Lega Pro Prima and Seconda Divisione – General Discussion

[RomaShield27]

Lega Pro returned to the peninsula last weekend after the summer recess. 77 teams in Italy’s third and fourth tiers embarking on a marathon season which they hope will culminate in promotion in early June. But of course, this wouldn’t be a lower league Italian football review without controversy and on the opening weekend, it came from an unlikely source.

In C1A, two matches were wiped out by the weather as torrential rain swept across the northern and central regions of the country. In Como, the match was 59 minutes old when referee Vincenzo Ripa decided to call a halt to proceedings. The decision infuriated the home side who were leading Pro Vercelli 2-1 but to be fair to the officials, there was no way the game could continue on a surface that resembled a boating lake. In Lumezzane, match referee Gianluca Aureliano also had to abandon the game with the players struggling to contend with the atrocious playing conditions. The only surprise was that the official saw fit for the match to start in the first place given the storms that hit shortly before kick-off.

Of the games that did fulfil 90 minutes, pre-season favourites Sorrento got off to an absolute flyer dismantling Monza 3-0 at the Stadio Briantio with new summer signing Ciro Ginestra netting twice on his league debut for the Rossoneri. It was a truly forgettable day for Monza midfielder Paolo Campinoti who gifted the visitors an opening goal after 21 minutes when he put through his own net. His misery was compounded just 15 minutes later when he was given a straight red card to leave his team-mates with an almost impossible task of rescuing anything from the game. The 20 or so Sorrento fans who made the trip north returned to Campania full of optimism for the months ahead.

The big southern derby between Foggia and Benevento finished in a 2-1 win for the visitors. The hosts went in front shortly before the break with a goal from Laurent Lanteri but were pegged back four minutes after the interval thanks to a goal from Croatian midfielder Ivan Rajcic. With time running out, Foggia defender Denny Cardin put through his own net to give new coach Giovanni Simonelli a dream start. Performance of the day in the A division however, belongs to newly promoted Carpi who top the table after week 1 thanks to a 4-0 hammering of Tritium. First-half goals from Umberto Eusepi and Ledian Memushaj were followed after the break by an own goal from Alessio Dionisi and a Gabrilele Cioffi strike deep into injury time.

In C1B it was a mixed bag of results for the teams that were relegated from Serie B last season. Frosinone went down 1-0 in Barletta thanks to a 17th minute goal from Daniele Simoncelli, a result which left Canarini coach Carlo Sabatini with this frank assessment of his team’s performance “perhaps we were still coming to terms with the shock of being in Lega Pro” explained the tactician. If his team doesn’t improve in the coming months, the side from Lazio may be here for the long haul. There was better news for Triestina who beat newly promoted Feralpi Salo’ 1-0 at the Stadio Nereo Rocco thanks to a 3rd minute strike from veteran striker Denis Godeas.

Piacenza also started life in the third tier with a win. The Biancorossi beat the Sud Tirol 2-1 thanks to goals from Simone Guerra and Fabio Foglia. The fourth relegated side Portogruaro suffered a 0-1 home defeat at the hands of Pergocrema, a 28th minute goal from defender Diaw Doudou enough to give Fabio Brini’s men all three points. In Cremona, like in Como and Lumezzane, the game had to abandoned due to the weather as the match ball floated rather than bounced around the pitch at the Giovanni Zinni. Player of the weekend in the B division was undoubtedly Andria Bat’s big goalkeeper Vitalangelo Spadavecchia. A string of wonderful saves by the 28-year-old against Spezia made sure that his team left the Stadio Alberto Picco with a share of the points.

Other results
C1A: Avellino 2-0 Foligno, Carpi 4-0 Tritium, Como v Pro Vercelli (suspended), Foggia 1-2 Benevento, Lumezzane v Taranto (suspended), Monza 0-3 Sorrento, Pavia 1-1 Reggiana, Spal 1-1 Pisa, Ternana 1-0 Viareggio.

C1B: Barletta 1-0 Frosinone, Bassano Virtus 0-1 Virtus Lanciano, Cremonese v Carrarese (suspended), Latina 1-1 Siracusa, Portogruaro 0-1 Pergocrema, Spezia 0-0 Andria Bat, Sud Tirol 1-2 Piacenza, Trapani 2-1 Prato, Triestina 1-0 Feralpi Salo’

C2 Round up
In C2A, championship favourites Alessandria got off to a winning start beating Renate 2-1 at the Stadio Giuseppe Moccagatta. The visitors went in front after only ten minutes thanks to a goal from Marco Gaeta but a 27th minute strike from Andrea Cunaz brought the sides level and in second-half injury time, Daniele Degano wrapped up the points for I Grigi.

