A Win, and Three Funerals

October 2016

Serie A – Cittadella v Torino (Home)

Things did not start well in this match, with the opening goal coming from the visitors in just under 13 minutes. Although we struggled to hold the ball for any length of time, Torino found it harder to break us down it seemed.

Then came the late-game collapse that I have started to expect. It was 2-0 on 72 minutes, then a third flew in 10 minutes later. Just to leave the Home fans with no doubt who was in control here, the visitors again troubled the scorers with the 4th and final goal late in Injury Time.

Final Score: Cittadella 0-4 Torino (screenshot below; click to enlarge)

World Cup Qualifier – Jordan v Iraq (Away)

Domestic troubles were put aside for a short while as I prepared my Iraqi team for the trip to Jordan.

Having struggled to get anything from our previous 2 Away trips in this Qualification campaign, I was hoping to turn that around.

Overall, this was a very even match, with both Nations testing out each others Defensive capabilities. After much back and forth, the deadlock was finally broken by the Jordan side after 84 minutes as they capitalised on some sloppy defending from a corner.

Fearing the Away day would again amount to nought, I was delighted when 19 year-old debutante Vahid Daghaghaleh swung in an accurate cross from his Left Wing position, allowing our Striker to head home a deserved equaliser.

Final Score: Jordan 1-1 Iraq

Serie A – Juventus v Cittadella (Away)

To say I expected another whipping here would be an understatement.

Once again, we were chasing the ball for large portions of this match. Despite this, we reached Half-Time only 1 goal down after conceding from the first corner of the match in the 2nd minute.

Sending the team out from the break with fresh instructions; “Try not to get belted here lads”, I was heartened to see us sneak an equaliser with 60 minutes on the clock. It wasn’t a pretty goal, the result of a Free-Kick and ensuing Goalmouth scramble, but I wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth!

My relative joy was short-lived, as a now rampant Juve regained the lead just 6 minutes later. Further strikes on 70 and 79 minutes consigned my Cittadella side to yet another embarrassing defeat.

As a side-note, an injury to our Right Back after having used all 3 substitutions meant that we finished with 10 men.

Final Score: Juventus 4-1 Cittadella (screenshot below; click to enlarge)

Serie A – Cittadella v Udinese (Home)

Before this match, a Newspaper had run an article quoting another Serie A manager as saying “Cittadella have enough about them to keep their heads above water”. In response, I issued a statement that I “…was not willing to entertain thoughts of relegation this early in the season.” Truth be told, I was beginning to have my doubts.

And with that, we were preparing to welcome a Udinese side not without their own struggles to our stadium.

The match started in typical fashion, as we conceded with just 9 minutes gone. Unlike previous games, we were holding our share of the ball, and on 21 minutes the equaliser came.

Central Midfielder, Chuks Aneke received his 2nd yellow on 68 minutes, and my heart sank. Here, when the game was in our hands, were we going to have it torn away again??

To my delight and surprise, the team really held on and a well-played draw was within reach. Until the unexpected happened.

At the 82 minute-mark, a looping cross to the far post was guided home by Cittadella Winger, Janzer to send the Home fans into delirium.

The Final whistle could not come quick enough, but when it did we had secured our first win in Serie A for the season!

Final Score: Cittadella 2-1 Udinese (Match Highlights and screenshot below; click to enlarge)

Serie A – Cagliari v Cittadella (Away)

With a lift in spirits and belief, we took to the task of Cagliari with earnest. You would never have known it though, as yet again we concede inside 10 minutes, making the job all the more difficult.

An equaliser came our way through a corner which was headed past a flailing GK on 35 minutes.

We were getting fairly pumped, with shots flying at us from all areas. Just after Half-Time, Cagliari were reduced to 10-men following a rash challenge in midfield.

Our sides were not to be split over the course of the game, a flattering result when you consider we only produced 1 solitary shot in anger, luckily becoming our equaliser.

Still, it was an Away point, and if we can sneak those more often than not, I will be a happier Manager.

Final Score: Cagliari 1-1 Cittadella (screenshot below; click to enlarge)

Serie A – Cittadella v Brescia (Home)

You could set a clock to the way we play. Bloody awful for the first 15-20 minutes. This was evidenced by yet another very early goal conceded (10 minutes). To be fair, it was a fast Counter-Attacking raid that caught us short, but it can’t be excused when it happens almost every match.

