Genoa Spam
(This is the face he makes when he's really, really happy.)
I've got this match sitting on my desktop but haven't yet had the time/strength to watch it, so my opinions are few. Sinisa, however, saw the whole thing and was pleased, both by the team's attitude and the look of the new system, while Twitter tells me that, though there's still a long way to go, there was definitely more fight against Genoa than we've seen in a while. So, progress. Hurrah! All that said, of course, Super!Frenchie was everyone's MOTM and even Gazzetta gave the man an eight -- having to rely on your keeper being by far your best player isn't encouraging, exactly.
GENOA 1-1 FIORENTINA [highlights|pagelle: Gazzetta, Corriere Fiorentino|ratings table]
Marcatori: 11' Gilardino (F), 17' Mesto (G)
Genoa: Eduardo; Chico, Dainelli, Ranocchia, Mesto; Veloso (dal 40' st Zuculini), Kharja (dal 30' st Milanetto), Criscito; Palacio, Toni, Sculli (dal 30' st Rudolf).
Fiorentina: Frey; De Silvestri, Gamberini, Kroldrup, Pasqual (dal 33' st Felipe); Donadel, Zanetti (dal 20' st Bolatti), Montolivo; Cerci (dal 30' st Marchionni), Gilardino, Vargas.
Look, Corvino made the trip to Genoa! Must be a seriously big game for him to a)go, and b)look that grim.
Sinisa: *randomly channels Rodney Dangerfield*
Monty was relieved the yellow didn't give him a corpse-like pallor. He'd been concerned.
Despite his ridiculous attachment to that entirely unncessary hairband, Seb was amazing.
He made at least four ridiculous saves, including two each on Loooca and Mimmo.
Denied, Loooca! DENIED.
See this, Artur? This is why you're sitting on your ass, you silly man.
Ok, so he did give up one goal, but it was a typically well-worked Genoa attack, and there was not a damn thing he could do to stop it.
(Still, though. Sinisa was sad.)
The fan sites were totally wrong about Sinisa changing the fullbacks, so LDS was on the right, as usual.
While Gazzetta was annoyed that he sat in so much, Corriere Fiorentino saw the fact that didn't just gambol up and down the line as sign of maturity, and awareness that he was needed to defend.
Srsly, have you ever seen this athletic freak be timid? I'm with CF on this one.
With Natali still out and Felipe continuing to suck, Sinisa actually used the same two central defenders for two matches in a row.
So Gambit got to reconnect with Loooca, while they both worked manfully to catch Cesare's eye. (It appears Loooca won that battle.)
See? Look how impressed Krol was.
No, wait, he was making that face for the whole match. Nevermind.
SEE? This is what our moms were talking about when they told us our faces would eventually get stuck!
(This was taken in the first minute of the match, before tragedy struck. Obviously.)
Since Pasqual didn't drop dead this week, he was on the left. As per usual.
Unfortunately, despite continuing to be surprisingly pretty, he was depressingly poor when it came to football.
So poor that Sinisa sent Felipe on late to clean things up, and he was actually an improvement, as well as less bitchy. Go, unseen Felipe, go!
With the new system, Monty was to the right of a three-man midfield, rather than sitting deep with CZ.
And he didn't suck! Woo hoo.
To be clear, he wasn't amazing or anything, but he was much, much better, especially in the second half, and is apparently the fittest guy on the team.
And, look -- he managed to ignore Vargas' giant tramp stamp! Leadership indeed.
He was being man-marked the entire match, but was still a major presence in the match, and it sounds like, if he could just finish, he'd have had an even greater impact.
The only personnel change wrought by the new system was Donadel for Adem, so the team's collective hair volume didn't change too much.
Oddly, Gazzetta thought he was a complete disaster, while everyone else thought he was either alright or, in the case of CF, Fiorentina's best outfield player.
Apart from the haters in pink, everyone else was impressed by his passion and effort, which is a sign of how badly those things HAVE BEEN LACKING over the last couple weeks.
The third midfielder was Old Man CZ, who I daresay looks surprisingly good in yellow.
Disappointingly, it sounds like his play was less than amazing, though his work rate was good.
Plus, the fan sites say he played some useful balls in the second half, so I'm going to assume he wasn't completely awful.
As the only Viola player who hasn't been complete shit over the past couple weeks, Cerci kept his spot on the right, only pushed further forward.
It sounds like he wasn't very good, and was really wasteful in the first half.
In the second he was better and hit the post with a nice shot, but it wasn't enough. Also, Corriere Fiorentino think he should cut his hair. Get on it, Cerci.
Mighty Marco replaced him for the last 15 minutes, but he didn't do much, either. Poor Marco -- even his socks are out of form.
Opposite Cerci was JMV.
Who, in the space of just a few years, has transformed from a loco left back of questionable defensive ability to a striker with short hair and a ferocious left foot. Who would have guessed?
And, look, he can ever wear yellow! Granted, the shorts serve to camouflage rather than spotlight the crotch, but that's not the point here.
Or, at least, it's not supposed to be.
He's still a ways from his best, but it sounds like he made progress this week, and was a great help to struggle!Pasqual in defense.
Unfortunately, with his haircut has come an uncontrollable urge to pummel anyone with lustrous locks. Zac better watch himself on Sunday, is all I'm saying.
Worryingly, it looks as if he may have caught Krol's Gormless Face problem which, combined with the hair, could prove lethal to his charms.
... Ok, no. Nevermind, he'll be just fine. Whew.
While his team were running around on the pitch, Sinisa was hopefully acting out the match on the touchline.
According to Gazzetta, he was pantomiming everything, including being in the wall. If only he could score from over there, things would probably be going much better.
Cos, even though Gila finally broke his duck, this team has all sorts of issues putting the ball in the proverbial back of the proverbial net.
But it sounds like things are getting better, and that Gila is finally looking dangerous.
And, aw -- his ex-captain was there support him through his brief, mid-match nap.
The referee, however, was less indulgent. Meanie.
Gila persevered, though, and when Vargas' cross was wildly deflected, he was a)awake, b)on the scene, and c)onside.
A poacher's goal if there ever was one -- Pippo would be proud to have that one to his name.
And, like Pippo, Gila pranced off delightedly.
And when I say "delightedly," I mean "looking like he just drove over his own dog." That'll show everyone who dared question you, Gila!
Aw, Donadel. Gila can always count on his oldest purple friend to indulge him and act impressed by his attempted antics.
LDS, meanwhile, is just here for the hugs. From anyway. More, plz!
Ready to face Parma with that Great Weight lifted from his shoulders. Or something. Right, Grumpasaurus?
Up next is a visit from Parma on Sunday. Natali, supposedly, will be back, but D'Agostino's status is still questionable.