Lies from Cellino aside, he had an opportunity to purchase an up and coming young player for a bargain price in my opinion. If you purchase him and Cagliari is a much improved team next year, his price goes up and you can make your money back. If not hang onto him as he still has time to get better, but most importantly he is an asset for the club. I know Cagliari wasnt Foggias favorite place to play and he wants to move on, but letting him go will not only hurt us next year, but it will prove to be a bad decision not to purchase this guy. Like his fragility or not, he is an up and coming young player we should have kept.

Speaking of up and coming, we will definitely see Robert Acquafresca in a Cagliari uniform next year. That is good news as he is one of the up and coming talents in world football. With him still needing another year to establish stardom, other big clubs that had an interest were only lukewarm in their overtures but most importantly Inter wanted to own him in full and they made the right decision to buy him and loan him to Cagliari. Inter buys Cagliaris half for 5 million, eliminates the risk of an open bid on him where they would have likely had to pay more to assure they would outbid Cagliari to get him. If a deal is not made and he goes to open auction, crazy man Cellino might bid a ton and end up with full ownership. While unlikely, Inter would not risk it. Instead Cagliari lets him go, gets some cash that can be used on other players(hey Foggia was available), and we get to have him play for us for one more year and he will no doubt and contribute next year. No one knows the future, but in the game that is finances and purchasing players we were never going to own Acquafresca, and getting another year of him and some cash is the best a small club like Cagliari can hope for. The fact his 50% ownership was a key part of the Suazo deal shows someone was doing their homework for Cagliari. I think it was Giampaolo but he is now in Siena.

Another tidbit is Cagliari favorite Mauro Espositio. We sold half his rights to Roma last year for 2 million and he didnt get to play much. With him having no desire to return to Cagliari and Cellino not going to force him back with a high bid, we let him go for basically half ownership in young defender Magliochetti. I am sure there was some money involved as well but very little I would gues. The end result is Cagliari is now done with Espositio, who performed admirably for years, and gets another year to see a young player develop in Maggliochetti were his performance will determine how much we make off him next year at this time if he is worthy of a big club.

Lastly, what I feel is the most important part of the team seems to be taking a back seat to our actions in other areas. Officially Marco Storari has returned to Milan now that his loan deal is over. He is not a Cagliari player. I think Milan is still deciding whether they want to give this guy such a high profile job, but they would be smart to do so. They can spend their money elsewhere. Unless they are blind, they should know what kind of keeper they have and what he did to save Cagliari from relegation. Simply put, his return to Cagliari or his replacement being of similar talent is the most important decision in terms of where Cagliari will finish next year. Even if Milan decides he isnt ready for their number one, there are bigger clubs they can sell him or loan him to that would pay more then Cagliari. If Cellino wont buy Foggia for a bargain price, he wont make the investment in Storari. Bad move Massimo.

If you have any doubt that Storari wont return to us next year, the signing of AlbinoLeffe goalie Federico Marchetti should eliminate it. We now own him and it is expected he will replace Storari. He lead the Serie B club to a fourth place finish in Serie B, which is nothing to sneeze at, says all the right things, and at 25, may well be an up and coming goalie. We own him outright now so maybe he can help, but next year he is not as good as Storari would have been so it is a downgrade. He will need to establish respect from his teammates quickly or games that we won last year will be losses. A stud goalie is the most important position on the field for a young club with few star type players. Im not sure what was done to keep Storari, but it may be that it was out of our hands.

I am sure there will be more transfers in and there is a lot of young talent on this team. Letting a 25 yr old Foggia leave for the small price he commanded was foolish but getting another year of Acquafresca is a bonus and makes the Foggia loss all the more not understandable. Cagliari clearly is a place where young players are given a chance to develop before they become stars or Serie B cast offs, but at some point money has to be spent because you cannot keep dodging relegation and the fans deserve a mid table club.

At this point in the transfer season we are looking at mixed results. Lets see who else arrives and where this money Cellino is sitting on gets spent. Until then, I cant help but have a bittersweet taste in my mouth about the last few days developments thinking about what could have been.

