish seven minutes from halftime.

There were only 1,212 supporters at Libero Liberati to see the match and they were whistling after Massimiliano’s header had flashed home. They weren’t happy. The home team appeared to be coming apart at the seams and when the halftime whistle blew I was well satisfied.

We sat in the changing room and I stepped to the front. “Well,” I smiled, “I can’t really say anything but ‘wow’ ”.

That drew smiles from the players and I let them enjoy the praise. “I can’t ask for more than that first half. Put the clamps on them in the second half and we’ll see if we can play a little counter.”

When we headed out for the second half, Borsoi was not on the pitch. He was a halftime substitution and I looked at him, quite an angry figure in a Ternana warmup at the end of his bench. He had had a miserable first half and was now out of our hair for the day.

I suspected, having had their top scorer yanked from the pitch after 45 minutes, that we’d see a different Ternana squad in the second half and I was right. They stood toe to toe with us in the second half and easily gave as good as they got.

But our defensive play was much better in the 4-1-3-2 than it has been in any previous match and even though statistically the match was closer to a draw, Orlandoni did not have to make a difficult save in the entire second half. I decided as I paced my technical area that I wasn’t going to pull us out of 4-1-3-2 until we conceded, because I really liked how we were keeping our shape as the match wore on.

It turned out we played the full ninety minutes in the same formation, a source of no little joy to me as the full-time whistle went and we could start on the process of getting home.

Before that, though, I told the squad I was delighted with a solid road win – a win that has moved us to the top of the league on goal difference. Not conceding will tend to lead to a positive goal difference!

“Our two top players were the two who got us the points tonight,” I told media. “I am happy with just about everything we did but they came out and took a real run at us in the second half. We stood up to a pretty stern test for twenty minutes or so but in the end I think our strikers told the story.”

“Borsoi wasn’t the threat you said he’d be,” I was informed, and I felt a little guilty for having hindered his confidence. But not for long.

“He’s a good player,” I said. “I don’t want to talk a lot about another team’s player, but we had a good plan for him today and missing the open chance in front of goal put him off his stroke, I think. But I expect he will be back.”


Our lead at the top may be short-lived. Novara of course has a match in hand on us and will play that match tomorrow against Venezia. If they do their jobs at home, we’ll be back down the table again.

Cremonese is now level with us on points with 20 after crushing a poor Lecco side by 4-1. Lecco is already in trouble – they have dropped six on the spin including another 4-1 loss to the Ternana side we just beat on their home pitch.

So we have plenty to cheer about as we head home. Except I wasn’t cheering. The Bose headphones went back on my ears and I went to sleep. My work is just beginning.
Ternana 0-2 Padova

Monday, October 22
It turned out that my trip across the north of Italy was well worth it.

I watched one of the most remarkable matches I’ve ever seen tonight and I had plenty to think about as I drove home.

Novara beat Venezia 5-4, and it was a real thriller. It wasn’t so thrilling for me to try to figure out how I’m going to stop some of the talent I saw on display tonight, for both clubs.

Davide Sinigaglia and Raffaele Rubino did all the damage for the home side, while Marco Veronese led an inspired fightback by Venezia.

The game was tied 2-2 at half with Sinigaglia and Rubino each scoring once, and both players scored again early in the second half to make it 4-2 to Novara and give the game the apperance of a rout.

But at that point, the visitors fought back hard, with Veronese scoring twice in four minutes to level the score at 4-4 in 75 minutes.

The equalizer had to have been especially hard for Novara to take – a long throw-in from the left touchline found Veronese absolutely unmarked in the penalty area. All he had to do was spin, shoot and score, and he did all three of these things to keep a wild match alive.

The game had back and forth flow unlike any I’ve seen in this league. And just five minutes after Veronese had leveled the scores, Sinigaglia completed his hat trick with a thunderous finish from 25 yards to make it 5-4 ten minutes from time.

That was the way it ended and I looked down at a page full of notes on offensive players I have to worry about, especially for Novara. Sinigaglia and Rubino are both handfuls to play against and getting them both stopped is going to take a special effort by anyone in this league.

The win pulled Novara back into the top spot in the table with 22 points from nine matches. We host Cremonese next, so we’ll be the ones locked in a top-of-the-table clash while Novara travels to the Manfredonia club we beat by five goals. Sunday’s match is going to be quite important indeed.

Novara has the same goal difference as we do after nine matches – we are both at plus-twelve. The only difference is that Novara’s plus-twelve comes by scoring 23 goals while ours has come by scoring 15. Defensively we have been much better than they have but I have the feeling when we meet it will be a case of the unstoppable force versus the immovable object.

