

Catania - Palermo: When will this Shite end?
By: Steven | December 4th, 2007There’s only one thing worse than losing to those assrapers from Torino, and that’s losing to a team that might be swallowed by flowing hot streams of Etna-lava every single day. Yeah, that’s right… we lost to fuckin’ Catania. The Derby Di Sicilia was the first match with Guidolin in charge, and the first derby since Filippo Raciti died last year. One crappy performance and an imaginary red card later, we’re in the right half of the table, behind Catania. I only saw half of the game, and frankly, that’s about 40 minutes more than i wanted to see. I don’t think I’m in the right position to be commenting on this, so I’m gonna quote some of you who have seen the game:
“Diana on the field is like playing 9 vs 11. I hope he never plays again all season. Guana played awful for most of the game and the referee really ruined our chances. That challenge by Caserta was not even close to a red card…and taking Brienza off was criminal…tons of creative little touches, really our only bright spot besides the 5 minutes Caserta came on for.
Simplicio, Caserta, Migliaccio are good players for sure. Guana is the worst passing holding midfielder I’ve ever seen. Diana is slower than my dad, and can’t put a cross in to save his life. Get them the hell off the field and the Palermo team is entirely different. I’ve got to say I’m extremely disappointed with Guidolin’s first game in charge. You would think that the guy would learn after seeing basically the same team get eaten by Juventus.”
“i dont think theres much for him to do hes working with the same crap midfield.
the midfield is essential for a win.
they better train hard this week and im praying to God that Miccoli is back in time”
“Guys, to chime in on the whole midfield thing. I agree that our midfield has been the downfall of our team. Caserta and Simplicio are quality players, but they can’t carry the load on their own. Jankovic has the talent, but it has translated into squat so far. We need Miccoli back BADLY. He is our playmaker and is a good link to feeding the offense. (not to mention set pieces) Take away the top playmaker of any squad and watch them fall off the table. We will be a different team if he ever comes back. I don’t blame Guidolin for starting Diana. Now, my opinion will change if this happens again. When he was in charge last year, Diana was playing very well at times. Oh my, how times have changed! To go back to Jankovic, I think Guidolin can help this kid regain his form and actually be a formidable threat on offense. Hopefully, sooner than later!”
All I really have to say is this: together with Jimmy, Caserta is our best player by far. He came in, scored, had to go out for no reason. During those 7 minutes, you could see our entire midfield getting more in shape. Still don’t know why Guido didn’t start him.
I promise you guys that this was a sole slip-up by me, but I had so much work this weekend…I’ll be back in shape for the Fiorentina-game. Can you please forgive me?
Line-ups:
Palermo: Fontana; Zaccardo, Barzagli, Biava, Cassani; Diana (Giovanni Tedesco 54), Guana, Simplicio, Bresciano (Caserta 54); Brienza (Jankovic 75), Amauri
Catania: Polito; Sardo, Terlizzi, Stovini, Vargas; Edusei, Giacomo Tedesco (Colucci 23), Baiocco; Martinez (Sabato 91), Mascara (Izco 56), Spinesi
Ref: Trefoloni
Ratings
I stole these from Stadionews:
FONTANA 6: Respinge gli attacchi del Catania con i pugni, il palmo della mano e perfino di testa. Incolpevole in occasione dei tre gol.
CASSANI 5,5: Inizia bene spingendo sulla fascia di sua competenza. La posizione di Vargas, però, lo costringe a rimanere rintanato in difesa.
BARZAGLI 5: E’ netta la spinta su Spinesi in occasione del calcio di rigore. Da un giocatore della sua caratura non ci si aspettano certi svarioni.
BIAVA 6: L’anticipo è la sua arma migliore e lo adopera per fermare Mascara e Spinesi. È il più attento dell’intero reparto arretrato.
ZACCARDO 5,5: Gioca a sinistra per l’assenza di Pisano. A volte entra in confusione per le accelerazioni di Martinez prima e Mascara poi.
DIANA 5: Nel 4-3-2-1 di Guidolin viene schierato da come interno di destra, posizione che l’ex doriano non gradisce. Guidolin lo richiama in panchina per far posto a Tedesco.
TEDESCO 6: Il suo ingresso dà maggiore vivacità alla manovra rosanero. L’espulsione di Caserta, però, lo costringe a ripiegare ed alimentare gli inserimenti.
GUANA 6: Solito moto perpetuo del centrocampo rosanero. Spettacolare il gesto acrobatico che ferma Martinez lanciato a rete.
SIMPLICIO 5: Soffre il pressing alto di Edusei che non gli consente di impostare a dovere la manovra. Nel finale di tempo si divora un gol a tu per tu con Polito.
BRESCIANO 5: Il suo “mentore” Guidolin lo lancia titolare, ma lui non ripaga la fiducia accordatagli. La marcatura di Edusei gli toglie fiato e spunti. Ectoplasma.