There was an astonishing game in Piedmont where Casale beat San Marino by the odd goal in seven. What was even more amazing was that the half-time score was 4-2 to the home side. Riccardo Taddei bagged a brace for the hosts in an incredible opening 45 minutes of football. It was also raining goals in Mantova were the Virgiliani were held to a 3-3 draw by Giacomense. Two goals in the opening 15 minutes by Stefano Del Sante were not enough to give the hosts all three points in a scintillating opening day fixture at the Stadio Danilo Martelli.

Perugia suffered an opening day defeat in C2B going down 2-1 in Aversa against Aversa Normanna. Umberto Varriale and Ferdinando Castaldo put the hosts in front before Giampietro Clemente pulled one back for the visitors on the stroke of half-time. Catanzaro, now under the stewardship of Francesco Cozza failed to find the net on the match-day 1 as they were held to a goalless draw by Melfi.

Neapolis Frattese and Vibonese played out an entertaining 2-2 draw at the Stadio Pasquale Ianniello as did Fondi and Arzanese who shared the points, and four goals, at the Stadio Domenico Purificato. The B division of Italy’s fourth tier failed to produce a single away win on the opening weekend of action.

Other results
C2A: Alessandria2-1 Renate, Bellaria Igea Marina 2-1 Virtus Entella, Casale 4-3 San Marino, Cuneo 1-1 Borgo a Buggiano, Lecco 0-0 Valenzana, Mantova 3-3 Giacomense, Poggibonsi 2-2 Treviso, Pro Patri 0-3 Santarcangelo, Rimini 3-0 Sambonifacese, Savona 1-0 Montichiari.

C2B: Aversa Normanna 2-1 Perugia, Chieti 1-0 Milazzo, Fondi 2-2 Arzanese, Gavorrano 3-1 Ebolitana, Giulianova 1-0 Aprilia, L’Aquila 0-0 Campobasso, Melfi 0-0 Catanzaro, Neapolis 2-2 Vibonese, Paganese 2-0 Celano Olimpia, Vigor Lamezia 1-0 Fano Alma Juventus

Follow all the Lega Pro action this season at The Football Express and follow Steve Mitchell on twitter (@barafundler).

[Jocksboy]

Saturday's live Serie D game on RaiSport 1 is at 1.30 p.m. BST: Ravenna v. Pelli Santa Croce.

[Messinterista]

Finally got around to creating the Serie D forum (viewtopic.php?f=10&t=794) which means all talk relating to the Lega Pro Prima and Seconda Divisione stays in here.
Update: Changed this thread to a "sticky" as well as the Serie D thread.

[Jocksboy]

The Viva L'Italia channel showed the Prato v. Barletta match live on Sunday afternoon. This suggests that they'll be showing all live Andria and Barletta away games this season.

[Jocksboy]

Trapani v. Andria BAT should be live on the Viva l'Italia channel on Sunday at 2 pm.

[RomaShield27]

http://www.thefootballexpress.co.uk/201 ... -division/

Goals were at a premium in C1A in the latest round of matches unless you were at the Stadio Giglio in Reggiana on Sunday where Como fired their way to the top of the table with a 4-2 demolition of the home side. In a devastating 54 minute display, Ernestino Ramella’s side took the game away from their hosts thanks to goals from Orlando Urbano, Robson Toledo, Alberto Filippini and Conceicao. Reggiana restored some pride in the final quarter of the game with goals from Giuseppe Alessi and Mario Gurma but the Lariani look the real deal this season with promotion to Serie B a realistic possibility.

Carpi share top-spot with Como after dropping their first points of the season in a goalless draw at Pavia with Pisa also drawing a blank away to Pro Vercelli. The big game of the day in C1A also disappointed as Sorrento and Taranto played out a cagey 0-0 at the Stadio Campo Italia. The visitors should have taken all three points after being awarded a late penalty but striker Julien Rantier fired the spot-kick wide and the points were shared.

Comeback of the day belonged to Foligno who found themselves two down at home to Benevento inside the opening 16 minutes thanks to goals from Giacomo Cipriani and Michael Cia. A huge amount of credit must go to Giovanni Pagliari’s men who never gave up and on the stroke of half-time they were given a lifeline when Matteo Coresi converted from the penalty spot. With time running out, Marco Guidoni fired home from close range to send the home fans into delirium and earn his side a share of the points.

Marco Zigoni’s 77th minute winning strike for Avellino at Viareggio has lifted a huge weight off the shoulders of under fire boss Giovanni Buccaro. The former Juventus primavera tactician has been under intense pressure after an indifferent start to the new campaign but Zigoni’s goal could just have bought his coach some much needed time as he attempts to construct a promotion chasing team. Next weekend sees Marizio Sarri’s Sorrento side visit the Stadio Partenio in another huge game that could determine whether Buccaro remains at the helm.

