Canna Caps Off A Dream Year...

Despite reports last week which placed buck-toothed (overrated) Brazilian star Ronaldinho in first place in the Fifa World Player of the Year award, reports today now say that Cannavaro has won the award ahead of Zidane, with Ronaldinho only in third.

I can only hope that these reports are true. Whilst the whole squad were simply brilliant during the summer, Canna was their leader, and his performances were outstanding in every game he played in. There were groans (particularly in France and this country) when he was awarded the Golden Ball for European Player of the Year, but hopefully this time they will simply acknowledge his achievements this year for what they are. I'm sure Canna will view the award as a reward for the whole squad, and he would be right to do so.

As well as picking up that award, he'll also get the silver ball for being the second best player at the Fifa World Cup (how he came second to Zidane is beyond me, but anyway), and he'll be joined by Pirlo, who was voted third best. Buffon will also pick up an award for being the best goalie at the world cup.

So, hopefully another night to remember - there have been many of them this year, but none quite as sweet as those during June and July when we finally put an end to years of suffering in the best possible way. I recently watched highlights of some of our games again, and I'm pleased to say that the same feelings of excitement and joy were there. The hairs still rise on the back of my neck when I hear Caressa and Bergomi's commentary of Grosso and Del P's goals against Germany!

PO PO PO PO PO PO - SIAMO CAMPIONE DEL MONDO! Singing that just doesn't get old!

Moving On Up!

Venezia 3-1 Lucchese

A tremendous result yesterday sees us climb to outright second in the table, and coupled with Monza's heavy defeat (5-2 at home!) to Massesse and Sassuolo's draw with Pistoiese, it means we are now only 2 points from the top of the table.

By all accounts it was a great performance, which even some dodgy refereeing could not stop (a dodgy penalty for Lucchese; no penalty for us when a Lucchese defender handballed in the box). Moro hit the bar after only three minutes before Manolo Gennari got us off to the perfect start after 7 minutes, tapping home Marco Moro's cross. We continued to dominate the first half, but Lucchese did hit the post with a header on 21 minutes from Bellucci, before being awarded the aforementioned dodgy penalty five minutes before halftime.

If they were annoyed to go in level, the boys soon made amends after the break - Capitan Collauto with a rocket shot from 25 metres seven minutes in put us 2-1 up, and Gennari got his second a few minutes later. After that it was plain sailing.

Despite the great result, there is still one more important task before Christmas - a tricky away tie to Pisa, who won at the weekend to climb into 3rd. Given that they have managed to play 16 games and score only 10 goals, letting in 5, there is a failry good chance of a 0-0, but as long as we don't lose, we can be happy with our first half of the season's work...

Serie C1/A:

1. Sassuolo P 16 W 8 D 7 L 1 GF 23 GA 11 Pts 31

2. Venezia P 16 W 8 D 5 L 3 GF 22 GA 13 Pts 29

3. Pisa P 16 W 6 D 9 L 1 GF 10 GA 5 Pts 27

4. Monza P 16 W 7 D 5 L 4 GF 22 GA 17 Pts 26

5. Lucchese P 16 W 7 D 4 L 5 GF 22 GA 12 Pts 25

Venezia to Play Host to Euro 2012

No, honestly!

They've apparently put themselves forward as one of the 12 cities to host games at Euro 2012, assuming Italy get it (which seems to be pretty much assumed from all I can find on it). The plan would apparently allow us to build the new stadium that we have been wanting to for so long, somewhere near the airport I think.

Would be great to a) have a new stadio (and one that is not made out of meccano!) and b) imagine it is good enough to host top class international fixtures. Having a good stadium would have to mean the infrastructure was there to back it up, which hopefully means city council backing and funding.

In other news, the VeneziaMestre 1987 Ultras have announced they are quitting the curva, but remain dedicated to the team - sounds like the curva will be half empty again for the game against Lucchese, but hopefully the support for the team will be resounding enough to spur the players on!

A Point Gained

Sassuolo 0 - 0 Venezia

A vital away point to the league leaders halted their run of wins and our run of away defeats, and, coupled with Monza losing 2-0 at Novara, sees us climb to joint second in the table.

By all accounts it was a bit nervy, but even the Sassuolo manager admitted the draw was the fair result. The only negative was that we continued our recent trend of having a man sent off, Melucci this time for two bookable offences. Scantamburlo was also injured, which means we will have to do without either of them for the big game against Lucchese on Sunday.

