Review: Succi’s Strike Saves Suckers

By: Steven | November 24th, 2008

It’s pretty difficult to say anything about yesterday’s match, because it’s hard to say something if you have already said it all after the Torino and Lecce-games. I think Davide Ballardini’s quote says a lot:

It just wasn’t us in the first half.

No, really? Going 1-0 down to Bologna, the second worst team in Serie A, is a disgrace. Keeping the scoreline that way would’ve been a humiliation. Luckily, in the end we could rely on our superstar from Ravenna. After 10 shots that can only go down as terrible misses, Succi finally equalized. Good for us, and I’ll grand him the honour of not tearing him to shreds once more. But we all have to realize that bringing in Succi and Cavani was a decision made by fear. Losing Bologna would have made Ballardini’s job a living hell with Zamparini on his way to Palermo. So what he did was take out a midfielder (the sketchy Migliaccio) and a striker that hadn’t touched a single ball all game (Budan, or maybe his handicapped, untalented brother) and replace them with two strikers that are also yet to prove themselves. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a fine example of panic on the bench.

It was hard to draw conclusions right after the game as we didn’t get a good broadcast, but I saw the game in replay afterwards. So here are my two cents.

What I Liked:

Everything, and I do mean everything, goes trough Miccoli. He works his ass off (and complains a lot), and without him we would even be further down the table.

Marco finally showed his talents. He looked like a soccer mom (thanks for making my day, Kat), but luckily he landed on the same amount of balls than your average soccer mom.

Moris is Palermo. He plays fantastic, breathes a natural cool and he’s becoming the absolute leader of this team and te favourite of the fans.

What I Didn’t Like:

Ciro Capuano. We all knew he wasn’t worth his place on the team, the critics knew it, and I sure hope Ballardini now knows it too.

Igor Budan. Dude, really? What was that?

Lanza’s five minutes. Nobody can develop into a good player with only five minutes a week.

Pagelle:

Amelia 6,5: Surprised on the goal, did fantastic for the rest.
Cassani 6,5: Went down with the rest in the first half, showed his real identity later on in the game.
Kjaer 5,5: Did well, but had a lot of problems with the experienced Di Vaio
Carrozzieri 7: Big man on Campus.
Capuano 2: Great assist on the Bologna-goal. Should be a) shot, b) given away free as practice doll for young camorristi or c) assraped and skullfucked by Moris, Mr. T and the tubby dude in the NY Giants defensive line.
Lanzafame s.v.
Migliaccio 5: Not good.
Cavani 6: Did well, but needs to learn how to score goals.
Liverani 6: Did surprisingly mediocre, but is too old. And to ugly.
Nocerino 5.: Was lucky that Budan and Capuano were worse, otherwise would’ve been today’s Androberto.
Simplicio 5,5: Not his usual self.
Budan 4: That’s what you get for giving him a starting spot…
Succi 6,5: One disallowed goal and one allowed. Still hate him, but he deserves the 6.5 as game winner.
Miccoli 6,5: Constant danger, the true leader of the team.
All. Ballardini 6: Put out the big bluff during half time, but it worked. -0.5 for fielding Capuano.

Facts:

Bologna – Palermo : 1-1
20’ Di Vaio 1-0
93’ Succi 1-1

Bologna: Antonioli; Zenoni, Terzi, Moras (Britos 64), Lanna; Mingazzini, Mudingayi; Marchini (Rodriguez 77), Valiani, Bombardini (Cesar 46); Di Vaio

Palermo: Amelia; Cassani, Carrozzieri, Kjaer, Capuano (Lanzafame 87), Nocerino, Liverani, Migliaccio (Succi 46); Simplicio; Budan (Cavani 46), Miccoli

Ref: Russo

Giornata 13’s Androberto Guarraciolo Award: