Samp in the transfer market
By: Stephen |
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With around a month to go until those vital Champion’s League qualifiers, Samp have been wheeling and dealing busily over the last few weeks.
We’ve lost our two top keepers, as we knew we would. Marco Storari was only on loan, and has decided to join Gigi Del Neri at Juve instead of staying in Genova. His contribution was massive after his arrival in January, as had that of the man he replaced, Luigi Castellazzi, before his season ended prematurely through injury. We knew Castellazzi was off to warm the bench at Inter for the last few months, and obviously that time was well-used by the Samp transfer team – we’ve signed Gianluca Curci on a co-ownership deal from Siena. He’ll be our #1 for the forthcoming season. Curci’s only 25, and although he has yet to make an appearance for Italy, he had been involved in a few squads while with Roma. Check him out on this video, making some solid saves.
Also making to move to Liguria is Nicola Pozzi, whose loan deal from Empoli has turned into permanent transfer. I’m pleased to see him join – he can appear immobile and lumbering at times, but he works really hard and can put defenders who aren’t comfortable on the ball under pressure. He adds another vital dimension to the Samp attack, which can seem a little lightweight at times. Also new to the roster is Simone Zaza from Atalanta, about whom I know nothing apart from that he has a cool name that would look pretty sweet on the back of our sexy new jerseys. You can have a look at them here. I’m especially a fan of the white one with the diagonal stripes.
There’s nothing more of a concrete nature to confirm at the moment. Of a slightly more slushy and sandy nature, however, is Reto Ziegler’s will-he-won’t-he flirting with many of Europe’s big names. He could still sign another contract with Doria though, and since our new general director, Sergio Gasparin has indicated that there have been ‘no important offers’ from anyone else, there’s still hope that he’ll stick around. Less likely to be wearing la maglia blucerchiata next season is Stefano Guberti, who has returned to Roma after a impressing on his loan stint with us. Roma aren’t willing to let him go on loan again, which means that the deal is all but dead. Also dead are the rumours linking Lukas Podolski to Samp – a deal which I, as a German resident and massive fan of Die Nationalmannschaft, was excited and worried about in equal measure. There’s a huge difference between Lukas Podolski in a Germany shirt, and Lukas Podolski in a Bayern or Köln shirt. We might have a chance to see him underwhelm in person on August 7th in a friendly in Cologne.
And finally, Genoa have set out their goals for the forthcoming season: the most important thing, according to the manager Gasperini, is to finish ahead of Samp. That’s sad and flattering in equal measure.
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Samp at the World Cup
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We’re a week back into post-World Cup life, and it’s bloody miserable. Normalcy sucks, but if it didn’t, then the World Cup wouldn’t be quite so special.
I’m sure everyone’s aware of just how dreadful Italy’s campaign was, but I only need to dwell on it for a moment longer. After all, there were two Doriani in the squad – Angelo Palombo and Giampaolo Pazzini. Palombo, sadly, didn’t see even one minute of action. Pazzini, aside from twenty-nine depressing minutes against New Zealand, (where the Italian midfield, utterly devoid of ideas, failed to provide him with anything even vaguely resembling a sniff of a chance) was left on the bench. Lippi preferred Vincenzo Iaquinta’s lumbering, pathetic efforts, only succeeding in making Emile Heskey look like the world’s most effective and mobile player.
With Lippi’s departure and Prandelli’s arrival in the Italian hotseat, it spells an interesting change of fortune for Samp’s two frontmen – Antonio Cassano can expect to be given a chance to impress, whereas Pazzini, having failed to impress Prandelli during his time at Fiorentina, may find his chances for gli Azzurri somewhat limited.
Samp also had two representatives in the equally-disappointing Switzerland squad. Reto Ziegler played every minute of their three games, as part of the only defence to keep a clean sheet against the triumphant Spanish. His performances look to have earned him a move, as Fiorentina, Liverpool, Hamburg, Werder Bremen, and, of course, Juventus have all been linked with him in recent weeks. Our other boy from Switzerland, Marco Palladino, didn’t make an appearance.
So, all in all, hardly a stellar World Cup for Samp. Still, this can only be a positive thing – had Pazzini knocked in a couple of goals, it would be even harder to hang on to him for another season, and Lippi’s ludicrous vendetta against Cassano is also good news for us – and a well-rested, happily married Fant’Antonio is bad news for the rest of Serie A.