I drove home with visions of Sinigaglia and Rubino running roughshod through my defense and it didn’t lead to very pleasant thoughts.

My phone buzzed on the way back. It was Patty.

“Sorry I’ve been so upset,” she apologized. “Was the trip worth it?”

“Yes and no,” I answered. “I needed to see these teams but what I saw was a little scary.”

“If you like, I know just how to take care of that. I’m planning to see the match on Sunday and maybe we can see each other then.”

Tuesday, October 23
We started the day with a look at Cremonese’s match against Lecco on video. When we started, the room was boisterous. When we finished, I had everyone’s undivided attention.

The clubs have the same record – six wins, two draws and a loss each for twenty points. Novara is ahead of both of us, and Sassuolo is the only club in Serie C1 that hasn’t lost. They have five wins, including their victory over us, and also four draws for 19 points.

There’s already little margin for error and I made it quite clear what I want from my players as we hit the training pitch for the morning session.

Our drills were designed to help us where we’re weakest – the short passing game and transition play. I want concentration from these players on the ball and when I didn’t see it, I stopped drills.

I was also after a little bit of intensity today as well, because I want these players in the frame of mind where making the right decision is automatic and made at full speed.

Baú is still down, but still working hard. Gentile is still battling with Rabito for the first choice spot in central midfield. Donadoni is still trying to fight his way past Vasco Faísca and Sacchetti into the center of defense. Cotroneo is still trying to displace Paz. Those battles are automatic.

That isn’t the kind of automatic I’m after, though. I’m already looking for better from Crovari, and today I took him aside to tell him I wanted him quicker on the ball.

“It’s hard for a holding midfielder to hold the ball like you do in this formation, especially when we emphasize counter-attack,” I said. “I see you getting caught in possession too much and considering where you usually are on the pitch when it happens, when you lose possession it usually means a quick scoring chance for the opposition. I need you to make quicker decisions. I know you are a more deliberate player but if I’m going to take advantage of your defensive skills I can’t have you being caught in possession so much. All right?”

He nodded but I could tell he didn’t like hearing my words. Most players don’t like to be told to change what they feel is a strength of their game. Yet, holding the ball isn’t Federico’s strength despite what he may think.

Strong forwards have been on him like a cheap suitcoat in recent matches, which is why I want good, smart, quick decision-making from him. It’s a vital position and he has to hold it down.

Wednesday, October 24
This week we are working on a plan for Cremonese striker Gabriele Fabio Graziani, who is off to a solid start for his club.

However, our plan is tempered by the long-range weather forecast for Sunday, which may change my plans. The early forecast makes me want to stay inside – it’s supposed to be over 30 degrees Centigrade and raining.

In short, Euganeo is going to become a 29,000-seat steambath for our biggest match of the season to date and that has me thinking about tactics already. We can’t run the players too hard if it’s that hot for too long or else we’ll get knackered and then countered to death.

And if it’s raining we probably won’t be doing a whole lot of short passing, either. That means the direct style I tend to champion will be on the cards.

Finding the right players to play that style will be a little easier with a week off between matches. My inclination is not to change much from Sunday, and right now the only change I might make is in the center of midfield.

I’m waiting for either Rabito or Gentile to win the position, for either one of them to show me they want to make it theirs. Right now neither one really has, and for this tactic to work as intended the central midfielder must be a take-charge guy.

During my daily press gaggle today I noticed things were quieter. I haven’t fielded any comments about Patty since we left for Rome, which explains quite a bit since I haven’t seen her since we got back. That’s unfortunate for me, but probably for the best on a number of fronts that have nothing to do with keeping me a sane, happy human being.

The press have bigger fish to fry – they are building up the match on Sunday and right now my job is to avoid saying something that will motivate our opponents.

At the moment, the official line is that we’re worried about Graziani and we’re going to do the very best we can to get a result on Sunday. That’s all I’ll allow for the moment and if anyone talks out of school, they’ve got trouble they don’t need.


Patty, for her part, has been quite patient. The biennale is working toward its end and today she called to give me the latest on the intended visit of our mutual friends from England.

“It does look like it’s going to happen,” she said. “I’m going to see them since I am working at the American exhibition but believe me, I want to be as far away from them as I can possibly get.”

“I’d help you if I could,” I offered.

“Not for two weeks, you couldn’t,” she countered. “It’s going to be a long haul and quite possibly an unpleasant one.”

I can’t believe I’m letting them have this much control over my life and Patty’s as well – but I’m also a stationary target and if I want them kept away from us I will have to take special steps which will only create more controversy. I don’t care for the choice I may have to make.

