Here’s a bunch of unorganized,misspelled, mercato ramblings

Francesco Ceravolo leaves Livorno a winner and New DS is Nelso Ricci and he’s been working overtime already…

Spoke to Milan :

Ricci: Yo Galliani ! I’ll give you a cool Million and 50% of Cesena mid Diniz for all of Romano Perticone ?
Galliani : Ok
Ricci : Sweet! Thanks Uncle Fester

Then spoke with Juve :

Went something like this : Yo Secco ! You know how Rizza and Volpe are in comproprietà…well how about you keep Volpe and we keep Rizza ? (covering the phone while he’s laughing) Secco : Let me get back to you on this one. And please charge Dario Knezevic’s return to YOUR purolator account !
We’ll see what we do with him once he gets here. Rizza was won at le buste by Livorno with a 100 000 $ bid.

Met with Parma :

Ricci : How about that Cristiano Lucarelli fellow ? We’re looking at a 2 year loan and we’ll pitch in Massimo Loviso, Guidolin likes him no? How about Dario Knezevic…? Ghirardi\Leonardo : We’ll call you back. Spinelli now saying 99% sure Lucarelli will be back

Meanwhile Spinelli is calling Walter Mazzari, Mario Beretta and just got Antoni Conte’s number…

Then they met Udinese. Seeing how they don’t own all of Giovanni Pasquale, and they kind of like him, we should try and trade him for Antonio Candreva no ? Didn’t work out…Pasquale becomes a full on Udinese player for 1.8 M Andrea Migliorini and Candreva on loan for another year.( I kind of understand Udinese not wanting to let Antonio go, even 50% of him)

Ricci also brought back a bunch of Primavera kids from Lega Pro ; Di Bella of Potenza, Dionisi of Celano and Scognamiglio of Crotone…

Who’s coming ? :

Lucarelli…?…!…?…!

Word on the street is that Livorno are interested in Catania castaway ‘Zo Stovini, Ex-Leccese Stendardo and Caserta as well as Bologna’s Belleri for central defense

Grosseto Midfielder Valeri has been mentionned somewhere

28 year old Cristian Raimondi’s contract with Vicenza has ended

Allegretti and Agliardi from Triestina have been mentionned

Someone said something about Roberto Guana for free

I’d irrationnaly’d like to see Fabio Zambrella, Marco Andreolli, Stefano Okaka Chuka, Torino keeper Sereni and David Santon (screw Bonetto)

Who’s going ? :

There’s talks of Spinelli getting decent offers from West Ham and Inter. West Ham is offering good old cash and Inter has put 4M + Nelson Rivas on the table…(How about 50% of Santon inserted somewhere)

Seems as if Nico Pulzetti will be sold. Atalanta, Bologna and Palermo are all interested. Pulzetti is said to be worth anywhere between 2.5-3 M$ and when i mean $ i mean Euros

Fausto Rossini’s contract probably won’t be renewed

Paulinho who ?

Seems like Tommy Danilevicius will be the 4th striker…

I get the feeling Diamanti is staying nonetheless

I wanna see Volpe, Grandoni, Galante, Mazzoni, The twins, Pulzetti and Danilevicius gone

Today’s Line Up :
4-3-2-1 : De Lucia, Perticone,Miglionico,Knezevic,Rizza ; Candreva,Loviso,Bergvold; Diamanti,Tavano; Danilevicius

Acquisti :
Antonio Candreva (Udinese;1 year Loan), Andrea Magliorini (Udinese ;Full ownership(FO) Leo Martin Miglionico (Samp;FO) Romano Perticone (AC Milan : FO) Rizza (Juventus,FO)

Gone:
Riccardo Bonetto (d,Lazio(puked my mouth), End Loan ), Antonio Filippini (c,svincolato), Emanuele Filippini (c,svincolato), Fausto Rossini (a,svincolato), Emanuele Terranova (d,Palermo, EL), Aleandro Rosi (d,Roma, EL)Giovanni Pasquale(Udinese, FO 4M$)

What we’re working on :

IN :
Cristiano Lucarelli (a,Parma), Cristian Raimondi (c,Vicenza), Lorenzo Stovini (d,svincolato), Luigi Sala (d,svincolato), Simone Bentivoglio (c,Chievo), Aleandro Rosi (c,Roma) Bonnetto(Lazio) Zambrella(Brescia)

OUT :
Diamanti (Inter,West Ham, Samp…) Pulzetti (atalanta, Palermo,Lazio(more puke) Loviso(Parma) Danilevicius & Knezevic (Who ever)