Category: UncategorizedCiao Gigi, ciao Beppe
By: Stephen | 5 Comments
That Beppe Marotta was off to Juventus was far from a secret, and that he wanted Del Neri to be his new trainer was also well-known. Somehow though, I just didn’t think he’d go.
Us football fans simply have a completely different way of thinking to the people we support. To me, Del Neri’s decision doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. The opportunity to lead Samp into the Champion’s League, regardless of the fact that we’re unlikely to be involved in it after Christmas, the challenge of building upon the incredible progress of this season, of holding on to our star players and maybe adding another one or two seems so much more attractive than the idea of rebuilding the oh-so-slowly sinking ship at Juventus. He must have been promised a truck of cash, lots of freedom, lots of money to spend, but that still doesn’t change the fact that he’ll have Felipe Melo anchoring his midfield instead of Angelo Palombo, Amauri leading his attack instead of Giampaolo Pazzini, and Alex Del Piero orchestrating mischief instead of Antonio Cassano.
But it makes sense to Del Neri, and I really wish him all the best. He’s instilled a winning mentality in this club, and having beaten all three of the teams that finished above us this year, we have no-one to fear. That, of course, would change should Palombo, Pazzini or Cassano choose to join the mini-exodus, but over the last weeks, all three have voiced their desire and intention to stay in Genoa.
Fancy seeing some celebrations in Genoa? And Cassano dumping a load of water on Del Neri’s head in celebration? Then have a look here.
Just like a Scudetto
By: Stephen | 10 Comments
Samp will be in the Champion’s League next year, and, according to Del Neri, this is an achievement that matches that of the Blucerchiati of 1991. Some might argue, in the cash-bloated business that modern football has become, it is even more of a success.
When, at the turn of the year, Samp were on a run of two wins in fifteen games, it seemed like the season was about to peter into another one of mid-table obscurity at best. The lack of funds available ruled out the possibility of any major signings, our first choice goalkeeper had just suffered a season-ending injury, and our star striker was mulling over a loan move to Fiorentina after an apparent falling-out with Del Neri.
Marco Storari, Milan’s 33-year-old fourth choice keeper was drafted in on loan, as was Roma’s out-of-favour winger Stefano Guberti. Another loanee, Nicola Pozzi, slotted into Cassano’s berth up front, and the results changed almost instantaneously. Since January, Storari’s been one of Serie A’s top performers, Pozzi added some much-needed physicality to the Samp frontline and Guberti provided an injection of pace and dynamism. Cassano came back and provided six goals in eight games, and Pazzini continued doing what he’s been doing all season – scoring for fun.
Naturally, there’s been a lot of talk about our star performers being cherry-picked by the top teams around Europe, and that includes the manager, Del Neri, heavily linked with Juve of late. We can expect an announcement about which bench he’ll be sitting on next season within the next few days. It will be interesting to see whether he’ll want to try his hand at leading Samp into the Champion’s League, or whether he’d prefer a year free of European distractions with a Juventus team very much in transition. In purely footballing terms, it is hard to see what Juve can offer that Samp can’t, aside from a more famous name and a lot more cash to fling around. Still, it’s easy to understand that Del Neri is probably anxious to shake off his reputation as a small team manager, having found success with Chievo and Samp, and failed after very short stints with Roma and Porto.
But there is no need to be concerned about personnel departures at this moment in time. We’ve got a fourth place to enjoy, and a whole continent to dream about exploring. Grazie ragazzi, it’s been a glorious season.
Champion’s League playoff
By: Stephen | 7 Comments
It’s the penultimate day of the season and arguably the biggest game of the season is taking place in the Renzo Barbera in Palermo. Samp have a two-point advantage, but if we fail to leave Sicily with at least a draw and we’ll be playing catch-up next weekend. Win, and we can start preparing for another Champion’s League playoff next August. The good news is that we have no new injury worries; the bad news is that Palermo haven’t lost at home all season, and only Bari, Roma, Genoa, Catania and Inter have escaped from Sicily without a beating from the Rosanero.
