Viola... In English!

Viola Punch Their Quarterfinals Ticket

Most of the starters got some rest as a patchwork Fiorentina squad eased past Ascoli 2-0 to earn a 3-1 aggregate victory in the Coppa Italia round of 16 on Wednesday. 

The first half was characterized by Fiorentina (Semioli especially) missing chances and the occasional chaos in the makeshift Viola back line.  The defense was composed of Balzaretti and Gobbi as right and left backs with Potenza and Mazuch in the center, a bit of a departure for coach Cesare Prandelli who is known for demanding order in his back line.

Pazzini contented himself with setting up his mates with good scoring chances throughout that first half before taking matters into his own hands (feet) scoring both second-half goals.  Interestingly, he did not celebrate either goal but, instead, had a look of defiance on his face.  After the match he would comment that he is upset that the media has lost its fondness for him and that he is on a mission to prove to himself that he can be a success.

It should be noted that Lupatelli was really hung out to dry a few times but rose to every challenge between the posts.  Daniele Cacia made his debut in the Viola shirt but was largely ineffectual over the final half hour.

Next up for the Viola in the Coppa Italia will be the Quarterfinals, beginning with an away match at Lazio this upcoming Thursday.

Videos (all thanks to Tahoma)

1-0 Pazzini    62'
2-0 Pazzini    74'

Match Highlights

Subs
Out                In
Osvaldo        Cacia       65'
Mazuch        Ujfalusi    73'
Pazienza      Pasqual    78'

My take -- I only saw about the last half-hour.  Semioli looked very bad and Mazuch seemed unsure of himself, though I am still very high on him.

Fiorentina-Juventus --- Match Report

The atmosphere was electric as Fiorentina finished up a long tough stretch of matches Sunday afternoon with a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Juventus at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.  More of the same for Fiorentina who dominated time of possession yet failed to turn that dominance into real goal scoring opportunities.

The Viola started off strong and were taking the action to Juventus but that final telling pass was not there.  Fiorentina came closest to opening the scoring right on 14 minutes when Mutu one-timed a ball from well outside the area but it went just over the net of Buffon who stood helpless.

Juventus Strikes First

Juventus always looked dangerous on counter-attacks and finally broke through in the 23rd minute.  Almiron launched a threatening pass towards Trezeguet in the area and Gamberini headed it right into the center of the area to Iaquinta.  Iaquinta coolly shot it past Frey for the opening goal of the match.  Trezeguet was clearly offside on Iaquinta's strike and it could be claimed that he distracted Frey but it was allowed to stand without much argument.

Tactical Changes

At halftime Prandelli brought on Vieri for a disappointing Kuzmanovic and he (Vieri) did seem energetic and played pretty well.  Later he brought on Gobbi for Pazzini and Vanden Borre made his debut on the right wing as a a straight switch for Semioli.

Fantastic Frey

Even though Fiorentina did most of the attacking Juventus had more chances at goal and forced some really fine saves out of Frey.  The French goalkeeper was the one who really kept Fiorentina within reach.

The Equalizer

In the 88th minute, following a short free kick, Gobbi (the player, not the enemy) lofted a nice pass to Vieri in the penalty area who blasted a header toward goal.  It struck Legrottaglie's arm just a few feet from Vieri and the Viola were awarded the penalty kick.  It was fortunate as the header was never going to bother Buffon.  Mutu stepped up and converted the kick in the 89th minute.  Buffon guessed right and got both hands to it but the shot was far too powerful to be saved.

Shenanigans

There was an interesting development in injury time.  Gobbi sent a (surprisingly) good free kick into the area from a dangerous position but Juventus was able to head it out for a corner.  When Gobbi delivered the corner Vieri and Chiellini were battling in the area and body-slammed each other into the ground.  When the players had gotten to their feet Vieri shoved Chiellini twice.  Hard.       

Videos

Buffon's kick save against Montolivo 32'

1-1 Mutu (PK) 89'

Match Highlights

Statistics per Gazzetta

Fiorentina		Juventus
14	Total Shots	6
4	Shots on Goal	3
4	Corners	3
14	Fouls Committed	22
7	Offside	0
2	Yellow Cards	3
0	Red Cards	0
56.7%	Possession	43.3%

DataSport Player Ratings (My comments in purple italics.)

