Let me just start this by saying.......WHAT A FANTASTIC GAME!!!!
I finally got to see a full game involving Palermo and they looked great. Not at all out of place or scared. They played to win, which made this match an enjoyable one to watch. Gasbarroni (for the Juve folk who didn't get to see it) was fantastic in the first half,. Pace combined with technique and creativity. He drifted off to the left and attacked from the middle as a support striker very well.
Anyway, here are some key points from the game that stuck with me...
-VDM picked off from where he left off in the CL. His form was awesome, very lively and threatening whenever the ball was played to his side. He and Ze Maria combined so well.....Ze Maria especially had a fantastic outing (back to his late Parma early Perugia years, man) He still has enough pace to go along with his brilliant tackling, passing, crossing and freekicking taking.....what a useful pickup he's been.
-VDM's run into the middle in the 14th minute......rockman
-Cruz's fantastic swerving cross to Stankovic that almost led to a goal........infact, he had 2 great opportunities to score, but he was very unselfish and looked for Adriano instead (something you'll hardly see from Vieri) His first touch, ability to volley the ball and create goal scoring chances for others from the half line or in the box is just amazing. He should definitely be considered ahead of Vieri, no questions about it, man
-Materazzi's battle through out the match with Luca Toni......rockman, seriously, though, football associations should consider implementing a rule that makes players wear elbow pads...those elbows are serious weapons out there, man...ones made out of wool or something that'll smoothen out the elbow and lessen the impact of elbows to the face and neck area (nothing hurts more than being elbowed in the adam's apple, cheekbone, or the bridge of the nose......)
-beautiful ball from Veron to Ze Maria and an even better cross into Adriano by Ze Maria........Veron's genius passes make up for his lack of stamina and pace....one of the most intelligent distributors of the ball, man.
-David's run outside of Palermo's 18yrd box.......tremendous stuff from him, man......Adriano should've done better to finish that one off.
-Massive respect goes out to this Luca Toni kid. The most I know of him is some minor press clippings and his exploits for my Palermo team in CM. He's helped us defeat the likes of AC Milan and Roma, but seriously, his touch and finishing is superb....he's gotta be right up there with Gilardino, man. They're both the next protoypes of Vieri.
-Adriano........enough can't be said about this manchild beast...he puts so much effort into his kicks, attacks and recovery of the ball that I get scared that he'll pull his hamstring again like he did last season making that fantastic run down the middle for Parma (shudders) He's got the work rate of someone like Davids and combines that with his Godly pace, power, technique and finishing. The perfect footballer, man. He'll make plays for you both with his skill and determination, man.
You'd think (if you hadn't caught this match) by this positive post that we annihilated Palermo or something, but in all actuality, we drew with them in an evenly contested match. Palermo deserved what they got out of this match, man.
but the crossbar disappoints me. Inter should have won this game.