A trip to Turin
By: Stephen | September 11th, 2010Well, after predicting a slow start for Samp on the first game day against Lazio, I have finally got around to clearing the egg from my face. Doria recorded an impressively businesslike 2-0 victory with a penalty from Cassano and an opportunistic lob from Guberti after a mistake from the Lazio keeper.
The team shrugged off the heartbreak against Bremen in remarkably professional fashion, but Sunday’s visit to Turin to play Juventus will be a much sterner task. It’s a meeting with a couple of old friends, with Gigi DelNeri pulling the strings on the bench for the Bianconeri, and Marco Storari and Fabio Quagliarella likely to make the starting line-up. Juve failed to impress in their single Serie A game to date – a 1-0 defeat against a solid Bari side. In their defence, a squad with so many new signings is always going to take some time to gel, so we could be making our trip to Turin at the perfect time. We’ll have to watch out for the tricky Miloš Krasić on the wing – he’ll have a point to prove to his new side after being hauled off at half-time on his debut against Bari, and of course that wily old goat, Alessando del Piero.
As for Samp, we’ve got Italy star Antonio Cassano raring to go. That sounds good, doesn’t it? Italy star Antonio Cassano. He’s out of the international wilderness and was instrumental in turning around a tricky situation in Estonia with a rare headed goal, and a gloriously Cassanoesque flick to set up Bonucci for the winner. He notched up a beautiful strike from outside the box against the Faroe Islands, as well as being generally very menacing any time he had the ball. Of course, Estonia and Faroe Islands are hardly the most illustrious of opponents, but seeing Cassano back in the Azzurro is all that matters at the moment.
One of our other Azzurri stars, Giampaolo Pazzini, is a doubt for the Juve game with a back injury – Nicola Pozzi is ready to enter the fray if Pazzini doesn’t make it. Also absent will be Fernando Tissone and Andrea Poli, with Semioli and Dessena ready to complete the midfield alongside Palombo and Guberti.
This is a big game – last season’s fourth place against one of the teams determined to wrest that privileged position away from us. Mimmo Di Carlo believes we can strike an early blow against them, and I do too. Forza Samp!
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