CASERTA 5,5: Entra accompagnato da una bordata di fischi ed insulti che non lo condizionano perché dopo pochi minuti segna il primo gol in maglia rosanero. Eccessivo il “rosso” nei suoi confronti.
BRIENZA 6: La sua velocità ed il suo dinamismo costringono al fallo diversi giocatori del Catania. È più attivo del collega di reparto Bresciano. I crampi, però, lo costringono a lasciare il posto a Jankovic.
JANKOVIC 5,5: Dentro nell’ultimo quarto d’ora al posto di Brienza. Non riesce a dare profondità alla manovra del Palermo.
AMAURI 5: Coglie una traversa clamorosa da posizione favorevole quando il punteggio è ancora bloccato sullo 0-0. È braccato da Terlizzi e Stovini e lui è inspiegabilmente nervoso.
Man Of The Match:
No idea.
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Comments
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Just thinking out loud…If I’m Zamparini I bring back Ficano in January and throw a shit load of cash at Parma to get Cigarini. We missed out on Lucas when he went to Liverpool…that kid is the real deal and I think we could have had him. Cigarini is just as good, definitely a long shot but can Zampa at least make a bid?
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if we are gunna sell Amauri eventually. maybe we should start looking into hometown boy Calaio
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I have been on the Calaio bandwagon for quite awhile.. Pull the trigger, Zampa!!
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What about going after Ferrari from Roma in January? It doesn’t seem like Roma is going to offer him the extension he wants and he would make a great partner for Barzagli to tighten up the back four. I think he would jump at the chance to be first choice for Palermo instead of fourth in the pecking order at Roma. I think it makes sense to build from the back. Cigarini (or another young defensive mid) would also be a great buy. They miss having Corini protecting the back four.
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Couldn’t possibly agree with you more. Ferrari would be an enormous buy, and if Barzagli goes next year, Ferrari + Rinaudo certainly isn’t a bad CB tandem. I just can’t see how Biava keeps starting. Rinaudo must show zero effort in training because he is 10X the player Biava is.
Corini is a huge loss but Migliaccio isn’t TOO much of a step down. First game of the season against Roma with Guana “starring” in his CDM role, I remember watching and screaming at the TV to get Corini back. Migliaccio came in and didn’t do too bad, 2nd half was all Palermo, and he played pretty good every game after that. Since he got hurt, he hasn’t featured at all. Caserta also helps out the back 4 nicely too when he has to.
I just read a few previews for the Palermo-Fiorentina game that put me in a bad mood. When you don’t have the steadiness in CM that Eugenio brought, you have to layer the midfield. Fiorentina pack a hell of a punch. I wouldn’t mind seeing Migliaccio + Guana sitting in front of the back 4 giving Simplicio, Miccoli, Amauri and Cavani room to roam. If freakin Diana starts this game again I’m gonna go apeshit and throw my TV out the window. http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/sa0708/pal-fio.html
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Fielding Simplicio, Guana and Migliaccio all at the same time, that could work. I too would give it a try. I know I’m of minority here but I don’t think Guana is all that bad. Right now he is being forced to play in the position that is not his. Last season, he did pretty well backed up by Genio.
I don’t see why we should buy a new CB. We’ve already got two quality defenders - Bovo and Dellafiore, out on loan who btw are like best among the defense in their respective teams, so why waste money on another CB? Anyways, I do feel the need of some rebuilding in our defense. This is the starting back4 I’d like to see next year: (preferably)Vargas-Della-Bovo-Cassani
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We definitely need to strengthen our team, and Calaio would be a nice alternative to the not-scoring attack. I also agree on the Cigarini-Ferrari comments, as i can’t see us keeping Barzagli for next year.
Kat, i thought Bovo was sold to Genoa, not on loan. And Dellafiore, i love him, but i don’t think anyone at the club feels the same way about him.
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I believe we still have half the property of Bovo, Steven. Still trying to figure out how we let him go so easily. Some weeks ago, Uncle Zampa also hinted there won’t be any reinforcement in central defense since the society is counting on Della and Bovo so I wouldn’t completely rule out their return.
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You’re right
We own 50% of his body 
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I feel like Bovo is 30 years old but he is still so young. How many clubs has this friggin guy played for? My guess is next summer we will go to the envelopes over Bovo. I definitely don’t have a bad word to say about Dellafiore. Solid is the word that comes to my mind straight away. Definitely better than Biava. I hope Guidolin gives Rinaudo a shot though. He’s way more dangerous on set pieces also.
Calaio would be nice, but until we can get the ball to the forwards I would say the only thing we should be buying is quality midfielders. Also, I don’t know how cheap Calaio would come and to be honest I’d rather see a player of the Renato Augusto calibre come before him.
