La Potenza Della Speranza e il Secondo Miracolo

Chapter 2: Training

I met up with Paolo earlier than we had agreed. It was a day for training, a Thursday, and some of the players were getting changed already. Paolo had got one more player to sign up for the team last night, Vincenzo Mazzilli, who had been with Andria Bat in Serie C1/B before he was let go. He was here to fill the left winger spot, a wide player who gets forward to supply passes into the middle for the strikers. Paolo was adamant that he could build a Serie C2 standard side and that we could survive. Campobasso were to be our opponents on the opening day, and they were deducted 2 points before the season started, meaning they started the season behind everyone else.

The players soon came onto the field to start the practice. Paolo went off to talk to Bruno, the chairman, whilst his assistant Romano Baresi shouted at the players, as they started the warm up with a light jog. It soon became clear Armando Di Sorbo was one of our top players, firing shots past the goalkeeper at every opportunity. His stamina was second to none, getting round the pitch with ease while the rest struggled. Some fans had turned up to watch us train and I was one of them. This, I thought, was dedication. Watching the players running around the pitch, what was the point unless you really loved the club? Paolo came back and I began to talk to him.

"What was that about Paolo? You have to watch them train, watch them train Paolo!"
"Relax Joe, I knows what I is doing."
"Campobasso is in 3 days Paolo, we need to train them so they can play!"
"Romano can do that, Romano job, he trains the players, I picks the team."
"Well how do you know what players are good then?"
"Relax Joe!"

I was already beginning to sense tension between me and Paolo. He ordered the players to pass the ball around, but the man who was already my favourite player, Armando Di Sorbo, played a pass way to hard and it rolled past the target, Enrico di Noto. Vitaliano de Angeli was the first man to the ball but as he hooked his leg around the ball a loud click could be heard, and De Angeli fell to the ground in pain. We had already lost one of our key players.

An hour later, the club physio Massimiliano Gagliardi came up to me to explain the injury. He spoke perfect English, which was very beneficial to me as I still could not speak much Italian. Massimiliano explained what had happened, when the ball came past De Angeli had stretched his leg
way too far and when he retracted his leg, the movement was too sharp for his groin to handle and he collapsed to the floor. Massimiliano invited me to his house after training, and he said that there he would be able to tell me exactly what happened.

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Chapter 3: Starting the season

We were due to travel to Campobasso on Saturday for the opening game of the season. The game was actually on Sunday at 3pm but we would be there for a night's stay before the game too. The stadium in Campobasso was the biggest that I had seen in the flesh, Stadio Nuovo Romagnoli, and we would be playing there in our first game. The stadium had seen bigger games, despite a capacity of 25'00 Napoli had once called it home, and Campobasso vs Castel di Sangro certainly would not attract the same attention as Juventus or AC Milan could have done years ago. In fact, only 800 people had come to watch the action, but those who wanted Castel di Sangro to win would be sorely disappointed.

Nearly as soon as the arbitro had blown the whistle to kick off our season, there was major problems. Campobasso were not the strongest side in the league, far from it, but the way they were playing they could have beaten anyone. The gulf in class was clear and I don't think it was even a minute into the game when I wrote down in my notebook that we would be having some major problems this season. Only 8 minutes had passed when Campobasso scored. It was poor organisation which proved to be the biggest problem to our defence, the ball flying in and hitting the post when the home side's striker Morante pounced on it to give them the lead. Morante was there just minutes later to flick the ball onto his strike partner Sorrentino who volleyed past Negrini. 2-0 already. I knew that we had one of the worst squads in the league. 26 minutes played. Another goal. Mamma mia! A good cross took a deflection of the knee of Morante, and it trickled past Negrini.

Fortunately we held on until half-time, and when we came back out of the tunnel we seemed to have the edge and it was only a matter of time before we scored. And then we finally did, and the goal came from Bagnara's latest signing, Vincenzo Mazzilli. A corner came in from the veteran Vanacore and it was cleared away before a smashing volley right into the corner. It looked as if we could mount a great comeback to win the game, but Campobasso hit back immediately, and it was finally Morante's hat-trick. It was a clear offside but the linesman did not flag and he was left to put it away, and unfairly we were 3 goals behind again. Mai! guardalinee stupido! Never! Stupid linesman! And before I could even put the lid back on my pen, we had let in another goal. I had missed the goal, but I had seen enough anyway, and I headed back to the team coach. I asked the driver to turn the local radio on, and after listening for just over half an hour, I heard something shocking. I could just about make it out. E Castel di Sangro hanno perso 5-1 a Campobasso! Terribile inizio di stagione e la fine del regno di Paolo Bagnara! Castel di Sangro have lost 5-1 at Campobasso! Terrible start to the season and the end of Paolo Bagnara's reign!

Chapter 4:Castel di Sangro Kits

Puma have released kits for the new season for Castel di Sangro Calcio to be wearing. The designer has commented on the release."The kits show exactly what we wanted, a historic home shirt reminiscent of the Serie B seasons. The away shirts are simplistic but they look great."