Who is this key?

…Javier Pastore?

…Simon Kjaer?

…Abel Hernandez?

…Salvatore Sirigu?

These important players are undoubtedly important elements of the future for our club – yet, they do not represent the most vital piece to the club. That honor belongs to this man:

Numero Uno

Yes. That’s right. One of the craziest men in calcio is the man we have to live with: Maurizio Zamparini. For all the insanities and firing sprees, he has made Palermo dream. A couple days ago, I was thinking what the team would be like if we were to be sold to someone else…and to be honest, it was a little unnerving. Where would we go from here? Would the new owner be a foreigner with no attachment to the team? Would he be a local businessman who might have a strong attachment to the squad but not necessarily have a good plan to run the team? Thankfully, we don’t need to worry about those things just yet – as it seems that Zamparini will be along for the ride for the near future (see: plans for a new stadium). Perhaps, a most unlikely of sources, Luciano Moggi has stated it best in an interview with Mediterraneonline:

“Zenga is doing well, there needs to be some patience in life. When they take on young players they need to help them grow. Let me say something: I believe that Zamparini is one of those people that it is better not to lose because if Palermo loses Zamparini I don’t know who could substitute him and invest like he does, it is important to keep him chin-up, he’s one of those presidents that has money and the public would do well to love him. Zamparini is one who understands calcio. He knows how to conduct clubs. Last year he had an excellent season and he knows how to bring things forward.”

I think Moggi has summed it up quite nicely – so, let’s be thankful for Maurizio. Without him, we’d be looking at surviving relegation year in and year out.

News Roundup

Not alot to say about the match this past weekend. Sure, there were a couple of missed calls by the ref, but all in all, it was a game that was destined for a draw. We can chalk this one up to fatigue from the frenetic midweek game against Inter.

One interesting note from the Genoa game was the little sideshow from Marco Amelia. Even though he wasn’t playing, he attempted to create a story by telling the media he didn’t know why he was sent away. Well, Sabatini put that to rest by saying that, “Amelia knows very well how it went and there is no need to clear anything up.”

Our President also had some fun words to those who have been booing Pastore by saying that they are stupid and declaring them to be probably the same people who booed Cavani in his first appearances.

With the rise of Sirigu, it’s only natural that Rubinho might find his way out the door. According to Zamparini, “Rubinho has been a bit unfortunate, he’s a good goalkeeper but found Sirigu as a substitute who is doing well and earned a starting spot. He’s probably suffering as a result and we will find him another team because he and Sirigu are both starters – Sirigu for us, however, is a certainty.”

Finally, both Liverani and Balzaretti are targeting the Derby as the game in which they make their glorious returns.

Transfer Rumors

With January drawing nearer, Palermo has been linked to a ton of players lately. Here’s a brief summary:

- An Argentinian attacker named Sand is being linked with us again. He’s lighting up the Arab league with 9 goals in 5 games.

- German publication Bild claims that Palermo are interested in attacking mid Rakitic of Schalke 04.

- More news from Argentina as it’s being reported that Palermo are in talks for two different players: Dario Conca a trequartista for Brasilian side Vasco da Gama and Carlos Quintana a defender playing for Argentinian side Lanus.

Remember “First Appearances”

FORZA PALERMO!

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. How good was this? Not as good as Cassani’s screamer two season ago, but it was good. Like fried chicken right out of the bucket. Like an ice cold Aperol Spritz when it’s way too hot outside. I think I screamed like a little girl on the 2-0.

I think this was our best match since that 3-2 win. Maybe even better, seeing as we didn’t give up a 2-0 lead like we did back then. It’s the first match in ages that I’m not able to single out a bad player. Bovo did well, Bresciano played his heart out, Simplicio fought for every ball…me likey.

Me not likey the subs. I’ll give l’Uomo Ragno the benefit of the doubt on the tactics, but I don’t see why it was necessary to replace Cavani with Goian. We were close to scoring a third, even though we started crawling back once more. Just look at the stats and you’ll see that we almost didn’t have any possession during the second half, except for our attacks. International break is up next, he’ll have to prove his worth after that.