Monza’s woeful start to the new campaign continued on Sunday with a 1-0 defeat at Foggia, a result which left coach Gianfranco Motta’s future in the balance. The club from Lombardy have only found the net twice in their opening four games and the side that was reinstated into C1 after play-out relegation last season, already look to have a long winter ahead of them.

Other results
C1A: Foligno 2-2 Benevento, Foggia 1-0 Monza, Lumezzane 0-0 Ternana, Pavia 0-0 Carpi, Pro Vercelli 0-0 Pisa, Reggiana 2-4 Como, Sorrento 0-0 Taranto, Tritium 1-1 Spal, Viareggio 0-1 Avellino

Goalscorers
Ginestra (Sorrento) 4, Cia (Benevento) 4, Filippini (Como) 4, Chiaretti (Taranto) 3

In C1B Pergocrema are riding the crest of a wave and may just have pulled off the best signing in Lega Pro this season. Ignacio Pia, him of Napoli vintage, has netted in every game he has played so far this season, his latest coming in a 2-1 home win on Sunday against the Sud Tirol. Coach Fabio Brini took a gamble on a player no-one else wanted and is reaping the dividends already as his team sit top of the table. The visitors actually took the lead after 21 minutes with a goal from another player who has made an exceptional start to the new campaign, Manuel Fischnaller, but an Emanuele Testardi strike on the stroke of half-time levelled the contest before Pia wrapped up the points 21 minutes from time.

Virtus Lanciano sit second in the standings after week four after a 2-1 home win against Barletta. Under the guidance of their Neapolitan coach Carmine Gautieri, the team from Abruzzo have been playing some impressive stuff this term and deserve all the plaudits they are getting at the moment. The Frentani would have had a share of top-spot but sadly they have become the latest side to be docked a point due to financial malpractice. Sunday’s match was full of controversy with the opening goals for both sides coming from the penalty spot. The hosts went down to ten men on 64 minutes when defender Gaetano Vastolo was sent-off after picking up a second yellow card but it was another defender, Carlo Mammarella, who grabbed a dramatic injury-time winner for the home side.

After the game Barletta President Roberto Tato` was scathing about his team describing them as “colourless, extinguished and lacking willpower” the return journey south would not have been the happiest of occasions. Cremonese are another side bang in form right now, in complete contrast with that of their hosts last Sunday Piacenza. The visitors were ahead after only three minutes thanks to Giuseppe Le Noci but the home side hit back just 12 minutes later with a Massimo Melucci goal. Le Noci doubled his afternoons tally just short of the half-hour and Riccardo Bocalon made sure of the points in second-half injury time. Oscar Brevi’s men are real title contenders, Francesco Monaco’s beleaguered side are in total disarray at the foot of the table.

Andria Bat continued their great start to the campaign with a 2-1 home win over in-form Triestina. Denis Godeas put the northerners in front on 27 minutes but their lead was cancelled out just after the hour mark thanks to a goal from Federico Comini. Substitute Biagio Meccariello sealed the points for the home side five minutes from time but the man of the match once again for the Leoni Azzurri was their big goalkeeper Vitangelo Spadavecchia who was absolutely sensational between the posts. The 28-year-old former Bari shot-stopper is on the top of his game right now and many more performances like that on Sunday could see him plying his trade in a much higher division sooner rather than later.

Other results
C1B: Andria Bat 2-1 Triestina, Carrarese 3-0 Trapani, Feralpi Salo` 0-2 Portogruaro, Frosinone 3-1 Prato, Pergocrema 2-1 Sud Tirol, Piacenza 1-3 Cremonese, Siracusa 3-1 Spezia, Virtus Bassano 0-1 Latina, Virtus Lanciano 2-1 Barletta

Goalscorers
Le Noci (Cremonese) 6, Godeas (Triestina) 5, Pia (Pergocrema) 3, Bianchi (Spezia) 3, Pavoletti (Virtus Lanciano) 3

Follow Steve Mitchell on twitter (@barafundler) and keep checking for his regular updates from the deep, dark world of Lega Pro football.

[RomaShield27]

The history of US Catanzaro has been chaotic to say the least. Having been declared bankrupt on three separate occasions, the side from southern Italy are now in their fourth incarnation under new president Giuseppe Cosentino.

It’s now more than 30 years since the club’s golden era when they managed an unbroken five-year run in Serie A with a team that included current Inter tactician Claudio Ranieri. But that is as good as it got for the Calabrian side and the subsequent years has seen them nosedive into the lower reaches of Italian football to the point of near extinction.

Last year saw the club reach a new low. Failure to fulfill early season fixtures due to a players strike due to non-payment of wages, concluded with the league authorities inflicting an eight point penalty on the team which virtually ensured certain relegation before the campaign had reached the Christmas break. A final league points tally of 11 relegated the club to Serie D which prompted then president, Antonio Aiello to concede that the game was up and unless a new buyer was found immediately Catanzaro Calcio under its current guise would be no more.