Our token equaliser came from another corner, this time on 63 minutes. Defensive errors cost us again, allowing a free-header on 80 minutes which deflected off the crossbar and then off the rear-end of our Goalkeeper, unfortunately going down as an Own Goal.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that our extremely poor starts both Home and Away are really costing us lately. Something has got to give.

Final Score: Cittadella 1-2 Brescia (screenshot below; click to enlarge)

Next month, Next blog

November for Cittadella is an interesting one. With things beginning to take shape in Serie A, we have 2 Away matches against Top 10 opponents in the shape of Atalanta and Napoli; as well as ending the month hosting the other 2 teams currently in the Drop Zone with us, Lecce and Juve Stabia.

Iraq have a series of matches away from Baghdad, traveling to Oman for our next World Cup Qualifier, before a few friendlies against Bhutan and Cambodia.

Domestic Pain – International Gain

September 2016

World Cup Qualifier – Iraq v China (Home)

With Iraq’s last WC Qualifier against Japan ending in a 1-4 drubbing in Tokyo, I wasn’t sure what to expect from a visiting Chinese team.

This would be Midfield stalwart Nashat Akram’s 150th cap for his country, and didn’t he know it!

Akram opened the scoring in the match at the 27 minute-mark. As he jinked around a hapless Japanese GK before tucking the ball away, I started to think we could give the home fans something to savour.

The whole match was an open affair, with both teams seeing their fair share of possession. A penalty was awarded to us on 55 minutes, and that man Akram stepped up to fairly smash the spot-kick into the roof of the net.

Iraq were looking comfortable, and really never looked like losing this one, although China did manage to pull one back with about 8 minutes left to play.

2-1 the Final Score, and a day to remember for 2-goal hero Nashat Akram.

Below is the World Cup Qualifiers table, as it stands. (Click to enlarge)

World Cup Qualifiers table, as at October 2016

Serie A – Cittadella v Genoa (Home)

This match had everything, not least goals!

A club-record and capacity crowd of 7,623 were on hand to witness a very entertaining match. At least for the neutral anyway…

Going a goal down in 12 minutes was not part of our plan. Throwing away a 2-goal lead with the last kick of the match was also not part of any plan I had drawn up. An exciting highlights package is available below… (Cittadella are wearing the maroon strip)

As disappointing as it was to drop 2 points in our first Home match of the season, it was pleasing to see some more direction from the players over the course of the game.

International Friendly – Iraq v Indonesia (Home)

This match was a good chance to test out a 19 year-old GK who will soon be taking over from the “old guard”.

The youngster did well between the sticks, as did the rest of the team. Focusing on possession and passing, I wasn’t too worried that we only finished this match 2-0.

International Friendly – Iraq v Oman (Home)

Another stunning match for any fan of football here. Oman took the early lead from their first corner, and then doubled that with a well-worked Free Kick.

Iraq suddenly burst into life, and within 34 minutes of the opening whistle, young Striker  Mostafa Karim had a hat-trick (video below)

It ended up a close-run thing, with Iraq hanging on 5-4 at the sound of the Final whistle.

Serie A – Sampdoria v Cittadella (Away)

Until the news item appeared on my screen, I had no idea that Andre Villas-Boas was at the helm of Sampdoria.

That being said, it didn’t change any of my preparations for the match.

Nothing too remarkable about this one, except for the fact that both Sampdoria’s goals in the 2-0 loss came in Injury time of each Half.

Serie A – Cittadella v Inter (Home)

And so the first BIG test for this side still trying to find their feet was upon us.

Sent out with Defensive tactics, we were barely hanging on before Inter broke the deadlock after a 22 minute barrage.

Changing to a more Counter-Attacking approach saw us start to gain a firmer footing on this match, and an equaliser arrived at the 35 minute mark.

Inter were struggling to put this one to bed, and may have been ruing missed chances had it not been for their 60th minute piledriver. Our Goalkeeper could do nothing but watch as the rocket rebounded off the post, off the back of his head and crawl into the vacant net.

Possession was quite good, with 52% in our favour. The difference was purely the quality, and having just 1 shot on target over the 90 minutes was never going to be enough.

Final Score: Cittadella 1-2 Inter.