As I mentioned in my last post, Foggia was quoted as saying how much he would like to stay in Sardinia for another year. If you believe Cellino, that is going to happen. There is no doubt Foggia wants to play for Napoli or a bigger club and did not get along with the fans in Cagliari, but when Cagliari owns half your rights and has an option to renew his loan agreement for 08-09, you are careful in what you say. After it seemed like Lazio wanted him back and Cellino was more then happy to oblige, Lazio changed its mind and Cellino realizing he was getting a second chance to keep him, picked up his loan option and has guaranteed Foggia will be back in Sardinia for another year which is great news.

Foggia is a talented but fragile player. Lazio isnt so good where they would not have a need for him. He would be an upgrade in midfield for most any Serie A team so for Lazio to let him come back, a deal has to be in place for the rigtht kind of money or future ownership. If Foggia can put together a strong full season, the big club and money will be there for him. He is not there yet so he will have to play another year on a fringe Serie A team to prove he can be a factor for the whole year. I am guessing that Cellino and Lazio reached a deal where they will get one more year of Foggia in Cagliari, Cagliari will give up their half interest in him and allow him to be sold to the highest bidder with probably some money coming back our way this time next year. If he has a great year, then we benefit from his play and get some money. If he does not improve, we let him go without feeling as bad as we would by letting him go now.

Anything that is done to keep a good player is a great move so while things can happen next year that may see us lose him for good, if he stays we are that much closer to feeling like we are UEFA Cup contenders and not relegation fodder. If you are a small club, you look at your team year by year and cant worry about who will be here 2-3 years from now.

If you think that is good news, it also seems like Acquafresca will be coming back for another year in Cagliari. Inter has supposedly asked us to keep him for another year and we are happy to oblige. Even Acquafresca is in agreement. This is another co ownership deal where we will get to keep him for another year and give up our rights to him next year when he is likely ready to star for Inter. We know that despite his great second half, he needs to establish himself as a star over the course of a whole year before Inter puts pressure on Cagliari to give him up. For now, there is not a better place for him to maximize his talent and grow as a player. If he continues to improve and emerge, he will simply be too good to stay in Cagliari. If he is stagnant in his growth, we might keep him longer. Remember he is only 20 and even if his growth is a little slower then we expect it to be over the course of 08-09, a lot can happen and he is still better then what we have. To have him for next year is huge if we can pull it off.

If we can lock these guys in for another year, we might find Storari willing to return and we may even add more players who see this club as a real up and comer. Remember, the second half of last year, the way we played would have made us UEFA Cup contenders. With the players from the second half possibly returning, this looks like a season where we could make our mark on Serie A.

Hopefully more solid news is to come, but things are looking up and I am excited to think about the possibilites for next year with Foggia and Acquafresca. Relegation will not be in our vocabulary next year and the fans mindset may start to change.

Instead Foggia is talking like he would be fine with another year in Sardinia. Dont read too much into it as he clearly wants his freedom from Cagliari. Instead of talking tough, demanding a transfer, or just making things difficult, he is going to let things play out. He recently mentioned that he would be happy to return to Lazio or stay in Cagliari and would do his best for either club. The two teams co own him and he is in a similar situation to Acquafresca sp his future is uncertain. These are Cagliaris two best players and fortunately we lucked into them and although they were still developing at this time last year so we were happy to take on a co ownership deal with other clubs not totally sure how much they would contribute in 07-08. The end result was these guys were two of our better players and contributed at different points to our survival and now we stand to lose both of them.

Where we might not be able to outbid Inter for Acquafresca, we might lay down the cash and try and own Foggia outright. Foggia knows this and wants to facillitate a deal where he becomes free of Cagliari. Because small clubs are typically year to year operations from players up to the gaffer, Cagliari is very likely to make a deal to give up ownership of him completely for one more year of rental if we can get it. Expect Lazio to buy him outright and loan him back to Cagliari for another year as part of the deal. Lazio gets another year to organize and will be ready to move up in 09-10 when Foggia stepss up as a fully owned player. Cagliari gets a great player for one more year of what will hopefully be survival. While Foggia would prefer Napoli, hed rather end up long term in Lazio then risk Cagliari owning him.

