Three months later, the action returns. With the new championship structure, the first phase coincides with the first half of the season, with indoor play taking a winter break, and the second half of the season resuming in the spring. Last Saturday, the first taste of the season began with the Super Cup, won by the Amsicora women's team and HC Brà among the men. Today, the men's Serie A Elite begins (increased from eight to ten teams) and the men's Serie A1 (two groups of six teams, followed by promotion and relegation pools). Next Sunday, the women's Elite begins, now down to eight teams.
Men's Elite Series A
Like two seasons ago, the Ferrini-Amsicora derby kicks off the season. At the Maxia stadium (3:00 PM), it's a thrilling matchup, following last season's away wins and a series of goals. Ferrini is headed by Ezzedin Mettwally, a former key player for the Cagliari team, with Alessandro Zuddas serving as assistant. Like last season, Egyptian Zeiad and Argentine Mucci will be missing. Another Argentine, Alvaro Villalba, has arrived from CUS Pisa and has been entrusted with the women's team.
The Amsicora team, led by Roberto Carta, has undergone a more radical change. Argentinians Ojeda, Montelli, Lichi, and German Germershausen have departed, while former CUS Cagliari players Gadelkarim and Labdo, along with goalkeeper Emilio Aramu from Juvenilia Uras, have joined. New faces include Lithuanian Povilas Sinkevicius and German Luis Bernstein.
It's a tough start for HT Sardegna's new team, which makes its Elite debut in Brà against the Italian champions. The team is headed by Pakistani Ashfaq Niwaz, who will split his time between the field and the bench. Gobran, who joined Lazio, and Vargiu, who retired, have been replaced by defender Valentin Leon and striker Lucho Drago from Argentina.
Men's Serie A1
Cagliari are in Group A, with their first match today in Reggio Emilia against Città del Tricolore, which was relegated from the Elite Division. Fernando Jorge has a strong roster of young players at his disposal, reinforced by the confirmed Egyptian player Waleed, his compatriot Mohamed Ragab, and the Argentinean Maximo Gencarelli.
