Almiron’s expression sums up everyone’s feelings at the club

Make no mistake- the lunchtime visit to the San Siro will see Bari return to Puglia without any points. It’s questionable if the club will even surpass 20 points for the season. The team has won 10% of its games (roughly) thus far, drawn 25%, and lost the rest. Should the Galletti continue this trend, for the remaining 10 games, Bari will finish with exactly 20 points, making it one of the worst squads to get relegated since Ancona nearly 8 years ago. A far cry from the Barcelona-lite as the team was hailed last season.

There are three objectives left for the pride of Puglia:
i. Sell the club.
ii. Start an ambitious plan for Serie B- we want a return in one year.
iii. Honor the shirt.

The first is the biggest priority, because with the Mattareses in charge (Vincenzo and brother Antonio) this club is going nowhere. It’s unsure if it’ll even become a Serie A/B yo-yo club, they’ve gambled with the clubs fortunes in the last few years. Signing Conte, after his Arezzo was relegated was a gamble, and it paid off. Signing Ventura was also a gamble, he had done well recently with Pisa, but his previous record at Napoli, Verona, and Messina was not terribly impressive. Basing a mercato on players like Ranocchia and Bonucci was another gamble- in each of these situations, they were lucky that it paid off. But at some point, as any frequent casino-goer will tell you, your luck starts to run out. Signing Bertolo Mutti was just an utterly depressing idea- he’s been an awful coach for years now, and he’s not a young ambitious coach that the club can “develop.” Will he be on the bench in Serie B? Doubtful, which makes the decision all the more ludicrous. If Bari want to ever become a more permanent fixture in Serie A, the Mattareses have to go.

Il Capitano will head to Serie B (again)…will Masiello? Or Almiron?

The second is obvious- the team is done with Serie A, but the club must develop a plan to return, and immediately so. This isn’t a simple task, a lot of clubs get sucked down into Serie B and toil away in mediocrity for years. Bari is one of them, as you all surely recall the near decade spent in calcio purgatory. It’s not a simple case of buying good players, it’s important to plan a team, and crappy Serie A players don’t necessarily make good Serie B ones, a lesson Torino took several years to learn. It’s important to get some Serie B veterans in the squad, those who know the terrain and the different style of play.

The players are a small yet obviously crucial part of the team, but just as important is the structure of the club. Bari’s promotion in 2008-2009 was no fluke- Conte did excellent as manager, and Giorgio Perinetti, the former DS, did well to mix a team full of Serie B veterans (Parisi, Stellini, etc) and promising players. (Guberti, Barreto) Perinetti and Conte have since reunited at Siena, and it’s no coincidence their club is solidly pushing for promotion, in 2nd with 9 points separating them from 4th. I’m not sure they would be keen on another reunion, and another project to get a club back into Serie A, but they’d be the dream team. As much disappointment looms around the club, somehow they managed to dispel the relegation hangover at Siena. Otherwise, it’s simple- a competent DS, and an ambitious manager, possibly a “promotion expert” if possible.

The last objective? Facile.
Give the fans a few moments of pleasure in the midst of all this negativity.
See the fans walk out of the stadium with a idiotic grin on their face after a pointless victory
Hear the San Nicola roar one more time at the sight of a goal…no matter how scrappy.

Before the the Roosters of the South bid “adieu” to Serie A…let’s show them that there’s still some fight and passion in central Puglia.

1 point is not going to save us, but for a minute there, Ghezzal gave Biancorossi fans something to stand up and scream about.

Grazie.

Here we go again….