Foggia had an up and down year in Sardinia but he sees some talent and will wait it out one more year. He knows he will get first team football and if he plays well again, might get a chance to shine for the national team. Any Cagliari fan knows he has a bigger club on his mind or wants to get back to Napoli, but first he must get away from Cagliari so he needs to be prepared to make a deal. He is handling things correctly and this will be to his benefit in the long run for his career goals. As a fan of a small club, if we can make a deal to get him if just for another year, then I will be happy because say what you want, he is a difference maker and will someday be a huge midfield asset for a big club.

One year at a time for us but glad to see Foggia handling things the right way, even if his motives are clear.

It is my understanding we co own him with Inter as a result of the Suazo deal. By co-owning, what does that mean? Does the bigger club choose where he plays ie he only plays in Cagliari if Inter does not want him. Since it was clear going into 07-08 that he was not going to be first team at Inter, it made sense that he plays in Cagliari. After a slow beginning, he emerged as a first team player in Sardinia and it is clear he would be first choice striker in 08-09. From what I can gather, Inter, assuming they even have the final say, want him to play atleast another year at another club so he can get first team football. Surely as part of the Suazo deal we negotiated more then one year of him on our team so if he did develop, we would get a little benefit from him.

No matter what my lack of understanding is about who actually controls him, wouldnt it make sense for him to return to Cagliari for 08-09 and play first team football and continue his development? The ownership issue would play itself out later.

If it seems so simple, why is Robert linked with every small club in Serie A for 08-09 and there is little to no mention at all that he could return to Cagliari? Does he not want to come back to us? Do we not have a say whether he does since we co own him, especially if Inter wants him to get first team football that they may not be quite ready to give him? As part of the coownership agreement, do Cagliari and Inter have to make a deal before the start of the season and if they cant do it, he is put up for auction with Inter clearly the team to buy him outright because they have the money we dont? I thought that would take place after two years not one. Wouldnt it make sense for Inter, who clearly want him playing, to make a deal with Cagliari to let him stay with us for another year to see if he develops or do they want to buy him outright before his price goes up after what is assumed will be a further breakout in 08-09?

Im probably missing the basic facts of the ownership deal, but if we truly have co ownership, wouldnt we want to hold onto him for atleast another year? Was I wrong to think we had him for two years as part of the Suazo deal? Is Cellino going to sell our share now for some more young players because he will soon go up for auction and we wont be able to get him in that process so why not get something for him now instead of getting nothing later? I understand that logic, but if we know we will lose him to Inter eventually, why not sell our share to Inter with the agreement that he plays for us for another year or two instead of him going back to Inter only to be loaned out to Torino or Atalanta for the same time frame? I know he wants first team football and we arent exactly loaded with strikers so Cagliari is an ideal fit for everyone.

Maybe someone smarter then me can explain what is going on behind the scenes and what Inter and Cagliaris goals are to solve the ownership problem while also benefiting from his services, even if its just for a short period of time. Its one thing to lose your players to a bigger club because they are ready for a bigger stage, but everyone involved says Roberts no quite there yet so why should we lose him to a bigger club only so he can be loaned out to another small club so he can play just as he would here. Quite frankly Im sick of big clubs stock piling players, half of which dont get to play regularly, when they could be dominating for a smaller club thereby making Serie A more competititve. Suazo goes to Inter and maybe plays half the time if that. How does that benefit the player, other then monetarily, and keep the league competitive. If we are trading our stars for young players, then we need to be able to have control of these young players for more then a year.

Its tough being a fan of a small club, but its situations like these that make having realistic expectations to compete near impossible.