Step forward Giuseppe Cosentino, a local businessman who vowed to get the club back on its feet and who immediately set about a charm offensive, taking lunch with the city’s mayor Michele Traversa looking to gain support in his quest to make the club great again. After a summer of negotiations and appeals, the club were invited back into Lega Pro 2nd division (Serie C2) at the eleventh hour, part one of the long road to recovery was complete.

As the season drew ever nearer, the club still had to appoint a new manager, 37-year-old former Reggina midfielder Francesco Cozza answered the cry for help, now all he had to do was hastily put together a squad that could compete in Italy’s fourth tier. His task was not made any easier with the club being forbidden to take players from leagues outside of the peninsula because the new owners failed to pay a mandatory enrolment fee. One of the clubs directors, Maurizio De Filippo, made a statement on the club website explaining the situation vowing that the club would appeal against the decision – life is never simple in this part of the world.

Despite this, six games into the new campaign and a quick look at the C2B table makes happy reading for supporters of the Aquile del sud (eagles of the south) with the team sitting just four points from the summit having played a game less than the teams around them – in this particular division, an odd number of participants means every week one team takes a holiday.

The contrast to 12 months ago could not be more different. Cozza has constructed a team that is playing vibrant attacking football in a 3-4-3 formation which guarantees entertainment every time the team takes to the field. In a squad boasting an array of exciting young talent it is one of the veterans, 32-year-old midfielder Salvatore Carboni who is leading from the front having already scored four goals in the clubs opening five games, his latest coming in Wednesday’s 2-1 away win at Fano Alma. Young defender Christian Ricciardi has settled wonderfully into a back three alongside the more experienced Salvatore Accursi and Simone Narducci and Australian striker Christian Esposito looks set to become a firm favourite with the tifosi.

It seems the clubs long-suffering supporters are also starting to believe that the club has turned a corner with attendances at the Stadio Nicola Ceravolo averaging around the three thousand mark this season, they can surely play their part in the clubs road to recovery.

Elsewhere in the division
Paganese are setting the pace in C2B after two wins in the space of four days. Luca Orlando is a striker on a hot streak at the moment and he notched up his sixth goal of the season on Wednesday afternoon in Fondi grabbing the games only goal. There was midweek woe for Perugia who were surprisingly beaten 0-1 at the Renato Curi by Arzanese, a 76th minute Martino Imparato strike turned out to be the match winning goal.

Finally, spare a thought for Celano Olimpia, without a win all season and demolished 1-5 at home by Aprilia on Wednesday. Coach Michele Facciolo must look in horror when he sees the divisional table. His team sits bottom of the pile with a solitary point from their opening six outings, worse still is the goals column which reads two scored and 12 conceded. Some people in Calabria will have nothing but sympathy for the club from Abruzzo.

Alessandria have parted company with coach Alessio De Petrillo. The club sit fourth bottom of C2A and Wednesday’s 1-2 home defeat by Cuneo prompted an immediate change at the helm. The pre-season promotion favourites are in crisis at the moment with youth team manager Luigi Manueli taking temporary charge for the weekend’s derby game at table topping Casale. Former Avellino tactician Salvatore Vullo is thought to be favourite to take over early next week but the club deny any contact has been made so far.

Casale will welcome their visitors with open arms on Sunday and will expect to take all three points with the club riding the crest of a wave right now. The big star that dominates their team strip could not be more relevant at the moment and a 2-0 win in Rimini on Wednesday underlined the confidence currently running through Francesco Buglio’s team. Two more goals from Riccardo Taddei, taking his tally to six for the season, saw off the challenge of the home side with consummate ease as the Piedmont club went a point clear at the top of the table.

It was stalemate in the big Emilia-Romagna derby between Bellaria Igea Marina and Santarcangelo with both sides failing to perform on the plastic pitch at the Stadio Dino Manuzzi in Cesena which was used as the venue for the match. Santarcangelo’s many owners ( they are a supporter owned club) would have been the more satisfied with the point after a disappointing 90 minutes of action.

