Friendly match..Verona 4-1 Primavera

Victory for Hellas at the training ground.

Hellas played a friendly match on Saturday against the Primavera side, fielding most players not away on international duty. The first team won the game 4-1 against Pavanera's young boys, gaining valuable match practice during the prolonged break.

Scorers- Romulo (12) Cacia (21) Gatto (36) Laner (66) Jankovic (76)

Teams-HELLAS VERONA (4-3-3): Rafael (dal 1' st Nicolas); Sala (dal 1' st Moras), Gonzalez, Maietta (dal 1' st Cacciatore), Rubin (dal 25' st Ragatzu); Romulo (dal 1' st Laner), Donati (dal 1' st Donadel), Hallfredsson (dal 1' st Martinho); Iturbe (dal 18' st Sala), Cacia (dal 1' st Jankovic), Gomez. 
All.: Mandorlini.

PRIMAVERA (4-2-3-1): Borra (dal 1' st Nervo; dal 29' st Seck); Ballarini (dal 18' st Rizzitelli; dal 37' st Speri)),Varricchio (dal 1' st Boateng), Boni (dal 1' st Rossi), Manolache (dal 18'st Crisci); Zaccagni (dal 1' st Sall), Salifu (dal 1' st Menolli; dal 29' st Ronconi); Mazzocchi (dal 5' st Miketic), Alba (dal 18' st Taneski), Gatto (dal 1' st Formigoni); Fares (dal 27' st Birlea). 

All.: Pavanel.

Iturbe and his agent..'Verona are perfect'

Juan Manuel Iturbe and agent Gustavo Moscardi speak..

"My player (Iturbe) chose Hellas Verona because he wants to gain experience and grow in one of the worlds hardest championships, Serie A" Moscardi told tuttomercatoweb.com

He continued "Iturbe is also ideal for Verona, because Mandorlini's squad lacks an explosive player like him".

Iturbe himself was delighted to join gialloblu, telling the official website "I joined Hellas because they are a great team, and Italian football has always fascinated me. I must thank Sean Sogliano for signing me to such a big club."

The Argentine added "The negotiaions took a while, but I'm finally here. I'll play on the left or right, wherever the coach wants me to play".

OFFICIAL- Rubin and Donadel sign for Hellas

Sogliano completes double signing.

After a long chase, Matteo Rubin has signed for Verona. It is thought the deal is a loan, with an option to buy. It remains to be seen whether or not Daniele Ragatzu will go the other way in a loan deal.

Marco Donadel has also signed a contract with Verona. The former Fiorentina midfielder has signed from Napoli. The market closed at 23:00GMT so details will be more readily available tomorrow.

Hellas Verona..news round-up

A round-up of news from Hellas

Grossi leaves- Forward Paolo Grossi has agreed a deal to leave Verona. After being linked with newly-promoted Serie B club Carpi, he will make a loan move to rivals Brescia. Signed from Siena, the player failed to score in 16 games for Verona.

Ragatzu wanted- The forward signed in the summer from Cagliari, but is already being touted for departure on a loan deal. The first proposal is from Avellino, a loan deal but unlikely to contain a view to permanent clause. The second option is from Siena, who are wanting the Sardinian as part of a deal that would see Matteo Rubin sign for the Gialloblu.

Martinho speaks after Roma- The flying winger spoke after the 3-0 loss, saying "We defended well for about an hour, then after the first goal we lost it. We're sorry, but this defeat will serve us as a lesson. Overall it was a good performance, but we must improve."

Primavera win again- The Hellas Primavera team won their second game in two games, beating Udinese 3-1. Coach Pavanel played a 4-2-3-1 formation, and the baby Gialloblu dominated the game, with goals from Zacagni (two) and an Alba penalty.

OFFICIAL..ITURBE SIGNS FOR VERONA

The Porto man has signed a season-loan with an option to buy.

A player Sogliano has managed to sneak under the radar, (in terms of signing for Verona) Juan Manuel Iturbe signed for Hellas tonight, a deal announced by Gianluca Di Marzio of SkyItalia.