Not all has been said about the season, but we pretty much all get the picture. Livorno were condemned to Serie B from the get go. From the ; Ciao Lucarelli and Morrone to the Hello Diego Tristan,Vikash Dhorasoo and Francesco Tavano. Unfortunately, Spinelli’s all around stubbornness and many offield antics (Promising to bring Lucarelli back, Wanting to weigh each player personally, Poutin and wanting to sell the club, his phone conversations with Luciano Moggi and his stupid penny pinching transfer window), Fernando Orsi ‘s awful start and end of the season mixed in with Livorno’s inability at scoring goals and you have yourself a recipe for Serie B. All I have to say is that La Nazionale needs to start loaning each and every potential goalkeeping star to Livorno. Just like Marco Amelia, your promised to see the youngster get peppered with shots week in and week out. (I’m so looking at you Gianluca Curci) Livorno need to end the; – Will Aldo leave – saga as soon as possible. Preferably by pressuring Aldo to sell the Club already!

I’ll give Aldo some credit for managing to get Livorno a decent amount of Media Exposure over the years, but the man has got to go. He’s clearly given up on his Livorno project (especially after reading those Luciano Moggi Phone call transcripts of his) This President managed to bring Livorno from Serie B to the UEFA Cup, but Livorno have now regressed back to their starting point. That’s just one of the reasons Aldo needs to go. I’ll give him the fact that he always manages to snatch up a good bargain or to unearth a Serie A worthy player from some buttfuck Paese: Bergvold, Pulzetti, Knezevic, M. Amelia, Palladino and Alè Diamanti. Unfortunately, It’s that time, changing of the guard time. His decision making capabilities have digressed throughout the years; His coaching choices (Firing,hiring,timing) were 80% awful and the fact that he never managed to organize the Youth Sides with enough flair to see 1 Primavera player make it to the Senior Squad. It’s time for some new blood, all around the organisation.

Tranfer Rumours:

Diego Tristan has moved to Cyprus, I’m told the hills are beautiful

Marco Amelia’s till drawing interest from Palermo, Athletico and the UK

Alè Diamanti, by far this year’s standout player, has been drawing some interest from all over the peninsula. Sampdoria,Genoa,Napoli,Lazio and Inter are all keen on the left footed Homeless man’s Antonio Cassano. I get the feeling Diamanti has no intention of going down to Serie B. The 25 year old player from Prato has declared today that ‘’ Napoli would be the realisation of a dream!’’

Ciao Alè ! T’was nice knowing you

Diamanti’s not the only Livorno player Napoli have their eye on ; Giovanni Pasquale, who almost went to Napoli during the Winter Window, has all but secured his place in Napoli. Reports suggest that Napoli will pay Livorno around 1.6-1.9 M Euro for the ex-Interista + a 1 year Loan of Erminio Rullo. Nico Pulzetti’s the other player flirting with the San Paolo public. Reports are saying the fling is mutual.

Giancarlo Camolese what do you think about this ?

Pulzetti e Pasquale sono giocatori da Napoli!

Alright, So how are things going for you ?

I just signed a contract with Rapid Bucharest !

What !? You’re replacing Walter Zenga as the Italian of service in Romania?

At 800,000 k a season plus another 300k if we make the Champions I’m moving to Romania !

Ciao Giancarlo !

Finally, Francesco Tavano is moving out. The Tavster sucked it hard all year despite his 10 goals. It seems like Fiorentina are ‘’extremely’’ keen on the striker and have seemingly included Arturo Lupoli as a bargaining chip. Livorno are thrilled by the idea but contrary to Fiorentina’s wishes; They’re looking at a Co-ownership deal and La Viola only want to loan out the youngster. Let’s see how this transpires…

Forza Ragazzi !

In all honesty, I’d be lying if said I’m pissed and surprised, Aldo’s rants and signings had Serie B written all over it since day 1. Anyways, why would Serie A deserve a team with no (infra)structure or Primavera that has produced nothing but indirectly moulding Giorgio Chiellini,Cristiano Lucarelli and Marco Amelia. I’m not saying Livorno will be pulling an Ancona and disappear but Livorno need to work on the company before being a real Serie A worthy team. 150,000 population and the highest unemployment rate(Top 10 for sure) in all of Italy but they still manage to get UEFA cup action and memorable moments. But Aldo fucked it all up, while pocketing enough to leave Livorno without an empty wallet. The only thing that pisses me off about Livorno this year, is that Relegation has Aldo Spinelli-behind the scenes-calciopoli-esque-string-pulling written all over it. It clearly feels like it was wanted or planned or whatever. With Orsi coming back to insure everything would go down (pun intended) as planned! That’s what pisses me off the most !