Injury Report

During the loss at Home to Inter Milan, 1st choice Right Back, Dimitri Foulquier succumbed to a calf injury that has ruled him out of action for 4 months. News item below (Click to enlarge)

1st choice RB Dimitri Foulquier will be out inured for 4 months

Serie A – A.C Milan v Cittadella (Away)

I approached this match with a sliver of hope, given the team’s ability to keep the other half of Milan relatively in-check just 4 days earlier.

Setting the team up with an extra Defensive Midfielder, my plan was to stem the flow of shots through the middle. It failed spectacularly.

AC were toying with us from the off, 12 shots and 19 minutes later, parity between our sides was lost thanks to a long-range effort.

We really were destroyed, and no matter what tweaks I made, it didn’t seem to matter to a rampant Milan.

Finishing in a 3-0 loss, and not a single shot in anger from us visitors, I felt lucky to have not been embarrassed even further to the tune of double-digits.

West Asian Football Championship – Group Stage

This tournament is basically like the European Championships, except (obviously) for West Asian nations.

Iraq had been drawn in a group with Bahrain and Lebanon.

The first match against Bahrain was a tough one. Either team could have won it on any given day. Luckily for me, Iraq were victorious by a score of 3-0; all goals coming in the 2nd Half.

The 2nd (and final) Group Match against host-nation Lebanon should have been an easier task. They weren’t here to be anybody’s “whipping boy” it turns out, and it took all of the 90 minutes for us to claw back from 2-down and restore parity as the 4th Official was calculating the Injury Time.

A draw was enough though, and Iraq had progressed to the Semi-Finals.

West Asian Football Championship – Semi Final – Iraq v Iran

Current holders of this title, Iran, were to be our next test.

The Iraqi FA had stipulated that this Semi-Final berth would satisfy their expectations, so whilst feeling safe in that knowledge, I of course wanted to progress to the Final and perhaps even WIN the bloody lot!

Star-Midfielder Nashat Akram was ruled out with a groin strain, which resulted in some minor shuffling in the middle of the park.

Pulling our usual Attacking Midfielder back to a more traditional Centre-Mid role failed to provide any spark, and within 37 minutes we were looking down the barrel of a 2-0 scoreline.

A spirited Half-Time talk fell on deaf ears it seems, as not 3 minutes after the restart, 2 had become 3.

Another poor start would cost us dearly, as although the team tried til the very last, a single goal on 56 minutes was our only reward.

Final Score: Iran 3-1 Iraq

Next month, next blog

October sees Cittadella taking part in the next 5 Serie A matches. The tough task doesn’t get any easier, with a trip to Juventus scheduled before hosting Udinese the next week.

Just the 1 fixture for Iraq though, an away trip to Jordan for the next World Cup Qualifier.

The Best Laid Plans….

The Next Step

Having inherited a team soon-to-be-promoted to Serie A, the next step in my managerial career began in earnest. Knowing that I wouldn’t have much of a Transfer Budget to throw around, I sent scouts all over Europe with Bosman on their brains.

Unlucky for some…

13 Free Transfers all told. Some players would instantly step into the First Team, others were signed to bolster stocks in a squad that would have been decimated if exposed to the common cold.

The little money I was afforded by the Board was spent, with €2.6M spread over another 4 players.

I have chosen a newly transferred player from each area of the pitch (GK, Defender, Midfielder and Attacker) to highlight with screenshots below. (Click to enlarge)

Marwin Hitz – signed on a Free Transfer from Roma

Ignacio Fideleff – Centre-Half signed on a Free Transfer from Napoli

Savvas Gentsoglou – Defensive Midfielder signed on a Free Transfer from Sampdoria

Bruno Fornaroli – Striker signed on a Free Transfer from Sampdoria

Bombs over Baghdad

As well as managing a club side, I have also been plying my trade on an International level.

Having short spells with Jamaica (and winning a Caribbean Championship), before moving on to a very short and equally unsuccessful stint with my very own Australia, I am now under the employ of the Iraqi Football Federation.

Before Cittadella’s matches turned from Pre-Season friendlies to matches of more hostility (and importance), Iraq had a Friendly encounter of their own, hosting India.

As expected, the Home Nation dominated the match from start to finish, the Final Score of 4-1 being the clearest indicator.