I went back and looked at the lineups of all the games from Weeks 1-7. Migliaccio in the lineup = stability. I’m sure Guana is a nice guy, but he can’t shoulder the load by himself. Not a big deal. Milan have Gattuso AND Ambro taking lives in the midfield, and they play the 4-3-2-1 just like Guidolin. Certainly one would think that fielding Giulio + Guana would give us more possession. Guana is a hell of a ball winner, I’ll give him that. He just loses possession (when pressured) very easily, and can’t pass accurately. Simplicio wanders far too forward to be an effective outlet for Guana. With Migliaccio sitting deeper, we may find the problem to our struggles. I give Guana a lot of flack, but obviously he isn’t as useless as Diana.
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I just re-read Kat’s comment and it made a lot of sense. Definitely putting too much pressure on Guana. We were kind of asking him to be the main ball winner + distributor and he is flat out not that kind of player. Only a few players in the world can be that kind of player. Definitely a good ball winner though. Pair with someone more offensive minded (IE make a straight pass), but give him orders to stay deep! That’s the solution!
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I agree with ricci’s comments about Guana. He’s a good ball winner and that’s it. If he just sat in front of the defense and broke up attacks, I think he would do a good job.
But I still think we need to add some central defenders, as well as a left back. Even with Rinaudo, Ferrari would be cover if Barzagli leaves and if he doesn’t we need the depth to compete in Europe as well as the league. Right now, there is not nearly enough depth in the defense. Plus, if Bovo was good enough, why didn’t we keep him to begin with? And what about going after Marco Motta at Torino? I’ve been impressed by him so far this season when he’s played. Does anyone know his contract situation?
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Marco Motta is the future RB of the Azzurri. I don’t think he would come cheap plus I think Torino are probably going to hold onto him. Hell of a player though…tons of pace and can defend just as good as Zaccardo.
Read a few rumors about us going after Roger from Internacional. Haven’t seem him play but I’ve heard he’s the second coming of Gilberto Silva. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
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Considering the Aussie’s neverending slump, I think it would be wise to look for an attacking midfielder as well. How ’bout that Almiron guy, the next Veron? He’s been playing bench in Juve, no?
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I just thought of Almiron the other day. He would work awesome at Palermo. We were after him for a while too. I wouldn’t mind trying to buy a few unwanted players from Valencia(Sunny, Fernandes). I have a feeling Koeman is gonna get rid of everyone he doesn’t want and try to give that team an identity.
I think we have a lot of midfielders who do pretty well going forward, we need some who can defend as well. Caserta, Simplicio, Miccoli, Brienza, Jankovic - all could fit into that attacking mid/withdrawn forward role quite easily. That’s why the 4-2-3-1 is so appealing to me b/c if you keep your DMids protecting Barzagli and Co., the other 4 players can have an absolute field day running at defenders and making use of quick flicks and short passes. However, Guidolin’s 4-3-2-1 is similar, and LIGHT YEARS better than Colantuono’s 3-5-1-1…Jesus that was dreadful.
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The only thing Zampa has to do this winter is spend a shitload of sponsor-money on some guys. We could get Motta (Torino is holding on to all their talents, but these guys don’t wanna keep on battling relegation), and maybe Renato Augusto, but we also need some experienced guys. Shopping at Juve might be fun, as Almiron got in a little fight with Ranieri yesterday after getting a red card, and what about Tiago?
If Zampa wants youngsters, he should come to belgium. Standard has Fellaini and Witsel, 19 &18 years old, two of the best defenders I have ever seen.
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On another note: Gennaro Iezzo wants to leave Napoli. What do you guys think of him? Good enough for Palermo?
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I think Tiago could be a player that works well in our system. Likes to sit deep and dictate plays from the back. Worked really well with Makelele at Chelsea for a while. 13M Euro, If I’m Zampa I definitely pay that.
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The only thing that concerns me about Tiago is his salary.
Iezzo would be an ok choice for reserve GK here. He seems somewhat shaky when it comes to set-pieces, though. But then again, he can’t be any worse than la Paperella Agliardi.Posted from
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He makes 2.6mil at Juvemerda. Which isn’t insane but it’s also 1.6 more than what anyone else on our team makes.
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Wow, btw just saw that Diana makes 1m a year…threw up in my mouth a little bit.
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The thing we have to avoid, is the Parma-Bologna-Lazio thing. Trying to make the jump to top 4 by spending a lot of money, and then going bankrupt.
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Speaking of money, did anyone else notice that we finally got a sponsor? Does anyone know the details of deal?
And Steven, I saw Fellaini play once for Belgium in the Euro qualifiers and was impressed. He’s definitely the type of player Palermo should pursue…good, young and relatively cheap.
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Lotito just put Valon Behrami on the market, for ‘only’ 12 million euro’s. And he’s playing the same position as Aimo The Clown…Zampa, wallet out!
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Steven -
I SAW that too (about Behrami). THAT would be an UNBELIEVABLE pickup…but unfortunately, i don’t see it as being too realistic. I’d love for Zampa to prove me wrong though!Posted from
United States

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