A point well earned and uncomforting Cassano news
By: Rolf |
6 Comments
You might have noticed I rarely do after-match posts.
This is 1; because I don’t really have the time and 2; because the other bloggers around here are far better at it than me.
However, I’d like to say we should be perfectly happy with the result, seeing as the current Roma side are low on bodies but ridiculously high on fighting spirit, and a fair bit of talent too.
Pazzini got another two goals to bring his tally to 8, and Cassano showed everyone why the following news are bad indeed:
Cassano future in doubt Monday 16 March, 2009
——————————————————————————–
Sampdoria director of sport Beppe Marotta has given the clearest indication yet that Antonio Cassano will leave the club this summer.
The 26-year-old former Bari starlet has repeatedly been linked with a move to Juventus, who are looking to replace Pavel Nedved.
When asked about Cassano’s future in an interview with Radio Anch’io Sport, Marotta replied: “He is now with us and we should enjoy it.
“His transfer was one we are proud of. We will have to see what happens next season, though.”
Marotta then tried to reassure Sampdoria fans, telling them that January signing Giampaolo Pazzini rather than Cassano is the club’s future.
“Giampaolo Pazzini is the present and the future,” Marotta explained. “Pazzini was the real coup of the January transfer window.”
Marotta did, however, admit that it was exciting to have two strikers capable of matching the feats of club legends Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini.
“Pazzini and Cassano are like Vialli and Mancini in every way. They have all the qualities that Vialli and Mancini had.
“But they have to show more continuity,” Marotta concluded. “I hope that both players come to be called up for Marcello Lippi’s World Cup squad.”
channel 4.com
All I can say is that even if he do leave us he has made his mark on the club.
However, I like to think Cassano is smart enough to see what is unfolding here at the club, and how close we are to regain our former strength. We have what is undoubtedly the best attacking duo in the world, two players we can build a team around, so if Cassano can just give the project one more season, he’ll be there to reap the rewards. Hopefully.
Category: Uncategorized
Why the Bologna defeat doesn’t matter and Roma are in town.
By: Rolf | 2 Comments
Ok, so we got hammered by Bologna last weekend, a disastrous result compared to our recents triumphs against both the Milanese teams. Or is it?
I know this may be bordering on the lunatic, but I don’t think we should be in the least worried about that defeat. Di Vaio was back to his former self, and we all know just what he is capable of.
Bologna played a very good match, maybe a bit lucky but good nonetheless, while we did everything we could except scoring. But you’d have to be an even greater lunatic than myself to think that this is a sure sign the team is falling apart.
The Goal Twins.2 were swept up in a mixture of bad luck and more bad luck, and every Calcio fan knows Antonioli is extremely frustrating to play against.
This was just a bump in our way back to greatness, trust me.
And now, Roma.
I’ll admit it at once, I really like those guys. They are a beautiful club in every sense, the colours, the banners, the players, everything. And I feel the uttermost sympathy for their recent penalties heartbreak against Arsenal.
However, they’ll be playing Doria tomorrow, and my sympathy ends right there.
The sign are very good for us, Lucchini is back but probably won’t start, otherwise the only notable absentee is, um, no-one. Gastaldello and Palombo are both well and truly back, and of course, theres The Goal Twins.2 One of which is Cassano. And he’s waited long enough for his revenge.
In the capital however, things are looking bad with a capital B.
De Rossi threw a fit in the Udinese match and is suspended along with Mexes, and Juan, Perrotta, Taddei, Cassetti, Aquilani and Cicinho are out with injuries, and Totti will probably be rested after his 120-minute heroics against ACN…oops, I mean Arsenal, and so Roma will have to rely on something special from Vucinic, whose confidence might have taken a knock after his backpass to Almunia on wednesday.
Do I have a funny feeling again? Definately.
Probable line-up: Castellazzi; Raggi, Gastaldello, Accardi; Stankevicius, Sammarco, Palombo, Ziegler, Pieri; Pazzini, Cassano
Key battles:
The Goal Twins.2 vs the Roman legions = Diamoutene and Panucci, come hither, come hither…
Il Vucinic vs the Doria defence = I’ll be the first to admit that Vucinic is something special. All his goals against Genoa are enough to prove his claim to greatness, and not just because they were against Genoa. However, if Gastaldello & Co keep their focus then we should be able to keeep him quiet…I hope.
Predictions: Cassano gets his revenge tomorrow. It’s written in the stars.