FIORENTINA

Frey 7 - Fine display.  Not to blame for Iaquinta's goal.  Saved Nedved's shot in the 33rd minute that would have sealed the result.  A couple of nice saves but really did not have that much to do.  Nice haircut.
Dainelli 6 -Only lost track of Iaquinta that one time.  The rest of the game he covered his area and marked well.  Very combative.  I liked it.
Gamberini 5.5 - Neutralized Trezeguet who was almost invisible today.  Committed the grave error that allowed Iaquinta to give the Bianconeri their lead.  The error was a terrible one but I think the rating is very harsh as his job was to shut down this season's top scorer and he did.  Even his mistake was a direct result of him shutting down Trezeguet.
Ujfalusi 6.5 - Convincing performance, especially in the first half.  Put a lot of effort into creating dangerous situations ion the attacking phase.  Did well against Nedved.  Attacking much more as of late.  I'm not sold that this is in our best interest.
Balzaretti 6.5 - Worked hard on his flank and gave a lot of problems to Salihamidzic.  Effective also in helping with the marking duties.  I'm telling you.  Our future is Balzaretti.  I'd like to see if he really is as good on the right as on the left.  For Pasqual's sake I hope that he is.
Vanden Borre 6 68' - Entered the game and worked well with his teammates.  I'm not going to say that I am disappointed with his performance I disagree with this assessment.  I just never thought that he was integrated into the squad that much.  Who was, though?  I would definitely like to see him some more and as a right back (He played as a right winger.).
Kuzmanovic 5.5 45' - Did not help out Semioli very much on the right.  Fouled a lot and was booked in the 43rd minute.  Replaced by Vieri at half time.  A bit disappointed.  I'm still very high on him, though.
Montolivo 6.5 - Ran a lot and created situations of numerical superiority in the middle of the field.  Came very close to scoring in the 32nd minute with a nice shot from distance that only Buffon could have saved.  I hate to sound like a broken record but he is just not passing enough.  He is brimming with class but he is just not developing into the kind of player I wanted him to be.
Donadel 6 - Cast a wide net over the center of the midfield.  Also earned some free kicks in dangerous positions demonstrating his tactical maturity. I would have given him at least a 6.5 but he's my guy.  I watch him through violet-colored glasses.
Semioli 6.5 68' - Fine first half.  The Viola offensive movements always started at his feet.  Looked worn down in the second half and was replaced by Vanden Borre in the 66th minute.  Semioli has pleasantly surprised me all season.  Still, though, he cannot hold a candle to Santana.
Gobbi 6.5 68' - Re-invigorated the squad, giving new life to the trident.  He's been playing pretty well as of late and I expect him to start getting more and more of Kuzmanovic' playing time.  Delivered a very dangerous free kick with time winding down.   
Vieri 6 45' - Made some dangerous runs on the counters but the final pass was lacking.  Decisive in winning the draw as he is the one who won the penalty.  I loved the action with Chiellini at the end.  Hilarious.
Pazzini 5 68' - Decidedly disappointing, especially when compared to the Pazzini of last season.  Rarely seen and received little service from his teammates.
Mutu 7.5 - The best one on the field among his side.  Made many fine movements, even without the ball and created several chances at goal.  Valuable, too, in the midfield.  His penalty kick was perfect and allowed his side to win a point.  He just complains too much for my tastes.  Still a fine match and he came close on headers a couple of times.

Attendance -- 40,087 per International Herald Tribune

Fiorentina-Groningen --- Match Report

(Sorry this took so long.  I've been exhausted.  DataSport does not do player ratings for European matches and I could not even find reliable stats for the match so this will just be some of my thoughts on some things plus some videos.  I'll do better for Juve.)

Fiorentina was able to scrape by Groningen Thursday evening on penalty kicks to advance to the Group Stage of the 07/08 UEFA Cup.  It was a tense affair as Fiorentina seemed reluctant to extend themselves with the away goals tie-breaker in the back of their minds.

Mutu and Vieri showed that they really are developing a very good understanding of each other's movements and work well together.  Despite the club telling us that Vieri is at (or near) 100%, though, I think he is far from it.  I know he was reported to be fighting off a fever but he really looked very fatigued to me after about 20 minutes.

This was another of those games where we dominated possession but were not really able to translate that domination into clear chances at goal.  We really look like a side that spent all summer working on a new formation and then changed it on the opening match of the season. Montolivo came close a couple of times and Mutu hit the crossbar but we are missing that last decisive pass to set up a scorer.  Liverani sometimes provides it but he surrenders possession several times for every great telling pass.

Per Kroldrup is really playing on another planet these days.  Where did that come from?  The way that he is playing right now I cannot see too many central defensive tandems in the world better than Kroldrup and Gamberini.  Despite that we looked very shaky defending set pieces.  I'm not sure what the problem is but it was very obvious.  Pasqual continues to make the case for Balzaretti as our left back.

Frey was really the man of the match as he made several great reflex saves and cannot be blamed for Groningen's superb goal.  Pazzini, Montolivo and Kuzmanovic were all bold on their PKs while Santana's was really atrocious.  Mutu's was either very scary or spot-on perfect.

Videos

1-1 Mutu 59'

Match Highlights

Fiorentina - Groningen --- Match Preview

Fiorentina is set for a tough encounter Thursday evening when they host Dutch side Groningen in the second leg of their UEFA Cup first round encounter.  The Viola salvaged a draw with Franco Semioli's second-half goal in the first leg and will need either a win or a scoreless draw to guarantee advancement.  A 1-1 draw would mean that penalty kicks would be used to decided which side advances to the more lucrative Group Stage.

The phrase of the day from the Viola camp is "Groningen First," in reference to Fiorentina's highly charged Serie A match against Juventus just 3 days later.  Fiorentina's new squad depth, however, means that many of the starters for Thursday's match will not be starting on Sunday so do not expect this to be an issue.

Groningen are on a run of good form and have won their last 2 Eredivisie matches.  "The Pride of the North" have recovered most of the players out for the first leg and should only be missing Mathijs.  The player to watch out for, according to Cesare Prandelli, is Uruguayan wingback Bruno Silva.  He victimized Pasqual on more than one occasion in the first match and has even been linked with a move to the Viola side.

The most likely change in the formation below would be Gobbi in Kuzmanovic's place.  Vieri would most likely only go for 60-65 minutes and, with Pazzini expected to start against Juventus, Osvaldo could come on as a substitute.

Dutch 'hooligans' have been fighting with Viola ultras all Wednesday evening with several reports already made.

Most likely formation...

Talking Points

• Groningen was eliminated at this stage of last season's UEFA Cup by Partizan Belgrade.  The Dutch side lost 4-3 on aggregate.
• FC Groningen is known as The Pride of the North or, alternatively, as The Green-White Army.
• The match will be refereed by a German crew led by Florian Meyer. 
• The weather in Firenze is supposed to be partly cloudy in the day with a high of 80°F(27°) and to drop to 59°F(15°C) in the evening.