Fuckin’ Aldo saying at the beginning of the season how this was the most talented team he
had ever put together, maybe if this was the end of the 1990’s Aldo because Diego Tristan is what I would call a has been. 1 goal form the Spaniard, 1 measely fuckin’ goal all season. Francesco Tavano ? What the hell was that ? Replacing Lucarelli, a hometown hero/legend with Tavano!? He’s isn’t even a has been god damn it he’s a never was at all. Oh yeah and backing up this untalented duo with Fausto Rossini and Francesco- I didn’t play a single minute all fuckin’ year – Volpe. Thank God Ale Diamanti pulled some talent out of his ass because we would of looked even worse on the pitch all season.

And now Aldo’s saying how he’ll be starting over with the Lucarelli brothers in Serie B, yeah right Aldo and Irishpeople don’t like potatoes. Stop Lying you fat bastard! Basically I’m pissed and my mind is disorganised and I’m sure you all feel the same way

Forza Ragazzi !

Fernando Orsi returns to the exact same situation that saw him lose his job earlier this season; a last placed Livorno Squad. The Burgundy Boys had a nice stretch under GC Camolese ; Picking up 2 points against Roma and 3 against Milan. Not to mention the surprise draws versus Udinese and Inter. But what could be asked from GC Camolese. With the type of talent he had to his disposal, I feel that GC Camolese made the most of his opportunity. He managed to turn around the team’s play earlier this season by changing the training regimen and experimenting with different types of formations. Had he been in place from day 1, things would have been different I’m sure. We can always argue that GC Camolese was hyper defensive and relied way too heavily on the defensive aspects of the game. He even managed to field 5 CB for a couple of games, bringing back Helenio Herrera’s heritage to Serie A.

But isn’t the defensive aspect the most important when your team is called Livorno? With the non-depth provided by Aldo Spinelli during the summer, replacing Stefano Morrone and C. Lucarelli with Vikash Dhorasso, Diego Tristan and Francesco Tavano isn’t exactly the best investments you can find. At least he managed to find Diamanti, but it seems like GC Camolese found out how to use the youngster too late in the season. Diamanti’ll be great in Serie B next year, and has probably already showed enough to stay in Serie A, let’s hope he does it with Livorno.

But to Aldo’s defence, Livorno definitely needs some sort of adrenaline shot straight to the heart. In the Post-Maybe-Jesus-was-Born-Today- Season, Livorno have picked up 8 measly points; 1 win, 5 draws and 10 losses. Even though I love the enthusiasm and spirit GC Camolese brought to the Amaranto Liberation Army, 8 points in 16 games kind of sucks donkey dick. 1 point every other game isn’t going to cut it.

So out goes GC Camolese and back comes Fernando Orsi. This, to me, means 2 things. Aldo wants to shake things up, but isn’t willing to open his wallet as much as his mouth. Unfortunately, this is the story of the season. He plucked 3 has-beens from the UEFA’s Most Unwanted player list and thought that was enough to see the team stay in Serie A long enough to cash in on the sale of the team, as well as Lucarelli’s and hopefully, Amelia. These types of decisions are the ones of a man about to walk out on something.

At least, Fernando Orsi gets a half-assed chance to redeem himself to Livorno’s fans with 3 games left and an unhealthy Marco Amelia. ‘Nando Orsi will be able to start over exactly where he left off; last place ;

#1 Atalanta ;

Semi good thing; away game + Atalanta have nothing to lose or win anymore. Good chance at taking 3 here.

#2 Torino

At Home, direct relegation battler, unfortunately Torino’s a better team. Diamanti vs Rosina

#3 Empoli

I’m just hoping that Livorno will be able to come in to this game with everything left to win. If that can happen, I think our chances at salvation are looking good. Nothing like a Tuscan Derby on the last day of the year, especially with the words Relegation and Sudden Death sprinkled on it !

Let’s hope Fernando Orsi can manage what he pulled off Last year. As long as Livorno don’t finish the season like they started it and maybe we’ll be able to enjoy the joys of Serie A for one more season. In the meantime, I just want to witness some exciting hard fought matchs !

Forza Ragazzi, Salviamoci ! !