Game: Sampdoria 3-1 Roma
Goals: Cassano 2′, Vucinic 22′, Pazzini 55′, Cassano 87′
MOTM:Cassano
Ma il cielo è sempre più blu
Category: UncategorizedCelebration and preparation
By: Rolf | 4 Comments
So, it’s been nearly a week since we edged out Milan and three days since we steamrollered Inter.
And not a word from me. Shame. Fact is, I’m over the moon at the moment, seeing as a number of extremely pleasing situations have come into place…
-We’ve beaten Milan.
-We’ve destroyed Inter.
-The goal twins are back.
No Doriani can disagree about the first two, but the third one? Are Pazzini and Cassano really the new Vialli and Mancini. In my eyes, the answer is a resounding YES THEY BLOODY WELL ARE!
When you think about how deadly this partnership as been so far it’s almost scary.
The Goal Twins.2 have so far scored 9 goals, and they seem to get better for every game, their level of understanding culminating in the Interslaughter, and hopefully continuing tomorrow when we face a tough away trip to Bologna.
But first, a little comment on my, oh to hell with it, most Doriani’s dream of a trophy.
Or more precisely, the Coppa trophy. One might say that the Coppa has lost all of it’s earlier prestige, something I partly agree with, and that a Coppa triumph will mean little, which I don’t agree with at all. Trophy is trophy no matter what, and the Coppa Italia is our only way back into the UEFA Cup, but there’s also the sentimental value to consider. We haven’t won anything in over 10 years, and to see this Sampdoria team lift a trophy would be a dream come true.
But, back to Bologna.
Bologna seemed to be on the up after Mihajlovic took over, but have slumped a bit recently, only taking 1 point from their last 5 matches. Time is running out for Bologna and since they’ll go to Juve next week they need a result from this. And so the question is, will they?
Di Vaio seems to have run out of steam, and with him so has the entire Bologna squad.
This will be a game where I dare to say all we have to do is focus like hell and avoid slip-ups to get 3 points. Cassano and Pazzini will do their thing and if the rest of the players can just do their job properly then I can see another victory here.
The only factor that might prove an upset is former Doria man Mihajlovic. Welcome back Sinisa.
Our present “missing players” situation is this: Delvecchio and Lucchini are both out with injuries and Palombo, Padalino and Franceschini are suspended.
Bologna have Cesar, Paonessa (who?) and Osvaldo out(I’m extremely happy he’s out for this game).
Probable line-up: Castellazzi; Raggi, Lucchini, Accardi; Stankevicius, Sammarco, Dessena, Ziegler, Pieri; Pazzini, Cassano
Key battles:
The Goal Twins.2 vs Antonioli and The Mihajlovic Guard = So we have two unstoppable forwards vs a very good keeper and four defenders who knows there will be hell to pay if they fuck this up.
Mihajlovic will need to come up with something extraordinary to inspire/terrify his defenders to prevent us from scoring more than at least one.
Marco Di Vaio vs Sampdoria = Alright Bologna do have some other god players. Really. I just can’t seem to come up with anyone else than Marco Di Vaio. The guy has got 16 goals so far but doesn’t seem to be able to keep it up to the end of the season. Good for us.
Predictions: If Di Vaio and The Goal Twins.2 keeps doing what they’ve been doing over the last 4 weeks then I struggle to see how we can lose this. We might get unlucky and draw but a loss would really require something special.
Game: Bologna 0-1 Sampdoria
Goals: Cassano 64′
MOTM: Cassano
FORZA DORIA PER SEMPRE!
Category: UncategorizedI’m terribly sorry…
By: Rolf | 7 Comments
…but I simply won’t be able to come up with a Coppa Italia post today or tomorrow, so the earliest sign of life you can expect to see from me is Friday or Saturday.
However, Johonna over at the Inter board has made a perfectly fine preview not just for Interistas but for Doriani as well.
It was by the way very nice to see him mentioning my work so far (him being one of the most read bloggers here at The Offside and I being what can be perfectly described as an upstart).
It won’t stop me from going FORZA DORIA!!! though.
Category: UncategorizedUEFA Cup woe and meeting with the Rossoneri
By: Rolf | 7 Comments
So, after getting our heads handed to us by Metalist Kharkov or whatever, we’ve got one thing left to fight for; the Coppa Italia. Others will say we have a relegation fight coming up as well but I refuse to give in to talk like that. This squad is far to good to be relegated.
However, before we keep on in our Coppa charge we’ve got a certain Milan team to deal with.
They got kicked out of the UEFA Cup as well, though they bowed out with a bit more dignity.