I have slowly come to realize that being a European soccer fan requires an ability not to bond with players who play for your team as the turnover is simply too much to take, especially for a smaller club. This goes for managers as well. I wanted Ballardini to stay if only to bring continued stability to the team and to reward him for what he did last year. However, we are like an NBA pro team who sucks and as soon as the latest hot college coach emerges, they are brought up to hopefully bring the same success at the next level. Allegri is that guy. He is a young up and coming coach who is ready for the opportunity. The fact he has ties to Cagliari(any Cagliari fan remembers the 93-94 season and the UEFA Cup run which Allegri was a part of) is important and he has to have that extra passion like Zola does. If he can coach, which he clearly can, lets give him a shot. He may be another Giampaolo, but he may be better. Its a risk worth taking. If we are going to move to the next level, we must take risks as we did to let Suazo go and bring in a younger player like Acquafresca. If Allegri is the Acquafresca of young coaches, he may not be here long, but Id rather have him leave on a successful note then getting fired for failing. His youth should be able to make a good match with the players and they will want to play for him.

On the player front, while it was not my first choice of actual news, we now own Alessandro Matri outright as we bought him from Milan. He clearly would never play for Milan so if we got him cheap, which we did or we would not have bought him, its a good move. He adds depth and if he can learn to play an attacking midfielder role behind a striker who can finish, he can be an asset. If he was signed because we are selling Acquafresca and counting on him to score more goals as our main striker, then it was a bad move. Lets just hope this was a simple transaction to give us another option without changing our serious goal of keeping Acquafresca or obtaining a real striker. Matri could flourish in the right role, but he is an utter failure as a first choice Serie A striker, even on a relegation level club. Lets hope management gets it.

Ultimately the coach is not going to make a huge difference and I can understand the switch as we now have a great up and coming coach. However, we used to have Giampaolo and he scored a gig with Siena so have we really improved with this coaching carousel. Not really, but I wont care if we get the right players.

That situation is still to be determined, but this was not bad news and it shows we are active trying to solidify the club for next year. The more pieces to play with the better. Matri still has not returned the kick medic I sent him so maybe he is working hard this offseason.

I dont know how much he was being offered for a new contract or how much he wanted and which proposal was in line, but unless he wanted big club type money, Cagliari should have paid a little extra for him. Not only did he make them a bunch of money by keeping them in Serie A, Cagliari is not known for stability in its coaching position. The constant turnover and coaches walking on eggshells with fear of losing their job if they have a run of bad match results is not good so to secure a coach who obviously did something right was vital for next year. However, this will not determine the success of the team as he is no better then Giampaolo who lost his job because the players didnt start well. Now Giampaolo is coaching Siena so it tells me that the players are the key and coaches are just scapegoats.

The immediate thought is to blame management for not coming to a deal with Ballardini, but Ballardini may have overplayed his hand and used his obvious leverage to request too much money which does not work in the football coaching world. This is what needs to be determined and I expect one side or the other to make public how much was offered and how much he wanted. If he was lowballed, shame on Cagliari. If Ballardini thought the sky was the limit then shame on him. Both sides should have known that a serious pay raise was due, but that did not mean Mourinho money as Cagliari is still a small club.

As much as I want Ballardini to stay and think the job he did was tremendous, does this really matter? Probably not. One thing about football is that each year is a new one for all but a few clubs. Most teams lose players and bring in new ones and the changes are enough to be where chemistry from the previous year is lost or chemistry that never existed gets another chance to be established. 5-10 new players are enough to make it look like it is an entirely new team. Whether Ballardini would have success is a new question for a new year that unfortunately depends more on the players. The uncertainty most teams in Serie A face each year, especially those teams in the bottom half of the table, will be no different next year. It is a new year with no players and changes and adjustments are made on the fly. Its all about the good players you get on loan or signing guys cheaply who play well. Its anyones guess in the beginning of the year because too many good players left after success of the previous year.

His return was vital for the fan base, but ultimately he will be forgotten if the team continues to avoid the drop. We certainly cant start as bad as we did last year no matter who the coach is. The key as always is who will be leaving and who will be staying when it comes to the players. That is more important then the coach.

