Preview

Well, here we are again in a similar situation that we’ve already been in about 3,464,342 times this season. The past two games have been dramatically different and both have been definitely unexpected. Palermo come into this game at home against our “cousins” from Lecce. Right now, the club has experienced some strange times – including Zamparini talking like a sane man – but then again, it could just be the medication he’s on. At least he’s not making the same wreckless statements that he’s known for, although he seems to have passed those duties onto Nonno. The boys in pink have A LOT to do in this game in order to win back the tifosi (and rightfully so).

The time is now to start winning games against teams that deserve to be beaten – especially in front of our own tifosi. I am more than confident that if our boys don’t come out with grit and determination, the tifosi will let them hear it. All I can say is that this team has provided more head-scratching moments than Paula Abdul on American Idol. There’s nothing more to say other than Palermo MUST win tomorrow, especially given our opponents current condition. End of story.

So, Lecce. Pretty bad season so far, but that’s to be expected from a freshly promoted side. They sit in 2nd to last from the drop on only 23 points. The abysmal performances have led to Mario Beretta being sacked last week after a stale 0-0 draw against fellow relegated relegation and last place side Reggina. With that said, Gigi De Canio will be in charge of his first game as the new Lecce coach against the rosanero.

Squad Status

Palermo

Ballardini has called up 19 players to face Lecce. Those missing out on the draw are the Aussie, Igor Boo-Boo, Moris the Barbarian, Bobby Goblin and of course, Fontana. Although there has been a lot of speculation coming out of the Palermo camp about a trident of Cavani, Miccoli and Hernandez in training, you’d have to think that Davide will stick to his usual lineup of 4-3-1-2. Good news is that Sneeze is finally back and will be on the bench.

Probable Lineup:
Amelia; Cassani, Kjaer, Bovo, Balzaretti; Migliaccio, Liverani, Nocerino, Simplicio; Cavani, Miccoli

A Disposizione:
Ujkani, Morganella, Savini, Nonno, Abel Hernandez, Succi, Sneeze

Lecce

Normally, here’s where I’d send you over to the Lecce page, but considering the erratic nature of the blog over there, I think I might just try to handle this myself. I mean, anybody remember Saint Antonio or this other gem? Oh well, no worries.

As mentioned before, Lecce is pretty poor. They don’t have much going for them other than Bikerman Caserta. Furthermore, they’ll be missing some “key” players for the match. Obviously, when you’re a relegation suspect, a “key” player most likely means a guy who can dribble and shoot with both feet. I kid, I kid! Out for sure are Daniele Cacia, Giacomazzi (remember him?) Ariatti and Esposito (not Mauro, the other one). Those in doubt seem to be Konan and Stendardo. It seems as though De Canio is leaning towards a 3-5-2 but one can’t be certain for sure. That said, here’s my Gazzetta’s lineup for them.

Probable Lineup:
Rosati; Stendardo, Fabiano, Schiavi; Antunes, Ardito, Zanchetta, Caserta, Munari; Tiribocchi, Castillo

A Disposizione
Benussi, Polenghi, Giuliatto, Basta, Edinho, Vives, Papadopoulos

Categorical Matchup

Marky Mark vs. Meh: Palermo. Marco has to redeem himself in front of the fans, but there’s no doubt he is a better all-around keeper than Rosati…even with one arm.

Pretty Boys vs. Pretty Awful: Palermo. Even without the ogre Moris, we still have a dominant edge at home with Kjaer and Bovo partnering up. Lecce’s defense has let up the third most goals in the league (41).

Aladdin & the Muppets vs. The Bikerman Gang: Palermo. The midfield had a good game last week with even Bobby Goblin playing well (note: sign of the apocalypse)! Lecce has a loaded midfield led by the ex-rosanero Caserta, but Palermo should have an edge in this category especially with Nocerino and Miggy providing appropriate cover on the flanks. It’s a bit defensive, but then again, it’s not like we have Lanzafame or Jankovic to come off the bench for some offensive push now eh?

Fast & Ugly vs. Toothless Attack: Palermo. All you need to know is this: Lecce haven’t scored in over 486 minutes of calcio.

Final Analysis
Miccoli will be facing his beloved hometown club tomorrow. I don’t see much motivation to score from him, but the rest of the team should be just fine. Then again, considering performances, Miccoli might want to put in some effort tomorrow otherwise he might be sold to Lecce at the end of the season and just in time for Serie B. This is the final push. Regardless of the past, we got to have the boys look forward and play every game like a playoff. Remember, the categorical matchups all point to a win for us, yet this team is maddeningly inconsistent. It’s time to change that and it starts with bringing a solid 3 points tomorrow.