As the title suggests, this is yet another do or die for i Galletti. Coming off a dour 0-0 tie v Genoa, Bari head to the unfriendly (unless you are Shakhtar Donetsk) confines of Stadio Olimpico in Rome to face Hernanes, Kozak, Olimpia and the crazies in the Curva Nord to face a strong Lazio side Sunday. It would seem with all the nutiness happening on Torrebella that a win would seem a stretch at this point. While the lads and coaching staff are saying all the right things in the leadup (really, what are they going to say “we are playing Lazio, theyre good, we stink, we probably going to lose) the product come Sunday is perpetually lacking. Same old story; we struggle to defend, and lord knows we cant score. There is absolutely nothing to suggest Bari can grab all 3 points, but this is calcio, and strange things can happen. Hell, Lecce went into Olimpico and pulled a snatch and grab against Lazio and claimed all 3, why cant we. Heres a crazy, out of the blue prediction….We will get all 3 this Sunday. There is absolutely no foundation or substance to this prediction, but I have a feeling.

LINEUPS

Lazio (probable): Muslera; Scaloni, Biava, Dias, Radu; Ledesma, Matuzalem; Gonzalez, Hernanes, Sculli; Kozak

Bari (probable): Gillet; A Masiello, Glik, Rossi, Parisi; Rivas, Donati, Gazzi, Bentivoglio; Okaka, Rudolf

Still no Barreto, but he should be back soon. Kutuzov is healthy (yay), but Belmonte and S Masiello are still on the shelf.

TV

Ths game is on Fox Sports World Canada, not sure of availability in the USofA.

Forza Bari!

At this point, there was probably no other choice, as much as I cannot stand the Matarrese family and their incompetence and lack of ambition, the decision had to be made. That doesn’t mean they are faultless, far from it- the seeds of Bari’s relegation and Ventura’s resignation were planted long ago. Alas, when the calcio world was fawning over Bari’s Barca-lite playing last season and hailing the club’s 10th place finish, we knew that all was not right at the Stadio San Nicola. The Matarrese’s shrugged when Giorgio Perinetti left for Siena, and then shrugged as an extremely half-assed mercato failed to improve the team. Forget improve, it didn’t even attempt to keep it at the same level. While it was always going to be impossible to keep ahold of young defensive starlets Andrea Ranocchia and Leo Bonucci, it was a pathetic job of repairing the whole. Other teams might go for a “proven” central defender like Manfredini, or a promising young gun, Palermo have done well to get Matteo Darmian, Bari secured the illustrious name of Andrea Raggi.

We all knew Barreto wouldn’t have the same year he did last year (hopefully one in which he missed fewer penalties) and yet, no bomber was signed to partner him. Ghezzal is a talented player in flashes, but he is not a goalscorer, and never will be. The January mercato was a perfect time to go out and refresh the squad, but again, Bari did an incredible job of doing nothing of substance. Though I love him for his debut goal against Lecce, Okaka is not a proven goalscorer this team needs, nor do I really rate his potential. Going Hail Mary on a random Norwegian guy isn’t a terribly proven option, and in central defense, we went out and again picked up Palermo’s trash, in Kamil Glik, who couldn’t get a single Serie A start at a club playing Munoz or a 24-year old Slovenian import in central defense.

None of this is to pile individual blame on these players, some of which don’t deserve it. Most do, however, but the overarching strategy of Bari the last 9 months has been quite indicative of the Matarrese’s general feelings about the club- meh. A half-assed mercato in June was followed by the same in January, and it’s no surprise to anyone that this club, dismantled of several of its stars in the summer, is teetering on the brink of Serie B. That doesn’t absolve Giampiero Ventura entirely, though. Injuries and a poor mercato have hurt this team immensely, but surely i Galletti could have picked up a few more points here and there? Is the squad that much worse than Cesena or Bologna? No, cazzo! The situation has been rather extreme, however, and ultimately it’d be extremely unfair to fault Ventura for the team’s impending relegation.

But as I said, it had to be done. Ventura tendered his resignation a few weeks ago, it was rejected. While I applaud the Matarrese’s decision to stick behind Ventura through such difficulty, should I? It’s easy to say that similar clubs would have unceremoniously sacked him months ago, but it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Matarrese’s just kind of stood their silently, there was little verbal backing of the coach. They don’t care, so why should they sack anyone? It might be a bit of a curse for some of our southern neighbors with their trigger-happy Presidents, but hell, at least you know Zamparini gives a damn. He fires out of love, as irrational or idiotic as it might be.

