MESSINA – The opinion. Messina’s last championship match having also been archived, the city expects short times and certainties about the future. A lot will depend, first of all, on whether or not the coach is confirmed, but above all on a resolute and clear discussion between him and the presidency. Brief analysis of a year that will have to start again immediately.
All in all, it was an acceptable ending Acr Messina. The salvation achieved on the penultimate day is certainly the most important, indeed fundamental, aspect of the season just ended. From the discouragement due to the lack of results and a ranking dangerously tending towards Serie D, to the elation for a flourishing period that suggested the play-off zone was finally reachable.
Yep, all in all it went well this time too. Permanence among the professionals has been preserved, with a few fewer worries compared to last year, but still in the home stretch, that’s all.
The usual game of sides
Detractors and supporters of the coach Giacomo Modica. As usually happens in this phase of the calendar year, the biancoscudati supporters take a position for or against the character of the moment. We saw it done a few years ago with Rocco Arena; same thing last season with Fabrizio Mannino. But it also happened with President Sciotto himself, loved and hated, appreciated for some aspects or often attacked for others, for the usual discordant notes in the midst – this must be said – of scores which, if it were not for Gualtieri’s original family, it would remain blank, without a score or worse, as has happened over and over again in the past. All with a fan base accustomed to suffering anything.
Modica won
Now, it is also happening with Modica, the technical architect of the salvation. There are those who would like to confirm it, those who greet it with lots of thanks, perhaps starting from figures who can focus on confirming the most reliable block of players who closed the season. The fans are taking sides.
We have to recognize it though. When many – including myself – asked for Mr. Modica’s removal from the bench, he held his ground, perhaps with some excess in some statements that probably would have been useful to handle differently, but he held the helm during the storm. And he brought the group together and managed to bring out motivations that no one expected could emerge. He made the team play, and well, very well. Above all, he brought Messina to a safe shore with a sigh of relief from everyone.
Sciotto: he won too
Credit also goes to the president. Here too, there are those who would still like it Pietro Sciotto in the saddle, who instinctively or rightly would like to pass the hand. Who wouldn’t have sacked the Mazara coach after the disappointing matches that – here too, as in the dark periods of Messina football – we would all like to forget quickly? But, above all, who in the past has guaranteed continuity, in recent years, without ever having to suffer payments or missed registrations?
Only he, only Sciotto did it. He kept Modica in the saddle perhaps even against his own thoughts, keeping faith with a summer choice, with a belief – that the Zemanian football school needs time – and he was right. Above all, only he, only Sciotto did it; always honoring commitments and saving Messina, despite tiredness and conflicting statements.
Too bad, we miss the play-offs
It’s true that this year, the president and fans would have expected those play-offs, the still missing goal that many of us were convinced could be achieved.
It’s a shame, it could have been done if Messina hadn’t been the victim of embarrassing situations, too many, disconcerting in some cases in which the protagonists were not the fans, nor the athletes on the pitch but those who should interpret and apply the regulation simply and without inventing Nothing.
We need an open confrontation between Sciotto and Modica: it’s time for the city to win
Obviously, it would be too simplistic to just attribute the responsibilities to the referees: Messina was missing for some passages which will need to be clarified as soon as possible. And first of all, president Sciotto and coach Modica will have to do it. The two must confront each other openly without any ifs or buts, planning, promptly and effectively covering those leaks in the hull that jeopardized the necessary stability in key moments.
The discussion will be held soon with the hope of a further relaunch of the company, with or without Modica. We expect clarity and intellectual honesty as soon as possible. Registration and market are upon us. We can’t wait any longer. Time flows and it will not stop by “edict of a king or favor of the people. It will flow in silence, without stops or pauses”, to quote Seneca. It’s time for the city to win.