Form Guide

Palermo
WDLLW

Lecce
LLLLD

Prediction
2-0. Cavani, Simplicio

Cavani!

If any of you have heard the song Novembre by Giusy Ferreri, you’ll enjoy this little tribute to Cavani based off the same tune (minus the guy who sounds like he has a cold).

Se guardi in alto vedi
c’e’ un’aquila che vola
e’ il simbolo la fede
che sta nei nostri cuori….

Ed ecco siamo in gol
i rosa han fatto gol
la mia citta’ e’ in gol
io vivo per il gol
tifiamo tutti assieme
ed il successo viene con il gol!

Sunday, November 23rd, 2008 15.00
Stadio Renato dall’ Ara, Bologna

Palermo Boys, we are here. We beat your women and drink their beer, Palermo Boys, we are here.

Preview

Zero out of six in our last two games, and now we’re heading to Spaghettitown. And if there ever was a must-win game, then this is it. Bologna is (apart from Chievo and Roma) without a doubt the worst team in Serie A, and the coming of Sinisa may not help them a lot. In their last two games (the ones under Mihajlovic), they drew twice, almost doubling their total. Still, this is a team that is bound to go back down. And I don’t mean ‘bound to go down’ like Reggina and Cagliari were last year, but ‘bound to go down’ like Treviso and Ascoli were. The difference between those two and Bologna being that there is actually is talent playing under the Two Towers, like Mundigayi or Di Vaio.

Anywho, losing this game is unacceptable. (how many times have you heard me saying this in the last two months?) The team must have learned from the Torino-debacle, and I sure hope Balla did too. As I have stated before, Palermo is a team that’s better against big teams than against small ones. Compare the Roma-Juve-Inter games to the Torino-Chievo-Lecce games, and you will agree with me.

Furthermore, there is not a single excuse that could let these guys off the hook when they screw up. If they could just play 4-5 good games in a row, and if the lazy fokkers in the line-up could finally see that it is an honor to wear the rosanero…

Squad Status

Palermo

Aah, my favourite part of preview-Wednesday. Or not. I hate predicting the same line-up week in, week out. Why? Because most of that line-up is fucked up. I hope that there one day will come a time when I received an email from bigpapapalermo@libero.it, saying that I’m granted a chance to take over the team for a month. But until that happens, I’ll have to use The Offside as my forum.

Butterfingers is ready to play and didn’t have a midweek-game with the Azzurri, Butterfingers 2 is benched. But Balla has big problems: Nocerino is still suspended after ‘The elbow that wasn’t’, and Bovo and Balza have the same problem after picking up too many cards. Y’all know what that means. The Arab stays where he is, constantly falling too the floor trying to find Mekka and Kjaer will replace Bovo alongside Moris. Oh yeah, and then there’s the left back position. You’ll never guess…ShitPants will get his first start of the season! Why don’t we just hand over the three points to Pasta FC before the game?

Probable Lineup:
Amelia; Cassani, Carrozzieri, Kjaer, Capuano; Migliaccio, Liverani, Bresciano; Simplicio; Cavani, Miccoli

Bologna

There is a Bologna-blog but I don’t know if they’ll be doing a preview, so it’s up to me. Yet again. Bologna is something special. A mix of mercenaries and old guys wanted nowhere else. Don’t believe me? Good, I’ll prove it. César, Di Vaio, Antonioli, Adailton, Marrazina… The perfect recipe for a one way ticket to Serie B.

But Bologna has a hero as well. Maybe not a Bologna-hero, but most definitely a Palermo-hero…

This man, boys and girls, is the reason that I eat, sleep and breathe Rosanero. I have told the story before, not going to do it again now. For those who want to know: his sweaty shirt is still hanging in my room. Davide won’t be around though, injured. Shame.

Probable Lineup:
Antonioli; Zenoni, Terzi, Moras, Lanna; Marchini, Volpi, Mudingay, Cesar; Adailton, Di Vaio

Categorical Match up

Lesser of Two Evils vs. Travelin’ man: Push. They’re both questionable goalies. The least tested will win.

