Fisherman vs Old Lady

By: Rolf | February 14th, 2009

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.