Niko Kirwan (Calcio Padova | Italy)

Signed for Reggina in Serie C on a one-year deal with an option for two more. Very good move for him, best of luck!

Reggina spent most of the 2000s in Serie A, and spent a couple years in Serie B before being relegated in 2014. Reformed in the 4th tier, where they were immediately promoted to Serie C where they remain.

https://www.calabriapost.net/sport/reggina-in-riva-allo-stretto-arriva-il-centrocampista-niko-kirwan

Edit for mods: Reggina should be fine for the thread title, not to be confused with Reggiana :)

The very bottom of ‘the boot’ and a short ferry to Sicily. 

Lots of history, beaches - worst places to live for sure.

Bloody typical, I spend a year doing weekly updates, then I'm away from work for one day and I come back to this!!!!

Good move for him, Reggina were a very good side a few years ago, but like many smaller teams they have had significant off-field problems and went bust.  Unfortunately the financial model in Italy is seriously flawed and so many good teams suffer every year - but that's a story for another day.

Great move for Niko, away from the uncertainty and securing at least another year of professional football!

Interesting facts about Reggina: they're coached by a man from San Marino and Massimo Taibi (former goalkeeper who played for Man Utd as well and once scored a serie A goal) is their Sporting Director.

The team seems to have had a clear out and only has a few players on its roster - this can only be good for Niko!

it's a nice town, it's close proximity to Sicily means it has some serious mafia there however. Be careful Kirwan

Taibi, oh lord

Taibi was a great goalkeeper!!

Yes, Reggio Calabria is in the Calabria region where the 'Ndrangheta (mafia-type organised crime) have many interests - however this seldom affects football players (or many average citizens) to be honest.  There's great food, nice weather and plenty of beaches all around the region.

More importantly, the club has been re-founded only recently, so hopefully it has a good ownership module and proves to be sustainable and successful! I'll keep an eye on the Reggina forums over the next few weeks!

Ohhh I remember him, you're right great keeper - if you supported Southampton or Liverpool!

I see your howler and raise it with an 88th minute Serie A equalizer!

He was the second GK to ever score from open play in the Serie A.

Good news for Niko - as his former club AC Mestre will no longer play in the 3rd tier next season, having opted to go back to amateur status.  The club will play in Eccellenza (5th tier) and have appointed a 35 years old (I assume former) player as their coach.

Looks like Niko did the right thing to move away.

In the meantime, Niko's new club Reggina won 17-0 in their first pre-season match against a local team.  Niko started the first half and was subbed for the second half as pretty much every other player did.

Another 45 minutes for Niko in Reggina's second friendly of the year against local side Acri. 11-0 the final score with Niko presumably starting at RB as he did in the first game and being subbed off at HT along with the rest of the team.

Reading a few fan forums, there isn't a great deal of confidence in the team and apparently even Taibi thinks so far they will be in the bottom half of the standings.

30 days or so till Serie C kicks off!

Quick interview with the club's website where Niko stated he was on holiday in NZ post-season when his agent called him to appraise him of Reggina's interest which he accepted immediately.

According to Niko, this season they must quickly ensure they are in a safe position, well above relegation, and then see if they can do even better.

Another start and 45 min played in a 7-1 pre-season win.

The match report doesn't talk about Niko although an article on a fan site stated that he showed "good leg" - meaning he ran lots and had a good physical presence in the match.

I was going to post about that - things are NOT looking good in general.

The league is marred by controversies and the biggest games are being played in the courts as opposed to the pitch.

As mentioned many times, the whole football model back home is broken and they really ought to work hard and fix it if they want to have more teams than the 5 or 6 who constantly monetize on TV rights, gates, UEFA prizes etc.

I'm not holding my hopes up but in the last 15 years or so I've lost count of how many teams went bust which just a few years before was more of a rarity.

Full game for Niko in the first competitive game of the season, a 0-0 home draw in the Coppa Italia Serie C. Can't find too much about where Niko played. I think it''s either RB or RM. He was given a 6/10 score for his game which is on par with the rest of the team.

Wow if Italy can't sustain a professional 3rd tier, doesn't give us much hope for a 2nd tier in Australia.