Beauty & The Beast vs. Swiss Cheese: Palermo. A dared gamble, I agree. Especially seeing Cassani (dreadful game last week) and ShitPants on the flanks. I sure hope they both want to show that they can play.

Allah Ahkbar & the Damage Control 3 vs. Nothing Special: Push. Bresciano + Liverani = carnage waiting to happen. On the other side, there’s Gaby. A beast.

Make or Break vs. Second Class: Push. Our striking pair hasn’t scored in the last two games. Nothing to add there.

Final Analysis

We’re playing the second worst defense in the league. We’re playing a team that do not even come close to a one goal per game-ratio. We’re playing a relegation battler who just appointed a new coach. All the omens are against us. I don’t care if this game will be uglier than the lovechild of Fabio Liverani, Giuseppe Mascara and Franck Ribéry: I want three points. I don’t care if it ends 0-1, thanks to a 80 miles an hour freekick deflecting off Bresciano’s face, leaving the Aussie like he had just gotten ten minutes with Mike Tyson. I WANT THOSE GODDAMN, MOTHERFUCKIN’ THREE POINTS!

Form Guide

Palermo
L D W L L

Torino
L L L D D

Past Encounters

13/02/2005 Bologna – Palermo 1-1 Serie A
03/10/2004 Palermo – Bologna 1-0 Serie A

Prediction

None.

MOTM

Moris.

Remembering the good times

Sono Bello, Sono Sano, Mia Madre Mi Ha Fatto Palermitano!

Portieri

Marco Amelia
I don’t think ‘bad’ is the word here. ‘Lacking self esteem’ or ‘underachieving’ is more appropriate. In defense of Marco: I think all of us expected just a little too much of him. He might have done better, but let’s not forget he still has to find his way into a top tier-team, and having our sketchy defense in front of him isn’t helping either. Amelia’s not delivering what we expected, but I have a good feeling that things will work out alright. Pagelle: 6

Jimmy Fontana
2008-2009 might just be Jimmy’s season too many. In general, he did a good job, but he’s just not the same Jimmy of last year. He doesn’t feel secure when coming out for a cross, he’s always out of the goal and his reflexes aren’t as good as they used to be. I think he can be a great mentor for Marco and Ujkani, but I strongly believe that his playing days have come to an end. Pagelle:6.

Samir Ujkani
Aah, the great unknown. Is he the future? I don’t know. No one knows. All I know is that he (and Amelia) could be feeling Salvatore Sirigu’s hot breath in their necks. He’s playing another fantastic season, and he just might be the next big thing. Pagelle: none.

Difensori

Ciro Capuano
ShitPants hasn’t played a game all year. That’s good. Pagelle: 10.

Cesare Bovo
It’s a good thing we got him back from Genoa. Him and Moris make one of the most fearsome defensive duos in Serie A. Is in the balance with Kjaer and Moris for the two spots in central defense, but seems to be sure of a starting spot every week. Is great at cleaning up the others’ mess. Pagelle: 7.

Paolo Hernan Dellafiore
Had three starts so far, but hasn’t impressed. Shows a lot of good will, but is in no way a contender for the spot of Bovo, Moris or Kjaer. Lacks confidence, ability to play his way out of trouble and most definitely: strength. Should be loaned out (to another team than Torino) to gain experience, but is needed in case one of the others gets injured. Is still young, but is coming very close to ‘make or break’-time. Pagelle: 5.5

Mattia Cassani
Was almost gone last year, but fought himself back into the team after that awesome screamer against Juve. His place at the right is almost untouchable, but had a setback against Inter, where he was unrecognisable. In my opinion, he’s better than Balzaretti. His crosses are better, and he comes back faster than Balza after an attack. Pagelle: 7.

Simon Kjaer
Surprise of the season so far. He’s young and talented, but we’ll need to look out that we don’t burn him just yet. Lacks the natural talent that other great defenders had, but he just could become the new Cannavaro if we take care of him and surround him with the right people/coaches. Is integrating well and has a powerful header, which makes him dangerous in front of goal as well. Kjaer should know that he’s in one hell of a position: he’s learning the technique from Bovo, and Moris can teach him how to use power in a duel. Pagelle: 8.

Federico Balzaretti
Untouchable at the left, too bad it’s not always because of his own talent. Is a fantastic player, but has been slacking a little bit in the last couple of games. Could benefit from a new left back. When his starting spot isn’t sure anymore, he will remember that he has to work for it as well. Had an absolute shitgame against Torino. Pagelle: 7.