Five Lessons Learned:

1. Salvatore Sirigu is J-F Gillet’s Southern cousin. Love the kid.
2. Miggy is the silent force of US Città di Palermo.
3. Javier Pastore’s a genius. Give him some time and he’s gonna be huge.
4. Palermitano lead => crawl back in your own 16.
5. Zenga still won’t make it past December.

Pagelle:

SIRIGU: 7. Not all that much work, but the reflexes dude, the reflexes!
BALZARETTI: 7. Solid as a rock, like all season.
CASSANI: 6.5. Good game, but not as commanding as his counterpart on the left flank.
KJAER: 7.5. If I was gay, I’d jerk off to his poster.
BOVO: 6.5. Good game, some nice infiltrations.
NOCERINO: 6.5. Didn’t have a lot of time, but another solid game.
SIMPLICIO: 7.5. Was all over Juve’s face, including a fantastic goal.
BRESCIANO: 6.5. Worked hard, didn’t fuck up.
PASTORE: 7.5. MOTM. Was throwing around passes like Mike Tyson threw around punches (and his wife), his goal should’ve counted.
MIGLIACCIO: 7.5. You don’t see he’s there, but you’d miss him so bad if he weren’t.
MICCOLI: 6.5. Some great passes, but was looking for a goal too much.
CAVANI: 7.5. Big team, big Cavani.
GOIAN: S.V.
BUDAN: S.V.

All. Zenga: 6.5. Great starting tactics, bad subs and did nothing to stop the team from crawling back. Still has a whole lot to learn.

Giornata 8’s Androberto Guarraciolo Award:

Ciro Ferrara. Wow, worst tactics ever.

Impressions:

“Didn’t expect to see you in Ballroom 101, Gigi.”

“This is what a real schwalbe looks like.”

“I’m like Australian Customs: nothing gets passed me unnoticed.”

“Suck it, Ciro!”

Highlights:

Sunday, October 4th, 2009 20.45
Stadio La Favorità, Palermo

I warriors, brigate rosanero, siamo forti e vinceremo!

Preview

It’s Juve tonight, and the biggest team to come to La Favorità this season couldn’t be visiting at a worse time. There’s zero confidence in the locker room, nobody likes the way Zenga is running things and only 35% of the team is playing like they should be playing. The arrival of Juventus is yet another disaster waiting to happen. Just look at the season stats so far:

Matches Played 6 6
Table Position 15 2
Points 6 14
Goal Difference -1 7
Goals for * 2.0 2.3
Goals against * 1.7 1.0
Last 5 D-D-L-D-L D-D-W-W-W
Last 5 home D-D-W D-W-W
Last 5 away D-L-L D-W-W

That’s right, there isn’t any department where we beat Juve. We haven’t won a match in the last five games, and only gained 2 points out of 9 in our last three home games. I’m hoping for a miracle, but it’s not likely to happen.

Squad Status

Palermo

It’s getting old: no Liverani, no Tedesco (well, he’s certainly getting old) and no Hernandez. The team seems to be almost the same team as the one from the first games of the season, with Bovo in the back and Pastore replacing Simplicio. Cavani’s in as well, and so seems to be Supersirigu.

Juventus

Maybe there’s something on the Juve Offside, otherwise see below.

Categorical Matchup

The Savior vs. God: Juventus. Come on, nobody can compete with Gigi.

Familiar Faces vs. 50/50: Push. I think we have a shot here. The Schnoz and Grosso are quality, but Zebina and Legro not so.

The Wild Guess Department vs. Foreign Affairs: Juve. Diego > Palermo midfield.

Old School v. I still love you: Push. You know, I don’t rate Amauri as high as last season, so if our defense can contain him, I think here’s another shot.

Last Five Games

Palermo: LDLDD
Juve: WWWDD

Final Analysis

We should be able to put up a good fight tonight, but I don’t see us grabbing anything. Maybe a loss (and the relegation spot that comes with it) could see Zenga do a Colantuono: getting fired after a loss to Juve. We’ll find out tonight.

Prediction

1-2.

MOTM:

Amauri.

