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La Potenza Della Speranza e il Secondo Miracolo

The Power of Hope and The Second Miracle.
Started on 2 June 2013 by Louis O.
Latest Reply on 16 June 2013 by Louis O.
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Louis O.'s avatar Group Louis O.
11 yearsEdited

What is this?

A.S.D. Castel di Sangro Calcio. A club in the heart of the Abruzzo, a mountainous area in Southern Italy. Who are they? I'll tell you. The Miracle of Castel di Sangro. That's what the club is famous for. A tiny town with a population of just 5,000 people. In fact, you'd be hard pressed to find a smaller village. But in this little community, something astonishing happened. A.S. Castel di Sangro were promoted to Serie B. It had been a long and hard struggle. But they reached the Serie C1 Play-offs, and in the final they faced Ascoli. And the game went to a penalty shoot-out. But just before the referee blew his final whistle, Castel's manager Oswaldo Jaconi made a change. He subbed the goalkeeper, Roberto De Juliis, for a veteran back up keeper, Pietro Spinosa. Fans were scratching their heads. But the bizzare change paid off. Jaconi knew that Spinosa was an expert penalty saver, and so Spinosa would face the Ascoli penalty kicks. And then the Miracle of Castel di Sangro took place. Spinosa dived high to his right. And Ascoli's penalty taker shot high to the keeper's right. And remember, that was where he dived. And that, was where he put his hands in the air and palmed the ball away. He had palmed it away from the goal. Away from the goal! Castel di Sangro Calcio, were on the way to Serie B. Within touching distance of the World's most glamorous league. Soon, they could be lining uo against Baggio and Batistuta.

Alas, hard times have fallen on the once great club. They somehow managed to survive the drop in their first season, beating rivals Pescara 2-1 to seal la salvezza. The eccentric president Gabriele Gravina had attracted some controversy for numerous stunts during the season, and now he was facing more negative attention. Castel were relegated after just 2 years in Serie B, and Gravina was to take the blame having sold 14 players and sacking the wizardous manager Jaconi. Now they reside in the Promozione Abbruzzo, the second tier of regional football. But the fans still remember the miracle. And the best part? So does my dad.

For the purposes of the story, Castel will be placed in Serie C2/B, with made up players, and I will not be the manager.Thanks to FMFormation for trying to help me in my quest to make the Promozione Abruzzo league, and to k1rups for his continued help and support. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I will enjoy writing it.


First comment! :P

Good luck Louis!
1
Great start and setting the scene! Having had many conversations with you about this I look forward to following this new miracle!
1
Very good start. I look forward to following this story!
1
2013-06-02 13:04#107939 Glenn T : First comment! :P

Good luck Louis!
Thanks Glenn! I noticed how you also got the 1st comment on my Kammy story ;)

2013-06-02 13:06#107940 k1rups : Great start and setting the scene! Having had many conversations with you about this I look forward to following this new miracle!
Thanks krups, I couldn't have done this without you so thanks a lot!

2013-06-02 13:06#107941 smithy079 : Very good start. I look forward to following this story!
Thanks Smithy! I hope you enjoy this :)

Before we start, has anybody read or at least heard of the book, The Miracle of Castel di Sangro? (Other than when I've mentioned it on the chat :P )

It's a very good book, but this'll be even better ;)

http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Miracle-Castel-di-Sangro-Joe-McGinniss-Hardback-1999/00/$(KGrHqN,!i0E1NUp0BpVBNgE42i!dg~~_35.JPG
Good start! Hope this carries on for a long long time, Keep it up! :)
Looking forward to more :) Good luck!
2013-06-02 14:41#107973 Okikos : Good start! Hope this carries on for a long long time, Keep it up! :)
The initial idea was to just follow for a season. Maybe it will continue for more seasons and maybe I will start it again.

2013-06-02 14:48#107977 Rablador : Looking forward to more :) Good luck!
Thanks Rab :)
This should be interesting! Definitely following!
Oh by the way: Nice animated flag.
A good start to the story. Keep it up.
2013-06-02 15:12#107993 yuttra52 : This should be interesting! Definitely following!
Thanks Yuttra, it'll be a long ride but I'm up for it!

2013-06-02 15:12#107995 yuttra52 : Oh by the way: Nice animated flag.
It's pretty much the only picture I could get of Castel's badge, and it'll be used in each update :)

2013-06-02 15:23#107999 Jamesg237 : A good start to the story. Keep it up.
Thanks James, the first update is coming up in a minute

Chapter 1: Arrival

My plane landed in Rome on a cold August evening, the rain was pouring down. I couldn't understand why Bruno couldn't get me an earlier flight. I had received a letter from him a day earlier, telling me how to get to Stadio Teofilo Patini. I didn't need it. My dad had already been here 16 years ago. I knew what I was doing. Castel di Sangro was quite far from Rome, but Bruno had only got me a flight to Rome because he said I should soak up some of the delights of the capital. I picked up the 8:30 train to Sulmona, a town in the province of L'Aquila, only 150km from Castel di Sangro, where Bruno would be waiting. Unfortunately, Bruno was not able to be there as he was extremely busy, but I still knew what to do. Bruno told me I would be staying at a hotel in Sulmona, because, as he wrote in his letter, "The hotel in Castel di Sangro 'ave not good condition." There was a concern that I didn't speak good enough Italian, and that the Italian's did not speak good enough English.

I found the Best Western I was to be staying at and settled down. The thing was, I still had no idea where Castel di Sangro actually was. I asked the receptionist, but he was unable to understand my question, so I went back to my room and turned the TV on. They had world-wide channels and programs, and to my surprise the sports channel was ESPN, which meant I could watch in English. Chelsea were playing Atlético Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup, a competition held between the winners of the UEFA Champions League, the biggest prize in club football, and the winners of the UEFA Europa League, the next best thing. The score was already 1-0 when I turned on the TV and it was Chelsea in the lead. The replay's showed it to be a sublime move too, the players exchanging passes until one of them was in enough space to launch a fierce strike at goal, which flew past the Atlético goalkeeper. As Half-Time approached, I turned over to the regional channels and of course, there was no news about Castel di Sangro. Why would there be? They were a Serie C2/B team, that was the second highest of the Southern leagues in Italy. There was a growing concern amongst supporters that the team would be relegated down to Serie D, but more optimistic fans thought that a mid-table finish was much more likely. The season was to kick off in 3 days, and I would be there.

My phone rang. It was not Bruno, but Paolo Bagnara who had been appointed as our coach the season before. Since the end of last season he had wasted no time in bringing more players in, with 6 trials given, one of the trialists signed, and a free transfer deal made for a 37 year old defender, who had been round the block. The biggest signing was a loan deal, where a player leaves his club for a certain period of time in order to gain first team football at a lower club. Bagnara signed a goalkeeper from Virtus Lanciano, a small club who were in Serie B, like we were 16 years ago. Paolo wanted me to meet the players who would be on the field during the season, and he felt that they would perform better when they knew that they would be 'famous'. He told me that he would be expecting me at the stadium at mid-day tomorrow, as the club trained in the same arena that they played, and pre-season was over meaning that now, the important games were coming up. The important games that I hoped we would win.
Deleted's avatar Deleted
The best western thats the hotel in the book ? Love that bookhopefully there wont be any match fixing or strange signings
2013-06-02 16:46#108019 Jord_FFGI : The best western thats the hotel in the book ? Love that bookhopefully there wont be any match fixing or strange signings

Yay, I've finally found someone who's read the book :P And we're yet to find out what will happen in the season, but it'll be interesting :)

You are reading "La Potenza Della Speranza e il Secondo Miracolo".

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