Viola: It Is Accomplished
(Tifosi speak the truth.)
This was a beautiful game. Toro and Viola fans are friends, and the places was easily more purple than it was maroon, but with no hostility at all -- when Torino came out to warm up, the Viola fans cheered, and the Toro fans sang to the Viola fans during the match. Plus, they engaged in a shared song of hate for Juve, which would do almost anyone's heart proud.
The atmosphere was very relaxed in the first half, especially after the roar went up that meant Udine had scored against Milan. Once Milan drew level and then went ahead, though, everyone got very nervous, including La Viola -- they were making stupid decisions with the ball, and not converting great chances (Osvi and Santana were particularly guilty). Plus, Toro had two goals called back for offside (the call on the first was wrong), and Matteo Sereni was playing an absolutely outrageous game in the Toro goal: It was starting to look bad for La Viola. Until, that is, Osvi decided he needed to head the ball to himself and try a bicycle kick. Because, you know, if nothing else is working, why the hell not?
It went in and the place went crazy, even the Toro fans were applauding. And, after the match ended and the CL spot was secured, The Toro curva went across the pitch to celebrate with the Viola fans. Football is officially the greatest thing ever.
Torino 0 - 1 Fiorentina
Osvaldo 76 (F)
Torino: Sereni; Dellafiore, Di Loreto, Lanna, Pisano; Diana, Corini, Grella (Bjelanovic 84); Di Michele (Recoba 84), Rosina; Stellone (Lazetic 88)
Fiorentina: Frey; Jorgensen, Gamberini, Ujfalusi, Gobbi; Kuzmanovic (Semioli 55), Liverani (Pasqual 70), Montolivo; Santana, Pazzini, Osvaldo (Potenza 80)
Like I said, the tifosi are in love.
The place had to have been 2/3 purple.
About an hour before the match when the teams made their pitch inspections, every person in the ground was a Viola support, it was nuts.
(Pregame!Seba.)
Starters: The usual, apart from Osvi for the suspended (and new daddy) Mutu.
Because I can, I'm going to start with the enemy action (sorry).
Sereni was AMAZING. (Not to mention made of sex.)
He was pissed off @ all the Viola fans and you could tell during warm ups that the man was fired up.
Suffice to say it was not one of those "we'll let you have the points on the last day because we like you and you need them more" matches.
He made four saves in the first half-hour that were world-class.
And one of them, on Gambit, was totally impossible. Like, Frey-style impossible.
Speaking of.
He made two crucial saves with his legs on Rosina, and was MOTM in a couple papers.
And, also.
That sound was my heart exploding. Right. Onto La Viola.
Gobbi!
He got forward well and made some good crosses -- Fiorentina really weren't that good on the day, but he was one of the better non-Frey players.
Gambit is so good he can show a little skin AND play awesome @ the same time. He and Ujfi didn't have that much to do for long stretches, but he made some important tackles.
OH HAI JORGY. &hearts &hearts &hearts
Ujfi was less good than Gambit, but in the end it didn't really matter.
La Viola won his last match, his team got their CL spot, and he looked good doing it. Done and done.
Hello, Mr. Azzurri Hopeful.
Monty didn't go back to sleep or anything, but he was in a mood -- he was being a little bitch, and he and Cesare flapped at one another in exasperation, a moment that could well have been the high point of the season.
Unusually for the last month, he didn't stand out -- it was like he was distracted, or something, and really wasn't too much of a factor.
As the season ends, Pazzini STILL really needs to work on his grooming. /shallow
A whole lot of other people played, but there are no pictures of them. Instead, there is only Osvi.
He was looking good, even before the goal. (And this, clearly, is the important thing.)
(He changed his boots at half. The yellow ones weren't working.)
He was involved well before he scored, hanging around the goal box alot and failing to convert a couple good chances.
And then the ball was crossed across the box.
He went up and "settled" it by heading it straight up.
And, when it came down, he biked it into the lower corner of the goal. Magic.
(Pazzini was having a religious experience.)
(Prancing!)
'
(Look at Pazzini.)
*commence ovarysplosions*
Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnngh.
Then, the glomping started.