Face it Cagliari fans, as much fun as this past year was and while it is clear we have some real talent on this team, many players we desperately want to return will not be here next year and there will be a new wave of players to replace them. Until Cagliari actually hires a coach, I think they will still be talking to Ballardini as he knows there are only so many Serie A jobs out there and he wants one so maybe he might cave in and coach for the wages Cagliari sees fit. If not, our new coach will survive and thrive based on the players he has, how they gel with each other in the new season, and ultimitately how they play. Previoius years results is not an indication of success or failure the next year for these bottom clubs. The bottom half of the table is really interchangable.

Im still watching with a keen eye what is going to happen to Acquafresca, Storari, and Foggia et al. This is really more important and who the coach is will not make a difference on where they play next year. While its not good to lose a successful coach, its not something to worry too much about.

So the questions will start. Who is staying and who is going? After the miracle of survival, the first question becomes the status of the gaffer. Ballardini solidified this team and brought them back from the brink of relegation to safety. For these efforts, and combined with Cagliaris coaching carousel history, you would think him returning is a no brainer. Well Ballardini can return if he wants, but when you are successful, you are in demand. He has made it clear is not automatic to return to Cagliari. He wants to coach Napoli and is waiting for things to shake out before he comes back to Cagliari. Look for him to look at every option now that he has shown success. He will return to Cagliari only if there are no better offers.

The next concern is Storari. I am still amazed at the lack of recognition he received for what he did in Cagliari. You see so much news about how Milan, who owns him, needs a goalie and they think they can get Frey from Fiorentina. Frey isnt leaving Fiorentina for a non Champions League side. Storari also got no call up for EURO 2008. He should be Buffons back up. There has also been no discussion of him retuning to Cagliari where he is now a legend. Ultimately Milan will bring him back to take over their nets and Storari is waiting for the call. Milan will get the best goalie in Italy outside of Buffon and will save money to spend on defensive talent. This loss is what will hurt us most. Hey atleast we will own Matri outright.

Of course everyone wants to know what is happening with Acquafresca. You would think it would be a no brainer for him to return for one more year in Sardinia before a transfer back to Inter or another big club. Acquafresca has made it clear he wants more first team football and wants a bigger club. Inter is not going to bring him back yet, but they would like to gain full ownership of him and loan him out for one more year. I think Robert goes back and forth on where he wants to be. He knows he wants a bigger club, but also knows he is not ready fot that stage quite yet. Cagliari is the perfect place for him, but things are never that easy. He will get all the first team football he wants next year if he stays, will play at a familiar place now that he has adapted, and will loved by the fans, all while being able to develop his talent. Hopefully managment uses their card of half ownership to get him back but Inter has assets and the right offer of players and money will get them full ownership of our new hero. How does Adriano look in a uniform with Tiscali across the front? Dont rule it out. Adriano in Sardinia would be great for him to get back to top level Italian football, but I still prefer babyface Acquafresca.

Nothing new on Foggia. We still own half of him and he wants out. I would like to keep him, but Lazio is going to take him back and he will be playing for them next year. What we get in return I dont know.

The other tranfer target is young dman Canini. Milan wants him and we would be foolish to let him go, but money talks and the big clubs get what they want so dont assume he will be back next year.

So who will be replacing all these players we lose? We get leftovers or will take a risk on a potential high flyer from South America who just isnt getting noticed by the bigger clubs. Who will be this years Larrivey? I dont know,but if we let our good players go again this year and bring in new players who dont measure up or young players that wont start performing until relegation is staring you directly in the eye, it will make for another tough year. At some point the breaks will not go your way and you will get relegated. This is a pattern Cagliari must break away from as we need to move up in the standings, not get new players who will hopefully allow us to survive.

I will try not to read too much into these rumors and disappointments that hit the small clubs like us early in the summer. We have such a good foundation of players that I would hate to lose them all and not get much in return. We may end up with Suazo and Esposito back in Sardinia when all this shakes out, but as much as I love those guys I want to look forward and not backward.

I do have faith in management to keep the assets we have and bring in some new guys because after the magic of the january transfer window and the job done to survive, I need to give them the benefit of the doubt for what they will do this summer. It does not look good early, but there is still time to get things in order and build on the success of the second half of last year.