Were it not for the events in the Olimpico a couple of weeks back, I would not be particularly hopeful. Samp’s away record is far from amazing, although there has been a very noticeable improvement in 2010 with points taken from Inter (stubbornly not mentioning the nine men), Roma and, erm, Udinese, amongst others. I desperately want to look upon the Roma game as the culmination of Del Neri’s tactical genius finally filtering down into on-pitch results, so that’s exactly what I will do. The Mister has stated “I do not know how to prepare for a draw”, and although there is plenty of evidence to suggest that this is completely untrue, I’m hopeful that it means we’re really going to go for it. Our talent is clearly in the final third of the pitch, and I’ve heard that attack is the best form of defence.
Interestingly, Samp don’t have a bad record away to Palermo. We’ve picked up a couple of wins and a draw from out last three trips down to Sicily, and have only lost three of the last eight, stretching all the way back to those dark days in Serie B. There are generally goals when these two meet, and with Cassano and Miccoli, Italy’s two best players not going to the World Cup, in vintage form, goals look likely this afternoon too.
So what happens if we lose? Well, we’ll definitely need to beat Napoli at home next weekend, and hope that Palermo fail to beat Atalanta. So, it would really help us if Atalanta won at Napoli today, in order to guarantee that they have something to play for next weekend. So we also want our old friend Sinisa Mihajlovic to do us a favour by beating Bologna, and a Livorno victory over Lazio would be great too. So, basically, lose today and we’ll be relying on a large number of highly improbable results to bail us out.
So, here we go. Ninety minutes for the Champion’s League. Forza Doria.
What comes around…
By: Stephen | 2 Comments
…goes around, thanks to Pazzini and his talented head. After dropping so many points in the dying moments of games, Samp finally were on the good side of a late, late strike. We’re now a couple of points clear of Palermo in fourth, with Napoli a further three adrift, while only the most optimistic Juve fans would argue that they still have a hope of getting the last CL spot – they are six points behind with four to play.
Four games from glory – but four more fiendishly difficult games would be hard to find. We’re off to title-chasing Roma on Sunday, before Livorno come to Genoa the following weekend – with a bit of luck, they’ll already have been mathematically relegated to take a little pressure off the fixture. Then we’re on the road to Palermo in would be pretty close to a CL playoff, were it not for the fact that we host Napoli on the final day of the season. On paper, both Palermo and Napoli have easier run-ins, but if we beat Livorno and don’t lose to… No! I promised myself I wouldn’t calculate each team’s potential point earnings for the remaining games! No need to unnecessarily get stressed!*
One final thing that pleased me was Pazzini’s celebration at the end – he really seemed to care. It had always slightly bothered me that he never seemed particularly pleased to score for Samp. Sure, he wheels away and celebrates with his teammates, but until yesterday, he never seemed to derive any particular joy from it. That big smile and climb onto the advertising hoardings gave me a pleasant premonition of Pazzo doing the business in next season’s CL nella maglia blucerchiata.
So, here’s the highlights – enjoy!
*I’m weak. I reckon Samp’ll get 7, Palermo 8, Napoli 9 – that’ll be enough. 
Victory for the forces of good
By: Stephen | 3 Comments
Yes!
Aside from the obviously enjoyable victory over Genoa, there’s a lot to be pleased about with this result. We’re still very much in the hunt for fourth. We managed to produce a very solid defensive display, and not concede any late goals. Palombo, Poli and Gastaldello were supreme – the latter executing a couple of last-ditch tackles that had no margin for error whatsoever, and another couple of fantastic clearing headers. Aside from one late, off target header, Genoa were limited to a couple of off-target half-chances. Palombo was a powerhouse throughout, both in defence and when surging forward, and Poli was everywhere, breaking up Genoa attacks all over the pitch. I was quite baffled by his substitution, but Tissone came in and was also solid.
As a spectacle, the game wasn’t up to much, Genoa continuing their November tactics of trying to foul Samp and Cassano out of the game. After twenty minutes, the foul stats read a startling 10 committed by Genoa, and an equally-as-startling 0 committed by Samp. Cassano was naturally the focus of Genoa’s aggression, being rudely hacked down repeatedly in the first half, resulting in his early substitution with what looked like an ankle injury. Still, a winning goal in a tightly-contested derby is a pretty good response to the crudeness being directed at him.
Category: Serie ADerby time again…
By: Stephen | 4 Comments
It’s been over two years since we last beat Genoa, seven goals conceded with only one scored in the meantime – it’s time for Samp to wrest back control of the Derby della Lanterna.