My take -- I hesitate to even call them hooligans and differentiate them from our own tifosi.  And I'm not saying that our ragazzi are even in the right but it is our city and a beautiful one.  If I was there I would probably do some evil to protect it.  Shameful stuff.  Anyway, I am getting the match on SerieA.tv and I will report on it late tomorrow night or maybe even Friday evening.

Livorno-Fiorentina --- Match Report

Saturday's Livorno - Fiorentina match may not have been as entertaining as Wednesday's shootout with Roma, but it may end up being more significant.  The 0-3 thrashing exorcises the demons of decades of futility in Livorno, the Viola had not won there since way back in 1935.  Even more significant could be the apparent sea change in Fiorentina's away-from-home way of thinking.

The match started out slowly and Livorno was really the side pushing the action for about the first 15 minutes.  Fiorentina were fortunate to not concede a penalty kick in the 7th minute when Kroldrup and Liverani each handled the ball in the area but the whistle remained on the referee's chest.

There were numerous fouls and cards in this one and the match never really got into an aesthetically-pleasing flow.  The game was even halted for a bit in the second half with flares landing dangerously close to Frey's net.

End-Of-Half Flurry

Towards the end of the first half each side began putting more resources into attack.  Things really got exciting in the final minute of the half as Massimo Gobbi raced over and slid in to deflect away a shot by Balleri who was all alone in the area but took too long to prepare his shot.  The action immediately went the other way where Mario Alberto Santana sent in a beautiful cross that found Osvaldo.  Osvaldo celebrated his debut by meeting the cross with a fantastic right-footed volley from an awkward position to send Fiorentina into the locker rooms with an 0-1 lead.

Boys Behaving Badly

Livorno coach Fernando Orsi was sent off at the halftime whistle and was forced to watch the rest of the match from the stands.   Massimo Loviso was sent off in the 62nd minute for a dangerous play from behind on Pazzini who was in full sprint with the ball at his feet.  Giovanni Pasquale probably should have been sent off at some point for his ninja-esque tackles.

Extending An Away Lead?  Huh?

At odds with Fiorentina's typical reaction to an away lead, the Viola continued to press for insurance goals throughout the second half.  Again they were rewarded and again through Osvaldo in the 67th minute.

Pazienza stole the ball a few yards outside of the area and immediately passed to Santana.  Santana spooned it over two Livorno defenders to Osvaldo who chested it down then turned and coolly slotted it past a charging Amelia for his brace.

Two minutes later and the Viola were really feeling it.  Vieri, out on the left, passed towards Osvaldo who was covered by two defenders but the ball got past him to Santana.  Santana took it and dribbled to his left and fired a low shot that took a deflection off of a sliding Rahman Rezaei over Amelia to make it 0-3.

The rout was on and the Viola had several more chances to extend their lead.  The best of these came in the 77th minute when Pazienza delivered a nice long cross to Osvaldo who chested it down and toed it to Vieri who hammered one into the crossbar.

Videos

Gobbi hits the post,  21'

0-1 Osvaldo 45'

0-2 Osvaldo 67'

0-3 Osvaldo 69'

Match Highlights

Statistics per Gazzetta

Livorno		Fiorentina
10	Total Shots	16
1	Shots on Goal	5
5	Corners	7
22	Fouls Committed	27
5	Offside	2
4	Yellow Cards	3
1	Red Cards	0
36.3%	Possession	63.7%

DataSport Player Ratings (My comments in purple italics.)

FIORENTINA
Frey 6 - The French goalkeeper was only involved in administrative duties during the first half.  Even in the second he never had to intervene.  A day off.
Balzaretti 5.5 - Had a lot to do in trying to contain Balleri but did okay.  Made some key stops.  This was the first match where we have seen him come forward and join the attack.  He had a couple of nice crosses and some very nice long passes.  With limited time to watch him I am starting to think that he's better defensively than Pasqual and, honestly, about as good offensively.  How long will Pasqual be our first choice?
Gamberini 5 - Played out of control and took some dangerous chances.  He could only stop Diamante with fouls.
Ujfalusi 6 - The Viola right back played much more advanced than is normal for him.  He was consistently pushing forward and supporting the attack with his crosses.  Pasqual is more likely to cause damage in this role.  He's gotten several scoring chances over the last two games but when he gets these chances he seems to get a bit orgasmic and always ends up blasting it into the surrounding neighborhoods.  Did a very nice job of containing Loviso on a few occasions.
Kroldrup 6.5 - The Dane gave a high quality performance.  He made very few mistakes while offering security to the rear guard. He is playing pretty good, shockingly.  He'll definitely score on some set-pieces this season.   
Santana 7.5 - The best on the field.  Two assists and a goal in the 0-3 thanks to Rezaei's deflection.  It seems as if he has returned to the highest level after his many injuries.  Immense.  Class coming out of his ears.  Always looking to create dangerous opportunities and he delivers awesome corner kicks.  Couldn't be happier.
Liverani 5.5 63' - The midfield pacesetter was exhausted by the time Loviso was sent off.  Prandelli recognized this and replaced him.  I think that he is still very valuable simply for being the one to track back and collect the ball from the defenders before they launch it to the opposing keeper.  He was unlucky not to have an assist as he provided a perfect pass to Osvaldo who had gotten behind the defense but Osvaldo fumbled it.
Gobbi 5.5 54' - Was forced to commit many fouls and exhaust himself in intercepting Livorno's players.  I'm not even sure if he intends to be a midfield destroyer but he is just clumsy enough to make it work.  ;) Not entirely impressive but he was involved in some key plays.
Pazienza 6.5 63' - His is a game of containment.  He really shines for his high work rate.  Clearly the appropriate substitute for Liverani.  Just don't let him shoot...  Ever.
Montolivo 6.5 54' - Prandelli understands that the squad does not run optimally without him on the field.  Inserted him early in the second half and the Viola took off.  Really tested the keeper on a long-range effort.  I really do think he is looking to score too much these days, though.
Kuzmanovic 6.5 - Nice work by the young midfielder.  Always hustling which makes him an important piece for Prandelli.  So much better going forward.  He should get a start in a wide open home match.  I think we'd like the results.
Osvaldo 7.5 - What can be said about a player who, in his debut, scores two goals in superstar fashion?  His first goal, the right-footed volley, was so beautiful that it took everyone by surprise.    Excellent technique.  Excellent goal sense.  Very aggressive.  His ball control, too, was very good.  Very impressed and let's hope it was no fluke because he looks like a keeper.
Vieri 6 65' - Unfortunate because right after entering he hit the cross bar with a left-footed rocket.  It would be his best scoring chance of the match.  He did a good job but, for the situation I think we would have had a better chance of scoring on the counter with a faster front line.
Pazzini 5.5 65' - Not much service from his teammates even though he did some nice work.  The two goals from Osvaldo on his debut will be a wake-up call.  Frustrated.  I agree with all of that.  He really does not look like he is having any fun out there these days.  He was on the bench for Osvaldo's second goal, did anyone else notice the look of doom on his face?