Thursday, October 25
We are getting some positive publicity this week with a nice mention in Italy’s Il Gazetto Dello Sport Serie C writeup.

They did a story on the early leaders and noted our “strong attention to defence”, which they could hardly miss since we’ve conceded only three times in our nine starts to date.

That’s always a good thing for tactically-minded calcio fans. So far, my tactics have been pretty darn good, especially for a Yank.

Yet the writers, like everyone else, seem to notice that Novara is a goal-scoring machine and complimented them on their approach to the beautiful game.

I compliment them too, in fact. If we had offensive fluency like they’ve got I would be looking forward to next season’s Serie B fixture list by now.

It’s a bit odd in a way. Novara plays the attacking game I’d like to be able to play and the way we’re winning now is sort of the opposite of how I had hoped we would win. We are the club choking off our opponents to get results and they are the ones playing with the style and flair I’d love to see.

All this means I need to be adaptable. Everyone wants that immediate turnaround in fortune after taking over a job but not everyone can have it.

From my point of view, it looks like I’m one who can’t have everything he wants, though we’ve made a solid start. So we’ll do the best we can with what we have and see how far we can advance.


Again I have talked about an opposition player with the press. This time it’s Cremonese’s Gabriele Fabio Graziani, a four-goal man who plays with a lot of desire.

The scouts agree with me that he can be a match-winner and after our success against Borsoi last week, perhaps it’s worth another try. Yet, Cremonese is a better side than Ternana so far and Graziani is really a fellow who can hurt us.

All I’d like is for Graziani to read the papers. And then start thinking.

Friday, October 26
This weekend’s fixture list doesn’t seem to stack up very well for us.

We are in a second-third matchup against Cremonese while Novara heads south to play at Manfredonia, the club we put up five goals against a few weeks back.

So there is pressure on us – obviously, playing at home will lead to heightened expectations most of the time anyway but in a top of the table clash that pressure will be more pronounced.

Novara will be favored to take the points away from home, so they have a different kind of pressure on them, but putting the two squads down on paper I’d have a hard time imagining a Novara defeat.

So as we prepared for the Saturday night day the journos asked my thoughts about the upcoming match.

“I think we have a good scheme in place for Cremonese and we’re looking for a lift at home,” I said. “If we can draw a crowd and get a good atmosphere in the place we should be able to put on a show.”

“Are you watching the result between Novara and Manfredonia?”

“I am and I’m not,” I said. “We’re getting toward the one-third mark in the season but it’s a bit early to be hanging on every opposition result. They’re all important, we track the scores every week but I won’t put pressure on these players by saying I’m scoreboard watching before the first of November.”

I was asked about my striker situation and I got a chance to talk about Muzzi and Varricchio as a strike partnership. It’s starting to come together and since both of them netted last week they will stay together for Sunday’s match.

“I’m happy with how they are playing and Muzzi’s pace is better than I expected,” I said. “For a man 36 years of age he has a surprisingly good turn of speed and now that he’s a veteran he has well learned how to use it constructively. Young players seem to blaze all over the place and sometimes it gets them taken off early when they run out of gas. Part of the maturation process is learning how to harness physical ability and he has clearly done that. I feel very good about putting him out there.”


Perhaps emboldened by its success in prognosticating last weekend’s results, the press again thinks the American manager is nuts in his evaluation of Italian talent.

The dailies are in agreement. “Gabriele Fabio Graziani is not the match-winner claimed by Padova manager Rob Ridgway,” Il Padova wrote. “Biancoscudati should be able to handle the Cremonese attack without worry from that quarter.”

I read the words today after training and smiled. “If it’s so easy, why don’t they come and do it?” I asked Masolini, and my deputy grinned in reply.

“They’ll be too busy playing their weekend league games,” he explained. “Then they’ll ask why we didn’t get the job done.”

I nodded my head. “And they always get the last word,” I answered. “Typical.”

Saturday, October 27
With the squad on a light day before tomorrow’s home match, I started my attention toward Wednesday’s return to the Serie C Cup, where we will travel to Serie c2 Igea Virtus in the first leg of our second round tie.

This will be a match where, at minimum, we’ll be expected to score. The tie was drawn the way most managers seem to prefer, with the away leg first, and we’re playing weaker opposition so we ought to be all right.

My main decision lies in how I approach the match. With consecutive midweek cup matches the next two weeks, I’m going to have to call on some squad players again to get us through.

With both Wednesday’s match and a Sunday trip down the A4 to face Hellas Verona in the league to worry about this week, the squad is going to get another test.

