Posts Tagged ‘Walter Mazzarri’

Sampdoria 2-2 Roma: Pazzini Illuminating Marassi, Julio Baptista Turning Its Lights Off (Serie A Matchday 28)

Sunday, March 15th, 2009

Sampdoria's forward Antonio Cassano, left, tussles with AS Roma's midfielder Marco Motta during a Serie A soccer match between Sampdoria and AS Roma at the Ferraris stadium in Genoa, Italy, Sunday, March 15, 2009. (AP Photo)

As far as entertainment goes, today’s Sampdoria vs. Roma had all the ingredients required of a soccer match: goals, cards (of various colours), and… oh yes, this is Serie A after all, reffing mistakes. For a Sunday morning, it certainly beats waking up to watch Chelsea vs. Manchester City I think… (bitter? who me?).

But in all seriousness, I got up early today primarily because I was curious on just how Spalletti would handle his injury crisis (as a Juve fan I can relate, you see…) and I have to say the Giallorossi can be pretty satisfied with their final 2-2 result, especially given the turn this game had taken after Motta’s red card. Can we talk about the “post-elimination aftershock” I was mentioning in Juve-Bologna? Partially. A draw certainly isn’t the best way to rebound from an Champions League elimination. It must also be said Roma’s roster featured nearly 1/3 of Primaveras.

Discussions aside, the match was also (very surprisingly) a game of redemption for Julio Baptista (who had been so terrible mid-week) and (less surprisingly) one of confirmation for Giampaolo Pazzini, whose entente with Cassano is screaming more and more of perfection.

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Sampdoria 3-0 Inter: Cassano & Pazzini Put Three Holes in the Nerazzurri Battleship (Coppa Italia Semi-Finals, First Leg)

Friday, March 6th, 2009

Coppa Italia 2008-09 - SF L1 - Sampdoria vs. Inter Milan

“A big Blucerchiati slap in the face”: there’s little more to be added for José Mourinho after Coppa Italia’s Sampdoria vs. Inter Semi-Finals match. Thanks to the goal by Cassano, the brace by Pazzini, and the saves of Castellazzi, Sampdoria walked all over their Nerazzurri opponents Wednesday, virtually putting one foot and a half into the big final match in Rome.

After conceding three vs. Roma on Sunday and three vs. Sampdoria yesterday, one has to wonder what on Earth is going through the minds of Inter’s defensive line-up at the moment (and particularly, the man picking them out). It wouldn’t take a big stretch of the imagination to postulate José’s anti-Juve and anti-Roma rant earlier this week, psychologically (and adversely) affected his team’s concentration & tranquillity. Or perhaps was it the team had already their minds set on the UCL return leg vs. Man Utd?

Either way, after taking much time to point out Milan and Roma would finish the season with “zero titles”, Mourinho seems to have thrown one out the window himself. For it is hard to foresee any way in which Sampdoria can blow their 3-0 lead at San Siro in two weeks’ time, so good was the entente between Antonio Cassano and Giampaolo Pazzini. One was the assist-provider and playmaker, the other the ruthless finisher in front of the net. Comparisons are already being drawn with Vialli/Mancini. Call it coincidence, but the last two times Sampdoria eliminated Inter (1988, 1994) they went on to win the Coppa Italia trophy…

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Sampdoria 2-1 Milan: Cassano & Pazzini Sink the Rossoneri Boat (Serie A Matchday 26)

Monday, March 2nd, 2009

Sampdoria 2-1 Milan: Cassano & Pazzini Sink the Rossoneri Boat (Serie A Matchday 26)

February just isn’t AC Milan‘s month. With the exception of a (valuable, but unconvincing) victory obtained against Cagliari, the Rossoneri’s performances since their 3-0 thumping of Lazio have been punctuated by mediocrity. They tied to Reggina, lost the Derby della Madonnina to Inter, and got eliminated from the UEFA Cup. Sunday’s match against Sampdoria marks the latest day of a very rainy month for Carlo Ancelotti, his team decimated by injuries and persecuted by fate.

As for the Blucerchiati, perhaps getting rid of European cup engagements was not such a bad thing. Well rested after skipping their mid-week fixture, Cassano & Pazzini were in fine form to provide the winning goals for their team today.

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Metalist 2-0 Sampdoria: Unmotivated Blucerchiati Say Bye-Bye to Europe (UEFA Cup Round of 32, 2nd Leg)

Thursday, February 26th, 2009

Metalist players celebrate after scoring a goal against Sampdoria during their UEFA Cup soccer match in Kharkiv February 26, 2009.  (REUTERS)

Motivation. A determining factor in sports games, and one that can often turn the tide of insurmountable odds in your favor. A factor that was also completely absent from the minds of Sampdoria‘s players Wednesday, as they travelled to Ukraine’s Metalist in the hopes of overturning a 0-1 first leg deficit.

Indeed by taking a look at the team sheets right before even the match had started, it was very clear Mazzarri & friends had travelled to Kharkiv primarily out of fairplay: Cassano, Palombo, and Delvecchio had all stayed in Genoa, with only the latter on the injury list. With the incumbent match against Milan this week-end and next week’s Coppa Italia fixture vs. Inter, something’s gotta give: the UEFA Cup evidently, wasn’t high on the Blucerchiati priority list this year.

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Sampdoria 0-1 Metalist: An Ukrainian Surprise in Genoa (UEFA Cup Round of 32, 1st Leg)

Thursday, February 19th, 2009

Sampdoria's Antonio Cassano reacts during their UEFA Cup soccer match against Metalist at the Ferraris stadium in Genoa February 18, 2009.  (REUTERS)

As top mediocre decent-but-not-quite-decent-enough clubs of Europe gathered to play UEFA Cup’s Round of 32 Wednesday night, Sampdoria vs. Metalist Kharkiv stood out like the a bad note during a melodious symphony.

For a team who had not lost at home for 12 consecutive European games and who eliminated clubs like FC Sevilla to get to this stage of the competition, the Blucerchiati sure dropped from very high up today. In a performance almost diametrically opposed to the one in Turin, Cassano & friends played an uninspired game, with no energy or verve. Even the two doubtful penalty non-calls in the second half (foul on Bellucci and handball in the box) aren’t enough to justify a lacklaster performance, and it will take Mazzarri some serious work next Thursday (February 26) to overturn a 1-0 deficit no pundit would have expected prior to this match.

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