Attendance: About 10,000 per Gazzetta

Fiorentina - Roma --- Match Report

Wednesday evening's highly-anticipated match between Fiorentina and Roma was a rare marquee match-up that actually lived up to the pre-game hype.   The rain began just after the match began and that just further served to keep the defenses off-balance and add to the match's attacking nature. 

Beginnings

Fiorentina began with its familiar 4-3-3 but with a decidedly more attacking mentality.  Fiorentina was getting most of the quality possession when Liverani gave away possession and Vucinic found Mancini streaking into open space on the left past a confused-looking Viola defense.  Fortunately for Fiorentina his shot was high.  Fiorentina did not lose their aggression, though, and Mutu found himself open for a nice chance to score in the 5th minute when his header went wide. 

Fiorentina's biggest obstacles during this early stage were its slack passing (especially Liverani and Ujfalusi) and Roma's occasional counter-attack-in-numbers.  Ujfalusi came close to scoring the opener in the 10th minute while Vucinic had his 11th minute counter-attack goal waved off (correctly) for offsides.

Fiorentina came close again as Pazzini won a free kick and, in taking it, Liverani passed to a wide open Montolivo who fired a long range rifle shot that sailed just over and to the left.  <<I tried to find a video of it but I was unsuccessful.  If you get a chance to watch a replay of the match, store it in your memory...  It will be used again.>> 

Roma Goes Up

Following Montolivo's chance things slowed down a bit.  Several fouls were called and Mexes received his first of what should have been about half-a-dozen yellow cards.  Fiorentina continued to get opportunities with set-pieces; a couple of free kicks from danger areas, one corner and one shoulda-been corner that everyone noticed but the officials.

In the 19th minute Mancini gave Roma their shock lead.  Cicinho began the action on the right with a low pass into the center that Giuly was running onto.  He dummied over it, though, and it found Mancini in the center and just outside the penalty area.  He turned and lobbed a superb finish over Frey who was able to get his fingertips to it but not enough to deny its fate.

Viola Response

Fiorentina responded well to the disaster and continued pouring bodies forward in an attempt to equalize.  The match's next clear goal chance, though, again came to Roma in the 22nd minute.   Vucinic resisted taking his own shot on goal and instead made a nice pass to Giuly racing through the right side of the area.  Giuly took too long to line up his shot, however, and the Viola were able to clear. 

Less than a minute later Montolivo was back trying to get on the score sheet with a long-range low drive that sliced just wide of the post. 

Fiorentina continued to press the issue.  Cicinho headed out a long Ujfalusi cross to set up another Viola corner kick.  A miscommunication between De Rossi and Doni allowed Semioli's corner to reach Gamberini on the far side who drew the home side level with a side-footed volley.

Mutu's Anguish

Following the equalizer things slowed down a bit as both sides gathered themselves.  Fiorentina were trying to press forward, Roma was looking even more dangerous on counters and Mexes was bear hugging Fiorentina players in the penalty area. 

Beginning in the 31st minute Adrian Mutu clearly decided to try to take the Viola on his back.  Pazzini made a run into the area but had the ball stripped by Tonetto.  Following the deflection Doni went down and Mutu found himself 4-feet from the goal mouth with the ball at his feet and the keeper out of the picture.  Cicinho made a hero's entrance, though, and deflected it wide. 

The resulting corner kick also found Mutu unmarked and alone with the ball at his feet in the center of the area.  This time his shot, unmolested, was lined just wide.

Following a long pause as Taddei (injured) was replaced by Aquilani, Mutu again had a clear header off of a corner but Doni made a class save diving to his left.

Disaster Comes In Twos

Almost immediately following Mutu's third missed chance in about 2 minutes of actual playing time; Fiorentina's summer transfer target gave Roma their second lead.  This time it was Aquilani who dummied over Vucinic's pass which found Giuly who blasted it in from the right.

Caution To The Wind

Cesare Prandelli decided to let it all hang out in the second half and that was proven by his unveiling of the much-discussed-and-not-yet-seen 4-2-3-1 formation.   Slow of foot Liverani was replaced by Santana and Fiorentina committed all of its creativity into equalizing for a second time.