At this point, while jockeying for league position, the cup can’t take priority. The squad players will get the lion’s share of the playing time on Wednesday. The board has its expectations in the Cup but especially since I can’t hold players out for Wednesday with a tough match on the way tomorrow, I’m going to have to roll the dice and make do.

It would certainly be nice to have more money, a bigger squad and the ability to put two separate elevens out there like the big boys can. But for now, that’s a pipe dream. So choices like I have had to make sometimes make themselves.

And tonight I had a very nice talk with Patty to make the evening go a little faster. She is still nervous about what is now officially a pending visit by our old friends from England. I don’t like it, but more than anything I don’t like the thought of them making her nervous.

Time was when I didn’t have a right to feel protective of her. Now I do, and since I can, I intend to take full advantage.

We are ready for tomorrow and now, for the first time in a long time, I’m ready to defend my life. I feel darned good about that.

Sunday, October 28
Padova v Cremonese – Serie C1A

There are days when it’s just plain fun to show up at the ground and watch your team hold its opposition to one shot on target in ninety minutes.

And then there are days like today.

An immensely frustrating afternoon at Euganeo was made even more so by the fact that our largest crowd of the season – 5,432 spectators – saw us play on a day when the weather forecast was right, the day was oppressive and the home side should have won.

I woke up this morning to a day already hot and humid. We were told to expect quite warm weather and the day we got was every bit of that and then some.

It was already 81 degrees Fahrenheit when I got out of bed at seven o’clock – extremely warm for the time of year – and by the time I left for the ground it was ten degrees warmer than that.

There was a storm in the air when the players reported for the match. By the time we took the pitch for the warmups, I knew it was only a matter of time before it started to pour.

I stood in the tunnel, watching the weather roll in, and wondered how long we’d have before the conditions really started to deteriorate.

I turned to Masolini, to my immediate right.

“We need to get out to a good start,” I told him. “When it starts to get bad, we don’t want to be chasing the game.”

He nodded his agreement and together we planned to press their back line early and try to force possession deep in their half of the pitch. I was looking for a smash-and-grab start for as long as the players’ stamina would allow it.

My team talk was fairly similar to what it has been of late: it’s a good day to win, so go out and do it. With that, we stepped into the steambath that was Euganeo and prepared to do battle.

# # #

It was 35 degrees Centigrade when we kicked off, and the wind was starting to pick up. Something bad was on the way in and as the match started, both teams were a little tentative.

They seemed to run into a brick wall trying to get into our penalty area, though, with Vasco Faísca and Sacchetti virtually impenetrable in central defense and Gotti especially effective in shutting down the right side of their attack.

The conditions really hampered our game plan, though, and about the only thing working for us early on was keeping pressure on their back line. We used it to best effect just before the half-hour and we used it to open the scoring.

Once again, it was Baú who did the hard part, finding space on the right to put the ball into the box for Varricchio, who volleyed past Salvatore Sirigu to get the crowd out of their seats and cheering for a time. The teams then slogged their way to halftime.

There wasn’t a lot of energy in the changing room at halftime and that worried me a bit. The players took fluids to combat the humidity but I was more pleased with the fact that Cremonese hadn’t had a shot attempt, much less a shot on target, in the first 45 minutes.

“You’re doing a great job on Graziani,” I told Sacchetti. “Keep working on him. Let the heat get to him and let him chase the game.”

We then went out for the second half and the first raindrops began to fall shortly after the kickoff. Cremonese pressed forward, and just as it started to come down hard, Graziani struck. He picked up a loose ball just inside our area and hammered a quick shot past Orlandoni to get them level four minutes into the second half.

Forty-nine minutes of immaculate defensive work had just been flushed in one quick strike and we were back to blank paper.

The rain started to come down harder and that made it more difficult for both teams. We wound up with five attempts in the second half and none of them were on target in the increasingly wet conditions. By comparison, four of our seven attempts in the first half required keeper Sirigu’s attention.

I wouldn’t say we were wasteful, but I would say that there were moments I had a hard time seeing the Cremonese goal through some of the rain and wind. So I couldn’t blame my players for having trouble.

By the end of the match, many of the crowd had seen enough and were already swimming back to their vehicles. Unfortunately, something else had happened that didn’t make me happy either.

Rabito has already earned a yellow card suspension, and he’s only played in six of our ten league matches to this point. Here, the suspension comes after four yellows, and it’s already our third suspension of the season.

I will expect better discipline out of the team from this point forward, primarily because we are not deep enough to withstand both our present spate of injuries as well as suspensions from cards. We don’t have the depth and more accurately I don’t have the patience.

Yet as we trudged to the changing room to dry off, I got the most surprising – and irritating – news of all. Manfredonia had pulled a shocker, beating Novara 2-1, and our draw meant we not only couldn’t leapfrog them, we actually dropped a place in the table to third due to the Serie C1 tiebreak rules.

