This was a tough one to call pre-kickoff. How would Samp react to the demolition at Juve, and what about Bari’s excellent away form (including two draws in the San Siro against Milan’s finest) so far this season?

In the end, Samp were lucky to escape with the point. The last five minutes of the game were everything that the previous eighty-five had not been – pulsating, exciting, eventful, completely and totally dominated by Bari. Castellazzi’s lunge at Barreto should have resulted in a red card for the Samp keeper, but in the end he stayed on the pitch to see the penalty sail wide of his left post as he lay prone on his right side.

And, of course, as the eternal optimist, I had a vision of Cassano picking the ball up straight from the kick-off, jinking around two befuddled Bari defenders before dropping a perfect cross onto Pazzini’s head for Samp to steal a almost barely arguably possibly maybe deserved victory (making slightly more chances means you deserve to win, right?).

Instead, Bari were the ones pushing forward, and Bari were the ones who dropped in a perfect cross and Bari were the ones who stole the points for an almost deserved victory, only for the referee’s assistant to incorrectly raise his flag for offside. It was almost embarrassing.

Either way, definitely a point gained.

Perhaps more worrying than the last minute chaos party in the Sampdoria box were the boos for Cassano at the final whistle. True, he has been a little off colour for the last couple of games, but booing him? The man has done more for this team than anyone else over the last decade, and I don’t just mean on the pitch. He was the first high-profile signing since the return from Serie B and lent us a level of class and glamour at a time when when we needed it most. I have a feeling that he was a little stung by the Bari manager’s comments before the game, claiming that he his not as good a player since he has moved on from his bad-boy act. Cassano’s response to the minority of booing cretins was quite a throwback to those good old days: “Qui si sono abituati troppo bene . Si sono abituati a mangiare la Nutella e appena devono mangiare un po’ di m**** si comportano in questa maniera.” – “They have it too good here. They’re used to eating Nutella and just when they have to eat a little bit of s**t, they behave like that”.

This, coupled with a veiled threat to leave, is slightly worrying business for Samp. Of course, Cassano will leave us sooner rather than later, but having an irritated Cassano on the books certainly would be in no-one’s interests. So, a bit of appeasement for Fant’antonio, please.

There is no better way to say this, we were the poorer team, didnt dominate play, we were down one man, and were made to look like this stupid rabbit in front of Toro, but still Mazzari described this as a good performance. In fact, he considered this as one of the best performances of the season. If that is so, especially against teams that are perennial relegation fodder, then we have a very tough year ahead of us, forget the talk of Europe. Dropping points against them is simply inexcusable, either home or away.


Match Stats
All my pre-match predictions went wrong, Belluci didnt score a brace, he didn’t even play. Rosina did not threaten and we did not win. Belluci was probably injured in the warm-up leading up to the match. So he was substituted by nobody. That is to say we played a highly unusual 3-5-1-1 with Montella upfront. The Granata were their usual self, but had Recoba on the bench and had lost Comotto to injury.The starting XI was
Mirante
Campagnaro Sala Lucchini
Zenoni Sammarco Palombo Volpi Pieri
DelVecchio
Montella

Clearly, we were not looking to score many goals and wanted to keep it tight in the engine room.Delvecchio missed two decent chances in the early stages of the game.The engine room looked leaky throughout the game, especially after the stupid sending off that Volpi received just before the break. Till then, they had no man advantage and things were pretty even. So after that non existent elbow by Volpi, and some nice theatrics by Rubin, we started feeling the one-man disadvantage. Torino had more shots on goal, way more shots. 19 as compared to our 8. That speaks volumes about our game, we were simply toothless going forward. Torino had the better possesion, which was expected after Baby-eyed Volpi was sent off. But we still had a chance to salvage a point, which was enough for my money after this showing. But it was never tobe, as they equalised in a crowded situation, which can only be described as a typical EPL goal buildup. Corino hanging on to a Recoba shot in the 88th minute and our hopes of getting a point all but drowned. Except for a good perfromance by Palombo, and some deft touches by Peter Pan Cassano who was brought on as a late subsitute. He almost converted a goal but the ball came back after being very close to going in.Mirante saved a few, including a rocket from El Chino, but Torino were very messy in front of the goal, so he didnt have much to do anyway. The solitary goal was enough for this dull game marred by theatrics from the Turin team.