So we have to teams who played and lost on Thursday (Milan didn’t really lose but it certainly felt like a loss), and both teams are going through injury crisises, our a minor one but Milan are in really bad shape with Gennaro Gattuso, Marco Borriello, Alessandro Nesta, Zeljko Kalac, Kaka, Andriy Shevchenko and Daniele Bonera out.
We’re still missing Delvecchio, Gastaldello and Nenad Kristic are out with injuries and Bellucci is suspended, but let’s admit it: Milan wins the infirmary battle.
The battle on the pitch on the other hand…
We haven’t lost in FIVE matches, we recently helf Juve at their own ground and we defeated a troublesome Atalanta side. Surely something to be proud of, eh? Meanwhile, the Milanese have slumped to draws against Reggina and Genoa (okay, “slumped” might not be the word with Genoa), and they recently lost out to Inter in the derby courtesy of a volleyball beauty from Adriano. The stuff the other Milanese are getting away with borders on the ridiculous, but still:
Milan are in bad shape.
Statistically we shouldn’t be too optimistic, as we have only defeated Milan, uh, ONCE at home over the last ten years. Milan have always been Doria’s bogey-team (together with Barca), beating us in UEFA Super Cup and Supercoppa finals during the Golden Era, and trouncing us 5-0 at the Ferraris last season.
Still, I have this funny feeling AGAIN. With Nesta out Kaladze might start and we all know what Kaladze means right? Free chances given away within the last 16. Yummy. Partnering Kaladze will be either Maldini or Favalli, Maldini is the greatest defender the world has ever seen while Favalli is…Favalli. Both of them are what you’d call dead slow, so as long as our players don’t seek one-on-ones with Maldini and just focus on sprinting behind them we should be fine.
In goal for the Milanese however, will be the brilliant Abbiati. So we’re not THAT fine.
The Milan midfield are crammed with players who were serious contenders for the BAllon d’Or about 5 years ago, unless Ancelotti sends Flamini out to play.
Up front for Milan however, we find a formiable duo of Pato & Inzaghi, both of them extremely dangerous in their own right. Iv’e never missed Gastaldello so much before.
What I don’t miss however, is the days when we didn’t have Pazzini. It’s now 4 goals in 4 games, and I don’t think anyon will argue this guy is arguably our most lethal player since Mancini ran rampant through defences back in the 90′ies. Partnering is the slightly less lethal but slightly more joker-like Cassano. I think it’s safe to assume that if the right Cassano turns up then the Milan defence will have one hell of a time stopping him and Pazzini.
Probable line-up: Castellazzi; Accardi, Lucchini, Raggi; Pieri, Franceschini, Palombo, Sammarco, Padalino; Cassano, Pazzini
Key battles:
Pato & Inzaghi vs the Doria defence = Pato has becoma a master at ripping defences apart lately, and joining him is the ultimate master of poaching, Pippo Inzaghi.
I can’t help but predict at least one Milan goal today.
Pazzini and Cassano vs the old guard = We really should get something from this. Abbiati will be a nuisance but a nuisance we should be able to overcome.
Predictions: I think at least one goal for either side is likely, and so the victor will be the one who scores one goal more than that. Simple, really. And bearing in mind that our last victories against the Rossoneri have come through 2-1 victories, the likely outcome in my Blucerchiati-warped mind is…
Game: Sampdoria 2-1 Milan
Goals: Cassano 12′, Pato 41′, Pazzini 75′
MOTM: Cassano
DORIA ‘OLE!!!
The PS this week is that this is the last time Maldini graces the Ferraris. *applaudes*.
Category: UncategorizedBlucerchiati vs the other Nerazzuri
By: Rolf | 4 Comments
But first, a word on our recent UEFA Cup embarrasment.
I didn’t watch the game, but from various reports I’ve read we played a game that can be perfectly described as utter crap. Metalist seems to have walked all over us at the Marassi, and our chances of going to Ukraine and winning 2-0, 3-1, 4-2 etc are…well, they’re NOT good.
So that’s the UEFA Cup then. Only the Coppa left to fight for. Jolly good.
But first of all, the Nerazzuri of Bergamo are coming to town, high on self-belief after their trashing of Roma last week. So why am I feeling optimistic?
Last weekend we faced a Juve side who are miles ahead of Atalanta in terms of quality, but while Juve were (and are) in a less-than-ideal mood the same can’t be said of Atalanta.