Unlike last year, Samp are in the ascendency in the league table, with the fourth and final Champion’s League spot a very realistic goal. Genoa are only six points behind, meaning that a defeat tonight would put our lofty ambitions in severe danger – we still have to go to Roma and Palermo, and Milan are coming to town next week. Napoli, one of our challengers for the CL spot, dropped points at home to our friends from Parma last night, but Palermo and Juve both seem to have more straightforward tasks this afternoon. We need these points.
Cassano’s a doubt after a strange training-ground incident with Lucchini that left him with a facial injury, but he is expected to make the line-up alongside Pazzini up front. Samp have no other injury worries bar Pozzi and Castellazzi. Genoa, on the other hand, have plenty of concerns – in addition to a mounting injury list, they have been dropping points against the league’s bottom sides in recent weeks. That, of course, will count for nothing once the Marassi starts rocking tonight, but us anxious fans need something to calm ourselves down in the hours approaching the big kick-off…
Forza Samp!
Category: Serie APace and focus, pace and focus
By: Stephen | 2 Comments
In the last four games, Samp have only managed to retain a leading position against Juventus. Against Bologna, Bari and Cagliari, Samp have utterly failed to shut down the game, and displayed a noticeable nerviness and naivety as the clock ticked down. Granted, in two of those games, some interesting refereeing decisions definitely aided the comeback, but this is still not the behaviour of a team that is worthy of a Champion’s League spot. But as long as the opposition keep dropping points at a similar rate to us (which, last weekend aside, they seem intent on doing), we’ll be loitering with intent near the business end of the table come the end of the season.
Of the aforementioned three games in which points where thrown away late on, the Bari game was the only one I managed to see. Samp converted an early chance, and then proceeded to get ripped to pieces by Bari’s limited but blisteringly quick wingers. Cassano broke free on a couple of occasions in the second half, but the chances came to nothing simply due to a lack of urgency in supporting him. Down the other end, Zeigler was torn apart every time Alvarez got the ball, most noticeably for the winning goal. Teams are simply not afraid of throwing everything forward against Samp in the latter stages of the game, because we have no pace whatsoever to punish them on the counter. The sort of petrifying pace that Bari utilised so well can conjure a chance out of nothing, get the crowd going and step the whole team up a notch – yes, those sort of players can be hit and miss, they can be desperately frustrating, but eighty-five minutes of mediocrity are much easier to forgive if followed by a moment of genius that seals a game, or pulls an unexpected point out of the bag.
On Saturday, we’re off to play Chievo team that have scored one goal in their last five. Palermo, Juve and Napoli, on paper, all seem to have trickier ties to contend with – if we manage to play for the whole ninety minutes, we’ll be moving up a couple of places in time for the derby the following weekend. I’m already getting riled up for that one – last November’s crushing tragedy will live long in the memory.
Cassano comes home
By: Stephen | Add Comments
I’m a little disappointed that the streets of Bari were their normal hum-drum of activity today – doesn’t everyone realise that Bari’s most famous son is back in town? It must be just me losing my mind with excitement then – I haven’t seen Samp in the flesh in well over a year, and a leisurely 2-1 over Kaunas in Lithuania hardly even counts.
Well, Cassano prepared for tonight in the best possible way at the weekend, scoring the only goal in a comfortable 1-0 victory over Juventus. Yes, yes, Chimenti did make a dreadful mess of the shot, but it was pleasing to show Cassano attempting the extraordinary – it shows that his spell on the sidelines didn’t affect his confidence or his desire to attempt the audacious. His celebration was also very pleasing – a cheeky grin, followed by an embrace with Del Neri. No grumpiness, no trying to angrily make a point – Antonio may finally be conceding that sometimes the coach might know best. He’ll be lining up alongside Pazzini, and aside from the long-term injuries to Castellazzi and Pozzi, Samp have no new problems to contend with.
Bari are a formidable outfit at the San Nicola – give them some space and Alvarez and Barreto have the speed and skill to punish anyone. Luckily for Samp, Barreto, Bari’s top scorer, is a major injury doubt for the clash. There are no worries about relegation down here in Puglia, so I’m expecting Bari to continue with their open, attacking football that has proven to be so effective so far this season.
So, seven and a half hours until kick-off. I wonder is that too early to head to the stadium…
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