The very first minute of the second half saw Fiorentina with a long attacking move that culminated with a deflection that fell to Semioli but his shot went wide.

Tomas Ujfalusi really should have equalized in the 56th minute when he ran onto a ball in the area but he hit it way too tall.

Roma was eating up lots of time with quality possession and still creating good chances while Fiorentina were making a mad dash for goal every time they got the ball.

I Thought Ferraris Were Fast

Bobo Vieri took another huge step into the hearts of the Viola tifosi in the closing stage of the match.  Mutu found him entering the area with a laser perfect pass.  Ferrari apparently overestimated Vieri's speed and instead of walking over and dealing with the intrusion he ran over and slid right through the Viola big man.  Mutu converted the resulting penalty and took his bows.

Videos

AS Roma's Goals

1-1 Gamberini 27'

2-2 Mutu PK 78' 

Pazzini Goes Close

Full Match Highlights

Statistics per Gazzetta

Fiorentina		AS Roma
23	Total Shots	11
5	Shots on Goal	8
8	Corners	3
24	Fouls Committed	19
0	Offside	2
4	Yellow Cards	2
1	Red Cards	0
41.3	Possession	58.7

DataSport Player Ratings (My comments in purple italics.)

FIORENTINA
Frey 6.5 - Mostly tested in the first half.  Attentive when it mattered.
Dainelli 6 74' - Did what he had to do and closed down well.  As with the entire Viola defense he had difficulty against the speed of Roma's counter-attacks.  Was secure enough.
Balzaretti NR 74' - Not rated.
Gamberini 6.5 - Gave a great lift to his squad when he scored the first Viola, not his role but he played it well.  Didn't do much wrong.
Ujfalusi 6.5 - Dangerous in a couple of attacking situations even if his shots were imprecise.  Gave more than a little bit of apprehension to the Romanisti.
Pasqual 6 - A bit of a quiet match compared to many of his teammates.  Tested by Roma's offensive movements.
Santana 6.5 46' - Played only one half but left his mark.  Ran a lot and showed his quality in attack as he is supposed to. Nice outing.  Really provided a spark.
Montolivo 6 - Unsuccessful in showing his best.  Did not take many defensive duties  even if his companions took up the spot.  I like that he is shooting a lot.  I do think that he should also try some telling passes.
Donadel 5 - Sent off for receiving his second yellow card, fortunately the match was just about over.  Played pretty well but did not really shine. I thought he was really a key player for us in the first half.   
Liverani 5.5 46' - Less decisive than usual.  So much so that Prandelli pulled him at halftime.  Delivered some nice crosses but many of his side's problems can be attributed to him.  Too slow for this match.
Semioli 6.5 69' - Nice performance.  In attack he was involved in several dangerous moves.  Unable to score but he was generous.
Vieri 7 69' - His entrance opened up Fiorentina which had been unable to score.  Won the penalty and let Mutu convert it.  Every time he touched the ball he made something happen.  Another quality match.  He and Mutu are developing a very nice understanding of each other.  All that is lacking is the finish.
Mutu 7 - Always so important to his team.  Converted the equalizing penalty and always created dangerous chances going forward.  A bit unfortunate  that he was not able to score one earlier.  Inspired and inspiring.
Pazzini 6.5 - A great match for him.  The most lively player in the Viola attack.  He created chances even if he did not score.  His aerial game is really developing.

Attendance -- 36,056 per Gazzetta

Catania - Fiorentina --- Match Report

Fiorentina won a share of second in Serie A with their unimpressive win away to Catania Sunday afternoon.  Inter Milan, Napoli and Juventus each only won a share of the points in their matches which leaves only AS Roma (10 points) above Fiorentina (8 points with Inter and Atalanta) above the Viola in the points race.

Day of Debuts

Per Kroldrup made his first Serie A start for the Viola this season (he also started Thursday's 1-1 UEFA Cup draw away to Groningen) as the grind continues for Fiorentina ahead of Wednesday's battle for first against AS Roma.  Zdravko Kuzmanovic made his first 07/08 start for Fiorentina in any competition, and only his second ever in the Viola shirt.  Federico Balzaretti made his first ever start in the Viola shirt.  All three débutantes played the entire match.

Mutu's Early Goal

Adrian Mutu won the corner in the 4th minute and then promptly gave the Viola their lead as he was left all alone to head home Santana's perfectly-delivered corner kick.  Fiorentina then immediately switched into counter-attacking mode and spent the next 86 minutes (+6 added minutes) hanging onto their lead.

Best Of The Rest

It was hard for any Viola players to shine in this match as the field was in a shambles and the counter-attacking style left little room for beautiful soccer.  After Mutu's goal the entire midfield and Pazzini immediately morphed into defensive midfielders and Mutu and Santana were responsible for leading the counter-attacks which were generally not very dangerous.  Both players accounted of themselves pretty well. 

Donadel, too, had a good day in the center of the field constantly disrupting the Sicilians' attacks.  Tomas Ujfalusi had a superb match on the right side of defense as Catania really worked to exploit Balzaretti and Kroldrup on the Viola left.  Montolivo played just in front of those two to provide support and did make some important tackles.  It should be noted that Balzaretti did make a win-preserving tackle at the edge of the box in the 87th minute.

Fantastic Frey

Alarmingly, Sebastien Frey was the real key to the whole match as he was often under siege and used his cat-like reflexes to save the victory on far too many occasions.  His distribution was also superior to that of either Dainelli or Kroldrup who continue to simply loft the ball down the field in hopes that Toni can win a free kick in a dangerous position.