They have now taken three impressive scalps, namely Napoli (3-1), Inter (3-1) and Roma (3-0) as well as beating Udinese and us earlier, but seeing how we and the Zebrette have fared this season those scalps aren’t that impressive.
So we’ve got a determined team led by the arguably most in-form player in Italy (Doni), a team who has humbled three giants during the season and whose squad includes a striker who is on the shopping list of at least Juve and Roma. Facing them are a team who have won only 3 of their last 12 games and who recently lost out to a team called Metalist. At home. Jeez.
However, there is one thing going for us (two actually; we’ve got Pazzini) : So far, Atalanta have shown a tendency to play extraordinarily well in every other match, but not quite as well in the next one. After they beat Napoli they proceeded to lose to Reggina, after their victory against Inter they were brought down by Cagliari, and hopefully we will do the honours after their Roma triumph. This is all mere speculation, but in my opinion it’s worth to take into consideration. Oh and Cassano scored his first ever Sampdoria goal against Atalanta. So there.
We aren’t really playing for much, the Coppa is the only thing that can be fought for now and relegation isn’t as much of a threat as some people seem to think.
Atalanta however are where we should have been, chasing a UEFA Cup spot. I must admit it would be sweet to make some trouble for them.
Probable line-up:
Castellazzi; Raggi, Ferri, Stankevicius; Pieri, Franceschini, Palombo, Sammarco, Padalino; Cassano, Pazzini
Key battles:
Doni vs the entire fucking Doria team = I’m not kidding, this guy is dynamite at the moment, and stopping him will be our most important objective.
Floccari vs Raggi & Ferri = I don’t like this, I don’t like this at all.
Predictions:
This match will depend on wether Doni and Floccari turns up or not. We are in the middle of an injury crisis and have been rather poor leading up to this game but Atalanta are notorious strugglers playing away from home.
Game: Sampdoria 2-1 Atalanta
Goals: Pazzini 22′, Palombo 71′, Floccari 77′
MOTM: Castellazzi.
As always, FORZA DORIA!
PS. Because of some problems with the media function, this post is pictureless.
I’ll try and fix this ’till next time.
Category: UncategorizedMission accomplished
By: Rolf | 11 Comments
Niiiice.
I can only begin to imagine the Juve offside’s desperation after this match.
Four times the bianconeri rattled the Doria posts, and yet they were left with only a single goal and point. Sampdoria got excactly the same, minus three woodwork hits.
Juve ran the game from start end with Sampdoria creating a grand total of 3 or maybe 4 chances, and it required a great deal of luck to keep Juve at 1-0 and 1-1 as long as we did.
So how the hell is this “mission accomplished”?
Today would have been mission accompished even if Juve had won 3-1. Not because Pazzini scored a goal with a finish so cool it bordered on annoying or because Cassano embarrased Legrottaglie with one of the most delicious sombreros (chips) witnessed in recent times (this duo is destined for greatness. Well, so was Totti and Cassano but this is different. Really).
This is mission accomplished because we fought for every bit of luck that came our way today.
We scored an early goal and held on to it, which is perfectly reasonable playing away to Juventus. Stankevicius, Raggi, Gastaldello and Padalino fought like lions to keep the Zebra attacks at bay for most of the game (Gastaldello payed for it with a sprained knee), and Sammarco, Franceschini, Pieri and Palomba (yay!) did their bit by throwing themselves in the way ofanything black and white moving towards Castellazzi.
Speaking of Castellazzi, he was in superb form today. He made a very good save on a Nedved rocket early in the game and made some other solid saves. Chanceless at the Amauri header.
Cassano and Pazzini did excactly what they were meant to do, Cassano suffered a muscular injury but it didn’t look too bad. After Cassano’s substitution Pazzini was pretty much the entire Doria attack but he created some problems for the Juve attack that could easily have led to some real chances.
So we had a lot of luck, but we did a fair amount of fighting for it and can now leave Turin with a unexpected point and prepare for wednesday’s UEFA Cup match vs Metalist Standard.
Match facts:
Juventus 1 - 1 Sampdoria
Pazzini 10 (S), Amauri 62 (J)
Stadio Olimpico
Juventus: Buffon; Grygera, Mellberg, Legrottaglie, Molinaro; Camoranesi (Marchionni 68), Poulsen (Giovinco 46), Tiago (Marchisio 89), Nedved; Amauri, Del Piero
Sampdoria: Castellazzi; Stankevicius, Gastaldello (Ferri 71), Raggi (Da Costa 58); Padalino, Sammarco, Palombo, Franceschini, Pieri; Pazzini, Cassano (Ziegler 76)
Player ratings:
The entire team gets a 7 except for Castellazzi and Pazzini who gets 8.5.