Not the happiest of times in Leghorn for the moment, the unemployement rate is still disastrous, Silvio Berlusconi gets back in to office (which must make the citizens of the PCI birthplace very proud)(what is this like the 64th Government post WW2?) and Livorno is the worst team in Serie A with very little time left to correct that.

GC Camolese has seen his job security go from none to zero (i don’t know how that’s possible but Aldo Spinelli has a very peculiar way of dealing with coaches, not Zamparini peculiar but you get what i’m trying to say right ?)

So here’s a little Livorno news that won’t lift your morale livornese but it’ll maybe take your mind off of Relegation for 76 seconds….

Aldo Spinelli is Out of it for sure now. The Fiery President has all but confirmed (again) that this is his last year as Livorno’s president. He’s getting all nostalgic on us

Massimo Oddo’s Dad, Francesco has been sayin’ that Old man Spinelli has told him to be ready just in case GC Camolese doesn’t get through the month of May. Yeah Oddo’s dad and all the other unemployed coaches not called Fernando Orsi.

Cristiano Lucarelli feels sorry for Livorno but doesn’t think that he could have changed the Burgundy Boys destiny. It’s not like he wants us to be relegated or anything

Ale Grandoni looks like he’s drawing interest form Fiorentina. The 31 year old defender is on the last miles of his contract and is looking at all the options just in case Livorno take that B drop.

Erjon Bogdani is nostalgic about his Flying Donkey days and is considering returning to Romeo and Juliet’s City.

Tottenham still wants Marco Amelia between it’s sticks next seasons

No one’s interested in Fausto Rossini

Why’s everybody talking like this season’s over ?

Avanti Amaranto !

Mercato Round Up

My heart started pumping around noon on January 31st because a Livorno fan website falsely announced that Livorno picked up Brazilian Future Star Kerlon a.k.a. Foquinha for a measly 7 M$. I hate the Showboating Seal Boy but I can’t deny the Kid has talent ) My first tought was Livorno spending more than 50 buck$ !?! I was ecstatic but exceptionally skeptic. Was Aldo Spinelli getting smart and adding some value to his Livorno stock? Hell no, just some nitwit from Pisa that had nothing better to do then get my hopes up on deadline day. Pisa Merda!

A part from that, the Mercato went pretty much as planned. The Labronici desperately needed a Midfielder to fill in for Martin Bergvold and Giuliano Giannichedda. Livorno managed to pick up Tommaso Vailatti and defender Matteo Melara, both from Torino on some good old fashioned loans. All and all, the best thing that happened during the Transfer window is the fact that Marco Amelia won’t be wearing pink or any other colour that is not burgundy until next season. His non-transfer is the best Mercato news the Labronici faithful have heard thus far.

Another notable non-arrival was the almost transfer of Fabrizio Zambrella. Livorno DS Elio Signorelli negotiated a loan + buy out clause for the Swiss with Brescia DS Nani.His arrival was announced early in the morning and the Brescia midfield stalwart had packed his bags and was waiting for the first Train to Tuscany. Unfortunately, Serse Cosmi called DS Corioni screaming about how; ” you can’t sell the WHOLE midfield to Serie A ” and then added the always unpleasant ” go suck a bag of dicks! ”

Zambrella unpacked his bags and went straight back to training. This sfumato transfer prompted Livorno DS Signorelli to get on the phone with Torino to bring in Tommaso Vailatti.

For this Transfer window, Giancarlo Camolese had asked Aldo to get him some nice homegrown, Italian talent. The Amaranto squad decided to take 21 year-old Tommaso Vailatti, an ex- Camolese pupil from his Vicenza and Torino days. The youngster is an Italian midfielder, who had played for Camolese in Vicenza, exactly what the coach had asked for.

Here’s Vailatti’s goal on Matchday1

The 1986-born Vailatti has been part of the Granata squad since he was 6 years old and the experts say he has a bright future ahead of him. GC Camolese probably concurs seeing how it’s the second time he’s coached the youngster.

What does Vailatti have to say about Mr. Camolese ?

” Io l’ho avuto l’anno scorso a Vicenza, so che mi avrebbe avuto anche l’anno prima, ma il Torino ha preferito tenermi. Mi ha insegnato molto anche lui è bravissimo con i giovani. Segue noi giocatori sia come persona sia come allenatore. Oltretutto, so che lui ha spinto molto perché potessi andare a Livorno e per questo lo ringrazio. Ha grande stima e fiducia in mè. Ma ieri sera non ho parlato con lui, ma con il ds del Livorno. Non immagino che spazi potrò avere a Livorno, dico solo che li guadagnerò sul campo”.