Other results

C2A week 4: Borgo a Buggiano 0-1 Montichiari, Casale 2-0 Lecco, Giacomense 2-0 Savona, Pro Patria 2-3 Cuneo, Renate 0-1 Treviso, Sambonifacese 4-0 Mantova, San Marino 2-0 Bellaria Igea Marina, Santarcangelo 2-3 Poggibonsi, Virtus Entella 2-1 Alessandria, Valenzana 0-1 Rimini

C2A week 5: Alessandria 1-2 Cuneo, Bellaria Igea Marina 0-0 Santarcangelo, Lecco 2-2 Giacomense, Mantova 0-0 Virtus Entella, Montichiari 2-1 Valenzana, Poggibonsi 1-0 Pro Patria, Renate 2-0 Sambonifacese, Rimini 0-2 Casale, Savona 1-0 San Marino, Treviso 1-0 Borgo a Buggiano

C2B week 5: Aprilia 0-0 Fano Alma, Campobasso 1-2 Perugia, Catanzaro 1-1 Milazzo, Gavorrano 2-0 Fondi, Giulianova 1-0 Celano Olimpia, L’Aquila 1-1 Chieti, Melfi 1-0 Ebolitana, Neapolis 1-1 Arzanese, Paganese 2-1 Vibonese, Vigor Lamezia 1-0 Isola Liri

C2B week 6: Aversa Normanna 0-2 Giulianova, Celano Olimpia 1-5 Aprilia, Chieti 1-2 Neapolis, Ebolitana 2-0 Campobasso, Fano Alma 1-2 Catanzaro, Fondi 0-1 Paganese, Isola Liri 1-0 Gavorrano, Milazzo 0-1 L’Aquila, Perugia 0-1 Arzanese, Vibonese 0-0 Vigor Lamezia

Follow Steve Mitchell on twitter for more gems from the Italian lower leagues (@barafundler).

[forzaitalia]

Look at Perugia

[Jocksboy]

Rai Sport 1 have announced their schedule of live games for October. All except the Pisa - Como fixture are on Monday nights at 7.45 p.m. Pisa v. Como is on a Wednesday night at the same time.
Oct 10 - Rimini v. Alessandria
Oct 12 - Pisa v. Como
Oct 17 - Triestina v. Barletta
Oct 24 - Carpi v. Reggiana
Oct 31 - Benevento v. Taranto

[Jocksboy]

Did a channel surf yesterday and came up with two new sources for Lega Pro. The Blu channel showed the Carpi v. Taranto match live, which suggests thay have the rights to Taranto away games instead of Studio 100. Even better news is that E'tv Emiglia Romagna is back on satellite and still showing Reggiana away games live. I'll be checking to see if they continue to show home games recorded on a Monday or Tuesday as they used to; also if any Parma or Bologna matches are on. Unfortunately their new website doesn't give a programme schedule, so I'll just have to tune in at intervals and see what's on.

[RomaShield27]

Lega Pro Review – Changes At The Helm As Club Bosses Get Trigger Happy
http://www.thefootballexpress.co.uk/201 ... ger-happy/

Italy has developed a reputation over the decades – rightfully – for having incredibly trigger happy chairmen, and the past week has seen a swathe of sackings, Steve Mitchell guides us through a few of the latest dismissals. Just a month into the new season and the powers that be at several clubs around the peninsula have finally panicked and shown the red card to their current managers.

The most high-profile name to fall through the trap door this week was Spezia coach Elio Gustinetti who was relieved of his duties on Monday. The final straw for the 56-year-old tactician was Sunday’s 3-2 derby defeat at Cremonese which prompted president Gabriele Volpi to make a change. It’s only three years ago that Gustinetti so nearly took Albinoleffe into Serie A but his spell in charge of the Aquilotti has been turbulent to say the least and he vacates his post with the club 14th in the table with only four points from their opening five games. On Wednesday, Michele Sereni was announced as his replacement and he has experience of lower league Italian football having coached at Grosseto, Venezia and Mantova.

Mantova themselves have made a managerial change this week dispensing with Archimede Graziani following the clubs poor start to the new campaign. The club from Lombardy are struggling in C2A and Sunday’s home defeat to Bellaria Igea Marina signalled the end for Graziani. President Bruno Bompieri wasted no time in bringing in his successor Claudio Valigi within 24 hours of Graziani clearing his office. The 49-year-old coach has spent the past 12 months in charge of the youth team at Sambonifacese.

Coach number three to receive his P45 was Alessandria’s Alessio De Petrillo who was asked to vacate the hot seat before last weekend’s derby game at Casale. It has been a torrid few months for I Grigi, relegated into C2 because of a former directors involvement in the Calciopoli scandal, the side have failed to live up to their billing as pre-season promotion favourites and De Petrillo has paid the ultimate price. His assistant Luigi Manueli took charge of the team for the trip to Casale and came away with a creditable draw before he too was asked to pack up his things and leave. The new man in charge is Giuliano Sonzogni whose CV can boast spells with Palermo Avellino and Spal. He will work alongside Giorgio Danna who has just been appointed as the clubs new sporting director. Both men have a tough winter ahead.

Part four of our sack race special takes us to back to Lombardy and to Salo whose football team Feralpi have terminated the services of coach Claudio Rastelli. The club is still seeking its first win since last seasons promotion into C1B and on Sunday they were beaten 1-2 at home by Siracusa, a result which led to president Giuseppe Pasini to hastily arrange a press conference in which he thanked his former coach for all his efforts. At the time of going to press it is thought that former Verona coach Gian Marco Remondina will be asked to try to ensure the clubs survival in Italy’s third tier with his appointment set to be formalised later this week.