Today, the club officially accepted Ventura’s offer of resignation and ended their working relationship. They have decided to bring in Bertolo Mutti, who is just a terrible decision in every way, shape or form, but that rant is for another day. For today, there are only two more words I’d like to say for the man who brought us to our best ever finish in Serie A, the man who made everyone fear the Biancorossi, for the man who made us dream:

Grazie, mister.

In news that can really come as no surprise to any fan of i Galletti, CT Giampiero Ventura is out as coach of AS Bari, by mutual consent. In is Bartolo Mutti, 56 year old former coach of Napoli, Reggina, Palermo and most recently, his hometown club of Atalanta. He wasnt able to save the Orobici from relegation last year, lets hope hope hope he can somehow pull a rabbit out of a hat in Puglia.

Here’s the link on Football Italia

http://www.football-italia.net/feb10y.html

Here he is folks….

Benvenuto Mister. In bocca al lupo!!!

As always……

FORZA BARI!!!

I dont have much to say here. In a microcosm of how things are going for all things related to our beloved club, I had a post half in the can, and it all got wiped out because I forgot to re log on, and it didnt save. To steal a line from the otherwise shity movie “Asassins”…… F&%&* SH*T MOTHER F*&%*ER!!!!

Napoli rolls into the San Nicola, with the memory of their collapse against all those months ago (ahhh the good ol days), revenge on their minds and looking to take the 3 points so vital to their title hopes.

Because she is slightly better looking than her cugine, Aurellio

PROBABLE STARING XIs

Bari (probable): Gillet; A. Masiello, Belmonte, Glik, Raggi; Alvarez, Pulzetti, Gazzi, Romero; Kutuzov, Rudolf

Napoli (probable): De Sanctis; Campagnaro, Cannavaro, Aronica; Maggio, Gargano, Pazienza, Dossena; Hamsik, Lavezzi; Cavani

Ref: Mazzoleni

TV:

For those of us lucky enough to live in Canada, this game is on FOX Sports World Canada @ 6am PST 9am EST. You Americans out there have to hope RAI is showing it, or go to the usual sources for streams

One last thing……FORZA BARI!!!

On the surface, this game is a matchup of the 19th and 20th placed teams in the Italian top flight, a relegation crunch match in very sense. To look a little deeper though, shows that this game is a about a whole lot more. Lets face it a derby match in Italy has very few comparables. Real-Barca, Porto-Benfica, these are huge games no question, but a game like this; between two clubs from the same region of Italy, from these two cities, quite frankly, the word rivalry may be an understatement. Bari is the big city, the capital, while Lecce plays the part of second city, the so called Florence of the Salento. In Bari, we eat brasciole, orrichiette and macaroni al forno. In Lecce, they eat cat. But I digress. Any way you slice, tomorrow’s game at Stadio Via Del Mare (hopefully they can actually half fill the joint) is HUGE!

THE ENEMY- US Lecce-merda

che faccia bruta. Lecce MERDA!!!

I’m not going to say to much about the boys in yellow-red and dark blue, because frankly I dont know too much, or care too much about them. They are quality Serie B side, from what I can tell. A lot of journeymen (Rosati), sprinkled with a few quality Serie A type players (Di Michele, Chevanton, Oliviera) and some youngsters (Corvia, sort of) and they were always going to struggle to stay up. Their play has been pretty indifferent throughout, with a solitary victory in their last 5. The less I say about them, the better.

