The BADGER 2023/24 Issue 09 vs Coventry United

SEASON

THE BADGER

23 24

ISSUE 09

OFFICIAL MATCH DAY PROGRAMME

vs COVENTRY UNITED UNITED COUNTIES LEAGUE PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH TUESDAY 31st OCTOBER 2023 I 7:45pm KICK OFF

Bugbrooke St Michaels FC The Badgers, founded 1929

CLUB COMMITTEE PRESIDENT - WILLY MARRIOTT CHAIRMAN - KEVIN GARDNER VICE-CHAIRMAN - NIGEL THOMAS CLUB SECRETARY - GRAHAM CONNEW YOUTH SECRETARY & TREASURER - NICK INWOOD FIXTURES SECRETARY - DAVE MELLOR GROUNDSMAN - DANNY POWELL WELFARE OFFICER – HELEN GILLIGAN COMMITTEE – RICHARD GIBBON, STUART WYKES, RICHARD FAULKNER

MANAGEMENT / COACHING TEAM FIRST TEAM – DALE WALTON RESERVE TEAM - ROB JONES ‘B’ TEAM - ANDY DEMIDOW LADIES TEAM - STUART WHITE UNDER 18s BLACK (NSYL) - LOUIE GALBRAITH UNDER 18s WHITE (NSYL) - DARREN SMITH UNDER 18s (NDYAL) - DEANO GOMES UNDER 16s - MARK LINNELL UNDER 15s - SIMON WHEELER UNDER 14s - RYAN NASH UNDER 13s - CHRIS ASHTON UNDER 12s BLACK - DANIEL BLAND / BEN SMITH UNDER 12s WHITE - TONY HILL UNDER 11s BLUE - IAN MARRIOTT UNDER 11s WHITE - MIKE BRINKLEY UNDER 11s GIRLS - STEPH NASH UNDER 10s GIRLS - KERRY HOUGHTON UNDER 9s - ANDREW JACKMAN UNDER 8s - NEIL BYRNE / DARREN WILLIX

WELCOME TO THE SETT From the Chairman …

As Chairman of Bugbrooke St Michael’s Football Club I would like to offer you a warm welcome to The Sett and hope that you have an enjoyable visit.

Here at Bugbrooke St Michaels we are working hard to develop a club with a strong inclusive ethos, offering opportunities for players of all ages and abilities.

We are extremely proud of our youth development programme, supporting players from seven all the way up to eighteen. Many of our young players go on to have success with one of adult teams, with some players going on to even bigger and better things!

There is a great wealth of local support for the club, everyone that helps does so on a voluntary basis and through everyone’s hard work and dedication we have been able to achieve and maintain FA Accredited status.

Whilst some clubs choose to reinvest their revenue into players wages, here at Bugbrooke we hold a different set of values. All of our profits go into upgrading our equipment and facilities, building a solid future-proof foundation that will be here for future generations to enjoy.

Whilst this can sometimes hold us back from gaining huge success on the pitch, we feel our excellent facilities, youth development programme and ethos on community set us apart from other clubs.

Success and progression starts from the beginnings.

Thank you for your support today, we hope that you enjoy the game, and we look forward to seeing you again soon.

Kev Kevin Gardner, Chairman

Bugbrooke St Michaels Football Club would like to place on record our thanks to our team of volunteers, our advertisers and sponsors.

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MANAGERS NOTES We’d like to extend a warm welcome to the players, officials and supporters of Coventry United who are the visitors to the Sett for this evenings United Counties Premier Division South fixture.

Following Saturday’s long trip to March its great to be back at the Sett with tonight’s game representing the first of three consecutive home fixtures with Eynesbury Rovers due to visit us on Saturday followed by Yaxley 7-days later.

Whilst we will take nothing for granted (we never do), we need to ensure that we make home advantage count as we strive to pick up a good points return from this run of fixtures.

If last season is anything to go by then we will face a difficult opponent this evening.

Going into this evening’s game we are on a run of three defeats, two of which have come in the league, however that doesn’t tell the whole story as the last two have been narrow 2-1 reversals against sides who many expect to be challenging for the title come the end of the season.

First up it was an in-form Daventry Town who visited the Sett. Arguably we were the better team in the first half, so much so that we went in at the break with a deserved one-goal advantage courtesy of Tom Binder’s first goal of the season.

Unfortunately, we conceded early in the second period and despite a fantastic effort we eventually succumbed to a late goal scored by ex-professional and current top goal scorer in the division Leon Lobjoit.

On to Saturday when we made the long trip to the current league leaders March Town United and despite another goal for Calvin Green it wasn’t to be as the hosts held out for the points, 2-1 the final score.

To say that we have given a good account of ourselves in these games is an understatement.

With the squad depleted by injuries and suspensions, we have been forced to call on the cavalry with several players stepping up from the Under 18s and Reserves over recent weeks, the latest being young Ronnie Gibbon who played ninety minutes on Saturday and didn’t look out of place, well done Ron! With a little more luck, we could have got more for our efforts although as they say luck tends to even itself out over the course of the season, lets hope that stands true. We are certainly competing and getting closer to these ‘bigger’ sides giving us something to not only be proud of but something to work on!

The performances of these young players has given us a headache, albeit a nice one, as with players returning from injury, Trent Oakes got some minutes on Saturday and Tom Smyth isn’t too far away, selection won’t be easy.

Away from the First Team its good to see that several of our NDYAL sides have started the season well, keep up the good work, it bodes well for the future!

Thank you for your support, enjoy the game and we look forward to seeing you again on Saturday when we play host to Eynesbury Rovers.

Dale & Daniel

“Whilst we will take nothing for granted, we need to make sure that we make home advantage count as we strive to pick up good points return during this run of fixtures.”

OUR HISTORY

Formed in 1929, Bugbrooke St. Michael’s Football Club took over from Bugbrooke United who folded in 1928 after being in existence since 1910.

The club, which is named after the local St. Michael’s and All Angels Church, initially took its place in the Northants Central Village League and had immediate success, winning the league title from 1931 to 1937.

The club closed for the Second World War before reforming in 1947 and were once again successful winning the CVL title from 1947 to 1950 and were Northants Lower Junior Cup runners-up in 1949, a feat repeated in 1954.

We finally won the N.F.A. Lower Junior Cup in 1956 and followed this in 1957 by winning the prestigious Daventry Charity Cup. The club had its most successful years from 1966 to 1972 when we won the Northants Central Combination Premier title and again from 1976 to 1979 with 1977 also seeing us win the N.F.A. Lower Junior Cup again.

The club continued to succeed in the Northants Combination until 1987 when the we took the decision to join the United Counties League.

At this time, we decided to run two teams in the U.C.L. and two teams in the C.N.C. We also began our youth section and have continued this ever since. Today we run 4 adult sides, including a recently formed Ladies team as well as 15 youth teams.

The club has had continued to enjoy success across all age groups over those 30 years, the most notable being N.F.A. Junior Cup winners in 1992, N.F.A Lower Junior Cup in 1993 and U.C.L. Division One winners in 2001.

The reputation for producing successful youth teams has increased over those years and 4 of our youth players (under 16) have been signed by professional league clubs.

The achievements of the club on the field have always been supported by a hardworking committee whose chief officers are recorded on a roll in the clubhouse foyer.

They along with supporters of the club have built up the excellent changing rooms and clubhouse since 1980.

We hope that you enjoy the facilities that they have provided over those years, and we look forward to seeing you again in the future

‘LOVE FOOTBALL. PROTECT THE GAME.’ A message from Bugbrooke St Michaels Football Club about antisocial and criminal behaviour As we commence the new season we want to make you aware of new measures being taken across all of football, and the NLS, to ensure everyone can have a safe and enjoyable experience.

We are supporting strong action from the FA, and across the NLS to tackle antisocial and criminal behaviours that put all of us at risk.

Please remember the following activities are illegal, dangerous, have serious consequences and have no place in our game: • Carrying or using smoke bombs or pyros • Invading the pitch or entering the pitch without permission

For everyone’s safety, we will report anyone carrying out these offences to the police, which can result in a criminal record.

Anyone who enters the pitch without permission and those carrying or using smoke bombs or pyros will now receive an automatic club ban. These measures could also now apply to the parents or guardians of children involved in these activities.

This reflects the seriousness of the risks to fans and staff – pyros can burn at 2000 degrees Celsius and cause life changing injuries, while entering the pitch endangers players, managers and match officials. It also impacts the hard working volunteers, who ensure that our special part of the game continues to run.

• Drug use within the football ground

We know those who commit these illegal acts do not represent the majority of supporters. Please work with us to call out the risks.

• Discriminatory behaviour

#LoveFootball #ProtectTheGame

• Throwing objects onto the pitch

TODAYS VISITORS

COVENTRY UNITED Full name:

Coventry United

Nickname(s):

The Red & Greens

Founded:

2013

Ground:

Butts Park Arena

Capacity:

4,000

Manager:

Carl Nolan

League:

United Counties Premier Division South

2022–23:

United Counties Premier Division South, 8th of 18

Current Position

13th - P15, W5, D2, L8 Pts 13

Last Time Out:

Lost 1-5 vs Hallam

Form:

LWLLL

Coventry United Football Club was formed in 2013 by 4 local businessmen, following the takeover of Coventry Spartans. The dream? To play football without politics and live for the enjoyment of the game. Spartan’s manager, Edwin Greaves stayed on as Coventry United’s first manager, along with club secretary, Graham Wood. The Red and Green had story began.

Our debut league match took place on Saturday 13th August 2013 with a 2-1 victory at Kenilworth Town in the Midland Football League Division 3.

Kenroy Dennisur and Brian Ndlovu scored the goals that day. The desire for success was evident from the very first whistle, and success was not far away. United finished runners-up to Kenilworth, securing promotion at the very first attempt.

Our first league title followed the next season. United dominated MFL Division 2, finishing a mammoth 15 points ahead of our closest rivals

Progression to Step 6 of the Non-League Pyramid followed. Season 3 would bring a fierce battle for the Division 1 title with the likes of Bromsgrove Sporting, Lichfield and Nuneaton Griff. In March 2016, Edwin Greaves left the club and was replaced on an interim basis by Terry Anderson, along with his assistant, Luke Morton.

Under Terry’s stewardship United began a sensational run to win their final 11 matches, conceding just 3 goals along the way Consequently, they beat their impressive competition to the title. Needless to say, Terry and Luke’s roles were secured on a permanent basis.

Following a flurry of promotions, Coventry settled into the MFL Premier Division, continuing to grow on and off the pitch.

Following stints at The Cage (Alan Higgs Centre) and Sphinx Drive, the summer of 2017 saw United move into their new home, the Butts Park Arena. In 2020, the club was bought from the original owners by Coventry based businessman Joe Haggarty.

After 5 seasons in the MFL Premier Division and finishing as Coventry’s highest ranked non-league club for 5 years in a row,

the restructuring of the non-league pyramid saw Coventry United placed in the United Counties League Premier Division South.

Following the departure of Terry Anderson in November 2021, the Red and Greens hired manager, Russell Dodds, and Assistant Manager, Darren Acton. They unfortunately resigned from their roles due to personal reasons several weeks later.

In February 2022, Joe Haggarty resigned as chairman and manager of Coventry United Football Club, with Ivor Lawton taking charge of first team responsibilities. Subsequently, in March 2022, the club was taken over by long term supporter, Nigel Ward.

Nigel’s tireless efforts to make up for lost time and money over the summer, along with the hard-working officials and volunteers, put the club in a much stronger position, both on and off the field, than during the closing months of the 2021/22 campaign.

With his job to stabilise the club completed, Nigel stepped aside and was replaced as Chairman by local businessman, Michael Kavanagh and in the summer of 2022, Carl Nolan took over as Team Manager and in his first season he led the team to a respectable 8th place finish.

BUGBROOKE ST MICHAELS DATE

OPPOSITION

VENUE RESULT SCORE STARTING LINE-UP

29.07.22 St Neots Town

Away

Lost

0-3

REEVE

CALVER

SHEHI

SMYTH

POWELL

WALTON

01.08.22 Racing Club Warwick

Home

Lost

0-3

REEVE

SPENCER

BAZELEY

SMYTH

POWELL

WALTON

05.08.22 Hinckley LRFC - FA Cup

Home

Lost

2-3

REEVE

MALKIN

BAZELEY

SMYTH

POWELL

12.08.23 Aylestone Park

Home

Lost

2-5

REEVE

MALKIN

BAZELEY

SMYTH

POWELL

15.08.23 Cogenhoe United

Away

Won

4-0

REEVE

MALKIN

SHEHI

1

SMYTH

POWELL

WALTON

19.08.23 Lutterworth Town

Home

Won

4-1

REEVE

MALKIN

SHEHI

1

SMYTH

POWELL

WALTON

29.08.23 Wellingborough Town

Away

Lost

2-5

REEVE

MALKIN

02.09.23 Desborough Town

Home

Lost

1-5

REEVE

MALKIN

09.09.23 Leicester Nirvana

Away

Won

4-0

REEVE

MALKIN

16.09.23 Yaxley

Away

Lost

3-4

REEVE

MALKIN

19.09.23 Desborough Town - NFA Cup

Away

Lost

2-2

W.PANTER

23.09.23 Raunds Town – FA Vase

Away

Won

2-0

26.09.23 Newport Pagnell Town

Home

Won

30.09.23 G.N.G Oadby Town

Home

Draw

03.10.23 Wellingborough Town - KO Cup

Away

Lost

1

WALTON 1

WALTON

SHEHI

SMYTH

P RICKETT-REED

WALTON

SURACE

SMYTH

POWELL

WALTON

1

SHEHI

SMYTH

POWELL

WALTON

1

SIMMONS

SMYTH

POWELL

WALTON

P RICKETT-REED

SIMMONS

BINDER

PRICE

WALTON

REEVE

MALKIN

SIMMONS

SMYTH

PRICE

WALTON

4-0

REEVE

MALKIN

SIMMONS

POWELL

PRICE

WALTON

4-4

REEVE

MALKIN

SIMMONS

POWELL

PRICE

WALTON

2-2

W.PANTER

MALKIN

SIMMONS

SMYTH

PRICE

SHEHI

CAREY

PRICE

WALTON

( 5- 6 PENS)

14.10.23 Godmanchester Rovers

Away

Won

3-1

REEVE

NASH

SIMMONS

21.10.23 Lincoln United - FA Vase

Away

Lost

1-4

REEVE

MALKIN

SIMMONS

CAREY

POWELL

WALTON

24.10.23 Daventry Town

Home

Lost

1-2

REEVE

MALKIN

MEMOLI

MAKEKERA

POWELL

WALTON

28.10.23 March Town United

Away

Lost

1-2

REEVE

MEMOLI

SIMMONS

GIBBON

PRICE

SHEHI

31.10.23 Coventry United

Home

04.11.23 Eynesbury Rovers

Home

11.11.23 Yaxley

Home

15.11.23 Rugby Borough

Away

18.11.23 Aylestone Park

Away

25.11.23 Histon

Home

02.12.23 Newport Pagnell Town

Away

09.12.23 RC Warwick

Away

16.12.23 Cogenhoe United

Home

23.12.23 Eynesbury Rovers

Away

26.12.23 Easington Sports

Home

30.12.23 Coventry United

Away

06.01.24 Lutterworth Town

Away

13.01.24 Leicester Nirvana

Home

20.01.24 Daventry Town

Away

27.01.24 Rugby Borough

Home

10.02.24 March Town United

Home

17.02.24 G.N.G Oadby Town

Away

02.03.24 Histon

Away

16.03.24 Desborough Town

Away

23.03.24 St Neots Town

Home

01.04.24 Easington Sports

Away

06.04.24 Godmanchester Rovers

Home

13.04.24 Wellingborough Town

Home

1

2023/24 RESULTS & APPEARANCES SUBS A.WEBSTER

ALHASSAN

PANTER

PORTER

MALKIN

SPENCER

REZA

BINDER

HALLMARK

J.WEBSTER

A.WEBSTER

ALHASSAN

PANTER

PORTER

REZA

SHEHI

CALVER

BINDER

MALKIN

J.WEBSTER

A.WEBSTER

ALHASSAN

PANTER

PORTER

REZA

GREEN

SURACE

BINDER

1

1

GREEN

ALHASSAN

1

PANTER

PORTER

REZA

SHEHI

SURACE

A.WEBSTER

GREEN

1

PANTER

PORTER

BINDER

ALHASSAN

SURACE

A.WEBSTER

GREEN

3

SURACE

PORTER

BINDER

ALHASSAN

A.WEBSTER

GREEN

1

REZA

PORTER

BINDER

ALHASSAN

A.WEBSTER

GREEN

ALHASSAN

PORTER

A.WEBSTER

GREEN

1

PRICE

PORTER

A.WEBSTER

GREEN

2

ALHASSAN

PORTER

A.WEBSTER

GREEN

A.WEBSTER

GREEN

1

PANTER

A.WEBSTER

GREEN

1

PANTER

A.WEBSTER

GREEN

1

PANTER

2

PORTER

A.WEBSTER

GREEN

PANTER

1

PORTER

A.WEBSTER

GREEN

PANTER

2

PORTER

A.WEBSTER

GREEN

PANTER

1

A.WEBSTER

GREEN

A.WEBSTER

GREEN

PANTER

1

1

1

1

A.WEBSTER

J.WEBSTER

CAREY

MAY

REZA

SPENCER

CAREY

MAY

SURACE

SPENCER

CAREY

GIBBON

CAREY

BINDER

SHEHI

SIMMONS

UNDERWOOD

BINDER

ALHASSAN

SIMMONS

UNDERWOOD

CAREY

CAREY

SHEHI

SPENCER

BINDER

PANTER

PORTER

CAREY

ALHASSAN

STEWART

PORTER

BINDER

SHEHI

STEWART

BINDER

ALHASSAN

SHEHI

SMYTH

BINDER

ALHASSAN

SHEHI

SMYTH

BINDER

ALHASSAN

CAREY

BINDER

POWELL

MAKEKERA

PORTER

BINDER

SHEHI

MAKEKERA

PANTER

PORTER

BINDER

SHEHI

PANTER

ANKRAH

BINDER

ALHASSAN

OBENG

1

1

1

1

BINDER BAZELEY

1

1

1

1

PANTER

UNDERWOOD

SHEHI

SMYTH

POWELL

ALHASSAN

SURACE

CAREY 1

2

PORTER

CAREY

STEWART

SURACE

GIBBON

J.WEBSTER

MEMOLI

GIBBON

STEWART

ANKRAH

SPENCER

J.WEBSTER

CAREY

STEWART

SPENCER

J.WEBSTER

MAKEKERA

STEWART

OAKES

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LEAGUE TABLE - FIRST TEAM

PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH as at 30/10/23

POS

P

W

D

L

GD

PTS

1

March Town United

15

12

1

2

23

37

2

Wellingborough Town

15

11

3

1

22

36

3

Racing Club Warwick

16

11

2

3

21

35

4

St Neots Town

15

11

1

3

20

34

5

Daventry Town

17

11

0

6

19

33

6

Newport Pagnell Town

15

11

0

4

19

33

7

Yaxley FC

14

8

2

4

12

26

8

Aylestone Park

14

8

1

5

10

25

9

G.N.G Oadby Town

17

7

2

8

-19

23

10

Easington Sports

15

6

2

7

3

20

11

Lutterworth Town

15

6

0

9

-5

18

12

Rugby Borough

15

5

2

8

-4

17

13

Cogenhoe United

15

5

2

8

-10

17

14

Bugbrooke St.Michaels

14

5

1

8

-1

16

15

Godmanchester Rovers

15

5

0

10

-14

15

16

Coventry United

13

4

1

8

-7

13

17

Eynesbury Rovers

15

4

1

10

-15

13

18

Histon FC

15

3

3

9

-18

12

19

Desborough Town

16

2

3

11

-25

9

20

Leicester Nirvana

16

1

3

12

-31

6

FORM GUIDE

LWLLL 04/11 vs Eynesbury Rovers (Home)

NEXT UP

11/11 vs Yaxley (Home) 18/11 vs Aylestone Park (Away)

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LEAGUE TABLE - RESERVES

RESERVE DIVISION as at 30/10/23

POS

P

W

D

L

GD

PTS

1

Kempston Rovers Reserves

8

7

1

0

28

22

2

Buckingham Development

9

6

1

2

23

19

3

Bourne Town Reserves

10

6

1

3

11

19

4

Northampton ON Chenecks Reserves

9

6

1

2

7

19

5

Bugbrooke St.Michaels Reserves

8

5

0

3

12

15

6

Wellingborough Whitworth Reserves

9

5

0

4

9

15

7

Desborough Town Reserves

7

4

1

2

10

13

8

Harborough Town Reserves

9

4

1

4

5

13

9

Godmanchester Rovers Reserves

9

3

1

5

-15

10

10

Irchester United Reserves

6

2

1

3

-3

7

11

Wellingborough Town Reserves

8

2

1

5

-11

7

12

Rothwell Corinthians Reserves

8

2

1

5

-17

7

13

Huntingdon Town U23s

7

1

0

6

-30

1*

14

Raunds Town Reserves

9

0

0

9

-29

0

FORM GUIDE

LWLLL 04/11 vs Wellingborough Whitworths (Away)

NEXT UP

11/11 vs Desborough Town (Away) 18/11 vs Bourne Town (Home)

TODAYS FIXTURES

PREMIER DIVISION SOUTH

Bugbrooke St.Michaels

Vs

Coventry United

Leicester Nirvana

Vs

Aylestone Park

Wellingborough Town

Vs

March Town United

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” Records, Wrecks but No Regrets” When, in the summer of 1992, Milan broke the world transfer record, it wasn’t the number or the club that caused everyone to draw breath. Alan Shearer became the most expensive player to move between English clubs, costing a cool £3.2m when he joined Blackburn Rovers, but that was a drop in the ocean compared to the bonanza that was found in Italy.