Andrea Raggi
Played two games, both ending in disaster. Was brought in from Empoli as a talented defender, but has shown nothing. Strong contender for the Bidone’d Oro, is expected to be shipped to Torino like the rest of our defensive failures. Pagelle: 3.

Moris Carrozzieri
Least wanted signing before the season started, has fought himself in the hearts of all Palermitani. He’s ugly and as subtle as an atom bomb, but is keeping the defense together almost single-handedly. Looks like Caserta, but is better than Caserta. Pagelle: 7.5

Centrocampisti

Giovanni Tedesco
Four games, 59 minutes. Nonno is nothing more than a mascot, kept around to provide counterweight for the selling of other Palermitani Brienza and Rinaudo. Whenever he’s subbed in, he takes away valuable playing time from youngsters like Lanza. If Balla wants him on the field so bad, he should buy him an Aquile-costume and put him beneath the Curva for the entire game. Pagelle: 4.

Giulio Migliaccio
I don’t really know what to say about Miggy. Is being played out on the wing, but does better in central midfield. The only problem is that he’s barred by The Arab in that position. Has shown good thing, but has also been spotted while sucking away. Needs to find last year’s form again. Pagelle: 6.

Fabio Liverani
I think this one is clear. Every single year, our coach/Blowjobarini has a crush on the worst player in the squad. Guidolin loved Capuano and Guana, Colantuono had Guana and Agliardi and Ballardini has Liverani. Is one of the most experienced players in the team, but looks as if he’s on vacation. Half of his passes are bad or intercepted, couldn’t cross if his life depended on it and never comes back to defend. Should be shot, hung up or stoned to death, whatever it is they do to people in Somalia. Pagelle: 4.

Roberto Guana
Is not Balla’s friend. Should use more tongue and less teeth to regain spot in the starting eleven. Had one start, sucked away. Unless half of the midfield does a Superga, isn’t going to see a lot of PT this season. Pagelle: 4.

Maurizio Ciaramitaro
There’s not a lot to say about Ciara’s 41 minutes so far. It’s good to finally see him in pink, but he’s one of those guys that need a lot more time to develop into the player we need him to be. Was used as a right back in one of his games, which also isn’t helping. Pagelle: 6.

Marco Bresciano
One of this year’s mysteries. After a terrible season last year, he finally seemed to bounce back this year. But the further we get into the season, the more it looks as if Marco’s got some kind of personality crisis. He’s mixing good games with horrible ones, and sometimes can’t seem to control himself. Needs to start focussing, or start packing. Pagelle: 5.5.

Fabio Hernan Simplicio
Player of the season so far. Fozzy is everywhere: comes back to defend, cleans up Liverani’s mess, controls the midfield and is dangerous in the box. Just like Cassani, he was close to being sold but now is the undisputed king of the midfield. If we could just get someone who is an exact copy of Simplicio, we’d be a force to reckon with. Pagelle: 8.5

Antonio Nocerino
Does well, but as Zamparini already said: he’s not really bringing the things we expected him to bring. Maybe there’s too much pressure on him, but he’ll need to realise that this isn’t Juve. Coming in for 25 minutes when the game is already one isn’t going to happen. Has to give his all for 90 minutes. Is sometimes unfairly treated by the referees, but should let his actions speak. Pagelle: 6.5

Attacanti

Edison Cavani
Started out like the Cavani we all know, but then had an excellent spell with 4 goals. Too bad he morphed back to the old Cavani right after that. Is working hard, but doesn’t contribute enough goals and/or assists to remain undisputed. Has to know that his ass might be the first to get benched when Igor Budan is fully recovered from his injuries. Pagelle: 6.5

Fabrizio Miccoli
Not to jinx it, but Mighty Mouse is holding out fine. Is always complaining about little injuries, but is there when matchday comes. Scored six goals, but his source seems to have dried out now. That, of course, is also caused by the lack of good passes coming trough the midfield. Is becoming a team hero, but will have to work hard to make us forget Amauri. Pagelle: 7.5

Davide Succi
Became the lead actor in this year’s ‘Candid Camera Turns Real’-show. 88 minutes so far, isn’t likely to get more. Might be shipped off to Lucchese or Gela in January. Pagelle: 3.

Igor Budan
Four times subbed in, an hour of playing time. Needs to start 2-3 games to regain his Parma-form, but that shouldn’t be a problem. Pagelle: none.