The problem is that costs are just too high and pay-per-view TVs and (recently) streaming services are taking punters away from stadia all throughout the country.  It's a disgrace to be honest - there needs to be a total, system-wide overhaul of the financial model because at the moment only the likes of Juve, Napoli, maybe Roma are keeping up.  The other teams are either bankrolled by billionaires or simply in it by selling their best talent every year (see the likes of Udinese, Fiorentina, Sampdoria, Atalanta etc).  Even well-liked Chievo have been linked with deceiving the FA by over-inflating the price of youngsters/average players they've sold in order to cook the books.

...or the concept of a professional league in NZ.

The benefit of the A League is its a new league so they can create models fully aware of varous pitfalls... the other benefit is it will never be big enough for two league... well not for atleast another 20 - 30 years at best IMO.

Chaps and chappettes. Bit off topic for this thread but see post #552 in the A league expansion thread to dispel a few myths about Australian football expansion. 

Sorry mods, back to Kirwan and Serie C. By the way (of some modicum of relevance to Italian football) I recall Jesse Edge playing Serie B I think. Anyone know where he is now? 

Jesse Edge 3rd tier Holland I think. His team relegated from 2nd division? 

There is a Jesse Edge thread in Overseas Kiwis

The Italian FA has confirmed Serie C will start on 16 September.  They've chosen to await the result of the (many) appeals by clubs who have been excluded from the third tier (usually for administrative reasons).

90 minutes in Regina's second league Cup (serie C only) game, a 3-3 draw away at Siracusa. They are now out of the cup. The league I'll start mid month once the many appeals by various serie C and B clubs have been adjudicated.

90 minutes in the first game of the seasons, a 3-0 loss away at Trapani.

90 minutes in a 1-0 win against Bisceglie. Good reports from the press about Niko who apparently was tidy defensively and pushed forward well.

Bad day at the office with Reggina beaten 1-3 by Monopoli. Another 90' for Nikko.

90 mins in the weekend in a 1-0 win over Siracusa.

The mess of the Italian lower leagues.

https://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/meet-the-young-aus...

^ And the silver lining in all of this?  The Serie C chair person is likely going to be come the head of the FA!

69 minutes in a 1-0 loss to Virtus Francavilla.  Niko playing as RB.

Serie C shambles continue with a number of clubs now reinstated to Serie B (the League is going to appeal this decision) - after the season has already started! Big sharking mess! 

Found a nice little article (in Italian) which shows how Niko has so far been the 2nd most used player in the whole team (699 minutes out of 720 in total).  Apparently he was subbed off in the last game due to a "physical complaint" (e.g. not serious injury, I believe) - so hopefully he's fully fit for the next game.

Serie C gives great visibility to players across Europe and of course within Italy, so let's hope Niko catches the eye of a stronger team and continues his progression.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino slams Italian football chaos

'FIFA president Gianni Infantino labeled the chaos in Italy’s lower divisions an “absurdity.” Two months into the season, some teams don’t even know what league they’re playing in!'

https://www.news.com.au/sport/football/fifa-presid...

Makes the HAL, and the way it's run, look really good by comparison. 

Another full game for Niko as Reggina hold leaders Juve Stabia to a respectable 1-1 draw.
Niko with a good chance to score after 52' but is shot was saved by the opposition keeper.

Niko's team will have another bye next week as their game vs Rende has been postponed to 5 November due to "another significant event" taking place in the city of Rende on the same day.  No idea what said event is but it's certainly been a stop-start few rounds.

At least all that nonsense about Serie C teams possibly being promoted back to Serie B half way through the season is over - the courts have spoken and even though some clubs appear to be admissible to Serie B, they'll continue playing in Serie C and seek damages from the FA.

The FA have promised they'll fix what is essentially a broken system in time for next season. Where have I heard that one before??

I'll beat NP to it and report Kirwan played 90 mins yesterday as Reggina lost to Rende 2-3.

Picked up a yellow.

90 mins in a 1-0 win over Paganese.

Another full game in 1-0 loss vs Catania. Niko given a respectable 6 out of 10 score for his game where he 'defended and attacked, especially in the second half'. Was 'possibly' at fault on the corner kick leading to Catania's goal according to the same news site.

I'm really impressed with the career that he is carving out for himself over there.

Especially given that regular football is a rare commodity for our european pros right now

I agree. While the league is a shambolic one on an administrative level, it is hugely competitive.The top Serie C teams would give any A-League tea a real run for their money.

really??