There is definitely good news and bad news here – with six wins and three draws in ten matches, we haven’t lost in eight starts. Yet, we are third behind Novara and Cremonese, and Sassuolo still hasn’t lost yet. We’re going to have quite a race.

However, for once I had the last word with media. As we all stood looking like drowned rats in the interview area, I opened the questioning for once.

“That Graziani isn’t so bad after all, is he?” I asked.

Padova 1-1 Cremonese

Monday, October 29
We’re in the middle of another series of midweek games which means it’s getting increasingly difficult for Patty and I to make time for each other.

It’s frustrating. We haven’t seen each other since we got back from Rome two weeks ago and the phone messages and e-mails we’re exchanging are a little bit wistful in nature.

No one said it would be easy to be romantically involved with me in the first place, much less as a manager of a club that demands my total commitment. But last time I checked, I am still a human being and that means I have human needs I need to meet.

She sent me a note this morning before I left for training and also for Sicily. Igea Virtus is the longest road trip we will make all season.

“Getting close to the end,” she observed. “I miss you.”

“The end of what?” I asked myself, as I read the note and wrote a reply.

“I hope you mean the end of the biennale,” I replied.

“I sure don’t mean anything else,” she teased. “I just hope you can make time for your girlfriend sometime soon.”

I sighed. She didn’t mean to hurt me with that, I was fairly sure, but my schedule is certainly hurting her. I leaned back in my chair and had a hard time holding back my frustration.

She is going to be dealing with McGuire pretty soon, on her own, and I feel absolutely powerless to help her. That’s a terrible feeling. I’d just like her to come to Padova and be with me for a few days but given her job responsibilities, that isn’t terribly likely.

So she’s suffering. And we miss each other. Other than that, everything’s just peachy.


Our morning session was active, because it’s the only one we’ll get to prepare for Wednesday’s match. Igea Virtus is the fifth-place club in Serie C2B but the match is also in Sicily, so we’re spending all day tomorrow traveling.

I have a number of changes I want to make for our visit to lower league opposition. One will be in goal.

I want to get Cano a game and since he was the club’s regular goalkeeper last season I need to keep him sharp and in a state of mind approaching happy. Orlandoni has played in every league match so far so Cano, who has worked hard in training, deserves a chance to play.

I’m also switching out both my central defenders. Sacchetti and Faísca have both played in every league match to date and I’d like to rest them. I’m putting a higher priority on Sunday’s league match at Hellas Verona, especially since the first leg of the Cup tie is away and we still get to play our home match next week.

This will give me a chance to give games to Donadoni and also to loan defender Andrea Guglielmi, another Lazio youngster who hasn’t been able to break into my first team. The supporters aren’t so keen on Guglielmi, who has seen limited duty as a substitute and when he’s been on, hasn’t exactly set the world on fire.

Like De Cristofaris, Guglielmi isn’t one of Lazio’s top prospects. We’ll need to get promoted before those sorts of players will be headed our way.

And along the way I’m learning a lesson about which players to accept from parent clubs. The supporters want players that will help the club win and if I accept whatever the parent club decides to give us, we may not get those players. This calls my judgment into question.

That, and the fact that I need to show some benefit to the club for the arrangement we have with Lazio, makes this part of my job a bit tricky at times.

We do what we can, though, and sometimes the squad cover comes in handy. Like this Wednesday, for example.

De Cristofaris may also get to play. He knows he’s running out of chances so my hope is that he’ll make the most of the opportunity if he gets it.

We will still be favored to win despite the heavy use I am making of squad players, and he knows he’s at the top of the list of people I’m watching.

So there is plenty of incentive out there for the players who are in the XI. We’ll just have to see whether it’s enough.

Tuesday, October 30
The bookmakers have installed us as 1-2 road favorites for tomorrow night’s match, which has me both happy and cautious at the same time.

Obviously, I like the idea that we’re getting some recognition for our strong start. However, the added expectation – especially on the parts of our supporters who are making the long trip to Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto for the match – won’t help.

Still, of course, that’s why we play the game. You aren’t on the pitch if you don’t have a certain measure of ego.

I’ve played with and against players who were complete head cases. They wanted the ball all the time when it mattered and when they failed, it was never their fault.

I don’t have any players like that in this squad, but the fact of the matter is that you don’t play professional football if you don’t think you are better than the next guy. So a certain element of expectation as we head out tomorrow won’t kill us.