What the managers had to say

Mazzari:“The red card conditioned the game and I think that up till that moment we were playing well.I think that my players played the best game of the season, at least until we were the same number of players and, despite the defeat and the elimination of Thursday, I don’t see a bad moment, but just positive things.Cassano has done very well.”

Novellino:“We played well against a very good team.I have a team of young players. We couldn’t do better than this.I’m very happy because the team is playing well. We are missing various points, but when the absent players will be back we shall do better.”

Highlights of the Game

What this result means to us

The Serie A table looks like

Team Pts Pl W D L
Inter 17 7 5 2 0
Juventus 14 7 4 2 1
Roma 14 7 4 2 1
Fiorentina 13 7 3 4 0
Genoa 12 7 3 3 1
Palermo 11 7 3 2 2
Udinese 11 7 3 2 2
Milan 10 7 2 4 1
Napoli 10 7 3 1 3
Atalanta 10 7 2 4 1
Catania 9 7 2 3 2
Sampdoria 8 7 2 2 3
Torino 7 7 1 4 2
Lazio 7 7 1 4 2
Cagliari 7 7 2 1 4
Siena 6 7 1 3 3
Parma 6 7 1 3 3
Empoli 5 7 1 2 4
Reggina 4 7 0 4 3
Livorno 2 7 0 2 5

which places us in a degrading lower-mid table position, which is quite undeserved given some good showing and the talent that we have. We just haven’t been able to get our act together, and the upcoming international break is just the time for us to sit down and regroup. These two weeks may well act as a booster for us. Hopefully we will be able to bank on a full squad, and Bellucci should be fit. Cassano should also be nearing his full fitness after his burger-eating galactico fiasco. We welcome Parma to the Luigi Ferraris and they should be easily picking for us to regain some form, after Roma just mauled them in-front of their home crowd. In the meantime, DelVecchio should start practicing his finishing skills in front of goal, probably imagining Materazzi to be the opposition goalie.

Some Random Stuff
a) Some nice memories associated with Torino

b)Afonso Alves of Heerenveen probably heard something about his manhood, and replied on the pitch against Heracles, scoring 7 in a single match.

c)The Random Song of the day: For fellow GTA Vice City Lovers

d)I would have no qualms about losing to Toro if chicks like this sat along the sidelines

Last Season’s Meetings

Last year, the two sides met twice, and scored 1-0 victories over each other at their respective homes. Novellino was the coach of the Doriani ( Any guesses where he is now?) , and the only thing consistent about Samp was that they were inconsistent throughout the whole year. The first meeting ended in a 1-0 win for Toro after a highly dubious late penalty awarded to them. In the second match, we didn’t have the regular first XI. So Novellino gave a start to the highly talented Vladimir Son-of-a-Gun Koman, who immediately proved his class by sending a superb through ball to Bonazzoli who had no problems in finishing from close range.
The season ended on a not so good note for us, and we lost Quagliarella and Parola, two of our most consistent performers over the last year. Still we can take heart from the fact that we quite unlucky over the whole season, and atleast the better team than Torino over the two matches

The difference from last season

Having lost arguably the most exciting young player of the last season, and another hardworking midfielder in Parola,we even decided it was time to let go off Novellino. Even today, the blucherati are indebted to him for making the passage from Serie B to Serie A when all hope was lost. His achievements are not limited to this, and he almost got us back to the UCL next season , just finishing behind Spalletti’s Udinese. But after that, darkness. The next two seasons were very messy, and I’m happy we signed another able coach in Mazzari.

a)To make up for the departure of Quags,Bazzani and Flachi( temporarily), we signed Bellucci, Cassano,Montella and Caracciolo(Yuck!!!)

b)To provide for Defensive cover, after Losing Falcone and Parola, we got Lucchini,Campagnaro and Gastaldello

c) Paolo Sammarco, ex-Milan and Chievo, was bought to run amok on the wings.

d) After Antonioli’s time as goalie, I dont recall any good goalie playing, everything in between was a blur. So we got Mirante on loan from Juve

As of now, it is very early to say how these new signings have performed, even though Bellucci has banged in quite a few goals, Montella has provided numerous assists and Campagnaro is one of the better wingbacks this season. Samp lie 10th in the table, with 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses amounting to 8 points.

