10/21/01 - I saw the match at Chievo; we we're not very good. We would have been lucky to draw, as they could have scored quite a few more. Nakata was invisible, and when he didn't play midweek we won 3-1 away at Utrecht. At least we can win somewhere. Last week, we let Dario Hubner score twice and drew at home to Piacenza. We are way down the table, but hopefully we can get a little more luck on our side. 9/30/01 - A point from Lazio would normally be a good thing, but it does little for us in the standings. We started Bonnazzoli and Marchionni in attack, which, though Marchionni did play well, I cannot agree with leaving Di Vaio on the bench. Ferrari played, Appiah got 25 minutes, but Nakata didn't make 90, though he grazed the crossbar. I hope we start picking up points somewhere. Only good news is that Juve and Milan both lost. Oh, and we're through to the next round of the UEFA cup. 9/23/01 - Two wins to report, the one today is the most important: Nakata 1: Baggio 0. We also beat HJK on a Savo penalty on Thursday. Today, though, our first league win puts us up into the top half of the table (though Roma and Udinese followed us). I think the top performer was Frey, Nakata played decently and Milosevic missed a sitter. Di Vaio replaced him and set up Hide's 1st goal for the club. Diana outplayed Bachini, I think, but while Bachini got replaced at halftime, Diana came off for Marchionni due to cramping (and Marchionni played well, I think, on the offensive end). Bolano played 90 minutes, which is good I suppose, but since his midfield opposition was Federico Guinti... Appiah came on late for Almeyda, and I wish they'd play him more. Team: Frey; Djetou, Sensini, Cannavaro; Diana (Marchionni), Almeyda (Appiah 85'), Bolano, Junior; Nakata; Bonnazzoli, Milosevic (Di Vaio). 9/18/01 - A bad week for football, really. We won't go on about the recent terrorist attacks, because there's been enough talk of them in other forums. Football is the issue, here. First off, I am late in reporting that we lost to Bologna, 1-0. They are really turning out to be a bogey team lately, as we didn't beat them last year either. Everyone but the defence played badly, and the only real bright spot was Matteo Ferrari, which is exciting for me. The second cause for anger is the ability of Juventus to conjur penalties out of thin air. Last weekend, brave Chievo were denied by a needless penalty call, while today Juve again won on an absolutely non-existant foul. I saw it on the tele, and there was no way that was a penalty. It's a travesty, really. I think that penalties in the 90th minute are just not sporting. This is the first time I've thought that there needs to be a system to review bad calls. Absurd. If I had been Martin O'Neil, I would have marched up to that damn referee and done something I probably would have been banned from football for life for... Sheer incompetence, especially given the situation. Oh well. Next game shouldn't be any easier: Brescia. Speaking of Brescia, I just heard some good news: Bachini is gone, traded on loan for Diana. I had high hopes for Bachini, but he has not done much to justify them so far. Hopefully, Diana will finally provide us with a right flank. And I like the youth we now have, too. If not now, be patient. 9/9/01 - Second match day, vs. Inter Milan. We went behind early on a goal by a player who had just been in a car crash. We tied the game at 1-1, but managed to hold onto that for 60 seconds, when their reserve striker made our big defensive signing look as quick as a tree. Thankfully, we did not surrender our record of having never lost a home game to the Nerazzuri when Toldo (again) let us score. The problem this time was our wing-backs. Last year, Junior had a great game agianst a poor Inter with Brocchi? on the right. This year, Conceicao showed how the Brazilian, true to his country, cannot defend. Oh, and though it doesn't need repeating, Sartor is not a wing-back (I take that back now--March '02). On the good side, Di Vaio had perhaps the best chances of winning the game in stoppage time, but strangely, didn't. We wouldn't have deserved it. Squad (provisional ratings): Frey 5.5, Djetou 5.5 Sensini 6, Cannavaro 6.5, Sartor 5.5 (Marchionni 6), Almeyda 6, Lamouchi 6, Junior 5.5, Nakata 5.5, Di Vaio 6, Milosevic 5.5 (Bonazzoli 6.5) Goals: 10' Materazzi, 27' Milosevic, 28' Ventola, 85' Bonazzoli Just a note: Laursen scored today. Strangely, he was not considered worth keeping by someone in our organization. We could have at least got someone in return for the year...Coco perhaps? Helveg even? Think what we could have done with Cosmin Contra... 2/9/01 - Sorry, moving. Well, we tied our first game to Lecce, 1-1 (Di Vaio, of course). We are also out of the champions league, but honestly, we have a better chance of winning the UEFA anyway. The money was important, but... We are trying to buy another striker, though Bonazzoli wants to play more. Nonda is the rumour, but we missed out on Jardel. Di Vaio has been called up to the Azurri, and Milosevic scored for Yugoslavia over the weekend. Next up, Inter. And Ronaldo might return, they say... Squad against Lecce (with Gazzetta dello Sport ratings): Frey 6; Djetou 6.5, Sensini 7, Cannavaro 6.5; Sartor 6 (Marchionni 5.5), Bolano 5.5, Lamouchi 5.5, Junior 5.5; Nakata 6 (Appiah); Di Vaio 6 (goal), Milosevic 5 (Bonazzoli 5.5) |
| NEWS ARCHIVES NEWS ARCHIVES NEWS ARCHIVES NEWS ARCHIVES NEWS ARCHIVES |