My main goal tomorrow is to get at least one away goal. With as many squad players as I’m putting out there, that would be a very nice return for us. I don’t think they’ll give us a huge amount of trouble in attack, and at least I have a very strong bench for the match should it become necessary.

Gentile is getting the start in central midfield and Stefano Mazzocco, out of favor since his early season injury due to Music’s excellent play, will start on the left.

Vedin has done well to win the starting role and despite his advancing age and declining skill set, he is getting every ounce out of his ability and that helps the club. But at age 33 I can’t play him three times a week so Gentile is getting the call.

As a central defender, I could play three times in a week if I really needed to, right up to the end of my career. The position usually didn’t involve a ton of hard running and with my fitness good right up to the end of my career, I could answer the bell on the weekend and again at midweek without too much trouble.

But for older players, especially those in hard-working positions like the engine room of the midfield or the wings, it can be a lot more difficult. And if your fitness isn’t up to snuff, it’s frankly impossible.

The eleven I have to play tomorrow night should be able to get the job done. At least, in the eyes of the bookmakers.

I told the press today that rather than expecting a huge victory, I expected a good, solid effort from my players. “They are like any other team we play and they deserve our full respect and attention,” I said. “I will make sure this happens.”


Getting there was the issue. We left at 6:00 this morning from Euganeo and traveled all day to reach Reggio, just across the Strait of Messina from Sicily.

From there, we waited for a ferry to take us across the Strait to Villa San Giovanni. Crossing the Strait is an experience – the narrow channel contains a natural whirlpool and is quite dangerous in poor weather conditions – and the uninitiated observer wonders why there’s no bridge across the water.

Anyone who asks gets an education in Italian politics.

Every five to ten years, they debate whether to build a suspension bridge across the strait, which would be the longest and tallest in the world by a considerable margin.

Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who also happens to run AC Milan, favored a bridge but current Prime Minister Romano Prodi doesn’t. New elections are coming in the spring and if Berlusconi wins, I’m sure the bridge will be right back on the agenda.

That didn’t help us today, though. We waited for the ferry, crossed onto the mainland, and resumed our travel. When we arrived, we were ready to stretch out and sleep. It’s not the best travel environment for scoring an away goal.

Wednesday, October 31
Igea Virtus v Padova – Serie C Cup

Well, we didn’t score one away goal.

I am stunned by how well the squad players did tonight and as a result our second round Serie C cup tie is virtually done and dusted thanks to an explosion at Carlo D’Alcontres.

We scored early, we scored often, and we scored repeatedly, and the squad players did most of the work. They did so well, in fact, that I didn’t make a single substitution in the entire match – even the hopelessly out-of-fitness De Cristofaris made it through the whole ninety minutes.

As a squad, we’re in a pretty good mood at the moment and it’s carrying over into our travel. The players aren’t bosom buddies or anything like that, but good relationships forged in winning are always preferable. And that is what we are building.

The weather was also much better tonight. We went from 35 degrees Centigrade on Sunday to 11 this evening, a chilly night which made things a touch more comfortable for the players. That certainly helped.

Gentile’s attitude was also a big help. He reacted quite well to my words to the media yesterday, and I could see intensity in him that really pleased me to see. In fact, it was so good that if he hadn’t been in the XI already I might have put him there on the basis of his attitude alone.

The squad players dressed a bit nervously, knowing much was expected of them. I stepped to the front of the room and the first thing I did was try to calm nerves.

“Play within yourselves,” I urged. “You can do this. I don’t want you thinking about how many goals you’ll score tonight because if you do you won’t score any. I want your attention focused on the play you’re making, one thing at a time. Play for each other, work hard for each other and remember that you have the quality to get this job done.”

With that, Anaclerio led the team onto the pitch as captain, since both Crovari and Paz were being held back to rest. Almost from the opening kickoff, Anaclerio bossed the game.

We started very strongly, with the squad players giving me effort I hadn’t yet seen from them. Immediately, we started creating chances and it didn’t take us long to break through.

After Di Nardo whistled a shot inches side from fifteen yards, we put the ball in the net through a play of excellent quality. Paponi rose at the edge of the six-yard box to head home Gentile’s inch-perfect cross from near the left touchline just eight minutes into the match.

We were off to a flyer and if you had told me before the match we’d get our away goal less than ten minutes into the contest I’d have frankly been thrilled. Yet, we kept up the pressure and I really started to appreciate Gentile’s intensity.

Mazzocco shook loose down the left and brought a fine ball from Anaclerio to ground with a deft first touch. He then provided from the left and Gentile was the one to smash home a perfect cross, leaving Giuseppi Adriano Di Masi stranded for the second time in fifteen minutes.