Videos

0-1 Mutu 4'

Match Highlights

Statistics per Gazzetta

Catania		Fiorentina
61.6%	Possession	38.4%
58.06%	Territorial Advantage	41.94%
5	Shots on Goal	4
5	Corners	4
28	Fouls Committed	19
4	Yellow Cards	2
1	Red Cards	0

DataSport Player Ratings (My comments in purple italics)

FIORENTINA
Frey 6.5 - Did not have to make crucial interventions in the first half.  In the second half his high level of play guaranteed the win.  In that second half he was constantly threatened but showed why he is one of the best goalkeepers around in deflecting the shots by Tedesco and Mascara.  Make it 7.5.
Dainelli 6 - The Viola captain played a quiet match without any grave errors.  Did well against Mascara on a dangerous header attempt.
Balzaretti 5.5 - Struggled against Sardo's runs in the second half.  Did pretty well in the grand scheme of things even if he did not join the attack at all.  Give him time.  He's our LB and Pasqual's our LM, in my world.
Ujfalusi 6 - The Czech appeared very excitable in the first half, nearly coming to blows with Tedesco.  In the second half he calmed down and played his game.
Kroldrup 6 - Saved the day with some important tackles.  Did a fine job of keeping the action moving even if he did it without much precision.
Santana 6.5 62' - It was his corner that delivered Mutu's goal after only 4 minutes.  Showed some excellent technical skills even if it appeared that Prandelli was unappreciative. Very nice match.  So gifted.
Montolivo 5.5 57' - Not in perfect condition and it shows.  His ankle is bothering him and affecting his performances.  He seems like a completely different player.
Kuzmanovic 5.5 - He has a split personality and is just as likely to create excellent chances with the ball at his feet as he is to fall asleep on the field.  Today the second was more prevalent.  Good in the attacking phase.  Well, duh.  He's an attacking midfielder who was forced to play as a defensive midfielder the entire match.  Same can be said for Montolivo.
Pazienza 6 57' - The bulldog of the midfield.  Plugged the holes in the midfield but never risked joining the counters due to Catania always looking dangerous.  I like the kid a lot.  Reminds me a lot of myself when I played.  Absolutely zero skill on the ball.
Donadel 5.5 - Part of the Viola midfield which, following the early strike, lost its teeth.  Forced to come out to try and harass Edusei and Baiocco.  Unsuccessful at it.
Semioli 5.5 62' - Entered in Santana's place without much impact.  Erred a lot showing that he is still not in top physical condition.
Vieri 5.5 68' - Entered for an exhausted Pazzini in the second half.  Had a good chance 4 minutes from time but Polito denied him his joy.  Slower than me.
Mutu 6 - Came ready to play and the Romanian found the net after only 4 minutes  with a powerful header.  Just missed his brace a little later on a wicked free kick.  In the second half he appeared too spent to join in the action much.  After coming off he remained in the locker room.
Pazzini 5.5 68' - Never received any service due to the team's overall poor performance.  Catania denied  him any chances.

Attendance 18,000 per Gazzetta

Fiorentina - Atalanta --- Match Report

Missed chances were the theme of the day as Fiorentina allowed 10-man Atalanta to twice claw back from deficits and earn a very creditable away draw.  It was a very disappointing beginning to Fiorentina's tour-de-force as the Atalanta match began a run of 7 matches in 22 days for Fiorentina.

Early Lead

No celebrations marked the game's opening goal in the 24th minute.  Confusion reigned as three players collided and the ball bounced meekly into the net.  Liverani had sent in a nice pass to spring Mutu free into the penalty area.  Mutu tried centering it but it was too far in front of Pazzini and Bellini's attempted clearance shot up into the air.  Pazzini leapt to head it in as Coppola (the keeper) tried to punch it away and Rivalta collided with both of them.  Bellini managed one more touch on it after the collision and got credit for the own goal.  The game was paused for a couple of minutes as Coppola and Pazzini were shaken up.  Pazzini left the game and returned wearing a white hair net over a bandage.

Pazzini's Performance

Our young attacker continues to feel the pressure of the constant, and unfair, comparisons to Toni.  Though he was not credited with a goal I thought he played pretty well.  His aerial game looked good (well, not counting the hair net) today and he was able to use his head to set up other players on a few occasions.  Carrozzierri was having a tough time marking Pazzini and was forced to foul him on several occasions before eventually being sent off.

Lackluster First Half

Neither side was able to create many meaningful chances in the first half despite Fiorentina's dominance in time on the ball.  There seems to be a recurring theme developing as in the first halves of matches the Viola are unable to find those last one or two passes to turn a good attacking movement into a solid chance at goal.

The Equalizer

Moments after Carrozzierri was sent off (he picked up his second yellow for a phantom foul, in this author's opinion) Zampagna won a free kick on another poor foul call.  Zampagna was trying to back into Gamberini who simply stepped to the side and allowed Zampagna to lose his balance and fall.  Doni converted the chance, though, on a masterful free kick to level things.

Vieri's First Viola Goal

It was typical Vieri stuff.  A nicely-angled Liverani free kick that Vieri charged in and got his watermelon-sized head to.  Far too powerful for Coppola to have any chance to block it.  Any doubt about the Viola public's acceptance of the big man quickly evaporated as he gave the Viola their short-lived lead.

Time After Time

Fiorentina had several solid chances, mostly through Kuzmanovic and Vieri, to double their margin but the finishing was just a tad bit off and would come come back to haunt them.  4 minutes from time Zampagna drew Atalanta level to stay with a stunning goal.  With his back to Dainelli, Frey and the goal he blindly looped the ball over the Viola stoppers in a world-class (read lucky) move.

