Audible Sigh

By: Ted | January 18th, 2009

Yesterday in Milan the Beckhams defeated the Viola 1-0 in league play, extending Fiorentina’s skid and sending them further from their goal of qualifying for the Champions League next season. With another tough mach coming up in Turin vs. that team in the hideous black and white stripes, things could very well get more grim before they get better.

Things started out on a down note yesterday when the Viola had a penalty called in its favor reversed, which seems to have halted their early momentum and contributed to the inevitable Pato goal that soon followed. It was surprising, then, that that was the final goal of the game, as both teams defended tenaciously (and sometimes desperately) and neither club could put the ball in the net. With a bit more luck our boys could have gotten the draw and a point, but will have to be satisfied with a good effort, and hope that they can turn things around this weekend, with another important Saturday game coming up. Some of the faithful, however, are starting to see the season slip away a little bit. Let’s hope that slide is arrested soon.

Here are a few other random thoughts from the match:

• Apparently Gila watched the hideous late 1980s Chevy Chase film “The Invisible Man,” and decided to do his best impersonation during the match. This does not help your reputation for coming up small in the big games, my man. We needed you to play big with Mutu out. Presumably you wanted to stick it to your old club. All this does is give more ammunition to Douche Gattuso.

• Speaking of the douche, I don’t actually believe he was injured. You see, Italy has a “only one douche on the field at a time” rule, much like they had a limit on foreigners in the 1980s. Since Becks took up their douche slot, Gattuso had to sit.

• I’m a big man. When I’m wrong, I say I’m wrong. Santana has been fine lately. I like him playing in the hole behind the strikers much more than on the wing. His passing creates danger in the box. He’s just not dangerous in the box himself.

• The problem playing with Santana in the hole, however, is that you can tell from yesterday’s match that is exactly where my precious Jovetic wants to play. He’s not an out-an-out striker. He plays deeper. He was also, I believe, the most dangerous player on the pitch in a Viola strip. When he has the ball at his feet, you can almost see opponents panic before your eyes. Imagine what you will see him do in four years. My precious…

• I was a little concerned with the midfield, aside from Santana. I thought Melo was good and tough in the back, but Kuz was almost as invisible as Gila, and Monto was a bit of a puzzle. I thought he created real danger with his long-range shooting (some of which was breathtaking) but became curiously disengaged from the match for stretches, and I felt he could have fed a few more balls into the box. I am a bit tough on Monto, perhaps, but with that talent he should be held to a higher standard.

• Vargas has been getting a lot of stick from Fiorentina fans, including some on these boards, but I’m just not seeing it. He plays like an old fashioned wing that really gets forward and creates a sense of danger in the opponents final third. And he runs like a dog the whole game. He may not be the world-changer he was hyped to be when we got him, but I think he’s been fine.

• Per Koldrup: You’re killing me.

At the end of the day, there’s no way around it: Milan beat us, and we needed at least a point. Looking at how things played out yesterday, we could have gotten three. Instead, we are sitting further back in the table with a tough opponent on the way. I think we need to see a repeat of next year to get our hopes turned around again in a dramatic way.

But keep the faith, everyone. We have a lot of road yet to travel. Forza Viola!