Going Fourward

By: LorenzoRosanero | March 8th, 2010

Miccoli

Eighty minutes of suffering erased in one moment of ecstasy courtesy of Miccoli’s right foot. Our beloved captain pulled out another pearl from his treasure trove to cause the Barbera to erupt into pure delirium and give us another important win. It definitely wasn’t easy with a Rubinho who transformed into the Incredible Hulk for 80 minutes and a Livorno team who tried to strangle the style of play from the rosanero.

This win could be even more impressive than the one against Juventus for it proved that this team can suffer and persevere for a full 90 minutes. They can wait patiently as chance after chance is rebuffed to the point of exhaustion. Yet, it was only the fans who were a nervous wreck as the players calmly went about their business with the certainty of a coming goal. When it happened, nobody was surprised but us. The team knows and believes in the system that our maestro Delio Rossi has put in place. The man knows his calcio. He works meticulously to prepare this team week in and week out and the results are apparent to everybody.

If there remains any doubt about Delio being the right man for the job, I’ll let him tell you how well he knows this team:

“Palermo are a side who need to win with head and heart, as if we’re missing either of those elements then we won’t get anywhere, especially after an important result. If our concentration drops, we are an average team.”

He has only been here a short while, but that observation makes it seem as though he were with us since our arrival in Serie A. It sums up our identity to the fullest. In Rossi we trust… we’ll leave the rest to Miccoli and his men.

It’s games like this one that make you believe reaching the Champions League is a real possibility. The pieces are coming together and the pressure is nonexistent. After all, there are plenty of teams that need Champions League qualification for financial reasons. Palermo is not one of them and therefore, they have nothing to lose. Regardless of the results, stay close to this team and enjoy the moments that they have given us and will continue to give.

Notes

Palermo has now gone 22 games without a loss at the Barbera spanning last season and this season. During that period, they have won 17 times and have drawn only 5.

With the victory over Livorno, Palermo has won 8 games in a row at home. The last time they won 8 games in a row was back in the year 2000 while they were playing in Serie C. It’s safe to say this team has come a long way in a decade.

Interestingly, the last time Palermo played Livorno at home was during the 2008/09 season. The game finished 1-0 for Palermo. Miccoli scored the lone goal on the 76th minute – 5 minutes quicker than this time around. It was also his fifth goal against Livorno since joining Palermo.

Speaking of Fabrizio, is there a more in-form striker in Serie A right now? After scoring yesterday, he has now scored in 4 consecutive games (Roma, Lazio, Juventus, Livorno). It was his 13th goal of the season.

If anyone was wondering about Miccoli’s celebration, it was not a tribute to Ricky Bobby from Talladega Nights. It was, however, a tribute to John Cena the wrestler. It’s no secret that Miccoli is a fan of wrestling, but really? John Cena?

Believe it or not, Delio Rossi got his first victory against Serse Cosmi. He had only managed a draw in four matches prior to yesterday’s win. That brings his tally to 29 points in 14 matches – nothing short of phenomenal.

Androberto Guaracciolo Award

Androberto Guaracciolo

Well, there is undoubtedly no one more worthy for this award other than our very own former goalkeeper, Rubinho. Why you ask? Oh, he only waited until the 27th giornata to put in the performance of his life. Naturally, it came against Palermo. In all honesty, there is no ill will towards Rubinho – he lost his job at the hands of Sasa’ and took it admirably. He never complained about his situation and never even demanded a move to another team. Instead, Palermo sent him to a place where he could regain his pre-Palermo form. Unfortunately, he found it against us. Here’s to more performances like the one you had on Sunday, Rubinho. Just don’t make us sweat like that again. Thanks.

I touch little boys...