Ill always be a Cagliari fan no matter what, but lets hopefully see some positive rumors instead of the negative ones floating around so soon after such a great ending to the year.

The final total of 42 points and a 14th place finish is where they should have ended up if you were making a prediction at the beginning of the year, but after the horrible start, the premature firing of Giampaolo, and the deduction of three points for no reason, to finish out of the relegation zone is as surprising as not seeing Milan in the Champions League.

Now we get a little bit of a break before we get the leftovers of the summer transfer market. As I discussed more in depth after the victory over Udinese, this team has many questions. In addition to what I previously mentioned, some of which are repetitive, here are a few that must be answered, some sooner rather then later, before we can start looking at whether we can take a step up next year or whether we will be relegation fodder once again:

Does Marco Storari stay with us or return to Milan to take over their goalkeeping? If Milan was smart, they bring him back and let him lead them to the Scudetto, but if they think they can do better, he will stay here, even if it is on loan again. This is the most important decision that will determine our clubs future. Canini may have to be sacrificed to Milan to keep him. As much as I love Canini, it would be a good move if we are forced to choose. This is why big clubs just buy everyone. They can own a player like Storari, who if he blossoms while on loan, can be traded to another club for an up and coming youngster the big club failed to get their hands on originally while they were buying the world up.

Does Acquafresca stay or return to Inter? We own half of him and Inters Scudetto win has to take the pressure off them to make a bold move. He still needs another year at a smaller club before he is ready for the big stage. While there are always negotiations to buy rights etc, I think we can keep him for another year. Pair him with a veteran striker and he will really fill the nets next year.

Who takes over for Cellino? Cellino has made it pretty clear that he is stepping down this summer. Who takes his place and what kind of reputation that person has is huge for the clubs future. Say what you want about Cellino, he loves the team and nothing beats passion. With his winter transfer of Storari and Jeda, he saved the club from relegation and that scores a lot of points with fans. While we all were calling for his head at some point this season, he will be missed when he leaves.

What happens with Foggia? I believe we co own him with Lazio. He does not want to play here and would prefer to return to Napoli. I think it would be huge if we could bring him back, but the key is what will we be getting for our share. If we cannot agree on players to come back, I think we need to do all we can to keep him or buy him if that option becomes available. He is undervalued as his second half injuries and attitude took him from an appearance for the national side to barely cracking the Cagliari lineup. He will cost a lot less then his value will be next year. Whatever we may get offered for him in the form of cash or players will not nearly equal his value. Expect him to be a player we hear more about no matter who he plays for as his star is on the rise once he gets a little attitude adjustment.

Matri and Larrivey need to be replaced. Larrivey finally scored in his final game when it meant nothing. No doubt he has talent, but some players cannot transfer that to a big stage. We need to send him back to Argentina unless we can somehow loan him to a Serie B team for the first half of the year and bring him back if we need him and he lights the world on fire in a lesser league. Maybe he could be next years Cossu, but I doubt it. Matri is not much better but if played in a supporting attacking midfield role he could have some value. I doubt Milan wants him back but they will use him as a bargaining chip. Hopefully we do not overvalue him and give up a bunch for his rights. You do not give them Canini for him.

Once these questions are answered, it will determine where we go in the transfer market. We cant afford the big names so we must make moves as we did last winter and hope the players stand out. The summer is fun to watch because you see players youve grown to root for leave and new players, typically without much of a reputation come in to replace them and you wonder how the team is better. You see players move to big clubs and flame out because they dont get to play ie Suazo. To think we could survive without Suazo was amazing, but it just shows that even if you lose a great player, sometimes the replacements can make up the difference.

Expect us to be a little more active with players this summer as opposed to last summer as many will want to come to Sardinia. Winning and a great environment can do that and we have shown we can be mid table club. How much we go above that is open for debate, but surviving this season was huge as the three promoted sides(Juve, Napoli, Genoa) were basically two solid Serie A type sides and a Genoa side who surprised all year. The three coming up from B next year wont be as strong and will be immediate candidates to go back down.