Remembering the Good Times

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, September 20th, 2009 15.00
Stadio Tardini, Parma

I warriors, brigate rosanero, siamo forti e vinceremo!

Preview

Yeah, that’s right, two consecutive Budan opening pictures. What’s there to say about this game? First off, I don’t think I need to remind you guys of the importance of this duel. Both teams have gathered four points from three games, which isn’t bad for Parma but is near disastrous for us. The only result that is acceptable here is a win. But that was also the only acceptable result versus Bari AT HOME. And we all know how that one went. So, if this team has any selfrespect and love for la maglia, then a good performance and win in Parma is demanded.

Parma, on the other hand, have been keen on taking over the Palermo II role from Torino in recent times. With transfer target Dzemaili and former Palermitani Zaccardo, Ale Lucarelli, Stefano Morrone, Davide Lanzafame, Hernan Dellafiore AND Mister Guidolin, playing Parma is like kissing your cousin. She might look hot, but things just don’t seem right.

On our side, there’s also some former Prosciutto Power: Bresciano, Simplicio and Budan all came to Palermo from Parma, and I’m really counting on the last one to prove to his former team that last season was a one time scenario.

Squad Status

Palermo

Liverani and Hernandez are still out, but we might see the return of Signore Miggy. The big surprise would be the possible starting spot for Budan, who might replace Cavani. It’s a big gamble, but you never know if Budan suddenly turns out to be the scoring machine we missed ever since Toni left.

Lots of doubt in midfield, where Bresciano (please no!) and Simplicio and Nocerino and Bertolo will battle for two starting spots next to Blasi and the quasi untouchable Pastore. Bovo still in central defense, which blows.

Parma

The Parma Offside might give you more information, but all I know is that Dzemaili and Lanza will start off the bench, and Bojinov isn’t fit enough to be included in the team.

Categorical Matchup

Sketchybrow vs. A Little More Secure: Push. I’m still not convinced, although Rubinho did show some nice moves last week. Maybe Parma could be the game to start shining?

The 1995 Berlin Wall vs. This Is What An Ending Career Looks Like: Palermo. Last week’s defending was pretty iffy to say the least. Bovo is unreliable, and Balza was unable to cope with the constant threath of an extra player, thanks to Bresciano. On the other side of the field there’s a lot of players trying to revive their career or reaching the end of it slowly.

We’re Not So Sure Who To Play vs. Midtable: Palermo. If we can keep Bresciano off the field, this one should always be ours. Midfield looks to be the weakest link in Parma’s team.

Biggie Smalls v. Young Guns: Parma. Uh? Parma? Why is that? Because Miccoli still hasn’t found the net, Budan will need to prove his qualities and Biabiabiabia and Paloschi are a fuckin’ dangerous duo.

Last Five Games

Palermo: WLD
Parma: DWL

Final Analysis

I’m always afraid of doing this. Whenever I get cocky, we lose. Whenever I predict a loss, we draw. I’m not doing this now, too important.

Prediction

2-2. Budan, Budan, Paloschi, Paloschi. Zenga gets the sack, Zampa picks a B-list coach like Baldini over guys like Spalletti or Serse Cosmi and our season is already over before it starts.

MOTM:

Budan.

Remembering the Good Times

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!

What.The.Fuck. In only three games, Walter Zenga has turned a talented and eager team into Chievo. Not winning against Bari is unacceptable. Not losing to Bari thanks to a last minute equalizer gets you fired. I have a very strong feeling that Zampa was ready to pull the trigger yesterday, and Zenga only survived by suffering a (fake?) drop of his blood pressure. Hell, if I was working onder Capt’n Crazy and just delivered that kind of result, I’d fake a serious illness too.

I don’t like the way things are going these days. Zenga keeps relying on players that clearly would have problems getting a starting spot in Serie B. Balzaretti has to run down the entire left flank because Bresciano goes Splinter Cell from time to time, Davide Succi couldn’t hit a house with an eighteen wheeler and playing Cesare Bovo in central defense is like letting your 16-year old daughter go to a rave in stay-up nylons, miniskirt, killer heels and a tube-top three sizes too small: not a very good decision.