Iturbe is one of a number of players dubbed 'the new Messi' due to his similar characteristics of being a dribbler, goalscorer and small stature. Born in Buenos Aires (1993) the forward started his career with Cerro Porteno in the Paraguayan Premier Division scoring three goals in 22 games.
This allowed him to make a big money move to FC Porto, a club famous for signing South Americans and then selling them on for big money.

Sadly it didn't work out and after only five games for the first team, he was loaned to River Plate in Argentina, scoring three goals in 17 games for the giants. He started his international career in Paraguay's youth teams but after falling out with management, declared for Argentina, playing ten u20 games, scoring five goals.

The player attracted interest from both Inter and Genoa, but Hellas won the deal, loaning him and having an option to buy for an estimated £7.5M, a similar deal to another Argentinan player signed in the summer, Ezequiel Cirigliano.

The player will wear the number 15 shirt.

A day of tension..Roma-Verona

Grudge match lives up to it's name.

It's always a tense game whenever Roma meet Verona, a historical rivalry on and off the pitch. Yesterday there we a few incidents that highlight this fact, which ended in a cowardly attack by some Roma 'fans' after the game on the Verona team coach.

Around 600 Butei travelled to the capital, and although most entered the ground with no problems, one coach was attacked by stone throwing Roma fans. Nothing too serious as the Roma fans ran away when the police charged them and used tear gas. Two policemen were hurt in these clashes.

Roma's Curva Sud was closed for one game so many went into Curva Nord, very close to the Verona fans. As usual, there were chants directed at each other, and once Roma took the lead a flare was thrown into the Verona end by the celebrating Roma tifosi.

After the game there was little problems as the Verona fans travelled back to the north, although there was one major incident. Some Roma fans attacked the players coach as it neared the motorway, smashing windows. Luckily no-one was hurt but the club couldn't travel home, having to travel via train on the Monday.

Mandorlini commented on the situation "I don't really want to talk about it, although the stones smashed and sent glass flying. We're lucky, because it didn't hit the driver. It could have been worse".

Maurizio Setti, Verona president was of course angry, saying "This is a very regrettable situation, and we are lucky things weren't worse. Football shouldn't be about iron bars and stones. I hope the perpetrators are severely punished."

The return game is in January.

Luca Toni..'We want salvation as soon as possible'

The World Cup winner speaks after the Milan win...

"Surviving this season would be the equivalent of winning a title, such as the title I won with Bayern Munich. Our aim is to survive as soon as possible and finish as high in the table as we could."

He then went on to say "It will be tough, as with all promoted clubs. The technical gap between Serie A and B in my opinion has widened in recent seasons, but I think with the right signings and the spirit that clearly exists in the squad, we are on the right track. However, we must take each game as it comes."

Transfer news..potential arrivals and departures

Although the season has kicked off, Sean Sogliano is still busy in the transfer market.

IN

Rafael Marques

The sporting director has been busy looking for value in the South American market all summer, and has once again been making offers for players, this time in defence. Atletico Mineiro defender Rafael Marques has been the name mentioned by Sky Italia and more specifically Gianluca Di Marzio. SS is hoping to sign the player before the Roma game, but it's a possibility the defender will leave on loan to a Serie B club. He will sign a two year contract after having his release clause at Mineiro activated.

Elderson

Matteo Rubin is another name being chased by Gialloblu. The Siena defender is keen on the move, but the Tuscan club want Daniel Ragatzu to sign with them, but Verona will only allow this in a loan move.

A new name being linked is Braga defender Elderson. The Nigerian is a mainstay in the national team and impressed for the Portuguese side last season. He plays as a left back but can push forward should the need arise.

OUT

Despite the hatred that exists between the supporters, Hellas have struck a deal with Salernitana (owned by Lazio president Lotito) for the midfielder Gennaro Esposito. Returning close to his home city of Napoli, the midfielder played 74 games for Verona in Serie C, scoring four goals after signing in 2009. He spent last season in Umbria with Perugia.

Manuel Mancini

Leaving Hellas for certain is Manuel Mancini. The midfielder played his role in helping Verona to promotion from Serie C in 2010-11, particularly earlier in the season under Beppe Giannini and then Mandorlini. He spent last season at Salernitana, where he made some controversial comments about the club, and criticised Mandorlini saying the Ravenna native is too tough on his players. The Roman will now be free to sign for a new club.