Davide Lanzafame
Is in the same situation as Budan, but his fate is in his own hands. Needs to show Ballardini that he deserves a starting spot, and not just sit back and wait for it to be handed to him. Pagelle: 6.

Levan Mchedlidze
Came back injured from an international fixture and hasn’t played since, but did give us the game against Juve. Shows potential, but needs to grow. Pagelle: 6.5

Now you know my feeling about our players. As for the team, I’ll make it short. We need some reinforcements in all areas. Maybe Ujkani should be loaned out and Sirigu brought back to give Amelia some more competition, we need a new back, a good winger and central midfielder, and of course a powerful striker. Not another kid that gets pushed away by the likes of Walter Samuel and Philippe Mexes.

Saturday, November 8th, 2008 18.00
Stadio Olimpico, Torino

Palermo Boys, we are here. We beat your women and drink their beer, Palermo Boys, we are here.

Preview

Aah, games against relegation battlers. Don’t you just hate them? See, that’s when you know you’re not one of the big boys yet: when you shit your pants every time the schedule deals you with a wounded animal. And why do we shit our pants? Two reasons: 1) losing points against these teams is a disaster, both for our street cred and for the standings, and b) we know we suck against wounded animals.

Still, we managed to blow away Chievo last week, so maybe that’s a good sign. I hope it’s a good sign, because two weeks after Torino, we get Bologna. That means two of the worst teams of the moment in two weeks time. But whereas Bologna might be revived by the arrival of Sinisa, Torino is just like Chievo last week: sad, crappy, uninspired and only one loss away from a new coach. We already took Iachini’s scalp, maybe we can get Di Biasi’s as well.

The squad may have found their fighting spirit back after last weeks win, but Balla still wasn’t completely happy. He still thinks we’re giving away too much in the back, and that we should take advantage from our shooting chances in stead of pissing them all over the goal.

Squad Status

Palermo

Alright, let’s see what we ‘ave ‘ere then. Let me start with a little quote:

“”Le mie condizioni fisiche sono buone. Sono in grado di giocare contro il Toro.”

That’s right, Bovo is ready for the game. Let the cheering begin. As Raggi has injured himself while shoving a cucumber up his shitter without using Vaseline and Moris is suspended, it’s not hard guessing that Kjaer will have another start in defense. Guana and Capuano are also still out, while Marco Amelia is trying to get the final residue of butter from his hands. Liverani has ended his suspension, and Balla will be forced by Blowjobarini to play The Arab.

Probable Lineup:
Fontana; Cassani, Kjaer, Bovo, Balzaretti; Migliaccio, Liverani, Nocerino; Simplicio; Miccoli, Cavani

Torino

Ha, what can we say about Torino? The Granata. Toro. More nicknames than talented players. And yet again, as the Torino-blog is as dead as Roma’s title aspirations, it’s me who’ll do the honours. Good, let’s see. No Matteo Sereni in goal. Can I have a ‘hell yeah’? This means that Alex Calderoni will take his place between the posts. Not a bad keeper, but he ain’t not Jimmy. Matteo Rubin is suspended, and Natali, Abate and Il Capitano are injured. Corini’s absence is a shame. The role of Rosina in this game is still doubtful, as he has finally gotten in the big fight with Cairo everybody expected.

Probable Lineup:
Calderoni; Diana, Pratali, Di Loreto, Pisano; Colombo, P.Zanetti, Barone, Rosina; R.Bianchi, Amoruso

Categorical Match up

Clean Sheet Fontana vs. Back-up: Palermo. I think this is an easy call, no?

Wonderkid and SuperBeef vs. Lookin’ familiar: Palermo. Kjaer could take his chance to become the Captain of the defense, and he’s yet again partnered to a big, nasty motherfucker. On the other side, there’s Diana and Depeche Mode Tattooman. Remember?

The 3 Musketeers, with Pita vs. Nothing Special: Palermo. If anyone saw the game against Juve: this is one of the most uncreative midfields in all of football.

Goleador vs. Overpriced: Palermo. Cavani and Micco are going to humiliate Bianchi.

Final Analysis

Well well, four out of four in the match-up. This can’t go wrong, can it? Yes, it can. The feared Palermitan saturdaynight lazyness could come into action, or the midfield could get fucked up because of Sadam retaking his place in the line-up…lots of things could go wrong. But if karma is in the Olimpico on Saturday, the bull is gonna get assraped by the eagle. Torino lost 5 of their last six games, let’s make it six and seven.