Now two goals to the good, we smelled blood and began to pile forward looking for more. Rabito, whose suspension on cards in the league didn’t affect his Cup play, barely missed from the right edge of the penalty area five minutes after Gentile’s goal. Di Nardo screwed a shot wide from twelve yards on the half-hour when it would have been easier to score.

We got the ball wide again before halftime and made it count. Rabito, who was playing the right side in place of the resting Eder Baú, took a very nice flick-on from Paponi and got the ball wide, crossing for the onrushing Di Nardo.

Our height and strength up front was really starting to show now and Di Nardo outmuscled defender Fabio Accardi to head past a shocked Di Masi. It was 3-0 three minutes from halftime and the crowd of 2,326 looked on in stunned silence.

All three key positions in the 4-1-3-2 had already cashed in with goals. I honestly couldn’t have asked for better, and as a result was happy to shift into a straight 4-4-2 at halftime already in command of the tie.

“Fabulous,” I smiled as the players took their halftime rest. What else could I tell them?

In the second half, though, we had to contend with an Igea Virtus side plainly challenged by its manager. Ezio Castelucci had a determined look on his face as his team took the pitch for the second half, and I guess I shouldn’t have blamed them for it.

They created a few decent chances and stung Cano’s hands a few times in the first fifteen minutes of the second half but for the most part had to settle for long-range efforts that didn’t accomplish anything.

Our advantage in the wide positions led to our final goal on 67 minutes. Again it was Rabito who provided, and if Baú weren’t such a good wide player I would have myself another viable right-sided option for the first team. He was that good.

This time he stepped inside a challenge just outside the Igea Virtus penalty area and got to the byline before pulling a wonderful little cross back to the center of the box. Gentile muscled up past the hapless Accardi and scored with some ease to crush the home team’s last resistance.

After that it was simply a matter of running down the clock and not conceding. Though Igea Virtus eventually equaled us in shots on target at 7-7 and actually exceeded us in attempts by 19-16 after we pulled back with a four-goal lead, we had the ball in much better locations on the pitch. Our advantage in the wide positions was what won the match.

Even the makeshift central defense did well – Guglielmi too – and the result was a lot of happy Biancoscudati as we left the pitch worthy winners.

“That’s the kind of performance I could have only dreamed of,” I admitted to media. “To come here against a club that is playing well in its league and put four away goals on them, that’s pretty special. We have a lot to be proud of tonight and I have a lot of players who deserve credit.”

The coach ride home was noisy and fun. The players are happy and we have this tie by the throat. Sometimes this game can be a lot of fun.

Then I checked my e-mail as we started the long slog home. Some of the fun went away.

Igea Virtus 0-4 Padova

Thursday, November 1
The new month is here, I had my monthly chat with the board late this afternoon after arriving home from Sicily, and I’m trying to figure out when I might be able to get to Venice.

The answer, for me, is “probably not soon enough”.

I got an e-mail last night from Patty, saying she had seen Peter McGuire at a Biennale mixer in Venice and wasn’t happy about it.

So, he’s here. The only question now is whether he brought his wife with him. Patty is distraught and I can’t blame her a scrap.

I spent the early morning on the phone with her. She called me at 5:15 this morning.

“I’m sorry I woke you up, Rob, but I haven’t slept all night and I just had to talk with you,” she said. “What should I do?”

“The only thing you can do,” I answered. “Do your best to stay away from him and if he bothers you or threatens you, get to the authorities.”

“He has this way of getting what he wants,” she said, and I could tell she was crying.

“Not as long as I’m around, he doesn’t,” I said. “He’s tried to push me around and I’m not scared of him. If you have any problems with him, let me know. It’s time for the garbage to stop.”


I do have a bit of an interesting dilemma, though, as we prepare for Sunday’s trip to Verona.

I’m completely focused – I do tend to get that way when I’m angry – and after yesterday’s Cup performance, my entire squad is focused as well, though we’re going to be leg-weary after the long trip home from Sicily.

Players who did well yesterday are after a regular place and those members of the first team squad I rested are in fierce competition to hold their places. In short, it’s an ideal situation for a manager.

There are certain people who I have to get back into the squad, especially for a road game. Muzzi and Varricchio are playing well and need to play, but I was very impressed with Paponi at Igea Virtus and he’s the kind of player who can wreck an opposing team all by himself at this level. So he gets the substitute’s role over what will surely be the Di Nardo’s protests.

Baú was on a wonderful run of form before being rested last night. Even though he’s still down in the dumps, he’s going to get back into the XI because Rabito is suspended after his fourth yellow card of the season last week. Gentile gets the central midfield role by default.

