Black’n'Blue, Part Two

By: Steven | September 16th, 2011

Atalanta – Palermo

Hi guys, Lorenzo’s off for the weekend, so you’ll have to do with me for a couple of days. Only a week after beating the nerazzuri from Milano, Palermo’s heading up north for another bout with a team donned in black and blue, Atalanta Bergamo. The Bergamasci are nowhere to be compared to Inter, but a lot of danger lies in the encounter.

Two weeks ago, all that is Rosanero was still trying to avoid to have to live through the possible disaster that Serie A 2011/2012 could become. Now, everything is different. Our boys and our coach showed great character beating Inter, but the difficult part is not over yet. Yes, it was a great win. Yes, Mangia’s tactics looked good. Yes, new guys like Tzorvas and Barreto did a great job. But all the positivism that was left after last week could well be washed down the drain if we were to lose points in Bergamo.

If we’re being realistic, beating Atalanta is a must. The Bergamasci just returned to Serie A after a season in the Cadetti and started the season with -6 after being involved in a betting scandal. Still, last week they managed to upset Genoa by getting a tie after being 2-0 down, thanks to two goals by new signing Maxi Moralez, so a cautious approach could be in order. It also remains to be seen what Edgar Barreto will do against his former team and in his former stadium.

Probable Lineup

I don’t have Zo’s fancy lineup images, so it’s just gonna be text from me.

Starting XI: Tzorvas; Pisano, Migliaccio, Silvestre, Balzaretti; Alvarez, Della Rocca, Barreto, Ilicic; Hernandez, Miccoli
Bench: Benussi; Munoz, Mantovani, Aguirregaray; Bacinovic, Zahavi

Never change a winning team, they say, so it’s likely that Palermo will field the same eleven guys that beat Inter last week. Tzorvas looked good in his first game for the team, and so did Silvestre and Barreto. Alvarez and Della Rocca need to take another step, but could become a valuable pair in midfield against Atalanta. Pinilla is likely out for the game with injury (sounds familiar?) and personally, I’m curious if Zahavi gets some playing time and, if so, how he will adapt to the level of play in Serie A.

Atalanta will most likely have to do without Luca Cigarini & Ferreira Pinto, but the dangerous pairing of Moralez and German Denis could cause danger for the Palermo defense.

Final Words

Zo’s words last week were ‘the enthusiasm in Palermo is as low as it probably has ever been since the return to Serie A’. One week later, there’s hardly anything left of that negativity. And that’s dangerous. If the team and Devis Mangia don’t keep their feet on the ground, Atalanta could put them right back there. We know that Palermo always underperforms against ’smaller’ teams, so there’s another danger right there. Still, both in quality as in tactics, Palermo should be able to get the win in the Atleti Azzurri d’ Italia and start the season with 6 points out of 6. Forza Palermo!

Aspettando Atalanta – Palermo