Tour of Italy: Keeping up with the men's soccer team's trip

Coach Gerry DiBartolo and the men's soccer team are making their way across Italy during a 10-day trip. Coach DiBartolo will keep us up to date on the team's trip, from games and practices to sight-seeing trips. Check www.suseagulls.com periodically over the next 10 days for updates on the team and its trip.

 August 14, 2010 (Salisbury, Md.)- After our short stay in Monticatini Terme and our late game against Pontassieve F.C., the team made a later (for this trip) 10 a.m., departure for Rome. After a long bus ride, and stop at the Auto Grille (a highway gas and food station), we made it to our hotel in Rome. This hotel was by far the best one on the trip with marble floors throughout and a great location (very close to the main bus, rail and metro station). After checking in to the hotel we made a quick departure for the Vatican Museum and hoped they would allow many of us to change our prepaid tickets from Thursday to Wednesday. Our tour guide indicated that she did not think we would have enough time to see the Vatican on Thursday, due to the departure time for our final match, and boy was she correct. The museum was a breathtaking experience! Later that evening we had a great team dinner at a restaurant near our hotel.

 On Thursday we took a guided tour of Rome that included the Colloseum, Constantine Arch, ruins and a great description of the importance of the various buildings. Our tour guide did a great job of explaining the significance of each site. After lunch many of us went to visit the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon and a couple of other sights that were near our location. We took a crowded public bus ride back to the hotel and began gathering items for our 4 p.m., departure for our game against Bellegra 1962. What an unbelievable bus ride we had to the town of Bellegra (about one hour southeast of Rome), as our bus had to wind through small mountain towns and roads to reach the field. The field was sitting as a cut out in the side of a mountain and was located in a great setting.

 Our final game was another very competitive match against the first team. This is a team that competes on the regional league level and has a number of youth feeder teams. Of the four teams we played, this was the second-best team. The players and coaches got to experience the details involved in being cleared for the match as we had to show our passports and have them verified by the referee. The game was a very defensive contest at first with neither team getting many chances early in the match. About 20 minutes into the first half we began to spread them out more and had two or three quality goal-scoring opportunities but were not successful in finishing any of them. In the second half we were able to provide more pressure on them and scored two goals (a penalty kick and an unbelievable goal by Mike Napolitano). Our record for the trip was three wins and a tie and we allowed only a single goal in four matches. The guys were very proud of their play and considered the playing opportunities to be an unbelievable experience. For this match we played in front of our largest crowd as many of the local citizens decided to watch the game and they were very appreciative of our style of play, competitiveness and our sportsmanship. For me, this was a very good day as the team won and played well but also three of my male cousins made the trip from my father's town to watch the game and spend time with our family.

Our trip home was again one filled with lots of excitement as we had to contend with some very difficult Italian security police, a baggage handlers strikes in Paris, a three-hour delay while on the tarmac in Paris while the Air France team did their best to get our bags on the plane (all but one made it) and a couple of rough landings. We made it back safe and sound and I am certain the players will speak about the great experience they had throughout the season. Thanks to everyone who made this trip possible and we can't wait for the preseason to begin.

Go Gulls!

August 11, 2010 (Florence, Italy) - We've had another couple of wonderful days during our Italian adventure. The guys have been working hard to learn some of the key Italian phrases  to allow them to ask for many of the items they want to purchase or use (like where's the bathroom and requests for food). As a matter of fact my Italian has come back to me without much of a problem and if we could stay here another month I might be fluent again. The players have become very fond of the gelato ( ice cream here in Italy) and have tried every possible flavor. It's one of those things that you just can't pass up.

I'm not sure if we discussed our last match but we won our second match 3-0 against USD Scardovari Delta 2000 and their coach indicated that we were one of the best teams he has seen from the U.S. during his coaching career. Last night we played against the first team of Pontassieve F.C. The game was played under the lights and the team appeared to be an older and very fit and experienced team. We took a 1-0 lead early in the second half but after a very questionable call they tied the match on a great free kick from about 30 yards from goal. The game ended 1-1 and was a very fast-paced and  physical match. The guys really enjoyed the competitive nature of the game.

 Yesterday we also spent the day in Florence and were able to explore the older part of the central city. On our way to Florence we stopped in Pisa and were able to see the famous leaning tower. Everyone enjoyed walking in and around the churches and buildings that date back to the 13th and 14th century. The players have been very interested in the history and culture of Italy and have been asking many questions during the trip. Today we leave for Rome and are looking forward to spending time in the old city.

August 7, 2010 (Venice, Italy) - Sorry for the delay everyone, but we have limited web access here.

 After a very long flight (four-hour layover in Paris) we finally arrived in Italy. The landing in Venice was very exciting and woke everyone up. It was a hard and quick landing. Upon  arrival it was raining and cool and we decided to cancel the training session and allow everyone to get some needed sleep. The next day we ran a very active training session in the morning and spent the afternoon walking the beach and relaxing in Jesolo. Our first game was that evening against Calcio Ceregnano (about a two-hour trip from our hotel). The guys played well and we were leading 1-0 at halftime and the final score was a 3-0 SU win. After the game we were treated to a pizza party at their professional team's stadium. Our hosts were great (we do have pictures and will try to send them to you later).

Today (Saturday) we spent the day touring Venice and are preparing for dinner at the hotel. Tomorrow is another very busy day with a training session at the Padova stadium (seria B team) and then time to tour Padova. Our second match is later that night against U.S.D. Scardovari.

August 3, 2010 (Salisbury, Md.) – We are anxiously awaiting our departure for our trip to Italy with great expectations. At our team meeting after the physicals and screenings the players received their traditional tour t-shirts and we discussed some of the team rules for the trip. The players are eager to get on the road and begin our journey to the Italy and can't wait for the journey to begin. We are hoping that the long trip will be without incident and it will be interesting to see which players are able to sleep during the journey.

We hope to provide feedback throughout the trip (assuming we have web access) and hope you will find this information both interesting and helpful. We need to thank all of the parents for providing the resources to allow their sons to make the trip and plan to represent Salisbury University with great pride and respect.

Highlights from the Itinerary

4 p.m. – Arrive Washington Dulles Airport

7 p.m. – Depart Washington Dulles Airport on Air France overnight flight to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport

Thursday, August 5, 2010

8:30 a.m. – Arrive at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport

12:35 p.m. – Depart Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport on Air France flight to Venice Airport

2:15 p.m. – Arrive at Venice Airport

5 p.m. to 7 p.m. – Practice session at Jesolo R.F.C. Official Pitch