Sacchetti and Faísca get their central defender roles back, Paz and Crovari are returned to their usual places, and hopefully that will mean moving from strength to strength. Their legs are fully recovered from last Sunday and we had a very good team training session this morning as a result.

My morning media gathering was also positive, which sort of had me wondering when the roof was going to fall in.

Winning 4-nil away seems to do wonders for general impressions of my competence and the questioning I got today wasn’t whether my squad rotation was going to work, it was more along the lines of would I continue it for the return leg.

“I’ve got players who have performed very well in the league so far and players who have done quite well in the Cup,” I said blandly. “That doesn’t mean I can’t change them out from time to time and go with an impulse I feel is right. We have good competition for places at certain spots on the pitch at the moment and I plan to watch that competition quite closely. It’s good for the club, it’s good for the performance of my players and in the end, it will hopefully be good for us in terms of our progression up the table.”


My hope is that the club draws more so we can stop the steady financial slide we’re in. That slide is one reason why we didn’t hop a plane for Sicily this week and we’re paying for it through tired legs.

The board made that hope clear to me as well during my monthly meeting today. Though they are not as yet concerned about the club’s bank balance, we are losing money at a rate fast enough for them to notice it.

“We will continue to bankroll the current squad,” I was told, “but we hope attendances will continue to rise. This is very important to the long-term health of our club.”

“Promotion would be better,” I thought to myself. “And we’ll need money for that.”

However, vocalization of such thought probably wouldn’t have been the best idea for my job security, so instead I simply nodded my head. If I want new players, I’m going to have to make this club a lot more money than it has at present. So the main point of the meeting was made without a word being said about it.

Friday, November 2
Most of the regular first-team will be restored to their places for Sunday’s match at Verona. After today’s training session I realized I can’t move most of them out of their regular spaces.

We’re playing well despite being in third place, we’ve lost only one of our first ten matches and as long as we keep progressing I have no reason to make major changes.

So we’ll head off to Verona with many of the same XI that unfortunately drew at home to Cremonese last week. At least it’s a shorter road trip.

Happily, as I’ve already mentioned, Gentile will keep his place after his brace against Igea Virtus due to Rabito’s suspension. There’s no need to worry about replacing him. Sometimes things do work out for the best and I hope Andrea will be able to bounce right back after playing Wednesday.

Verona has already established itself as a defensive-minded squad, nearly as good as we are. However, they’re even more offensively challenged than we can be at times, which is why they’re eighth and we’re third. In their first ten league matches they’ve scored just five goals and already have three goalless draws to their credit.

It’s also a derby match of sorts, as a regional rivalry. So there is a bit more media attention than normal, made even more noteworthy due to the match being between two teams in the top half of the table.

We also had penalty drills today to close out our training session. I’m not happy with the way we’ve been taking them and especially in this league, once you get penalties you had better take them. With the logjam at the top of Serie C1 at the moment, a missed penalty can make two or three places worth of difference in the table.

Baú wasn’t very good from the spot today and Muzzi was better, so I may elect to make a change. Also, Eder’s state of mind isn’t helping his chances either. He’s still down and depressed and that’s not a good mindset for your penalty taker.

I can’t get inside his head either, and today I asked Masolini to talk with him. This is the sort of thing I don’t want, especially around a winning eleven. I need to know what’s bothering him so I can fix it, if it’s football-related. Goodness knows other problems can certainly affect a man – I’m going through it now myself.


It never ceases to amaze me what kinds of stunts some people think they can pull.

I had a hard time understanding a few things when Patty called me this evening. She was quite upset and as a result we are going to meet up tomorrow to give us some badly needed time.

At tonight’s event, Peter approached Patty and struck up a conversation with her, with Kate nowhere in sight. It was as if nothing had happened between them, and when she talked with me tonight it sounded like she was reliving a nightmare.

She started out in control, but as the words began to come out faster and faster she sounded like the verbal equivalent of a runaway train.

“What on earth did he say to you?” I asked.

“He said he was happy to see me again,” she began, as her tears began to flow. “Can you believe his nerve?”

“You’d think he’d have at least said something like ‘gee, I’m sorry I was married when I met and used you’,” I said, and she was able to smile a bit through her tears.

“You’d have thought that, yes,” she replied. “He asked me how I was doing, how my experience was in Venice, just like it was old home week.”

To me that meant only one thing.

“He thinks he can control you,” I said. “He was trying to show you that he’s in charge. He thinks he’s got the situation in hand and he has you in his hip pocket.”

“Well, he doesn’t,” she said, beginning to show a measure of defiance.

“Good for you,” I said. “Now come over to see me tomorrow and I promise I’ll make you forget about him for an evening.”