*Free Translation* : He coached me last year in Vicenza and I know he wanted my services the year before as well. Camolese is great with the youngsters, unlike Priests and youngsters, but that’s another story.

He thought me a bucket load last year, Camolese trains you as a player but also cares for you as a human and i’m happy that he has faith in my abilities and pushed strongly for my arrival. I don’t know how much space I’ll have at Livorno but I will train hard to earn playing time.

Their relationship looks like a match made in heaven. GC Camolese probably has some fond memories of Vailatti’s days in the Torino Primavera. Unfortunately, there’s no clause in the loan deal that would permit Livorno to buy some part of his cartellino. I hope this kid can contribute to Livorno’s road to safety. The youngster has talent and he likes to score against Lazio Merda ! What more can you ask for?

A part from requesting Zambrella and Vailatti, Giancarlo Camolese also wanted a replacement for Rezaei, Livorno’s version of Sammy Kuffour. The replacement came in as Matteo Melara, an ex-Livorno player who’s decent enough to be 5th choice as a CB. Melara, a Marco Delvecchio look-a-like, has scored 6 goals in played 117 games for Livorno, so he knows his way around the Picchi. The least I can say is that Melara’s a far better option than Rezaei.

The Amaranto weren’t able to offload the Iranian defender. Rezaei desperately threw himself at Claudio Lotito on deadline day, to no avail. With the arrival/return of Matteo Melara, the Persian player will now descend down the defender hierarchy even further. Al-hamdelil’allah or Ensh’allah, whatever Rocks your Kasbah!

In’s & Out’s:

So nothing surprising came out of this Mercato, this is Aldo Spinelli’s Livorno, what did you expect? At least Marco Amelia is still in nets and GC Camolese hasn’t been fired

Officially Vailatti, Sidny and Melara are the Arrivals and Livorno hasn’t offloaded ANYBODY. Meanwhile, Relegation adversaries Siena and Cagliari managed to upgrade their respective squads with some creative work on the Market. Either GC Camolese was comfortable with the 26 men on his squad now or that Aldo Spinelli gave a 50$ bill to DS Signorelli and said; ” Buy yourself something nice ”

*Livorno – Juve review here

One of my favourite Soccer Subjects is crazy owners/presidents, Serie A is a a fertile ground for the eccentric President. Being a fan of a team owned by none other than the King of Bullshit himself, Aldo Spinelli, i can understand other fans in the same crazy president situation.

After calling the Napoli tifosi ; Bastardi! on Sunday,Miami Pimp Extraordinaire and Cagliari Owner/president Massimo Cellino has stolen a page right out of the Aldo Spinelli – How to be a Crazy ass Serie A president – for dummies book. Not to be mistaken with various other Dummies books, right Mr. Beckham!?

The President of the Sardinian Rossoblu squad is claiming that he will sell the Club at the end of the season; in the meantime he’ll be doing all that is physically possible to save the club from the dungeons of Serie B. I say that this whole saga is probably due to the recent e-mails Jeremy has been sending to the Cagliari Prez himself.

Speaking of doing all they can to guarantee another Serie A season next season, Aldo Spinelli has reiterated his reluctance to get rid of Marco Amelia this January. So tell me why did GL Curci’s agents meet with GC Camolese last week? Crazy Zamparini seemingly wants Marco Amelia now and Roma have already ‘’secured’’ a deal for Siena ‘s Arthur. Italian paper,Il Messagero is saying that Curci to Livorno is an almost done deal, so Let’s see what happens in the next 3 days.

Rumour has it that Brescia Midfielder Fabrizio Zambrella is drawing interest in Livorno. The 21 year old swiss has played 45 games for Brescia in the last 3 seasons, and that’s everything I know about the kid,it seems like he has the characteristics Livorno are looking for that and the fact that he has played under Serse Cosmi (this post is like a reunion of crazies! Consequently, it deserves no less than a Francesco CoCo sighting)

Meanwhile on the Mercato front ; Bari is still flrting with Massimo Loviso. Brazilian acquisition Sidny is coming back from his homeland with the right documents and should not pull a Juan Pabo Carizzo.

Who/What Pissed Davide Balleri off during the Terzo Tempo against Juve?

2 words ; Pavel Nedved. La Repubblica.it claims that Davide Balleri lost his mind when the Czech wished him a happy season in Serie B next year… Low Blow, Mr. Nedved, low blow. We all know how annoying a season of Bus riding in Serie B can be,nobody would ever wish that. Especially someone who witnessed it first hand just recently, Right Pavel ?