(While all this was going on, Ujfi and Gambit were hugging Cesare, and Gambit was either crying or got poked in the eye. I assume it was the latter, but you never really know ... )
And, less than 20 minutes later, it was over, and Fiorentina were into the CL.
Cesare took his boys to see the tifosi.
Who were fully stoked.
Kuuuuuuuuzi! &hearts
He's not even played a senior match yet, and I've already fallen for Da Costa (he's the one in the purple shirt). Damn those Portuguese!
Shortly after the running and the leaping, the Toro fans came over to share in the squee. I've not really seen that much football in the grand scheme of things, but this tops the list of "coolest thing" in my limited experience.
So, Ujfi.
It was his last match. (oh, god, Kuzi.)
*sniffle*
Seb carried him all the way across the pitch like this, so Ujfi could get his love.
And then, for good measure, he got nekkid. Good man.
Gobbi. TEASE!
Marie and I may or may not have spent a lot of time trying to decipher Gambit's chest tat. Thoughts?
After this limited stripping, the boys headed back to Florence, to another ground full of Viola fans -- their home ground.
Here's the mature part of the event: Cesare and the men in suits.
Andrea DV was a stud @ the match -- accepting the worship of the fans but in a very "Come on, this is silly because I'm just doing my job" sort of way -- and you can assume the adoration continued at the partay.
(Try to focus on Cesare here. It's important.)
Cesare was sweaty and nervous, and still MADE OF WIN.
EYES FRONT PEOPLE! Kuzi will be back, I promise.
Cesare's kids were there, too. This mystery hottie is his son.
Oh.
God.
*gives everyone tissues*
(I'm assuming this is his daughter, but I don't know for sure.)
His team, though, weren't weeping.
They let him think he escaped.
But they had plans for him, and Papa Waigo was on the task.
[GAMBIT GRIN! HOLY CRAP!]
WHEEEEEEE!
So. Much. Love.
ADV got some tossing, too.
It looks a little drunker, and a whole lot less secure.
So, the boys.
I honestly have no idea what happened -- when they turned up they were fine, then suddenly their clothes were destroyed. Monty, at least, looks totally mystified.
(Ah, wait. Maybe Gobbi's the problem?)
Breathe, Conny. Breathe. (Seb has one of Papa Waigo's wristbands. &hearts)
(It really gets to the point where you can't look anywhere but at Gobbi, doesn't? Man alive.)
NNNNNNGH.
Look at the keepers! Awwwwww.
Oh god Kuzi. And Osvi. *whimpers*
Pazzini is NOT HOT GODDAMMIT.
(SEE? *ahem*)
Oh, Osvi. You had me at hello.
Gobbi's back! AGAIN! STOP IT.
Donadel and Gambit LOVE A PARTY.
Anything you kids can do, Jorgy can do better. Including the nekkid -- check out that scarf.
*is resisting the urge to lick Osvi* *barely*
SY hat = sign of serious Bobo love, even while he's the king of the world. &hearts
Ooooooh deargod. [Imagine Kuzi as the car in Say Anything here. Just for fun. Thank you.]
*DIES* The OTP are being forced apart. Thank god they have that vacation together ...
Man, Ujfi. So fickle.
Touching on everyone, are we?
[It's official: Papa's body fat is under .5%.]
The hearts just go on forever with these boys. *hands out tissues again*
GOBBI! Damn you, man, you make it awfully hard to concentrate.
After the party with the 30,000ish fans, the boys went to a slightly more exclusive, interior location.
"What up, bitchez?"
Osvi so scored last night. LOOK AT HIM.
(Plz to be noticing the possessive touching of Monty -- both hands on him. I think we can make some guesses about that scoring.) (And Kuzi's hat! LOVE.)
Team. Of. Dorks. Even on a night like this, they can't hide it.
BEST PICTURE OF ALL FUCKING TIME, HANDS DOWN.
So, that's it, at least until the Barca friendly this summer. *weeps* Hopefully there will be vacation pix, as well as news of internationals and things to impart over the summer.
Until then: Thank you, boys, for a season more amazing than any of us could have dreamed.