Milan broke the £10m barrier to bring in Jean-Pierre Papin from Marseille, and Juventus responded with the £12m signing of Sampdoria’s Gianluca Vialli.

Both proven names, both with international reputations. But then Milan went again, and made a signing that, outside of Italy at least, made little sense. £13m, for Gianluigi Lentini.

Lentini had, by that stage, made over 100 appearances for a Torino side that was challenging the old order. Fifth in 1991, third in the following season, and an array of talent unbecoming of Turin’s poor neighbours. For Lentini, this would be the apex of an underwhelming career. Torino had been relegated in 1989, and while he had been phenomenal in Serie B, it hadn’t earned him a call up to the 1990 World Cup squad. Italy had failed to qualify for Euro 1992, so he had no chance to explode onto the world stage as people had expected. But in Italy, he had earned a reputation as a left back’s worst nightmare, and Milan added him to their unbeaten, title-winning side. His moved sparked riots in Turin.

In Milan, Lentini struggled. Flashes of brilliance were offset by his nocturnal activities. His lack of professionalism was tolerated, even celebrated, at Torino, but Fabio Capello was not a manager for whom one could do as they pleased.

He picked up a Scudetto and a Coppa Italia, but disappeared in the Champions League final, which they lost. By that summer, he was fonder of the local discos than the training ground and was engaged in a torrid affair with the wife of Juventus striker Toto Schillacci.

Speeding from Milan to Turin to meet his amore in his yellow Porche 911, Lentini blew a tire. He replaced it with the spare and set off again, apparently unaware that he was now limited to 50 miles per hour, not the 125 he had been doing. He lost control and veered across the carriageway, smashing into the barriers. A truck driver witnessed the incident and pulled him from the wreckage moments before it caught alight, saving his life. But not his career.

Lentini was put into an induced coma and was never the player he had been. He barely played in the following three years and scored just six goals.

He did find time to marry a Swedish supermodel, but when his contract was up Milan were glad to get him, and his astronomical wages, off the books.

He moved to Atalanta, where he linked up with his former Torino boss Emiliano Mondonico.

In Bergamo, he found something like his old form.

Linking up with an emerging Filippo Inzaghi he helped Atalanta to a mid-table finish, far above their usual relegation dogfight. But his time at the club would be short-lived, and he moved again, back to his spiritual home in Turin.

It was an emotional return to Torino, whose wild spending had caught up with them and seen them relegated into Serie B. Mired for a few seasons, Lentini gave them hope once more, although Torino lost the promotion playoff on penalties in his first season. Mondonico returned that summer, and in 1998 they finally returned to Serie A. This time, without the reckless purchasing power, they struggled. Relegated in 1999, Mondonico was sacked and wound up at fellow Serie B side Cosenza. Lentini followed him.

Cosenza were another side with financial difficulties, and were eventually relegated to Serie D. Lentini stayed, because they were nice people and because he was coming to the end of a career of unbelievable highs and destructive lows. When he finally returned home, supposedly retired, a friend asked him to turn out for local amateur side Canelli. He called in a favour and another former Italy player, Diego Fuser, joined him. They played for the side until well into the 40s, and lifted them as far as Serie D. Ironically for a player who had been beloved at Torino, and won the league title and a Champions League medal with Milan, Lentini was perhaps never more contented than after his fall from grace with Cosenza.

.

Asked what it was like to go from the world’s most expensive player to crowds of just 3000, in less than a decade, Lentini gave the answer every fan wants to hear.

Football was football, he said, regardless of where you played, and who it was against. Perhaps some of the world’s most expensive players today could learn a thing or two from him.

Enjoy the game!

Martyn Green The Untold Game Find us at TheUntoldGame.co.uk or on social media @TheUntoldGame

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