Probabale Starting XI

Rosati; Donati, Gustavo, Fabiano, Brivio; Giacomazzi, Vives, Munari; Olivera; Chevanton, Ofere

THE GOOD GUYS IN RED AND WHITE- AS Bari

Time to step up my Honduran friend

I took a bit of a run at Lecce only managing 1 win in their last five, but truth be told, I would take that win for us in a heartbeat. Alas, we can say we went into the break on a bit of a high note, scrapping to earn a point, a man down at that, against a very good Palermo side. The positives really and truly stop there though. Lets not mince words, this season has been a disaster on so many levels. Whether it be injuries to key players (Barreto, Ghezzal) underachieving players (A-L-V-A-R-E-Z!!!) key defections in key positions (gulp, Ranocchia and Bonucci) or the fact that teams have seemed to figure out the Mister’s tactics, it has all gone wrong for i Galletti. Amid all that gloom and doom though, and the fact that we have not won a game since September (CAZZO!) we can still escape the relegation zone with a sweep this week with 6 points. Tomorrow is the start of the biggest week of the season for us, 2 VERY winable games (Bologna in casa on Sunday) Lord willing tomorrow is where we blast off!

Lets hope we see plenty of celly's from this kid!

Of note, the strengthening of the squad has begun, as we have landed CB Glik from Palermo, and the young Italian striker Okaka from Roma, on loan. While these two are not saviours, I believe they are valuable pieces, in positions that we are incredible thin at. Benvenuto Kamil e Stefano. In bocca al lupo!!! (literally tomorrow)

The new Polish Wall? Lets hope so!

Probable Starting XI

Gillet; A. Masiello, Belmonte, Rinaldi, Raggi; Alvarez, Donati, Gazzi, Rivas; Rana, Kutuzov

This starting XI scares me. First of all, Gazzi is on the pitch, and that friggen Ginger just pisses me off as a footballer. Second, I really dont know shit about Rinaldi and Rana. Quite possibly, we will see Glik inserted at CB and Caputo partnering Kutuzov up front.

I leave you with this interesting stat, courtesy of the good folks at Football Italia

Stat fact: In the past four seasons, the side bottom of the League at Christmas has managed to survive relegation at the end of the season twice – Cagliari despite being five points adrift in 2007-08 and Chievo in 2008-09 after trailing 17th place by six points.

LETS MAKE IT 3 IN THE PAST 5!!! It starts tomorrow!!!

So there you have it, just a quick one this week, and hopefully we make quick work of those dirty Salenti tomorrow.

Time to play for the shirt boys!!!

FORZA BARI!!!!

Bari have only one striker available for the trip to Catania between injuries and bans, as Paulo Vitor Barreto is out for a month. The Brazilian was stretchered off during the 1-0 home defeat to Parma on Sunday and has been diagnosed with a second degree thigh strain in his right leg. Tests have now confirmed Barreto will be out of action for at least four weeks.

There are other injuries that Coach Giampiero Ventura has to deal with, plus Andrea Masiello, Massimo Donati and Sergio Almiron sitting out bans for the next round. Nacho Castillo is sidelined for two weeks, Emmanuel Rivas for three, Abdel Ghezzal for five and Vitalii Kutuzov struggling to recover from his injury.

Crikey.

What’s been wrong with Bari this season? A lot of things, but if we simply go by the numbers, the defense has been a bit leaky, and the offense particularly has been bad. The problem is the same up top as it is in defense, Barreto can’t carry this team singlehandedly, and the lack of a real striker to partner him has been killing Bari. Ditto to Andrea Masiello and the lack of a real central defender to protect Gillet. Compare the goals scored: goals conceded position from last year.

Exactly a 1:1 ratio. Very close to the other teams mostly in mid-table, with the exception of Sampdoria. Udinese being a bit of an outlier there. Compared to this years:

That’s relegation form, both for offense (anemic) and defense. (leaky) With no forwards, we can look at a rough few weeks ahead. Not heady times down at the San Nicola, that’s for sure.

Rumors are that Ventura is facing the sack, which makes me sick. Defense was much improved last year, Barreto had a great year. Bari sold the defense, didn’t replace it, and Barreto can’t be expected to hit double digits two seasons in a row, when it’s really his first few in Serie A. Astoundingly poor vision in the mercato, and Giampaolo might take the hit for it.

Given our poor mercato, I expected we’d get involved in the relegation battle at some point, but not this early in the season.