Odds & Ends

Kuzmanovic is going to take a lot of the blame for this but I really think we need to give him a break.  Sure, he missed some very good chances but it was his nose for goal that allowed him to have those chances.  He has only started for us once (ever) and it is not an easy thing to find your rhythm when you are playing less than a half per match.  I do expect him to get some starts for us over the next three weeks and we should really withhold our judgment until he has a real chance to impress us.  I think he will.

Mutu looked fatigued from his national team duties and both he and Pasqual left the match with ankle tweaks.

Balzaretti made his debut for us when Pasqual went down.  He looked confident despite the long lay off and I expect him, similar to Kuzmanovic, to get plenty of time over the next three weeks.

The match marked Semioli's first start for us.

Videos

1-0 Bellini (own goal) 24'

2-1 Vieri 73'

Match Highlights

Statistics per Gazzetta

Fiorentina		Atalanta
56.2%	Possession	43.8%
65.46%	Territorial Advantage	34.54%
7	Shots on Goal	3
10	Corners	2
19	Fouls Committed	26
4	Yellow Cards	3
0	Red Cards	1

DataSport Player Ratings (My comments in purple italics)

FIORENTINA
Frey 5.5 Hardly bothered for most of the match.  Surprised by Zampagna's ridiculous strike.
Dainelli 5.5 Did well containing containing the opposing attackers for most of the match but gave Zampagna too much space on the final goal.
Balzaretti N/A 77' Too few minutes.
Gamberini 6 Controlled Zampagna, even if he seemed a bit too tentative at times.
Ujfalusi 6 Had plenty of space to make runs down the right flank but his crosses were generally not on target.
Pasqual 6 77' A constant thorn in Atalanta's left side but still not at his best. He struggled some against the speed of Ferreira Pinto but Atalanta didn't do enough to take advantage.
Donadel 6.5 The player who assured midfield supremacy for the Viola throughout with his runs and his toughness.
Kuzmanovic 4.5 62' Showed great ability upon entering but he is mostly to blame for this not being a Viola win.  Twice missed great opportunities to make the scoreline 3-1.
Liverani 7 A game of two halves.  A forgettable first half but rose up in the second half that culminated in him providing the perfect passes to Vieri and Kuzmanovic.
Semioli 6.5 The Viola player who pressed the action the most in the first half.  Seemed to tire in the second.
Gobbi 5.5 62' Plenty of movement that did not come to much in the middle of the field.
Mutu 5.5 58' The poor condition of the field certainly didn't help.  Never able to put it all together.
Vieri 7 58' A powerful goal just like in the old days and what should have been an assist to Kuzmanovic.
Pazzini 6 Credit to him for the first goal.  Was on the receiving end of many important fouls.  Unable to find the winner on a header at the end.

Attendance - 28,383

AC Milan - Fiorentina --- Match Report

A new-attitude Fiorentina gave the champions of Europe all that they could handle and earned an important away point Monday evening.  It was a match of contrasts, the first 12 minutes were dominated by the Viola, the Rossoneri took control back until 10-15 minutes into the second half when the Viola really took it to them looking for, amazingly as it was away from home, all three points.

Confident Start

The Viola were clearly in control early on.  Fiorentina kept Milan off-balance and exhibited some very nice one-touch passing in Milan's half.  The Viola controlled the tempo and their crosses were well-delivered.   Fiorentina was unable, however, to convert their dominance into real chances on goal and pressure Dida in any way.

The Defensive Third

Sebastien Frey showed why he is the best keeper in the best league in the world; miraculously saving one of Gilardino's efforts in the 14th minute and showing great hands, throughout.  Gamberini is a stud.  He is like that statue of Neptune at the Piazza de la Signoria; strong, proud and fearless.  He has been almost error-free as of late which makes him the perfect yin to Dainelli's yang.  Or, should I say "dang?"  Dainelli nearly gifted Milan a goal in the 20th minute before committing a needless foul on Ambrosini in the 27th minute, the end result of which was Kakà's penalty kick goal that gave the Viola their first deficit of the young season.

Mutu Is Our Man

With the loss of Toni it is clear that the Rossoneri's strategy was to be very physical on Mutu to take Fiorentina's one proven scoring threat out of the match.  The Milan side, and Gattuso in particular, were fouling Mutu hard every chance they got.  He hung tough though and headed in a cross off of some great individual work by Santana in the 56th minute.  That stutter-step move that Santana used on Nesta was genius and allowed him the space to make that perfect (left-footed!!!) cross to Mutu.

The Furious Finish

After the equalizer Prandelli was obviously (incredibly) going for the win.  Vieri and Semioli (who I am delighted to say looks very, very fast) came on and the Viola looked dangerous on several occasions against a beleaguered Milan defense.  Mutu's shot rolled just wide...  Kuzma's shot hit the post...  Fortunately, too, Inzaghi completely whiffed on a ball that looked destined to be the winning goal.

Odds & Ends

I have never been among Prandelli's greatest admirers.  Especially after last season when our away form was so uninspiring.  If we keep playing like this away from home, though, I will be on his bandwagon.  A really great effort. 

Liverani made some really great, decisive passes.  Sometimes, though, he gives away the ball far too cheaply in our own half.  Scary at times.

It was my first chance to really check out our new away uniforms.  I wasn't sure I would like them but they have grown on me.  Very sharp so kudos to LottoSport!