Form Guide

Palermo
W L L D W

Torino
L L L W L

Past Encounters

10/02/2008 Torino – Palermo 3-1 Serie A
16/09/2007 Palermo – Torino 1-1 Serie A
01/04/2007 Torino – Palermo 0-0 Serie A
12/11/2006 Palermo – Torino 3-0 Serie A
29/02/2004 Palermo – Torino 2-1 Serie B

Prediction

0-2. Micco, Nocerino.

MOTM

Kjaer.

Remembering the good times

Sono Bello, Sono Sano, Mia Madre Mi Ha Fatto Palermitano!

Saturday, August 30th, 2008 18.00
Stadio Friuli, Udine

Overview

Well, this sucks, doesn’t it? We went down to Ravenna, our management is fuckin’ up everything and we don’t seem to be ready for the new season. Yesterday, I even found a site that predicted us ending 14-15th… This season can go either way: we can kick ass and rub our balls against the ass of the Champions League, but we can also end up trying to avoid ugly gayboy Serie B fucking us up the culo. The game against the Terremotati will make things a lot more clear.

Colantuono needs to forget all the transfer-shit from the last week, and try and concentrate on the game. And Sabatini better not be in the stadium.

Squad Status

Palermo

Although it’s the beginning of the season, we’re already missing people. Cassani, who from now on will be called ‘Screamer’, and Carrozzieri are already out with injuries. Dellafiore, The Serbian Stallion and Capuano (yay! party up in here!) are back from their injuries. Another problem might be De Melo: kid is good, kid is ready, kid kicks Cavani’s ass, but kid might be shipped of to Lille before even tasting Serie A. Bobby Goblin might also be out because of a sudden attack of gayness. I hope.

Probable Lineup:
Amelia; Raggi, Dellafiore, Bovo, Balzaretti; Migliaccio, Liverani, Nocerino; Lanzafame, De Melo, Miccoli

Sampdoria

For more on Udinese and their lineup, go visit Udinese’s Offside page.

Probable Lineup:
Handanovic; Motta, Sala, Vujadinovic, Lukovic; Inler, Tissone; Sanchez, Floro Flores, Di Natale; Quagliarella

Categorical Matchup

The Pretty Roman vs. The Slovak Stopper: Palermo. Come on, Amelia is desperate to prove the world that he is the rightful heir to Gigi’s throne. He’s going to wanna show his skills, and doesn’t want to be the first beaten keeper of the season, like Jimmy was last year.

The New Boys vs. Who The Fuck?: Push. I have no fuckin’ clue what to expect from Udinese’s backline. Half of the starting guys aren’t here, and I don’t know what Motta does when not playing for the Azzurrini. On our defense: it can’t be worse than last season, can it?

Keep the Turd on the Bench! vs. Danger!: Push. Migliaccio + Nocerino + Liverani = Udinese-midfield. Minus Miggy + Guana = disaster.

Amauri No More vs. Poor Man’s Luca Toni: Palermo. It’s the start of the season, and Lanzafame wants to show his skills. Add some scary eyebrows and a playboy to that, and there’s no way Quagliarella and Antonio Floro Flores (that must mean something like Flower Flowers in Spanish, I think) are going to beat that. Maybe Di Natale…no, let’s not thing of that…

Final Analysis

This game is a dangerous one. We have some though weeks coming up, so we need to start the season with a win. Especially against a team that could be competing with us for a European ticket at the end of the season. Beating Marino’s team will give ours a boost, and will also sink the Terremotati’s hopes to do as well as last season. It will also be our first glance at the new team and how it has been affected by the crap from the last weeks.

Form Guide

Palermo
No games played.

Udinese
No games played.

Past Encounters
20 games, 5 wins, 8 losses and 7 ties.

1991/92 – serie B – Udinese-Palermo 1-0
1994/95 – serie B – Udinese-Palermo 0-0
2004/05 – serie A – Udinese-Palermo 1-0
2005/06 – serie A – Udinese-Palermo 0-0
2006/07 – serie A – Udinese-Palermo 1-2
2007/08 – c. Italia – Udinese-Palermo 0-0
2007/08 – serie A – Udinese-Palermo 1-1

Prediction

It’s not going to be a highscoring affair, I can tell you that from the past.

1-0. De Melo.

MOTM

Amelia, for not conceding.