So, until next time, forza Il Bucerchiati!
PS. I’ll be gone from tomorrow ’till Friday, so you’ll have to do without any Samp offside updates for nearly a week. Try not crying your eyes out will you?
Category: UncategorizedFisherman vs Old Lady
By: Rolf | 2 Comments
It’s not a fair fight, is it?
Actually, it is.
While pretty much everyone excpects us to get soundly trashed by Juve, I think it would be not only hasty but downright stupid to ignore the fact that while Sampdoria are definately not in the form of their history, neither are Juve.
Last weekend they edged out Catania thanks to a last-gasp goal by Poulsen, and when you need Poulsen to save with a last-gasp goal you you’re in trouble. Real trouble.
Furthermore, Iaquinta is out with a red card, and the return of Trezeguet isn’t enough to convince me that Juve will be steamrollering us tomorrow. He’s been out for a while and if he returns at all then I think a shaky performance and an early substitution is all the Juventini can excpect. I could be wrong though.
Meanwhile, neither Del Piero or Amauri have been as impressive so far in 2009 as they were in 2008, as they’re in the middle of February with ONE goal between them (Del Piero).
And to top it, Zanetti, De Ceglie, Knezevic and Zebina are all out and there’s a big question mark over Chiellini.
So things aren’t looking good for Juve.
Unfortunately they aren’t looking too good for us either.
Palombo is out, which is a big blow in itself, but there is something about this Doria team that makes me feel…nervous. We slipped to a draw against Chievo two weeks ago, and followed that up by letting Siena come back from 2-1 down to get a 2-2 result. 4 points lost needlessly, and unless we want to be fighting for two cups and at the same time try to stay clear of relegation then we need to shape up. And the perfect way of doing that would be to get something from tomorrows game.
I’m not demanding a victory, nor do I think its terribly likely, but a draw? Definately possible.
Even a hard-fought loss would suffice, my main wish is that they come out and go out fighting, because while we can’t excpect to get too many points from the kind of games we MUST excpect to get them from the likes of Chievo and Siena. And since none of these little teams are likely to let us pummel them effortlessly, we need some fighting spirit, and we need it now.
Probable line-up:
Castellazzi; Stankevicius, Gastaldello, Lucchini; Padalino, Ziegler, Sammarco, Franceschini, Pieri; Pazzini, Cassano
Key battles:
Del Piero & Amauri vs Gastaldello & Lucchini = Normally there wouldn’t be room for doubt here, but considering the Juve duo’s recent form, I’ll call it a draw here.
Juve midfield vs Sampdoria midfield minus Palombo = Even the most devout Doria fan should admit that Nedved, archisio and Camoranesi are the best bet coming up against Ziegler, Sammarco and Franceschini. There’s always the chance of injuries though.
Legrottaglie & Mellberg/Chiellini vs Cassano & Pazzini = Tight, even tighter if Chiellini is fit, but I think I’ll go with Cassano & Pazzini here, especially Pazzini. Still, it’s tight.
Predictions
It will be a game where both defences will have to keep up with a very potent striking duo, and the winner will be the one who keeps his defence the tightest.
Game: Sampdoria 1-1 Juventus
Goals: Pazzini 38′, Marchisio 77′.
MOTM: Pazzini
Anyway, FORZA SAMPDORIA!
PS. Here’s to Maldini’s last derby, hope the legend gets a good finale.
There’s no team I want to win this year’s Serie A as much as Milan simply to see Maldini lift one last trophy.
Category: UncategorizedThe Sampdoria offside is back…
By: Rolf | 8 Comments
…but with someone new at the helm.
I have the extremely prestigious honour of announcing myself as the new writer here at the Sampdoria offside, facing off some pretty stiff competition from a 6-year old and a chinese dyslectic.
I’m not terribly good at these sorts of introductions, so I’ll just say that you’ll get to know me a lot better after a few days/weeks.
Cheers.
Category: UncategorizedWrite for Sampdoria Offside
By: Daryl | Add Comments
Are you a Sampdoria fan? Want to write about the Blucerchiati for a large and appreciative audience? Then we have a spot for you here on Sampdoria Offside.
Writing an Offside blog is a non-paid position, but it’s pretty much the most fun you can have with a keyboard and an internet connection.
If interested, read our bloggers guidelines here and then send an email to daryl[at]theoffside[dot]com
Category: Uncategorized
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