Who made the Livorno coach Livorno Cry ?

After a 2-1 loss to Sangiovannese earlier this month, someone slashed the tires of Franco Bagagli, Coach of Livorno’s giovanissimi (13-14 year olds) . Poor 60 year old Bagagli was inconsolable and crying in the arms of an outraged Livorno offcial. ”In 32 years of coaching such a horrible thing has never happened to me” said the sobbing coach.

Bagagli most probably has some hardcore repressed psychological baggage in relation with tire slashing.

Go Away Coco!

Speaking of nutjobs, Francesco Coco isn’t coming back to Livorno. The Italian pretty boy’s name has been popping around all season since he and Inter parted ways. After Red Bull NY, QPR, isola dei famosi FC it was now Livorno’s turn. I’m happy Coco isn’t coming back, the guy is better known for his 2002 South Korean bleeding and his WAG(B)S than for his actual football. ( Anyways, how do you manage to go from Manuela Arcuri to guys???)

Francesco let it go, just move on to making nightclub and Reality TV appearances. Then State Fairs, then drugs, then…

Aldo Spinelli has said that he voluntarily didn’t try to sign Lucarelli. Livorno’s president said he was too expensive, that his transfer money was spent on Tavano and that his Livorno cycle had come to a definite end this summer. As of now, the Livorno winter window is made up of a Lucarelli non-signing and the signing of Sidny, who has yet to get all the proper paperwork done.

The king of bullshit himself has declared that the Mercato is now closed; Livorno won’t be signing or selling anybody during the break. I’m certain that GC Camolese thinks he’s joking, i sure hope he is. He has to be joking

The squad, as it is now, is already pretty thin. A couple of key injuries could throw everything into shambles extremely quickly. Just take a look at the midfield;

Livorno are in deep need of some midfield help. Nico Pulzetti has a distorted ankle, Giannichedda and Bergvold are out for 3 months each, add to that the fact that Vikash Dhorasoo didn’t see one minute in the Livorno shirt. The Labronici need to add at least 1 reliable midfielder for the rest of the season. Massimo Loviso isn’t exactly what you call quality depth. That’s why these Sam Dalla Bona to Livorno rumours are arousing my curiosity; they’re also making a lot of sense.

Sam Dalla Bona – Giovanni Pasquale swap?

Dalla Bona isn’t playing that much in Naples and would benefit from a move, albeit temporary, to our beautiful part of Tuscany. But here’s the twist, it seems that Giovanni Pasquale is making Napoli DS Marino drool, ok maybe not drool. The Napoli management has presumably singled out Pasquale as a main target for the vesuvian left flank.

The Venaria Reale left back is Italian, young, has Champions League experience and still has the potential to better with time. Giovanni Pasquale’s pheromones are getting to Napoli’s nose and they can’t resist. Corriere Dello Sport says that the Vesuvian team will be launching an assault on the youngster in about a week. Maybe that’s why we are hearing these Francesco Coco and Marc Pfertzel rumours floating around.

What does Aldo Spinelli think of this? :

Pasquale al Napoli? Nemmeno per 20 milioni di euro. Non cedo nessuno fino a giugno. Nemmeno Amelia, che e` richiestissimo. Pasquale e` incedibile ed il giocatore e` contento di restare al Livorno.

I’m guessing that if someone is crazy enough to offer 20M$ for Pasquale, Spinelli would turn on the part of his brain that makes him rational.

Crazy Goalie Swap:

Giovanni Pasquale isn’t the only Livornese on DS Marino’s list, Napoli are also strongly considering Marco Amelia as their #1, number one for next season. With his last eye opening performances, Napoli will surely want to close the deal fast, or at least get an option on the keeper. They’re aware of Lazio’s interest (even if Lotito couldn’t buy 5$ with a 10 dollar bill, or get paper work filled in correctly ) But it seems like Palermo will be the ones giving them a run for their money, trying to secure the young keepers services in January.

Corriere Dello Sport is talking about a crazy goalie swap, which would involve 4 goalies and 6 teams. These huge player swaps never work out but they’re so much fun to talk about. The move would go like this.

Amelia goes to Palermo and Agliardi goes to Chievo, Then Gianluca Curci would come to Livorno and Siena #2 Arthur something would go to Roma to back up. Here’s the kicker, Chievo keeper Squizzi would go to Palermo if Amelia goes somewhere other than Palermo.