Another thing I wanted to talk about. One of our former compatriots came over here, complaining we are too hard on some of our players. The guy did forget to mention that for every player we bash, another player gets an awful lot of praise. If you don’t put in any effort, I don’t see why I should spare you in my comments. If you don’t like it, don’t read it.

Five Lessons Learned:

1. Mark Bresciano is not Serie A material.
2. Igor Budan is no longer fat, nor slow.
3. Cesare Bovo needs to be replaced by one of those Romanians asap.
4. We should’ve bought Jean-François Gillet over the summer.
5. Zenga will not see November.

Pagelle:

RUBINHO: 6.5. Best game in pink so far. Could do nothing about the 0-1, but did keep us in the game.
BALZARETTI: 7. This game would’ve been a train wreck without him covering the entire left flank. -0.5 for taking another unnecessary yellow.
CASSANI: 5.5. Granted Allegretti the 0-1, was lucky not to do it twice.
KJAER: 6. Not fantastic, but doesn’t have anyone to count on when he misses an interception. Put another solid central defender next to him.
BOVO: 4.5. Can we sell him to Torino? Didn’t put in a good pass all day and was constantly flirting with a red card.
NOCERINO: 6.5. Another solid game from TrampStamp. Can keep possession (unlike last year) and is doing great carrying the team as a Hummus-replacement.
BLASI: 6.5. Did better than expected, well-earned applause substitution.
BRESCIANO: 3. It ends here. Zenga will disagree, but it should end here. Another disgrace.
PASTORE: 7. Works well with Nocerino. Should have scored his first goal in rosanero and should be less selfish, but another great game.
BUDAN: 8. Worked hard, scored a nice goal and is determined to fight for a starting spot.
MICCOLI: 6.5. The Little Man couldn’t do much, but should’ve been better in front of Gillet.
CAVANI: 5.5. The other side of Cavani. Looks like he’s having a hard time loading up for smaller teams.
SIMPLICIO: 6. Nothing special. Didn’t fuck up, which is strange.
SUCCI: 5. Missed a great opportunity, waste of human flesh.

All. Zenga: 6. Terrible pitch, PK not given: there are things that could make his case. But Bari should’ve always been beaten with a 2 goal difference.

Giornata 3’s Androberto Guarraciolo Award:

Mark Bresciano. Hang up your boots, boy.

Impressions:

Balzaretti suffers the infamous Puglian Nipple Twister.

“Look at me, I’m not fat anymore!”

“Suck it, Edi, I deserved it!”

“Look people, he really lost weight!”

Highlights:

I warriors, brigate rosanero, siamo forti e vinceremo!

Preview

After our first game, people were happy. People started dreaming again. After our second game, at the potato field in Arty Fartyville, people went back to reality. Zenga is not a wizard, and this team still needs a lot of work to be competing for the top five. I don’t care about comments from within the team that talk about the Scudetto, or even breaking into the top four. I want 5th or 6th, and a good Coppa run. People will try to hit us using Zenga’s comments, but I don’t think anyone here really believes that we can achieve that. Let’s do this thing step by step.

Step 3 is Bari. The team with the ugliest logo in all of Italian football, and a shirt that probably doesn’t have much competition in the same department either. The Galletti are back in A, and are still undefeated. Of course, that doesn’t mean shit, as I’d prefer winning 19 and losing 19 to drawing 38. Do the math, and you’ll see why. Anyway, on Giornata 1 they surprisingly held Inter to a 1-1, so this isn’t a team to underestimate. This is also the second Southern Derby in three giornate, which will also increase the pressure on Zenga and the boys.

The main obstacle that Zenga will need to overcome, is our first half performance. It will be impossible to get a good result if our first halves stay like this.

Squad Status

Palermo

Liverani and Miggy are still out injured, and so is Hernandez. Haven’t had much fun from that guy, have we? We’ll most likely see Bresciano and Nocerino running down the flanks, with Pastore in support of our magic duo and Blasi making his debut as defensive mid. There’s a small possibility that Bertolo will start in favour of Bresciano, but after last week’s game I wouldn’t count on it too much.