Match Forecast

Probable starting XI
Mirante, Lucchini, Sala, Gastaldello, Campagnaro, Palombo, Volpi, Sammarco, Delvecchio, Bellucci, Montella

Bench: Castelazzi,Ziegler,Koman,Pieri,Bastrini,Cassano,Caracciolo

Doria have lost their last three matches away from home, but come from a comforting victory over Internazionale lookalikes Atalanta, but after that there was the Aalborg humiliation. Expect Mazzari to send out his boys with all guns blazing to avenge the defeat against the ageing bulls of Turin.

Key Protagonists

a)Antonio Mirante:Showed flashes of brilliance during his term at the Gobbis in Serie B when that monster of a goalie was injured or suspended. Miles better than Castelazzi or berti, hope we net him in a co-ownership deal
b)Reto Ziegler: If Frank Arnesen and Martin Jol are siad to be good judges of talent, then how did they let this kid go. An absolute gem of a left foot, can play on the wing too. Expect him to show some moments of magic in the coming matches
c)Sergio Volpi: The veteran, the general, the captain. The midfield maestro has been here for so long, its hard to recall when he came here first, his stability in midfield will be crucial against the likes of Grella and co.
d)Gennaro DelVecchio: On his day, he can play well enough to get an azzuri callup, on another day however he can self-destruct. His physical presence and height give him such an advantage, can easily be a matchwinner. Was close to joining celtic, but chose to stay and the doriani faithful should be glad that he did
d)Antonio Cassano:Talentino was close to being the burger king of spain, then he chose sampdoria, hoping for a road to revival. It will probably take him a whole season to reach the form that prompted Roma to shell out 28 mn for a teenager, but he still has the flair that can turn a match around. Showed a glimpse when he scored against Atalanta las tweek, by first nicely trapping the ball, and then slotting home coolly. the Blucehrati expect a lot of him, especially if any one of Montella or Bellucci is injured.
e)Vincenzo Montella: The prodigal son has come back home again.We lost him to some southern team in 1999 when we had to endure Serie B hell, but were well paid for his worth. Played at Roma, coming often as a decisive substitute initially and had major role after Batistuta retired. Initially played as a poacher, now more as a trequartista with some visionary play. Why does Spalletti want to get rid of such a gem, when he obviously has a dearth of in the box finishing strikers, is still a mystery. Will be marked closely in the match, but has to free himself if we want to create chances.
f)Claudio Bellucci: The revelation of the season. If you didnt guess by now, the picture on the top is of his first stint with us, which didnt go very well. Has been Bologna’s saviour in Hell for the past two seasons, and likely to be ours in this. A true fox-in-the-box, his partnership with Aerplanino has been amazing. Expect a brace from him in the Toro match.No wonder Spalletti wanted him for his team.

Key Antagonists

a)Gianluca Comotto: A former Roma player, has worked hard to become Toro captain. Has chipped in quite a few goals too. To be handled with care.
b)Vince Grella: The lesser known of the two aussie evils( the other’s at Palermo), had rock solid displays for Parma, and when they couldnt hold him any longer, Toro came calling. A vital part of their midfield, expect major battles with Volpi.
c)Alessandro Rosina : Simply put, the hottest new youngster in town. Every other club his after this livewire, but he signed a new contract and that should be a major boost to Torino. Has to be controlled thoughout the match, if not, he will score or create decent chances.
d)Alvaro Recoba:Has been our nemesis in the past, and for a reason too. The 3-2 match has become a part of legends.Still can’t believe how he put the ball in,when only seconds remained on the clock. Extremely dangerous on set pieces
e)Andrea Caracciolo: Am I kidding? No I’m not. There is no other way to put it, I am more comfortable with Kalu playing upfront rather than him. Will be our key opponent if he plays, counting the number of misses he has had in recent times.

Prediction: If we let Recoba and Rosina play their natural game, there is no way in hell we are gonna win. However if we keep them in check, and play our natural game, I don’t see them winning. Expect a 2-1 win for the Blucherati.

Random Stuff

a) Random Video of the day: Enjoy Boy George


b)Grandissimo Goal di Bonazzoli


c)Some video-games don’t portray us very well


d) Volpi plays some Random guy :