Quite simple isn’t it ? There’s no way in hell that this move gets done in the winter window. Getting Zamparini, Spinelli and Rosella Sensi to make a deal would take at least 4 years to work out. This could make some more sense in the summer.

Gianluca Curci’s agents (Bonetto e Sclosa) have declared they’ll be meeting with GC Camolese to see what Livorno could bring to their young protégé. Me thinks that Gianluca Curci would rather play in Serie A, whatever his agents say, seeing how he’s in the National Squad. The kid is good but he isn’t exactly GiGi Buffon yet so a move to the cadetteria would maybe place him out of reach of the Roberto Donadoni/Azzurri radar.

Yesterday, Martha talked about another Marco Amelia to Palermo rumour , even if it’s less amusing than a 20 team goalie swap, it sounds a little bit more logical ;

Here’s a new one on Zampa’s team: He’s supposedly “only” a few million from an agreement with Livorno — the offer is €8 million, Livorno want €11 million — on Marco Amelia. If a deal were to be worked out, Livorno would get cash, as well as the loan of young midfielder Bosko Jankovic, and would supposedly bring Gianluca Pagliuca out of retirement to keep goal for them for the rest of the season. Which would be AWESOME.

There’s no way in hell that a Bosko Jankovic loan is worth 3M$ , maybe in Crazy-Zampa-Lalaland, but not in Aldo-i’m crazy to you know- Spinelli’s lalaland

*117 years ago, on January 22nd, Antonio Gramsci a great Italian was born in Sardinia

So Aldo was bullshitting about having a verbal agreement with Donetsk for Cristiano’s return. Ain’t that surprising !

Cristiano Lucarelli is back in the peninsula. Francesco has the lowdown on his move to the Tardini.

( And no, Selvaggia isn’t his wife(keep on clicking!))

The Big Man was imported from the Ukraine to sign a new contract with the Tardini outfit today. The Livorno born bomber/ Editor/Rocco Sifreddi best Friend and Communist has signed on for the next 3 and a half years to help Parma regain the respectability they deserve. It’s great to see another Italian Champion come back to the boot, i love to travel as much as the next guy, but this Italian Star Exodus has gone too far anyways.

To me, Lucarelli will always remain a Livorno Bandiera. The special bond he had/has with the City and the fans will never be forgotten. His call up to the Italy squad was accomplished during his time with the Labronici. The Big Man has 105 goals in 246 games in Serie A over his career and 94 of them in the Livorno shirt. He’s the major reason why the little Tuscan town’s team is still in Serie A at the moment.

He had this to say about Livorno today ;

Ti aspettavi che il Livorno ti cercasse? “Sono andato dove mi hanno chiesto. Il Livorno non mi ha cercato, avranno avuto i loro motivi, quindi mi sono sentito libero di fare le mie scelte anche perché io ho sempre pagato o ho avuto dei benefici dalle scelte che ho fatto in prima persona e non ho mai chiesto a nessuno di poter pagare al posto mio. Quindi questa è una cosa che mi dava felicità e l’ho fatta, anche perché Parma, poi, è l’unica squadra che è andata a Donetsk e ha comprato il cartellino per intero senza prestiti, senza riscatti, senza niente, cioè è una società che mi voleva e tre anni e mezzo di contratto lo dimostrano”

Free Translation:

I went where I was wanted. Livorno didn’t try to get me back, so I felt free to choose whichever club suited my needs best. Parma has been harassing me and Donetsk for quite some time now. Parma gave me a 3 year and a half contract and they were the only team to purchase my contract outright

I don’t want to get in to the whole problem with Lucarelli and the Ultras, but I’m glad Lucarelli is back in Italy. Unfortunately, it’s not with Livorno…

On January 13th 1968 , Johnny Cash recorded his landmark album At Folsom Prison live, 40 years later ; Livorno will be traveling to the Olimpico in Turin to take on Torino.

After a nice long (too long if you ask Aldo Spinelli) winter break, Serie A is back on and ready to entertain Italian football enthusiasts for another 5 months . Finally some Italian football, don’t the big boys at the Serie A front office know that Christmas time means more people on holiday, hence a possibility of more people in the stadiums. (i’m indirectly complimenting the Premiership here, much to my disgust)

At least, The Scudetto and Relegation battles are closer and more competitive than in recent years, so let’s get ready for some nice games and some excitement and some photo finishes. Let’s hope this all starts with the Sunday Torino vs Livorno matchup. The 2 burgundy-ish clubs will both be looking to get as far away as possible from the drop zone.