For fans of a smaller club, it is as much to celebrate survival as it is for a big club to make the Champions League. However, this team has the foundation in place to do better. The experience gained this year is immesurable and should lead to a better start next year. With the right players kept and proper replacements brought in, we wont have to deal with such an up and down season next year and we may push for what Napoli did this year.

Ill do my best to keep everyone up to date on real transfer possibilities and not just make stuff up for the sake of posting. It will be an interesting summer in Sardinia and it was a really enjoyable season as writing about the ups and downs is great therapy for any fan.

Once Cagliari pulled off the miracle comeback against Napoli to start the second half of the season, I prayed we would get to this game with it meaning something and for us to have a chance to survive if we could get a result. At that time, it was still a huge request as we were buried in last place and relegation pretty much assumed. With a point deduction and yet another new coach, there was no way such a wish could come true. However, the boys continued to overcome adversity and behind the goalkeeping of Marco Storari and the emergence of Acquafresca, we started winning regularly especially against mid level clubs and relegation rivals. We slowly moved up the standings and despite such great wins, we still needed wins over Empoli and Livorno to give ourselves a chance. A surprising win over Fiorentina in week 36 clinched safety and last weeks win over Udinese was just a reminder to everyone else that we are good. If only we won those games in the first half we would be fighting for European football.

With all these results, the game against Reggina is one we can approach with a relaxed atmosphere and this should lead to some fun football. This is especially true as Reggina has pretty much mirrored our season. They were relegation fodder like us yet won when it counted and clinched their safety with a big win over Empoli last week. Reggina will be missing Agostini and Valdez while we will be missing Ferri, but everyone else is around and expect all of them to play. We might give a run to a couple of youngsters but considering our recent stellar home record and problems with Reggina as of late, we will want to make them the latest victim of our home strength.

This should be a fun weekend as Fox Soccer Channel has the two big games involving Roma and Inter and those games will be fun to watch as they involve the Scudetto and relegation. As much as I hate Inter, I think they will be tough to beat. Their collapse would be as bad as Cagliaris survival is good. Ideally id like to see them draw Parma and Roma win. Livorno, Empoli, and likely Parma will be relegated this weekend, so it is all the more reason to enjoy those games. To go into the last weekend without relegation being an issue is truly amazing for both Cagliari and Reggina so look for them to play wide open and attack and even Storari will be laughing when he is pulling the ball from his net a couple times.

Prediction Cagliari 3-2 Reggina.

While ultimately Cagliari did not need to win to secure its safety, they took no chances and showed why they are much improved and should be excited about next year, assuming we can keep all of these players we now have. After a back and forth first half with some chances on both sides, Acquafresca, who really was not expected to play, scored a goal in the 48th minute on a nice pass from Cossu before Udinese realized the second half had started. On minute 56, Foggia stole the ball and passed to Cossu who calmly finished making it 2-0. Udinese seemed disinterested after that and the game ended with a 2-0 win for Cagliari. With a confident Acquafresca and Foggia playing in attack with support from Jeda, a strong midfield performance from Cossu, the running of Biondini, and Canini being a young defender for the future who will only improve, this lineup can win games, even on the road, and they have shown it with huge wins in the second half of the season to push them to safety before the last week of the season. Totally unexpected.

This game showed that Cagliari shouldnt even worry about relegation if it has all of its players and plays them in the right position. Ballardini is the first manager in some time who seems to get it. Mind you, Giampaolo did not have Storari and Jeda to use and Foggia tailed off dramatically after a great start to the season, and while Sonetti was placed in a bad position, with the pressure on, Ballardini used his players correctly and gave them a chance to survive. The combination of new players(Jeda, Storari), a confident young striker given a chance to perform(Acquafresca), the improved midfield play of Conti and Cossu, a young defender to build the backline around(Canini), and an enigma that can help in attack or in midfield tremendously(Foggia), this team can stop thinking about relegation every year if they can keep these players and add a player or two, hopefully on defense.