I think we’re all feeling a little sick. Thankfully, Dr. Jack Daniels makes house calls.

difendiAmolA!

Il Mister gets the boys pumped up.

This game could go either way. As the title says, Fiorentina are wounded, and the Artemio Franchi crowd will be angry and desperate for points, surely the Viola players feel the same way. They will have to deal without stars Stevan Jovetic, Cristiano Zanetti, Gaetano D’Agostino, and Vargas, who have been injured, and of course Mutu is off either paying off one drug conviction or busy fulfilling a suspension for another. That said, Fiorentina still have quality- Frey, Montolivo, and Gilardino might not excel in their national teams (Frey doesn’t really get the chance) but they do very well for Fiorentina. Add in decent players like Marchionni, Ljajic, Donadel, and Gamberini, and this won’t be a walk in the park.

I do feel for Sinisa- though I’ve never liked him as a player (or coach) the Viola’s struggles are not really his fault. Fiorentina finished out last season listlessly, and Corvino did not do well this summer, I suppose Alessio Secco wasn’t around to give him his players AND cash for the mercato. Viola have had injuries to key players, like Jovetic, and with Mutu still out one would have expected Corvino to have gotten a striker this summer, but they didn’t. And then there’s the age old question of “where is that 2nd CB to partner Gamberini” which he has never solved.

Like Fiorentina, Bari aren’t exactly stunning their critics this season. Having lost several key players from last season, the Biancorossi have done their best to create a competitive squad, but there is a feeling that the team as a whole hasn’t progressed from last year’s talent, indeed, I would say there’s been a slight regression. (Ranocchia and Bonucci to Raggi and Rossi? Eh.) Ventura, however, is doing the best with what he’s got. The defense has held up far better than I expected to, with Andrea Masiello growing into the center-back position. The midfield and attack both look much as they do last year…a rather double-edged comment. There is the pace and direct running we saw, but there are still players like Gazzi and Mike’s boy Vitali Kutuzov who are frankly, not Bari material. I’m not even convinced they are relegation-battling material. I’m sure many of you are either nodding your head or shaking it in agreement.

Will la Bruja make it onto the pitch?

Ventura has some options, and some niggling injuries to deal with, as Almiron and Barreto are not 100%. Belmonte will continue his growth as a right-back, one Masiello will occupy the CB position and the other, the LB, and old man Parisi will attempt to prolong his career partnering Andrea in the middle. On the wings, it’ll be Edgar Alvarez and Ghezzal…Alvarez bringing all the pace and Ghezzal, the ability to make simple passes and dribble on the ball. Almiron is questionable, so Pulzetti and Donati might forge a new partnership in midfield. Donati and Pulzetti both have much to prove, but there is some flash of talent there, unlike Gazzi who will likely be relegated to the bench…although I think Almiron will make it for a big game like this, nevertheless the nasty tackle he received in training. Up top, Barreto is more fit than Almiron, as MRIs ruled out any damage to his calf, though he has still felt pain as of Friday. Kutuzov may finally be dropped, perhaps for Old Man Nacho Castillo.

Barreto or not, it’s to time to release the Nacho

Predicted XI: (4-4-2)- Il Gatto di Liegi; Belmonte, Masiello, Parisi, Other Masiello; Speedy Gonzalez, Pulzetti, Donati, Ghezzal; Barreto, Nacho

The key factor in this game is Fiorentina’s mindset. I don’t expect Bari to take it to Fiorentina, but the Galletti are going to put in a decent shift. Last week against Lazio the team more or less held its own against a very good team, until it was unlocked by some magic. I expect similarly against the Viola, even in Firenze, although it depends if Almiron and Barreto are able to make it, as they are two of the more quality/consistent players in this side. It’s all about the psychological standpoint in Firenze- Are they going to be angry, aggressive, and hungry for points? Or beyond that…desperate, and a bit too heated for the match? Timid, and solely trying to avoid defeat? Any of these could show up, and they will shape the game.

FORZA GALLETTI!!