Preview: The Pink vs. The Purple

By: Steven | October 24th, 2008

Sunday, October 26th, 2008 20.30
Stadio La Favorità, Palermo

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

Preview

So, another Sunday, another big game. Sometimes I wish we could just have a calm week without any Zamparini-antics, ending with a 3-0 or 4-0 win over some “middle of the table” team. But no, that wish isn’t going to be granted this week either. Capt’n Crazy went berserk, yet again, after last weeks loss to Catania, blaming Ballardini for not picking the right tactics and publicly attacking Antonio Nocerino for no reason. And come Sunday, we’ll have another tough game to battle out with Fioremerda. We all know it’s not going to be easy. At the start of the season, La Michia-ola was bad, but the last couple of weeks they have found back their form of last year, with Alberto Gilardino as the unexpected joker in the pack.

But it’s not only the strength of the Florence Pussy Squad that bothers me. It’s also the huge (temporary) maze in the net that is our defence, and the man with the butterfingers that has to clean up the crap that manages to run through that maze. Still, I do believe that the squad is eager enough to come back after the Derby loss. With Budan ready to go, who knows what we might see? Maybe even a Lanzafame appearance?

Squad Status

Palermo

Ballardini needs to make changes for this game, and the choice isn’t easy. Moris is suspended for getting tricked into ‘the mind games of the filthy Catanesi’, Bovo is still injured and Mcioiehpqebh is recovering from a head injury he picked up with the Georgian national team. The good news is that The Glass Man isn’t injured. Yet. It’s only Friday, so God only knows what might happen to him. Especially because we play the posticipo. For all we know, Fabriz’ may drop some grated Parmigiano on his left foot at pranzo. Budan’s ready to go as well, but will most likely start of the bench because Edinson Bon Jovi-hair will start.

Bad news? Loads. Raggi. That’s right, the biggest contender for the Bidone d’Oro will make his second start of the season, after sucking away big time against the Terremotati in the first game. Let’s just hope Butterfingers (or Jimmy) and HDF are paying attention when GilarTuffo makes his way trough the ranks.

Probable Lineup:
Amelia; Cassani, Raggi, Dellafiore, Balzaretti; Nocerino, Liverani, Bresciano; Simplicio; Miccoli, Cavani.

Fioremerda

I’ll let Ted over at the Fioremerda Offside handle this. But I’ll let you know the good news anyway: these days, Mutu sucks more than those Romanian hookers behind the Roma Termini-station, Vargas is Raggi’s biggest contender for the Bidone d’Oro and Gobbi’s out too.

Probable Lineup:
Frey; Comotto, Dainelli, Gamberini, Vargas; Donadel, Melo, Kuzmanovic; Santana, Jovetic, Gilardino.

Categorical Match up

Butterfingers vs. Elvis: Fiorentina. Frey is fat, greasy and has sideburns but he’s still ten times as secure as the Marco Amelia of the moment. If Balla puts in Jimmy, it’s a push.

The Hole in the Maze vs. Old: Palermo. Despite the fact that we’ll be playing Raggi, I got hopes for this one. I don’t believe the Fiorentina-defence to be any better than we are, and with Balzaretti on the left we have one of the most eager defenders of the moment.

Simpliciooooooh! vs. Shit, talent: Push. I think we can match them, no further comments.

Score already, you fuckin’ longhaired hippie vs. The Tuffo Boy: Push. Gila is bound to have a breakdown anytime soon, and Jovetic isn’t completely ready for the big work yet. With Fabriz’ healthy, Cavani in need of a goal, Lanzafame looking for a shot and Budan wanting to prove himself, we’re good.

Final Analysis

As you can see in my categorical match up, it’s all open. These are two teams that have the same structure, following, squad and goal. We both want CL-football, we attract 20-30.000 fans, we play in a color that no one else wanted to play in and we’re both fighting the big boys. The are only two differences: we won all our promotions on our way to Serie A in a legitimate way, and our boys have grown balls whereas the Violaminchia are a bunch of twats.

With this said, I don’t think I need to point out the importance of winning this, do I? Losing will mean another slide down the ranks, and already losing sight of the top. But I’m hopeful. Last year, Fioremerda also had a good streak before coming to La Sicilia, and we all remember what the Amauri-Micco-Simplicio trident did to their poor defence. Added to that, is the fact that the Purple Pussies haven’t won on the island since the ’61-’62 season. We’ve both been to C2 and back since then, so it’s been a fuckin’ long time.

Form Guide

Palermo
W L W W L

Fiorentina
W W W

Past Encounters

19/04/2008 Fiorentina - Palermo 1-0 Serie A
08/12/2007 Palermo - Fiorentina 2-0 Serie A
11/03/2007 Palermo - Fiorentina 1-1 Serie A
29/10/2006 Fiorentina - Palermo 2-3 Serie A
30/04/2006 Palermo - Fiorentina 1-0 Serie A
21/12/2005 Fiorentina - Palermo 1-0 Serie A
02/02/2005 Fiorentina - Palermo 1-2 Serie A
22/09/2004 Palermo - Fiorentina 0-0 Serie A
14/03/2004 Fiorentina - Palermo 2-1 Serie B

Prediction

Win. Won’t be happy with anything else.

2-1. Cavani, Micco, Tuffo.

MOTM

Cavani, for finally making it to the net.

Remembering the good times