Belying the less-than-stellar opposition, this match produced some fine goals. 2 absolute belters and a precisely worked “Team-Goal” as shown on a highlights package below.

What’s My Name Again?

Before the International match could even kick-off, I noticed the appointed Chinese referee had quite an interesting name. Suffice to say, I was hoping none of my Iraqi players made him angry… (Click to enlarge)

You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry…

Gentlemen, Start your engines

My first competitive match at the helm of Cittadella was to be the Italian Cup 3rd Qualify Round clash, playing host to Serie B side Cesena.

The bookies heavily favoured us, but Cesena turned up with other plans. It took an Extra-Time penalty, but in fairness we never deserved anything from a match that saw us struggle to hold the ball, finishing the 120 minutes with 40% possession. All this in front of a Home crowd too!

The result and performance left me with no doubt that my formation and style of play needed some tweaking. I had been trying to stay away from a flat 4-4-2, but perhaps it would be a good place to start…

Below is my original formation.

A bit light-on in Midfield

You can’t win ’em all

The disappointment of the premature exit from Italian Cup competition didn’t have long to settle, before the Serie A opener rolled around.

Heading to Lazio would be an immense test of this fresh squad’s fortitude. The possession was far more even in this match, finishing 55-45 in Lazio’s favour. The scoreline was vastly different.

Getting hit on the break from a (unsurprisingly) superior team was the order of the day, the scoreboard reading 3-0 in under 30 minutes. Making some changes to the formation and style of play seemed to ease the pain, as did a Half-Time team talk focusing on an improved performance by all.

It seemed all was not lost when we pulled one back 3 minutes into the 2nd Half. A carefully whipped ball into the back-post from a Free Kick was met by a strong header from our Centre-Half.

Conceding a goal only served to spurn Lazio on, as they mirrored their strong start with a powerful finish – Final Score; Lazio 5-1 Cittadella.

Soul Searching

Even though it’s only 1 League match into the season, I am already confounded with tactical issues and potential solutions.

I didn’t expect otherwise, but this start has only served to confirm; this is going to be a long, hard season.

Next Month, Next Blog

As August gives way to September, Cittadella can look forward to 4x Serie A matches, including a Wednesday night fixture playing host to Inter Milan, before traveling to face AC Milan 3 days later.

A busy month for Iraq, with a World Cup Qualifier hosting China, Friendly matches welcoming both Indonesia and Oman to Baghdad, before ending September with the challenge of a West Asian Football Championship campaign, with group matches against Bahrain and Lebanon.

Evolution Of Man(ager)

Unfortunately, it didn’t occur to me before I started my latest venture into the realm of Football Manager to blog the experience. Therefore, what follows is a (hopefully) succinct overview of the first 5 years in-game.

You’ll Be A Manager, My Son

Starting unemployed – not a decision most would come to make, yet something I feel adds a further “realism” to an already immersive experience.

Applying for almost any vacant managerial post, it wasn’t long before an offer from Major League Soccer franchise “New England Revolution” was received. Having never managed in the MLS in any previous iterations of Football Manager, it was a challenge I looked forward to with a healthy sense of intrigue and fear.

Land of Salary Caps and Strange Rules

To be fair, the little I did know about the MLS was of a Draft System and, much like my native Australia’s A-League , a Salary Cap.

I wouldn’t see a Draft until after my first season in charge of New England, but the Salary Cap was an ever-present concern. Assembling a maximum 30-man squad with at most US$60,000/week is somewhat difficult. Producing a competitive team within these same parameters is even more-so.

The Break-down

A week is a long time in football. 5 years is (unsurprisingly) even longer. Even if it isn’t, strictly speaking, based entirely in reality.

With that in mind, below is a screenshot of the in-game biography of my career thus far. (Click to enlarge)

The only competition I failed to win in my time at New England was the North American Champions League.

Losing in the Final was the closest I got, and with another failed attempt in 2016, I decided the time was right for a fresh start elsewhere.

After handing in my resignation, I spent 2 months watching the classifieds closely for the right position. I knew I wanted out of the Salary Cap world (at least for now), so an offer from Brisbane Roar was quickly rejected.

I started being more pro-active, and instead of waiting for clubs to contact me, I chose to apply for the newly vacated post at Serie B Champions, Cittadella. A contract was soon at my disposal, and so begins the next step…