Livorno

The Livorno outfit is currently on a 7 game unbeaten streak (Yes! 7 games and no losses) The unbeaten streak includes encounters against teams like Roma, Udinese and a Diego Tristan goal. Livorno has a game in hand on the rest of the relegation battlers, seeing how they didn’t play Milan yet because of that Japanese world conquering thing.

La Squadra Labronica stands only 1 spot over the relegation zone at 16th in Serie A with 15 points after 17 games. Torino is in 15th place with 17 points, so a win or a draw in Turin would do a great deal in helping the Labronici get closer to safety and start aiming for that 10th spot they deserve. Toro have drawn five of their eight home games so far this season, so let’s at least try to give them a loss at home. Taking all 3 points in Turin would make Johnny Camels very happy

Camolese started his playing and coaching career at Torino. He started managing the Primavera side and then went on to lead the Granata to 1st place in Serie B in 2001. He brought instant promotion to a team that was in the relegation zone (4th from Last) He was then fired in 2002.

Johnny Camels has stated that he wants to celebrate with Torino on the penultimate matchday of the season in Livorno but I get the feeling Giancarlo Camolese would still love to stick it to his ex-employer and show what a great coach he is.

Mr. Camolese deserves all the credit he gets from his peers for revolutionising Livorno’s mentality and play since his appointment. However, he doesn’t get enough recognition for his excellent squad tinkering and the fact that he reads the game very well, something that Luciano Spalletti must be jealous of.

Giancarlo Camolese has been working miracles with the limited Livorno roster he has to cope with; let’s hope he continues this way, seeing how the January Transfer Market will probably be very scarce.

Aldo Spinelli has declared that he’ll be passing on the reigns of the Livorno squad at the end of the season.
This might explain why Livorno aren’t even going to ‘’try’’ and snatch Cristiano Lucarelli back, or any other proven Serie A star.

President Spinelli , who acts more like a sporting director than actual DS Signorelli, has stated that the Winter Window will only be used for some very minor fine tuning. Diminutive Brazilian Left-Back Sidny, has been acquired (he won’t be travelling to Torino with the squad) from Nautico Recife to give Davide Balleri and his 39 years some well deserved rest.

Other than that, Livorno is looking around (especially in Serie B) for some cheap but smart, Daniele De Vezze style, acquisitions. The most pressing need is a backup for Pasquale on the left flank. At least, World Transfer Target Marco Amelia hasn’t left yet and will be starting in net for Livorno on Sunday.

Amelia is back from the minor injury that kept him out of the Atalanta game. The only players GC Camolese won’t be able to count on are Nico Pulzetti, Antonio Filippini and Fausto Rossini. The gaffer will be able to field his preferred starting XI, who of Giannichedda and E. Filippini will start being the only uncertainty.

The 3-5-2 will be in full effect !

Coach : Giancarlo ‘’Johnny Camels’’ Camolese.

Contrary to Livorno, Torino have some casualties on their side. Vincenzo Grella is suspended
,Marco Motta, Rubin, Vailatti, Ventola and ALÈ ROSINA are all ruled out due to injuries. Walter Novellino will probably field a Christmas tree with Alvaro Recoba in the Starting Eleven.

Probable Formation (4-3-2-1):

Matteo Sereni,

Comotto, Natali, Dellafiore, Lanna,

P. Zanetti, Corini , Barone,

Di Michele, A. Recoba

Bjelanovic

Bench : Fontana, Di Loreto, Bottone, Lazetic, Benedetti, Oguro

Coach : Novellino.

Even without their star player, Torino remains a dangerous opponent.
It’s a total mystery to me how they are still at the bottom of the table under such teams as Catania, Genoa and Atalanta. With a little bit more luck on the finishing end , Torino would have a much better place in the standings. Bjelanovic and Nicola Ventola are not getting the job done. This is the reason Torino have been linked with Rolando Bianchi, Lucarelli and pretty much every other available decent big man out there. Let’s hope their lack of atrue Center forward will turn to Livorno’s advantage.

Prediction:

These 2 teams are masters in the Art of the Draw. Most experts are predicting a low scoring Torino victory, but I get the feeling Livorno will at least get a draw in Turin. Rosina is out and Torino doesn’t have a lethal offensive threat (Alvaro Recoba doesn’t count!) If Livorno’s defence holds the fort and the Tavano/Tristan partnership creates some offence, the Amaranto squad could easily take all 3 points

2-1 Livorno!

Forza Ragazzi!