Football Italia: Season 5 – Preseason

Season Five: Pre-season

It feels like only a matter of weeks since my last update and that is because, when in the transfer window, time seems to move slow – winding through ups and downs: closing in on players, losing out on players, identifying new players and running jobs to ascertain their qualities. In among the new kit reveals, I must say that this transfer window has been the most fun that I’ve ever had. Handing over transfers to my recruitment team has led to significantly more missed deals, which – honestly – is the level of realism I’ve found that I can work around when doing it myself. That little bit of extra money on the contract here, that release clause here etc – there is now no more of that!

It’s then even more exciting to consider that, within this group of players – many of whom were not even my first pick, I now have the job of forming and developing a team that will continue our push towards Serie A, despite not really wanting some of them to be at the club! That, to me, feels like the most purposeful Head Coach role I can create in this game! Despite bringing several new signings in, I want to be completely transparent with the new transfer system that I’m using and highlight those that didn’t sign for us.

The ones that got away…

– – –

 Right wing back

I had already profiled the four right backs that I had identified at the end of last season, somewhat hastily, as soon as I knew that there’d be interest in Bosman moves. Sadly, the first three on that list did not join.

1. Federico Romeo – didn’t even get to negotiation with the Juve Stabia man as, despite their relegation, he was keen to sign a new contract.

2. Claud Adjapong – newly promoted Sampdoria came in, offering him nearly €6k per week, which is what he’d originally quoted us when I was interested before he became a free agent. I was not willing to nearly double my highest earner to accommodate him.

3. Vitinha – still at Padova on a month to month contract but not interested in joining anyone else at present.

 Left wing back

With competition required for Tripaldelli, I set out some parameters to find a new rotational left wing back.

1. Riccardo Sorbo – the pick of the free transfers this summer. Riccardo is ex-Lazio and was on trial at the club, playing a game as a wide centre back and then as a more conventional wing back. I was concerned with his heading ability and felt that his marking job would maybe land him in trouble against a forward two but felt his overall ability made up for this lack of actual versatility. We agreed terms on a contract of just over €2.5k per week but Salernitana sealed the deal, paying him over €6k.

 Attacking midfielder

I profiled this area of need before the Bosman window opened, ideally wanting two players to come in here.

1. Nacho Moreno – was the dream transfer here. Young, ex-elite academy and would potentially sell for millions down the line but the contract from Portugal was too good to turn down, proving that, at this stage of his career, he wanted to be playing a better level than we could offer.

2. Alex Blesa – more of a playmaker than a dribbler but a nicely rounded midfielder. Alex was offered a trial after impressing the scouting team with some decent stats last year but choose, instead, to make a move to Spain.

3. Juan Dalbon – highlighted last season but the draw of northern England was obviously too much for Juan as he rejected €4k from us to sign for Sheffield Wednesday for the same amount. I mean, why would you come to Sicily when you can move from Preston to the Steel City?!

 Centre Back

A left footed centre back was needed after my decision to allow Fall to move out on loan and after we lost Louis Masudi last January.

1. Louis Masudi – the man who we lost rejected us! He left Lazio on a free after his youth contract ended but, despite a trial here and an agreed wage of just shy of €4k, he decided that the move to Cremonese was easy – so much for the relationship that we built!

2. Federico Luchetti – another top youngster released from an academy who has a bright future ahead of him. Over twenty appearances in Serie A last year for Torino meant that I knew he was going to go for a lot. The recruitment team were not able to agree a contract fee for him and he moved to SPAL. Annoying that they are at the same level and we just do not have the pull but, then again, a part of me feels that I needed to be realistic – if he was that good – then I should’ve gone all in, got this area sewn up first and splashed the cash on him!

But it’s not all been bad news!

– – –

A hatful of new signings who, as I said, were not all top of my lists but – through scouting networks, statistical searches and DoF recommendations, we just about have a squad ready for next season. Are we stronger than last season? Probably. Losing Ibrahimovic and Ruggeri for a combined €1.2m freed up two spaces within the squad, of which I haven’t actually recruited another defensive midfielder, but the new signings are options that cover for roles where, Merola aside, I had little depth in.

I think I’m happy but, of course, we’ll come back to this after twenty or so games and see how they’re doing!

 

 Patrick Ciurria was the second name on the left wing back list and I’m pretty happy to have secured this deal. Despite playing on twenty-eight minutes for Monza in Serie A last year, the two seasons before that saw him amass sixty games at this level. He’s one of those players who can cover multiple positions and, if his legs hold out, could work for a couple of years for us. The timing here isn’t the greatest as other left back Tripaldelli is also nearing the later stages of his career and I’d have ideally liked someone a bit younger who can learn the ropes, but, in an ideal world, we might be moving into Serie A around this time, opening a whole new level of players to come in. His coach report is strong and has a lot of what I’ve tried to bring in elsewhere, too – versatile, consistent and fits in well with the rest of the lads. €2.2k per week well spent, I’d say!