There is obviously something in the water in Lombardy with another club from the region, Lecco, becoming the fifth team in Lega Pro to have made a change at the helm this week. President Sergio Invernizzi went one better than his rivals by dismissing his two-man coaching team of Alessio Delpiano and Alfredo Magni and replacing them with former tactician Maurizio Pellegrino who also had a brief spell in charge at Catania in the early part of this century. The team is currently propping up the C2A table and Pellegrino will hope to work his magic as he did back in the 2008-09 season where he ensured the clubs very survival in a dramatic relegation play-out game against Sambenedettese.

News from coaches who still have a job
So after a look at the weeks losers, lets take a look at the winners from the latest round of matches. In C1A Taranto march on after a 2-0 win over Viareggio. Both goals for Davide Dionigi’s men were scored by their inspirational French striker Julien Rantier to put his team a point clear at the top of the table. Ciro Ginestra just cannot stop scoring for Sorrento right now, his fifth goal in as many games ensured his side took all three points from Sunday’s derby clash against Avellino.

C1B witnessed a huge upset as Prato beat high-flying Pergocrema 2-0 at the Stadio Lugobisenzio to pick up their first points of the season. Goals from Matteo Cavagna and Andrea Alberti were enough to seal the victory. Five games five wins for Cremonese who, as mentioned earlier, saw off Spezia at the Giovanni Sini on Sunday. Oscar Brevi’s side are on fire right now and in Giuseppe Le Noci, they have a striker on top of his game, his 22nd minute penalty at the weekend was his 7th goal of the season.

In C2A its Treviso who lead the pack following their 3-0 away win in Valenzana on Sunday. Cuneo’s 4-0 destruction of Lecco keeps them a point behind the leaders whilst Casale’s goalless draw with Alessandria maintains their push for an automatic promotion spot.

C2B sees Paganese setting the pace after a 1-1 draw away to Vigor Lamezia in the divisions big game of the weekend. Perugia’s 1-0 win at Giulianova pushes them up to second spot with Catanzaro moving up to fourth after a 2-1 home win against Chieti. Finally, the bravery award of the week goes to Catanzaro’s Salvatore Carboni whose header after just two minutes gave his side the lead only for the player to be momentarily knocked unconscious after his head connected with a stray boot from a defender. Incredibly, the veteran midfielder continued to play for the entire 90 minutes, just another reason as we explained on these very pages last week, why he is so revered by the clubs supporters.

Other results:

C1A: Avellino 0-1 Sorrento, Benevento 1-1 Pro Vercelli, Como 0-0 Foggia, Monza 2-2 Pavia, Pisa 0-2 Tritium, Reggiana 2-1 Foligno, Spal 0-2 Lumezzane, Taranto 2-0 Viareggio, Ternana 2-1 Carpi

C1B: Barletta 1-1 Latina, Cremonese 3-2 Spezia, Feralpi Salo 1-2 Siracusa, Frosinone 2-1 Virtus Lanciano, Portogruaro 2-2 Piacenza, Prato 2-0 Pergocrema, Sud Tirol 0-0 Virtus Bassano, Trapani 1-1 Andria Bat, Triestina 2-3 Carrarese

C2A: Casale 0-0 Alessandria, Cuneo 4-0 Lecco, Mantova 1-2 Bellaria Igea Marina, Poggibonsi 0-1 Rimini, Pro Patria 0-0 Borgo a Buggiano, Sambonifacese 0-2 Savona, San Marino 3-0 Giacomense, Santarcangelo 3-1 Renate, Valenzana 0-3 Treviso, Virtus Entella 0-1 Montichiari

C2B: Aprilia 3-2 Vibonese, Arzanese 3-2 Celano Olimpia, Campobasso 1-3 Fano Alma, Catanzaro 2-1 Chieti, Gavorrano 1-1 Milazzo, Giulianova 0-1 Perugia, L’Aquila 0-0 Fondi, Melfi 1-2 Isola Liri, Neapolis 2-1 Aversa Normanna, Vigor Lamezia 1-1 Paganese

Come back next week for your weekly dose of Lega Pro insight, but in the meantime you should follow Steve Mitchell on twitter (@barafundler) for more regular updates.

[RomaShield27]

This seems like quite a good blog to follow, english-based, seemingly mixing calcio with the Italian language. Not sure but looks like a Pro Vercelli fan:

www.parlacalcio.co.uk

[Jocksboy]

Taranto's away game at Vercelli and Reggiana's away game at Foggia were shown live yesterday on Blu TV and E'tv respectively, so it looks like both channels have the contract for the season. Both clubs should be at home next week so I'll check to see if their home games are being shown or if there are other clubs on view.