Bari

The Bari Offside is a nice place, and they’ll be able to tell you more. New acquisitions Donato, Diamoutene and Almiron will most likely not be there. Up to you if that’s a good thing or not. Superstar keeper JF Gillet will be the man to look out for, it only remains unseen how much he will suffer from his adventure with the Belgian NT (5-0 loss to Spain, 2-1 loss in Armenia).

Categorical Matchup

Fear The Brow vs. The Fearsome Belgian: Push. Gillet is by far Bari’s strongest link. Rubinho could become ours, but he needs a little more work.

Berlin Wall vs. Who that?: Palermo. Seriously, there aren’t much teams in Serie A with a defense that can compete with ours. I don’t see guys like Stellini and Parisi doing the same thing.

Back-up Bonanza vs. Serie B+: Palermo. Will Blasi perform? Will Bresciano go Bresciano again? Will Nocerino work his ass off? With Pastore on the field, this battle’s ours.

Dynamic Duo v. Kutuzov the Nomad: Palermo. Kutuzov can be dangerous. Cavani and Miccoli are dangerous. ‘Nuff said.

Last Five Games

Palermo: WL
Bari: DD

Final Analysis

This preview is bleeding cockyness. And it should. There’s no way in hell that not winning against Bari is acceptable. They’re fresh out of B, their team isn’t ready yet and they got lucky against Bologna. If Zenga wants to put his money where his mouth is, this is the time. Not winning against the Galletti means one foot in the grave for ‘Coach Z’.

Prediction

3-1. Pastore, Micco, Cavani. Kutuzov.

MOTM:

Pastore

Remembering the Good Times

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!

1. Palermo still has problems playing on the road

Granted, it was the first away game of the season; yet, the away woes still seem to be right where they were last season, and the season before, and the season before that and the…(yeah, you get the idea)

2. I’m sensing a pattern to this team

First half = awful. Second half = amazing. Both against Napoli and against Fiorentina, the squad has looked pretty horrendous in the first half. Not controlling possession, poor passes, no attack. The second half always sees a significant boost in play and produces results. Who knows what it is, but Zenga must say something in the locker room that gets them to pick it up. I’d like to see this translate to a whole game…soon.

3. The pitch is HORRENDOUS
Somebody needs to dock the groundskeeper’s wages.
Wow. Just gross. People want to say that Pastore & Co. looked bad. While they didn’t look great, they also can’t be entirely faulted either. That pitch resembled more of a sand trap from Super Mario Bros. 2 rather than a Serie A-caliber pitch. All I can say is that I’m glad we won’t be making any more planned visits there in the near future.

4. Mutu is still a gypsy Romanian coke-snorting, vampire-like, prancing cheater

So some people feign offence at Mutu being labeled a gypsy. Ok, fine. I hope I’ve cleared things up with the above statement. I would never want to tarnish the Gypsy name by including him amongst them. Some want to take pity with his plight…and under normal circumstances, I would feel really bad for him too. Sure, he’s being done up hard by Chelsea…but, the fact is, he’s ADRIAN MUTU. There are only two people in the footballing world that I could feel less sorry for than Mutu: Ratface and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Le Pagelle

Rubinho 6 – Nothing he could really do about the goal that Weird Al Jovetic redirected, but what was up with those goal kicks?!

Cassani 6.5 -Pretty typical Cassani that we’ve seen. Did well to contain attacks from Vargas.

Balzaretti 7 – Tireless. Outside of Kjaer, he probably had the best game for Palermo.

Kjaer 8.5 – He looked like a veteran out there. Plain and simple. Head and shoulders above the rest of any Palermo player for the match, he came out of each challenge the winner – including goal-saving tackles.

Bovo 5.5 – Still needs to find some form. Indecisive at times.

Bertolo 5.5 – An interesting decision to be thrown in there from the start. Looked a little lost and at times definitely showed it. Give him time to adapt to the Italian style.

Bresciano 6 – Actually had some very positive moments…but also some very poor ones.