With the team now safe, we still have one game left at home against Reggina. I was begging for this game to mean something and to think it now means nothing, but with us safe, is almost a dream we must wake up from. Maybe we can give a run to some young players but with this game meaningless for both teams, who should be commended for surviving, my eyes will be watching Roma/Catania and Inter/Parma. I want Roma to win the Scudetto over arrogant Inter and Id love to see Catania survive.

Once the season is concluded, we must discuss what will happen to the players we currently have and how we can add players to what is currently a solid foundation. Without going into too much depth, here are the players and situations that must be addressed:

Coach: Ballardini. Is there any question he will stay? The players like him and that is fueled by success on the field. He should be given a full year to see what he can do next year and that creates stability that a club needs if it is ever going to be more then relegation fodder. The constant changing of coaches by these bottom teams while often helpful initially, do not lend to longterm success. We need to stabalize this role.

Goalie: Storari. Keeping him will be the most vital result in the offseason. He is Milan property and we seem to get along with them so maybe they will make a deal. Storari is the reason we will be in Serie A next year, even more so then Acquafresca, and we have to kiss some Milan ass to keep him. He is the second best goalie in Italy right now behind Buffon and Milan may give him a shot to stabalize their problems in goal. If Im Milan, I bring him back and spend money on other holes they have. I think the odds of us keeping him are 50% but this situation will be key.

Defense: This is an area we must improve. Despite years of loyal service, Lopez needs to go back to Uruguay and Canini is a nice young player for the future. With big teams sniffing around to get him, we may have to sacrifice him to Milan to get Storari. As much as I like Canini, I would do it to keep Storari as our goalie until the California kid is ready. We must add a big time defender to our team in the offseason. Storari paired with a tough as nails defender will make for a great foundation next year.

Midfield. This area is stronger then we think with Cossu, Biondini and Conti leading the group. While Id certainly love to add a midfielder, if we can keep Foggia, this group is fine and we can focus on adding elsewhere. The performance by these guys has been a big reason for our midseason turnaround. If we keep Matri, I think he can be taught to play in an attacking midfield role as I think that is ultimately where he will have Serie A success. He is not a Serie A striker and he needs to play support to a goal scorer like Acquafresca which may lead to more goals then expected and improved confidence because of reduced pressure.

Attack: Acquafresca, Jeda, Foggia. I think we will get to keep Acquafresca for another year and Jeda will be back. Inter is in such disarry that they may decide to clean house and try to bring him back to give their fans some excitement. We own half of him so we should not let him go without a fight and Robert wants to stay as he knows he needs another year dominating at a smaller club. Foggia is another player we co own with Lazio. Id love to keep him, but he wants to play for Napoli and I dont think fits in Sardinia with his teammates or the fans. All those factors will cause him to leave. From a talent standpoint, he is our best player, but he cant seem to play the whole game. He did manage to play the whole game yesterday, so he can do it. You see what a difference he makes. I am a big David Marchini fan so if Foggia leaves, I would expect him to take a bigger role, likely in midfield, but Id still like to keep Foggia. Notice Joaquin Larrivey is not in this discussion and I heard that a slow moving boat left the harbor in Cagliari headed back to Argentina.

With Suazo gone, I fully expected this team to get relegated. However, the players we brought in over the course of the year were so talented, that once given the opportunity to play together, they showed that UEFA Cup football should be the goal, not surviving relegation. The results will follow when a team is talented even when they have a lot to overcome.

We as fans also need to change our attitude from our team being a relegation candidate to mid table, year in year out Serie A team with a chance for European football on occasion. Surviving this dreaded year was a huge step for the future of this club. If we can keep the players we have, we wont be saying relegation next year. However, to expect all of these guys to be back is unrealistic, but players now will want to come to Sardinia and with a good offseason, we can have a better outlook going in to next year.

The players, coaches, and even Cellino for his winter transfers, deserve our praise and credit. Its been a heart stopping year and I am already excited about next year. I cant wait for next weekends matches though and will be pulling heavily for a Roma Scudetto and for Parma to get relegated with Empoli and Livorno.

Forza Cagliari!!