[Jocksboy]

Andria's away game at Lanciano was live on Viva l'Italia yesterday. Looks like there'll be a live game on the channel every Sunday, Barletta one week and Andria the next.

[Jocksboy]

Rai Sport 1 have published their live coverage schedules until 12 December. All transmissions start at 7.45 p.m. GMT and all are on Mondays except the Poggibonsi game which is on a Wednesday.
Oct 31 - Benevento v. Taranto
Nov 7 - Frosinone v. Cremonese
Nov 14 - Pisa v. Pavia
Nov 16 - Poggibonsi v. casale
Nov 21 - Andria BAT v. Piacenza
Nov. 28 - Pro Vercelli v. Spal
Dec 5 - Monza v. Como
Dec 12 - Spezia v. Triestina

[Jocksboy]

Live on TV this Sunday at 1.30 p.m. GMT.
Avellino v. Reggiana - E'tv Emilia Romagna channel
Portotgruaro v. Barletta = Viva l;Italia channel

[RomaShield27]

After the 2006 ‘Calciopoli’ scandal, many – perhaps naively – felt that the Italian game was now clean and that those involved had been implicated in the trials and subsequent sentences that rocked the Italian game to its core. But this summer, another investigation was concluded after suspicious betting patterns emerged during games throughout the 2010/2011 season, which were then followed up by intercepted phone calls clearly alluding to games being fixed across three divisions and involving a host of people including current players and even former Italy striker and Lazio legend, Giuseppe Signori.

The impact of the investigations and convictions have been felt throughout Calcio, with Atalanta in Serie A being the most famous club punished, with a six point deduction before the Serie A season started and have had star player and club icon Cristiano Doni banned for three and a half years. But perhaps the biggest ‘victims’ are clubs in Lega Pro where numerous clubs have been relegated, fined and had points deducted before the season started. Here I briefly look at the investigation that took place, those punished and the impact it has had on the game in the lower leagues.

Suspicion was first aroused after a Lega Pro (Serie C) game between Cremonese-SPAL game that finished 4-1 to the visitors after large bets were (correctly) placed on the final score. Guido Salvini (a prosecutor in Cremona) and the FIGC (Italian FA) opened a case and started investigating and CalcioScommese 2011 was born.

However, the game that formally started a full blown criminal investigation again involved Cremonese, this time hosting Paganese. According to a published police report, players were ‘foggy’ on the field and couldn’t make movements they would normally be able to. It was later found some players had taken a drug closely linked to one given for help with anxiety and sleep disorders. One player was so drugged he lost control of his car after the game.

After this event many games were looked at after suspicious betting patterns emerged on a range of games, starting with the one’s involving Cremonese. During the investigation it emerged that goalkeeper Marco Paoloni (on loan at fellow Lega Pro club Benevento from Cremonese) was the ‘ringleader’ and was placed in prison while further investigations took place. The most high-profile name involved in the scandal was former Nazionale star Giuseppe Signori, who was placed under house arrest. As a player Signori was idolised by fans of the clubs he played at, most of all Lazio (where Ultras once protested when former President Sergio Cragnotti tried to sell him) and Bologna where he enjoyed an Indian summer, later in his career.

By the end of the investigation, 26 people were forced to answer questions in a Cremona courtroom, including players, former players, Presidents and directors. Although many were released without charge (Signori included, who in a later interview said that despite the not guilty verdict, the reputation he had worked 30 years for was ruined) there were many severe punishments dealt out by the FIGC having studied Guido Salvini’s report, including points deductions in Serie A for newly promoted Atalanta (-6) and bans for two of their players, talisman and captain Cristiano Doni (three and a half years, which all but ends the 38 year olds career) and Thomas Manfredini (Three years). Fellow Serie A club Chievo were also implicated but issued a plea bargain and escaped with an (80,000 Euro fine).

In Serie B, Ascoli (who suffered numerous point deductions last year for financial problems) were hit with a six point penalty whilst Livorno and Padova received fines for their parts in the scandal.

In Lega Pro (where the majority of ‘fixed’ matches took place) the verdicts were more damning. Alessandria were relegated from C1 to C2 (with a two point deduction), whilst Ravenna were kicked out of the professional leagues altogether into Serie D. There were many point deductions, and after initial verdicts and appeals, the decisions were that Benevento (six points), Cremonese (six), Piacenza (four), Reggiana (two) and Taranto (one) would the season with deductions.

Despite all of the fines and point deductions, perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the CalcioScommese 2011 trials is the damage done yet again to the reputation of Calcio, particularly in the lower divisions. After the huge exposure of Calciopoli ensured Italian football’s reputation would take years to recover, the evidence in Cremona appear to be a huge setback as the ‘cleaning up’ of the Italian game was seemingly in full swing. Mention the Italian game to anyone on English shores and you’ll receive the ‘boring defensive’ lecture or the ‘all the games are fixed’ story. Due to this new scandal, it’s again difficult to argue with the second assumption.