Sono Bello, Sono Sano, Mia Madre Mi Ha Fatto Palermitano!

There’s another thing called the “Olympics” going on…and normally, I wouldn’t bat an eye if it weren’t for our boys the Azzurrini going for gold. And of course, the Azzurrini are being led by none other than current Palermo player and CAPITANO for the Azzurrini: Antonio Nocerino!

As you can see, Nocerino is the number four jersey and certainly looks great with the captain’s band around his arm. He and his fellow azzurrini put in a great performance today against Honduras. I know it’s only “Honduras” but they got utterly dominated in every facet of the game. Only after Italia was up 3-0 did the Azzurrini allow Honduras some semblance of possession and attack. We can all look forward to the next opportunity to see Nocerino and the boys play again.

Now, on to the random bits of Palermo news and info…

First and foremost, we learned today that PALERMO will kick off the Serie A season as the opening game against Udinese. The game will feature as the first of two games to be played on Saturday, August 30th. Ragazzi, take note of the date. Palermo will face an immediate test at the Stadio Friuli. Let’s go out and grab a full 3 points off the bat, and have Marco Amelia avoid Jimmy Fontana’s distinction last season as the Bottle of Wine recipient – the first keeper to allow the first goal in the new season receives a bottle of wine for having that “dubious” honor.

Palermo are currently training in Levico Terme where they’ve been taking on local sides in friendlies. They won today/yesterday by a score of 1-0. Jankovic had the decisive goal 31 minutes into the second half. He had a really nice shot off of a free kick that hit the back of the net. Colantuono was satisfied with the performance by the guys and singled out Miccoli, Jankovic and Carrozzieri in particular for their good play.

Palermo will face their “biggest” friendly in 5 days when they face the only Italian side in the Bundesliga. Oh wait a minute, that’s right, Wolfsburg is still a German team that is trying to field an all-Italian side. Nonetheless, two familiar faces will be wearing different colors when the match takes place. That, of course, will be both Andrea Barzagli and Cristian Zaccardo. If you click on Zaccardo’s name, you’ll see a great pic of him in some Wolfsburg get-up. Surprisingly, to me at least, Wolfsburg finished in 5th place last year in the Bundesliga, so they aren’t as bad as I thought they were.

Here are some other tidbits that are worth a mention:

Speaking of Guana, I have been thinking about this for awhile, and I am going to propose for the upcoming season, an award in his honor dishonor. In fact, it’s going to be named after both him and our other favorite nimrod, Andrea Caracciolo. It shall be known as the “Guaracciolo Award” and it will be given to the biggest bonehead in Serie A for that week. Ha! Knowing that Guana would be the recipient week in and week out if strictly kept to Palermo players, I’ve thought that we could expand it to all of Serie A. If anything, it should provide us with some entertainment throughout the season, as well as allow us to bust the balls of other crappy players on other Serie A teams. Perhaps, we can call upon Steven’s great photoshop skills to take the current photoshop of “Guaracciolo” and turn it into some sort of trophy-like appearance. Maybe in the form of an Oscar? Thoughts?

As the news happens, I’ll try and let you all know. For now, FORZA PALERMO!

Sunday April 27th, 2008 15.00
Stadio La Favorità, Palermo

Palermo

Damn. Amauri and Rinaudo are banned for getting too much yellow cards, and so is Bresciano. Added to that is a shitload of injuries. Alberto Fontana, Edison Cavani, Giuseppe Biava, Ciro Capuano and Fabio Simplicio are all out injured. The good news is that Bosko will team up with Micco up front.

Probable Line-up
Agliardi; Cassani, Zaccardo, Barzagli, Balzaretti; Tedesco, Guana, Migliaccio, Caserta; Jankovic, Miccoli

Atalanta

Atalanta will be without injured Moris Carrozzieri and Leonardo Talamonti. Antonio Langella is suspended and Simone Padoin should replace him. Cristiano Doni returns from a ban.

Probable Line-Up:
Coppola; Rivalta, Pellegrino, Manfredini, Bellini; Ferreira Pinto, Tissone, Guarente, Padoin; Paolucci; Floccari

Categorical Matchup

Not this week.

Final Analysis

It’s the battle of the former coaches tomorrow. We all know how bad Del Neri’s passage in Palermo was, and Colantuono did great at Atalanta. Thee Bergamasci are just one point behind us and losing this game could cause us to lose the Intertoto-cup.