Francesco Cangi

One player who will be missed is Francesco Cangi. He is in talks to join arch-rivals Vicenza, although the deal has yet to be reached. The full-back is said to be less than convinced by the magnagati's project. For now he will remain a Mastini player.

Preparing for Roma..

Hellas prepare for our first away game of the season.

After the emotion of the Milan game has died down, thoughts turned to a big trip to the capital to face rivals Roma. As Verona ultras are 'twinned' with Lazio, this is a hostile game and one we should approach in a professional manner.

Coach Andrea Mandorlini is considering continuing with the 4-3-3 that worked against Milan, or to revert to a more defensive 4-4-2. The counter-attacking against the Rossoneri was possibly the biggest positive of the win, especially with Martinho's pace down the left, so keeping the trident but with a more defensive and less-buckonering approach against Roma could be the most sensible solution.

After tactical training for much of the week, Bosko Jankovic, creator of Luca Toni's winning goal, had this to say "We are facing a team with momentum Milan didn't have, a different approach and a more difficult game. Against Roma I am motivated, I scored twice at Marassi against them. Their approach? They are one of the most complete teams in Italy".

Opinion..Charles' thoughts

Charles Ducksbury gives his thoughts after the victory over Milan.

In many ways I agreed with President Setti before the game. It's better to face a big club first rather than a fellow provincial side..if you should lose then it's no real panic, whereas a victory can even set up the entire season with the confidence and momentum gained.

All of that is a long way ahead though, for now it's better to savour the moment of a famous victory before plans begin for next Sunday's game against Roma. Pre-game the attention seemed to be entirely on Mario Balotelli, the attention seeking striker ignoring pleas to focus on the game by tweeting 'People of Verona, meet a man of BRESCIA'. Knowing the rivalry between Verona and Brescia this was something aimed at provoking reaction from the butei, but what he got instead was calm and measured applause and the fans cheering his name every time he attempted a shot or pass. The mind games worked, Balo was terrible and took his frustrations out on the corner flag before sulking on the pitch at full-time.

The game itself went almost perfectly. The Bentegodi was rocking but we started slowly. Milan seemed confident, shown with their excellent goal scored by Poli, although my Gialloblu eyes saw only very disappointing marking from Moras that allowed the midfielder to amble through and finish. In fairness this is the only negative. The reaction was excellent and although the equaliser came through a set-play (Toni hammering home a header from a corner) our play merited the goal, a few chances had been missed and the pace of particularly Martinho on the left causing the Rossoneri all sorts of problems. Milan didn't seem to react to falling behind and the momentum was with us.

Second half was more of a counter attacking game from Verona. We defended relatively deep without giving any chances away, whilst the pace when countering was almost frightening. The second goal arrived from a beautiful, outside of the right boot cross from Jankovic onto Toni's head, who beat Abbiatti down to his right. Gialloblu orgasm, the Bentegodi lifted from the ground.

Even after the goal, Milan didn't have a plan and we could have made it 3-1 on two occasions. First, Martinho ran 60 yards with the ball at a speed that would have left Usain Bolt in his dust, before hitting a thunder shot that Abbiatti palmed over. Then from a corner, Maietta headed straight at the keeper when either side would have seen another goal.

Milan eventually reacted but nothing of any major danger, a cross across the 6 yard box was missed by all, before Rafael flapped at a cross in injury time but that ball was cleared. The full-time whistle brought Balotelli slumping in the penalty area whilst the fans celebrated. It was a famous victory, the first time since 1988 that we have won on the first day of a Serie A season.

Will the win define the season? Far too early to say. But beating the team that finished 2nd last season can do no harm. In many ways Roma next weekend is a tougher exercise and may give us a clearer indication about these players capabilities. But after years of seeing games such as Potenza-Verona, Verona-Paganese, Pro Sesto-Verona, it was strange to see us once again line up against a club like Milan. Hopefully it won't be another 11 years before we 'welcome' them (and Mario ) back to Bentegodi.