 The role of the backup keeper is quite important, given that last season was possibly the first time I’ve lost a first choice keeper to a long injury. After Donnarumma’s retirement, the backroom team only found one option, Gabriele Marchegiani. By becoming the de facto first choice, I guess that this classes as a win! He spent last season in the second tier of Greece and was an important first team player but, given that I don’t have the league loaded, his stats haven’t generated. His coach report is pleasing – big matches, consistent, fairly pro and with a decent level of experience, too. At just €2k per week, I think the Aragon has pulled off a good bit of business here.

 Daniel Frey was the fourth choice right wing back on the list created last year and, honestly, I think we could’ve done a little bit better here. Despite some decent stats in Serie C – where he exceeded our target of progressive passes but missed on dribbles (1.37 to 2.46) and expected assists (0.07 to 0.19), I think the step up might be quite tough for him. However, his coach report has him down as someone who is, even in his early days, working hard on the training ground and – at 26 – could still improve. He’s intelligent, consistent and versatile, which are three traits I do find very important and, probably most importantly, is happy to be considered a fringe player behind Floriano Mussolini, which none of the other three on the list were happy to do. I want to push him to become more comfortable on his left foot and then also see what I can get from him! It’s quite exciting actually to be presented with a player who isn’t exactly what you wanted but is moldable to be!

 Javi Montero was a smart bit of statistical work, found whilst playing in Ligue 2 at Grenoble last year. He’s a ball playing defender who is not only safe on the ball but also considerably creative for his role. He meets all of the target data (1.43 interceptions, 3.67 progressive passes and 47% header win ratio) and embodies that quality in hard to find places as Grenoble’s thirteenth placed finish last year would hardly have put him in the spotlight as a key player who could move higher in the footballing world. Julian Stephan, his old manager in France, also played with a back three so I hope that his transition to ours – also as a left footed centre back – isn’t too difficult. His coach report embodies so much good stuff – brave, versatile, consistent, enjoys big matches and his trait of playing long passes is also something that I see could help us unlock quicker counter attacks. Whilst he was listed as the third choice, his wage is around €1k per week cheaper than the two I missed and I think that his age profile, experience and ability mean that he’s not in any way a bad signing!

  Diego Gonzalez is a bit more a wildcard, coming from 12th placed second tier Elche on a free transfer. A recommendation for a free transfer from Chema Aragon, he was on the list below Montero, but, as another left footer and a shorter contract of two years, I felt that his experience would be invaluable. Unfortunately, his wage demands of just under €4k per week make him one of my top earners and I don’t think that I can justify that with playing time but definitely a player I hope to be able to trust when trying to lock up a game, given his incredibly safe passing and strong tackling ability. He, like Montero, spent a lot of time on the ball and that’s important for me as we build with a three. His coach report lists him as a team player, versatile, consistent and a fan of big matches but I do need to watch for any fall off of his pace as he enters his more advanced years. With Babacar Fall moving out on loan to get, at least, a full season of football under his belt, this signing – despite not being the best option – does make sense for me longer term.

 Pedro Santos registered five goal involvements in a bit of a stop start season as Auxerre finished eighth in Ligue 2 last season. He was the fourth choice attacking midfielder as I was somewhat worried about his lack of Italian or, with my recent signings, Spanish language. Capable of playing either role within my attacking midfield area, he met each of the three target areas: non-pen xG, Shots per 90 and expected assists. His coach report, surprisingly, lists him as consistent, skilful, versatile and technical but – importantly – someone who could also improve and, right now, has started training really well for us. I’m concerned about his lack of fitting into the social structure here and, if the deal is right, certainly wouldn’t pass on another Portuguese, Brazilian or just Portuguese-speaking player to help him out. Maybe not the standout attacking midfielder I wanted but certainly a player who can integrate with Clemenza, Verre and Biagioni.

– – –

What I’ve done is increased the number of players in the peak of their careers whilst also brought in sufficient experience to allow Vinci – heading to Catanzaro in Serie B – and Fall – going to recently relegated Gubbio, now in Serie C – to get match experience before heading back to the first team, hopefully. The extra depth has also meant that Salerno and Fucilli, backups last season, to go out to Mantova, where they’ll be managed by youth developer Ignacio Abate and, as a recently relegated side, will be among the favourites.

I’m excited to get down to working with these new players as my first team squad feels virtually complete. A strange experience to hand it all over to my staff but one that has provided me with much enjoyment and an incredible focus to get them working well within what we have!

Forza Biancoscudati!