It sounds like the players are still giving their all, and hopefully come Sunday, the Ultras will as well - there have been mutterings that the curva will be fuller than it was last game, but no solution to the division has yet been found. Let's hope they keep working on it until kick off so that the players can play in front of a packed curva and receive the support that they deserve. A victory against Lucchese would be a big boost in terms of gaining a playoff spot, and depending on what Sassuolo do, could even push us closer to the top of the league.

Serie C1/A:

1. Sassuolo P 15 W 8 D 6 L 1 GF 22 GA 10 Pts 30
2. Monza P 15 W 7 D 5 L 3 GF 20 GA 12 Pts 26
3. Venezia P 15 W 7 D 5 L 3 GF 19 GA 12 Pts 26
4. Lucchese P 15 W 7 D 4 L 4 GF 22 GA 9 Pts 25
5. Pisa P 15 W 5 D 9 L 1 GF 9 GA 5 Pts 24
6. Cittadella P 15 W 5 D 7 L 3 GF 19 GA 14 Pts 22

Is the Power of the Ultras a Good Thing?

I ask this because it is has a very real chance of ruining our promotion chances this season - and could lead to the financial backers at the club to pull out.

As I said before, when I was there only 2 weeks ago, the curva sud was packed and rocking - impressive for a third division game - with all the choreographed singing and drum beating that you see at the bigger Serie A clubs.

However, as I said in last Monday's post, last Sunday's game saw the curva sud nearly empty as the various factions of Ultras sat at different parts of the stadium. It is apparently the usual Italian fan nonsense about some of the fans being right wing, and others left wing, and now they won't sit in the curva together. The effect appears to be that the support for the team is not nearly as strong as it was, and it did seem to affect the players as we only managed to scrape past Grosseto 1-0.

More importantly though, the Chairman and President have both come out to question whether all the money that they have invested is actually worth it if even the harcore supporters won't get together to support the team - by the sounds of things, they may be looking for a way to jump ship. And all of this is threatening to destabilise the team just before we play our most important three games of the season, away to leaders Sassuolo, home to fourth placed Lucchese and away to fifth placed Pisa.

There are undoubtedly other factors to Marinese's and Poletti's concerns (political and financial support from the city being noticeable by its absence), but it does seem to me that the present situation has largely happened due to the whims of the Ultras at the club, and the effect it is having is potentially crippling to our push for promotion - and if Marinese and Poletti pull out of the club, we could sink without a trace.

Updated League Table

Sassuolo beat Monza 2-0, which sends them 3 points clear at the top. The top three are now:

Sassuolo 29 Pts
Monza 26 Pts
Venezia 25 Pts

As I said in yesterday's post we play Sassuolo next, away. Looks like it could be a tough game, especially with our recent away form...

A Vital Victory

Venezia 1 - 0 Grosseto

By all accounts, this was a hard game - to watch and to play. Grossetto are a big, physical side, and they pressed us all over the park, which disrupted our normal passing game.

Chances were few and far between, but it was no surprise to hear that Moro was our main threat, twice coming close to scoring before eventually getting the only goal of the game late on, as pictured.

The only other thing of note from the game was the fact that the curva sud, which was packed and rocking when I was there was half full as the various factions of the Ultras have broken up, meaning that they are now positioned all around the stadium. Hopefully they can sort out their differences, because it was actually quite impressive when I was there to see and hear the packed curva.

Still, an important victory, particularly when you look at our next three fixtures - away to Sassuolo (currently second; they play leaders Monza tonight), home to Lucchese and away to Pisa (who must be the most boring team in the world to watch - they have played 14 games, scored 8 and let in 5!!! What are the bets on a nil-nil in that one?!) Our chances of promotion will be a lot clearer once those three games are out the way - if we can still be within 3 points or so from the lead come Christmas, we have real reason to be optimistic. Here's hoping...!

Serie C1/A

1. Monza P 13 W 7 D 5 L 1 F 20 A 8 Pts 26
2. Sassuolo P 13 W 7 D 5 L 1 F 20 A 10 Pts 26
3. Venezia P 14 W 7 D 4 L 3 F 19 A 12 Pts 25
4. Lucchese P 14 W 6 D 4 L 4 F 17 A 7 Pts 22
5. Pisa P 14 W 4 D 9 L 1 F 8 A 5 Pts 21
6. Pro Sesto W 5 D 6 L 3 F 9 A 7 Pts 21