Lower league Italian football appears to be an ideal choice for anyone who wants to attempt to alter results in games. The exposure is much less than that of Serie A, where every kick, tackle and gesture are gone over almost nightly on a whole host of programmes that last up to four hours. Crowds are often sparse so there are less eyes to spot any irregularity that may be happening on the field. Players also earn less so the temptation to take a large ‘bonus’ is certainly there, particularly for older players heading towards retirement.

Other point deductions for financial misdemeanours mean reading a Lega Pro table can be very difficult as so many clubs have started the season on a negative points tally. For example, Cremonese are 9th but would be 2nd without their deductions, whilst Piacenza are in the relegation play-out places but would be in the promotion play-offs with the four points they lost.

After all the hard work done by the FIGC and the clubs and players themselves, the illegal activities of a select few now mean the reputation of Italian football has take steps back on the leaps forward it had made. Hopefully the swift action of one judge in Cremona will be a deterrent for any future activities of this nature.




Follow Charles Ducksbury on twitter (@cducksbury).

[Jocksboy]

Sunday's live matches:
Foggia v. Taranto on BLU
Sud Tirol v. Andria BAT on Viva l'Italia
Both at 1.30 GMT.

[Jocksboy]

This Sunday's live matches, both at 1.30 p.m. GMT, are:
Tritium v. Reggiana on E'tv
Siracusa v. Barletta on Viva l''Italia.

Don't forget Poggibonsi v. Casale is on RaiSport 1 tomorrow (Wednesday) at 7.45 p.m.

[RomaShield27]

Pro Vercelli 1-0 SPAL
– 29TH NOV 2011

And so he came to pass.

At the very point Vinicio Espinal was providing an inch perfect ball for Simone Malatesta to slot home the winner, I was sat in the other room – away from the patchy feed – reading vivaio rime (nursery rhymes) to la mia bambina (my baby girl).

The game, like the nursery rhymes, was fairly predictable to that point. Pro Vercelli looked to do everything down their left through Pietro Iemmello. It didn’t happen. Either the balls were hit too long, the support lacking or SPAL simply put the numbers on him; snuffing out any prospect he had of getting the ball across.

It was therefore no surprise that he was withdrawn midway through the second half. It was from that point that Pro Vercelli finally started to apply some much needed pressure on their opponents - pressure that was clearly lacking as they played most of the first half on the back foot.

SPAL have good reason to leave the Silvio Piola with more than a little sense of injustice with the result. tender Alex Valentini, Pro’s ever present keeper this term, pulled off a string of important saves to keep his side in the game. Some woeful finishing also helped his cause in a man-of-the-match performance.

SPAL should have had a penalty midway through the first half, as hand clearly moved towards ball in the area. It looked more reminiscent of a pallavollo (volleyball) play, than something expected of a footballer. The referee appeared to be well placed, but pointed for another corner.

The one bright spark of the first half saw Gianni Fabiano play a slide rule pass through the heart of the defence, releasing Malatesta in a one on one with Luca Capecchi in the SPAL goal. Malatesta never really backed himself, and the keeper did enough to block the chance. Pro then went back to hoofing the ball down the left as the half drew to a close.

For all the bad decision making in the first half, two flashes of inspiration showed exactly why Pro are currently just one point off second spot. First Espinal had a goal chalked off for an earlier offside; then the Dominican came in to his own with his role in the winning goal.

With only five minutes of normal time left to play, Espinal and Malatesta combined perfectly to unhinge a previously solid, SPAL defence. A determined run by Pietro Tripoli was followed by a ball square to Espinal. The Dominican dummied and spun; leaving the ball to go through to Malatesta on the edge of the box. Malatesta then slipped the ball through the a static SPAL defence in to the path of Espinal’s run, before he unselfishly, and in one movement, slipped a pass back across goal to Malatesta for the simplest of conversions.

Pro Vercelli now face league leader’s Ternana with the best run of form in Lega Pro. They will need to maintain that form if they are to close the six point gap on the leaders; though given where they were this time last year, simply maintaining their play-off spot will be a great return from the first half of the season.

One interesting point of note from the coverage, was RAI’s use of an ex-Italian female international in their commentating line up. Katia Serra, previously a league champion with Modena, who was picked 20 times for her country. Her inclusion as a summariser would be the equivalent of Sky Sports using someone like Faye White of Arsenal Ladies and England in the commentary box for a League One game.

Italy is not normally seen as a country where women have an equal footing with their male counterparts – so it was rather surprising, in the least, to hear a female voice in such a positive, authoritative manner – if only I could understand what she was saying.