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Phalanx Prophecy: Fiorentina Overlooked
With terms culled almost exclusively from a happy childhood of Astrix & Oblix comics, Goal.com's Zac Lee Rigg presents a weekly forecast of the upcoming Italian Serie A games.
Oct 2, 2009 3:31:13 AM
Poor Fiorentina.
In all the hullabaloo surrounding the “Should Leonardo be fired?” talk and discussions of what went wrong for Liverpool in its 2-0 loss in the Champions League, no one is giving the Florence club credit of bringing about Liverpool's defeat, let alone holding the Reds scoreless for the first time in 24 matches.
Four years ago, when an upstart Liverpool surprised an established Juventus side in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez meekly pointed out that Juve was strong down the middle so he set up a roadblock there. He didn't even need to mention his statement's corollary: that Juventus was weak on the flanks. Liverpool held Juventus to just one goal over both legs.
Viola boss Cesare Prandelli could very well have made the same remarks as the Spaniard did nearly half a decade ago. The Italian tactician packed the midfield, kept the wide midfielders tucked in tight, and squeezed the one-two punch of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres out of the match. Without space through the middle, the onus of the attack fell to Liverpool's wide players, who were lacking both inspiration and pace.
That set the stage for a Viola attack that out-harried and out-worked Liveprool's usually rigid defense. A man-boy by the name of Stevan Jovetic sealed his name among the top prospects on the planet with a first half brace, but perhaps more important was the revival of Adrian Mutu, relishing more freedom in the lone striker position with Alberto Gilardino suspended.
There is plenty left to figure out for this Fiorentina side (including off the pitch, where Andrea Della Valle recently stepped down as president, though not as owner, and where the club still lacks a proper training facility), but while the rest of the media buzzes about the wounded giants of Milan and Liverpool, Fiorentina will quietly enjoy its win before returning to “reality.”
“We know now that we can handle playing against anyone,” Viola winger Marco Marchionni noted of the Liverpool win to Corriere dello Sport.
“I guess we’ve enjoyed the moment, but we have to get back to reality now, and look towards our next two matches against Lazio and Juventus.”
With that in mind, Phalanx Prophecy gets back to reality itself and previews the upcoming Serie A action being televised in the United States. Matches are ranked according to levels in the old Roman army, from centurion to legionary, with some civilians that didn't make the broadcasting cut tacked on to the end.
Centurion – Udinese @ Inter
Saturday, 2:30 p.m. EST
Fox Soccer Channel
The last time Inter returned from midweek Eurpean action, Jose Mourinho's men scraped a narrow win over Cagliari without particularly impressing. Coming off a lackluster draw with Rubin Kazan (and, before that, a rough loss to Sampdoria), Inter will be both tired and furious. It's unclear which emotion will have the stronger pull. One possible tipping point is the fitness of Wesley Sneijder. Inter has yet to win this year without the Dutchman providing the link to the attack, partly because Mourinho has experimented with a fairly ineffective 4-3-3 when Sneijder misses matches.
Key man: Antonio Di Natale (Udinese) has scored eight goals this year to lead Serie A. Udinese has scored 10. Shut him down (a feat only managed by Napoli thus far this year), and Udinese is a much simpler prospect. Let the Udine captain run amok, and prepare to be punished.
Prediction: Inter win. Mourinho isn't about to let his side lose consecutive league games, much less at home.
Optio – Napoli @ Roma
Sunday, 9:00 a.m. EST
Fox Soccer Channel
These clubs seem to be going in opposite directions. Roma have found stability and renewed purpose under the calming hand of new coach Claudio Ranieri, brought in to replace Luciano Spalletti after two matches. Napoli look a scattered tactical mess under the hapless Roberto Donadoni, in charge since the beginning of the season. Look for one of either Francesco Totti or Fabio Quagliarella to take control of the match; whichever does could win it for his club.
Key man: Aurelio De Laurentiis (Napoli) admitted last week that Donadoni was the wrong hire and that he would do it differently if given a chance. A poor result against Roma could spur the Napoli president into some revisionist history by wiping the club clear of Donadoni.
Prediction: Draw. Roma may suffer a touch from fatigue after playing in the Europa League midweek.
Decurion – Juventus @ Palermo
Sunday, 2:30 a.m. EST
Fox Soccer Channel
“We will find our way and get back on track,” proclaimed Palermo coach Walter Zenga after a draw with Lazio left the team with six points from six games. “We need to make sure things like this won’t happen again,” declared Juventus coach Ciro Ferrara after his team slumped to a draw with Bologna, missing out on an opportunity to go top of the table. Which team uses Sunday's match to reignite its season remains to be seen.
Key man: Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus) could make his season debut after recovering from injury. If the legendary Juve captain is fit enough to see the pitch, he's fit enough to do major damage.
Prediction: Juventus win. This Palermo side doesn't look sprightly enough to nick anything here.
Legionary – Catania @ Bari
Saturday, 5:00 p.m. EST
Fox Soccer Channel
The only reason this match is seeing airtime is that there are no other games Saturday (bar Inter's). Television honchos Stateside will have hoped American businessman Tim Barton's proposed takeover of Bari would have gone through by now, but the Texan failed to pay the deposit on the deal, effectively pulling out of the takeover. The newly-promoted Bari has turned some heads with impressive draws against Milan and Inter, but it's the matches against relegation strugglers Catania that will really make the difference come season's end.
Key man: Giuseppe Mascara (Catania) is capable of hitting some bombs from as far back as the halfway line. He has yet to prove it this season, so keep an eye out if he's given room on the ball anywhere in the opposition half.