Videos

1-1 Mutu 56'

Inzaghi's Whiff

Match Highlights

Statistics per Gazzetta

AC Milan		Fiorentina
59.1%	Possession	40.9%
50.83%	Territorial Advantage	49.17%
5	Shots on Goal	4
7	Corners	4
24	Fouls Committed	26
1	Yellow Cards	4
0	Red Cards	0

DataSport Player Ratings (My comments in purple italics)

FIORENTINA
Frey 7 - His great stop against Gilardino saved the point.  Nice saves against Kakà and Pirlo.
Dainelli 5 - Only one, but a grave one, error.  Gifted Milan their lead at the penalty stripe with a completely unnecessary foul on Ambrosini.
Gamberini 6.5 - Played without nerves and anticipated almost every move.
Ujfalusi 6.5 - A barrier on the right and adequately assisted the attack with a number of good crosses.  It was obvious to me that he and Semioli do not yet have a very good understanding of each other's movements.  They will.
Pasqual 6 - Oddo gave him problems in the early stages of the match but Pasqual saved face in a very convincing second half.
Santana 6.5 - Very dangerous the entire match.  Santana deserves all the credit for serving Mutu his goal. Santana is right.  We have our "new" winger.
Kuzmanovic 6.5 - Relieved Donadel and aimed decisively for the Milan penalty area.  Made himself available for Semioli's pass near the end but the post denied him the joy of the goal that would have meant a great victory at the San Siro.
Donadel 6 - Good work in the midfield but a bit apprehensive.   Best on the flanks where he could give more depth to the formation.
Liverani 6 - Frequently unseen but important in the second half in directing Prandelli's midfield.
Semioli 6.5 - A good alternative at Prandelli's avail.  He guarantees crosses that will turn into goals for the Viola attackers.  Did a fine job after coming into such a lively match.
Gobbi 6 - Would not be intimidated by the Rossoneri midfield and put in a satisfactory performance.
Mutu 7.5 - Continuously gave the Rossonero defense problems with his dribbling and venomous shots.  The Viola goal was well-earned even if the Rossoneri defenders gave him a bit too much space.  With Toni gone we must hold Mutu to a higher standard and he came through in this one.
Vieri 6 - Entered to the whistles of the AC Milan supporters and he responded by ignoring them and nearly finding a goal.
Pazzini 6 - Wasted some good chances in the first half.  He deserved a goal but Prandelli preferred Vieri over the final half hour.

Attendance 53,559 per Gazzetta

Fiorentina - Empoli --- Match Report

                            

Fatigue from the heat wave battering Tuscany was Fiorentina's main obstacle in the All-Florentine derby.  A flurry of 3 second-half goals in the space of 15 minutes were more than enough to see the Viola side begin the new season much better off than the last.

Montolivo
The first half was very disappointing.  We could not string two passes together and, really, our passing was atrocious from start to finish.  That will come with matches, though.  Our player of the match for me was Montolivo.  His blocked shot bounced right to Pazzini who headed in Fiorentina's first goal.  He also scored Fiorentina's 3rd goal on a beautiful chip from the left.  Montolivo has said that he would be looking to score more goals this season and the first match confirmed this as he tried his luck whenever he was in a decent position.  Montolivo went down injured in the 77' minute when it looked like he twisted his ankle.  The club has said that the injury was actually to his calf and he is being evaluated.  Fiorentina played with 10 men the rest of the way as all 3 subs had already been used.

Mutu
Mutu's goal (our second) was really scored despite himself and he really did not look very good, at all, today.  The goal came on a 2-on-1 (Mutu and Pazzini against Tosto) breakaway with Donadel in support.  Mutu tried to pass to Pazzini who would have had an empty net but the pass was blocked by Tosto.  Mutu worked very well to win the ball back and score with a precise finish.

Their goal
Vannucchi made a great individual effort in injury time to get the ball to Saudati who was streaking down their left.  Potenza had been suffering fitness issues for the entire second half and was on the ground with cramps just a couple of minutes earlier.  He simply was not fit enough to keep up with Saudati.

Videos (credit to Tahoma and SerieA.tv)

1-0 Pazzini 56'

2-0 Mutu  64'

3-0 Montolivo 70'

Match Highlights

Statistics per Gazzetta

Viola		Empoli
50.9%	Possession	49.1%
53.62%	Territorial Advantage	46.38%
7	Shots on Goal	4
5	Corners	4
16	Fouls Committed	17
0	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0

DataSport Player Ratings (My comments in purple italics)

FIORENTINA

• Frey 6 - An ordinary day at the office for the Viola keeper.  He performed well on the few occasions where he was called into action.  Nothing he could have done about the goal.
• Dainelli 6 - He did a good job of controlling Saudati, Empoli's only striker, even if his passes were not very precise.
• Gamberini 6.5 - He appeared to shine brighter than his running mate, Dainelli.  He showed that he is already in good form.  Excellent match for Gambo.  One of the top 5 Italian central defenders, in my opinion.
• Pasqual 6.5 - Struggled to find his way in the first half but had an excellent second half including a powerful, long-range effort that forced a save from Balli. I was most impressed by his hard work against Buscè.  I normally think of Pasqual as a defensive liability but not today.
• Potenza 6 - A diligent performance, without nervousness.  In the first half he had to work very hard to contain Antonini.
• Montolivo 7 - Clearly struggled in the first half but in the second he completely redeemed himself.  The action that led to Fiorentina's first goal began on Montolivo's foot.  Then from his fight foot came the lob that fooled Balli.
• Kuzmanovic 6.5 (sub 45') - Came in to start the second half and contributed to the rise in tempo of the squad which benefited from his angled runs.
• Pazienza 5.5 (sub 45') - Gave an orderly performance on the defensive side but decidedly lacking in his attempts to direct the midfield.  His passing was abhorrent.
• Santana 5.5 (sub 61') - Insignifi