Pastore 6.5 – People need to cut the guy some slack. He’s young and only in his second game in Serie A. Yes, he had some poor passes and overall a pretty average game. However, his upside is tremendous and he had a couple remarkable passes (backheel anyone?!) as well as shaking some players on more than one occasion.

Cavani 6 – He runs and runs and runs.

Miccoli 6 – Unfortunately, there was no magic to be had in the sand pit.

Simplicio 5.5 – Helped out when he came on for Bertolo but was pretty average like the rest of the team.

Budan 6.5 – Yes, there is life from Igor!!! Just missed a header, but the promising thing is that he was actually dangerous and showed some signs of hope for the future.

Tedesco S.V. – ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Transfer Market

It’s done. No Dzemaili because he couldn’t handle competition.

Manuele Blasi

He’s no Dzemaili, but we brought in a bruiser, who has definitely got some bite. The jury is still out on how he will be incorporated into the team. He’s taking the number 88.

We got some time before our next game due to international breaks and such…so enjoy the video below:

FORZA PALERMO!

I warriors, brigate rosanero, siamo forti e vinceremo!

Preview
What’s there to say about what happened to La Bestia that hasn’t been said? Nothing. I can understand that you like to go out clubbing, and that snorting coke can give you a throbbing boner and an incredible high, but not during the season as a professional footballer. So where does this leave us? One player’s antics have brought the team from optimistic to not so optimistic in two days. Not only is the sacking of Carroz’ gonna cost us a lot of money, it also means a big hole in the central defense in case one of Bovo or Kjaer gets injured. Imagine having to play with Kjaer en Cossentino in the back. The two of them combined aren’t even half as old as Maldini is.

The game in Milano couldn’t come at a worse time. We’re still fighting for that coveted European spot (altough it’s gonna be almost impossible now that Lazio and Samp are playing the Coppa final) and Milan can smell the second place. Luckily, we do well against the big teams this season. And we got a draw in Milano two weeks ago, which is good.

Squad Status

Palermo

Beauty needs to miss The Beast from now on, so we’re gonna see a Bovo-Kjaer partnership. Simplicio returns to take back his place as the provider of fine passes, and Micco will start over Succi. Guana’s back as well, and so is the Rijeka Fatman, who will provide the rest of the team with Big Mac’s during the second half.

Probable Lineup:
Amelia; Cassani, Carrozzieri, Kjaer, Balzaretti; Tedesco, Liverani, Migliaccio; Simplicio; Cavani, Miccoli

Bilan

Gianfranco at the Milan Offside is doing one hell of a job, so go and visit him for more info on Milan. I can already tell you that they will be missing Gennaro Gattuso, Marco Borriello, Alessandro Nesta, Kakha Kaladze, Daniele Bonera, Christian Abbiati, Giuseppe Favalli and Luca Antonini.

Probable Lineup:
Dida; Zambrotta, Senderos, Maldini, Jankulovski; Beckham, Pirlo, Ambrosini; Kaka; Inzaghi, Pato

Categorical Matchup

I Heart Roma vs. Butterfingers: Palermo. Milan may have the best defensive home record, that’s got nothing to do with the Brazilian between the posts. Marco will look to impress AS Bankruptcy once more, so expect a good match.

Beheaded vs. The Wheelchair Quartet: Push. Milan want half of our defense, we wan’t none of theirs. We’re equal.

Not the same guys as last week vs. I’m so Metrosexual: Milan. We seem to be rotating a lot in midfield lately, and I don’t know if that’s a good thing. Add the gay-factor of Milan’s midfield to that, and I don’t see us winning this battle.

Guido & Fabio vs. Tap-in Time: Push. Fuck Inzaghi, and fuck the Duck. Cavani’s on fire and Micco will want to prove himself. If our defense can avoid letting Inzaghi stand next to Amelia for 90 minutes, we’re safe.

Final Analysis

I’ll ask you: why shouldn’t we be able to take at least one point back to Palermo? Milan has only lost once in their own stadium, but we’ve beaten Juve, Samp and Fiorentina on the road and stole a point against Inter. And let’s remember that we have beaten already beaten Milan this season, even if they got two imaginary penalties.