Prediction: Draw. Bari's only win this year came against the dire Atalanta. Expect another tie.
Civilians
Two matches to keep an eye out for include AC Milan visiting Atalanta and the aforementioned Lazio @ Fiorentina game. U.S. fans in particular could have a vested interest in Milan's match as Alessandro Nesta pulled up injured in the club's midweek Champions League loss to Zurich, meaning U.S. international Oguchi Onyewu played his first minutes of the season. With Daniele Bonera and Thiago Silva still out in central defense, he could be set for a starting role if Nesta cannot recover in time.
Besides general curiosity about how Viola will respond to the mammoth Liverpool win, there's the added intrigue of former Lazio fullback Lorenzo De Silvestri possibly facing the club he forced himself out of only weeks ago.
Zac Lee Rigg is an associate editor of Goal.com
Keep up to date with Serie A and Italy news with Goal.com's Italy page
In all the hullabaloo surrounding the “Should Leonardo be fired?” talk and discussions of what went wrong for Liverpool in its 2-0 loss in the Champions League, no one is giving the Florence club credit of bringing about Liverpool's defeat, let alone holding the Reds scoreless for the first time in 24 matches.
Four years ago, when an upstart Liverpool surprised an established Juventus side in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez meekly pointed out that Juve was strong down the middle so he set up a roadblock there. He didn't even need to mention his statement's corollary: that Juventus was weak on the flanks. Liverpool held Juventus to just one goal over both legs.
Viola boss Cesare Prandelli could very well have made the same remarks as the Spaniard did nearly half a decade ago. The Italian tactician packed the midfield, kept the wide midfielders tucked in tight, and squeezed the one-two punch of Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres out of the match. Without space through the middle, the onus of the attack fell to Liverpool's wide players, who were lacking both inspiration and pace.
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There is plenty left to figure out for this Fiorentina side (including off the pitch, where Andrea Della Valle recently stepped down as president, though not as owner, and where the club still lacks a proper training facility), but while the rest of the media buzzes about the wounded giants of Milan and Liverpool, Fiorentina will quietly enjoy its win before returning to “reality.”
“We know now that we can handle playing against anyone,” Viola winger Marco Marchionni noted of the Liverpool win to Corriere dello Sport.
“I guess we’ve enjoyed the moment, but we have to get back to reality now, and look towards our next two matches against Lazio and Juventus.”
With that in mind, Phalanx Prophecy gets back to reality itself and previews the upcoming Serie A action being televised in the United States. Matches are ranked according to levels in the old Roman army, from centurion to legionary, with some civilians that didn't make the broadcasting cut
Centurion – Udinese @ Inter
Saturday, 2:30 p.m. EST
Fox Soccer Channel
 |
Key man: Antonio Di Natale (Udinese) has scored eight goals this year to lead Serie A. Udinese has scored 10. Shut him down (a feat only managed by Napoli thus far this year), and Udinese is a much simpler prospect. Let the Udine captain run amok, and prepare to be punished.
Prediction: Inter win. Mourinho isn't about to let his side lose consecutive league games, much less at home.
Optio – Napoli @ Roma
Sunday, 9:00 a.m. EST
Fox Soccer Channel
These clubs seem to be going in opposite directions. Roma have found stability and renewed purpose under the calming hand of new coach Claudio Ranieri, brought in to replace Luciano Spalletti after two matches. Napoli look a scattered tactical mess under the hapless Roberto Donadoni, in charge since the beginning of the season. Look for one of either Francesco Totti or Fabio Quagliarella to take control of the match; whichever does could win it for his club.
Key man: Aurelio De Laurentiis (Napoli) admitted last week that Donadoni was the wrong hire and that he would do it differently if given a chance. A poor result against Roma could spur the Napoli president into some revisionist history by wiping the club clear of Donadoni.
Prediction: Draw. Roma may suffer a touch from fatigue after playing in the Europa League midweek.
Decurion – Juventus @ Palermo
Sunday, 2:30 a.m. EST
Fox Soccer Channel
 |
Key man: Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus) could make his season debut after recovering from injury. If the legendary Juve captain is fit enough to see the pitch, he's fit enough to do major damage.
Prediction: Juventus win. This Palermo side doesn't look sprightly enough to nick anything here.
Legionary – Catania @ Bari
Saturday, 5:00 p.m. EST
Fox Soccer Channel
The only reason this match is seeing airtime is that there are no other games Saturday (bar Inter's). Television honchos Stateside will have hoped American businessman Tim Barton's proposed takeover of Bari would have gone through by now, but the Texan failed to pay the deposit on the deal, effectively pulling out of the takeover. The newly-promoted Bari has turned some heads with impressive draws against Milan and Inter, but it's the matches against relegation strugglers Catania that will really make the difference come season's end.
 |
Prediction: Draw. Bari's only win this year came against the dire Atalanta. Expect another tie.
Civilians
Two matches to keep an eye out for include AC Milan visiting Atalanta and the aforementioned Lazio @ Fiorentina game. U.S. fans in particular could have a vested interest in Milan's match as Alessandro Nesta pulled up injured in the club's midweek Champions League loss to Zurich, meaning U.S. international Oguchi Onyewu played his first minutes of the season. With Daniele Bonera and Thiago Silva still out in central defense, he could be set for a starting role if Nesta cannot recover in time.
Besides general curiosity about how Viola will respond to the mammoth Liverpool win, there's the added intrigue of former Lazio fullback Lorenzo De Silvestri possibly facing the club he forced himself out of only weeks ago.
Zac Lee Rigg is an associate editor of Goal.com
Keep up to date with Serie A and Italy news with Goal.com's Italy page
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