Last 5 years

16/12/2007 Atalanta Palermo 1-3 Serie A
24/02/2007 Atalanta Palermo 1-1 Serie A
15/10/2006 Palermo Atalanta 2-3 Serie A
24/04/2005 Atalanta Palermo 1-0 Serie A
05/12/2004 Palermo Atalanta 1-0 Serie A
28/03/2004 Atalanta Palermo 0-0 Serie B
02/11/2003 Palermo Atalanta 0-0 Serie B

Prediction

2-1. Doni, Miccoli, Bosko.

MOTM

Miccoli.

Jimmy Fontana, 41 years old ladies and gentlemen, has been named ‘Palermo Player Of The Year 2007.’ Amauri came in third. Jimmy won, beating Giuseppe Biava. You know him, he’s the guy fans spat out this year. Incredible. People have been talking about gettin Jimmy to Euro 2008 as third goalie. Maybe Facebook can help us with that as well.

Today is Amauri meets Juventus-day. We probably won’t be reaching any agreements yet, but if the Fiat-guys throw in a good offer, we might enjoy it after all. Stadionews is talking about 10-12 million euri plus players like Marchisio, Giovinco, Lanzafame, Palladino and Nocerino. And talkin’ about Palladino, the Big Man himself would rather have Budan back: ‘”Abbiamo già preso De Melo, abbiamo Cavani e Miccoli. Palladino? No, non ci piace più da quando ha dichiarato che non vuole venire in Sicilia. Piuttosto, pensiamo a Budan.”

Zamparini has also stated that reachting the Intertoto is now an objective. Good, because two wins there could give us the UEFA-ticket we need. The only problem is the squad: Intertoto starts in july, so we will need a team of about 25 players to get this thing to work.

Ciao!

What is there to say after witnessing a game like that? I think I’ll let the photos and video speak for all of us…

The pure beauty of this shot cannot be seen from this picture. The way Amauri split two Juve defenders and fired an absolute curler into the top right corner with Buffon doing all he could but STILL coming up short can only be seen in this video (namely around the :45 mark):

That is just pure class…pure skill…and believe it or not, this was only the SECOND best goal from the game. Did you read that right? Yes, you did. Only the second best.

Where are the doubters and haters??? Only idiots would not want this man on their team. He is a force to be reckoned with. He has scored most of his goals this year on will alone. The first of his brace is a tribute to that.

Just on the stroke of halftime, Fabio “Bikerman” Caserta delivered an absolute majestic cross that found Amauri rising above his defender to smash a powerful header past Buffon into the back of the net to make it 2-0. The clip I found has both of Amauri’s goals in it – and there’s nothing wrong with seeing the first one again. On top of it all, you get to see Guana’s “O” face and Buffon’s look of shock…

The FSC commentator, in his best Ray Hudson impression, described Amauri’s second goal like this: “What a leap! Like a salmon out of a cool river!”

Palermo then came out in the second half and played rather poorly, letting Fontana get absolutely shelled. Eventually, Juventus broke through. Sissoko had a couple nice moves and shot directly at Fontana who parried it away, only to find Del Piero in a legitimate offside position (not called) which he then finished to make it 2-1.

After 19 more minutes, Juventus found the back of the net again. Del Piero scored an almost identical goal to bring the Rubentini to even terms. As the game progressed, Juve looked more and more dangerous and it seemed that this game might get away from Palermo…

But then along came Cassani. Mattia Cassani to be exact. Seldom used defender Cassani. Note, he’s a DEFENDER. On 89′, a Palermo free kick was sent into the Juve box where an attempted clearance was sent 26 meters out to an awaiting Cassani.

Cassani then unleashed a stunning, miraculous left-footed screamer into the far top corner of the net. There was absolutely NOTHING Buffon could do but watch in shock (again).

And when I said Buffon could do nothing but watch, I mean it:

Truly, a wonder strike at the death that would send Palermo and the Renzo Barbera into delirium. There are the 3 points, there is your ballgame.

And of course, here is the video of the best goal Cassani will ever score in his life (and perhaps the most important):

Non ho parole…

Amauri and Cassani were two of the real heroes in this game, but let’s not forget about two others that had huge roles: Super Jimmy Fontana and Bikerman Caserta. They both came up big in the game. In any case, I leave you with a full video of the highlights from the game and we’ll be back soon with other news and relevant information as Palermo gets ready to exact revenge on our rivals Catania in the derby this weekend.

FORZA PALERMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!