The Carrozz’-case will most definitely have it’s effect on the players, but if you’re a pro, you have to shake things like that off, and continue with the things you get paid for.

Form Guide

Palermo
WLWDW

Milan
WDWWW

Prediction
1-1. Cavani, last minute equalizer Inzaghi.

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!

We always expected Edy Cavani to turn out as our greatest asset for the future, but ever since we signed Simon Kjaer (pictured above, to the left of The Joker) we know better. Kid’s only nineteen, but is already turning out to be one of the most talented defenders in all of Europe. Big teams like Arsenal, Chelsea, Milan and Juve are said to be chasing the Blonde Bombshell, and it seems like just a matter of time until he leaves Palermo to pursue a career that will most likely lead up to the biggest teams in Europe.

The reason I’m writing is, is because of a copy of Tuttosport that landed on my workdesk this morning. (Why do girls in stockings and high heels never land there…) Our beloved Juventus-paper brought an article on Kjaer’s future at Juve. It seems like this is the offer that Juve is preparing: Juve would be prepared to offer the 12 million that Kjaer’s agent mentioned as the asking price. They would also let Kjaer stay in Palermo for one more year on loan, and really take him after the end of the 09-10 season. Added to that would be a one year loan of promising midfielder Albin Ekdal.

I know this is just a rumour, but as there’s no Serie A this weekend and these rumours seem to pop up a lot lately, I wanted to ask you guys about your opinion on this. Here goes mine.

I say no. And there’s several reasons for that. First of all, 12 million isn’t enough. Let’s not forget that we got 20+ for Amauri, a guy of 30 years old with a bad knee, brought in as a sub for Trez. Kjaer is young, he’s amazingly talented and hasn’t suffered any serious damage yet. Second, I don’t like the whole loaning Ekdal thing. Kid’s got a bright future ahead of him, just like Lanzafame, plays the same position (I think) as Lanzafame, and see what happened to Lanzafame. Added to that, Ekdal is unproven. He hasn’t rocked Bari for a year.

The last thing I wanted to point out about this rumour, is that this might be exactly the right time to start building our very own legend. Selling Toni and Amauri was logical: these guys had a certain age, did well for the team and their money was needed to build the squad. Now, as we are building the squad, it would be a shame to sell one of our most important assets. At only 19, this kid could be a part of our rush to Serie A’s top four. I mean, the combination of proven and experienced players like Bovo, Moris and Micco and the young guns Edy, Kjaer, Abel and Mortadella (yeah, I like that name better) could be the base for success. I’d love for Kjaer to become this team’s leader for years to come: playing his entire career here, and then getting a staff job. I know I’m dreaming, but at some point, you have to single out one player that could lift your team to another level and NOT treat him like merchandise.

Do I have too much time on my hands? Maybe. Does the thought of possibly losing Kjaer get me all emotional? Maybe. All I know is that I don’t want to see the Danish Dynamite go…

First off, I want to thank Lorenzo for taking care of this blog while I was exploring another continent. The buildings were high, McDonald’s not as tasty as over here, the women nicer than expected, the iPods cheap, the European cars funny looking and the Guidos all over the place, but I survived. Too bad I had to miss the Lecce game, but luckily I was somewhere in the air between London and Brussels when we sucked against Chievo.

Just another proof of this team’s inconsistency. Bresciano might be the master, the rest of them are pretty good students. So, to prove that we have been pretty inconsistent, I went trough some stats. Here’s the list of all the teams that we have played twice so far, with the results:

* Udinese: lost, won
* Roma: won, lost
* Genoa: won, lost
* Napoli: lost, won
* Reggina: won, drawn
* Juventus: won, lost
* Catania: lost, lost
* Fiorentina: lost, won
* Lecce: drawn, won
* Chievo: won, lost

Look at that. Not one team has been beaten by us twice this season. Hell, we only had the same result against Catania, and that was a double loss.

And some more:

* We have the fifth best defense away from home. Funny, considering our awful record on the road. At the same time, we have the third worst defense at home. Funny, considering our strong record at home.

We all know that football has nothing to do with logic. But this is just crazy…