Those goddamn jail uniforms!
By: bingitz2002 |
4 Comments
Seriously. What’s so appealing about playing in black-and-white stripes? It looks like you’re doing time, not playing football. (I suppose it suits Juventus however.) Nonetheless, i gobbi are not the focus of our efforts this weekend (though the derby is soon!), this Sunday we welcome Udinese to the Stadio Olimpico. This is a tricky match. Last season we lost this fixture 0-1 to a cracking free kick from Simone Pepe, so needless to say we need a different result this time around.
Now, I could spend time and use some space writing a bunch of stuff, but this Gazzetta graphic tells the story perfectly:
Perhaps the most notable thing about our starting lineup is that Monzon is planning on starting Gasbarroni lining up as our fantasista instead of Rosina. This is a bizarre decision to me. Rosinaldo has been in good enough form to keep his place. What I would suggest is starting Gasba on the left wing instead of Diana, who has never really impressed me there and should certainly not replace Abate. However, Diana does bring a lot of hard work and stability to the table, while Gasba is a bit of an unknown quantity and probably not as good at defensive responsibilities as Diana. To me, its all a question of balance. We could tilt the scales in favor of attacking, but that’s a dangerous thing to do against a squad like Udinese. On the other hand, if there is ever a game we need three points from, it is this one. We could go for attack and sacrifice one of our more attacking center mids, but that would likely be Corini, who I would see as integral to a positive result tomorrow. I still like the idea of putting more into our attack and possibly having Dzemaili drop back a little bit or even switch out for the more defensively capable Zanetti, but it seems now we will have to wait for whatever surprise El Monzon springs on us next.
I can’t write much more because I have to get to the airport early tomorrow morning, but I will leave you with a prediction: Torino 1-0 Udinese, Gasba to open his Toro account. Unfortunately, we have not beaten Udinese in this fixture (or at all) since the 2001-2002 season, but I that has to change some time and what better time than now. FORZA TORO PER SEMPRE!
Category: Game Preview/Review
These are interesting times (to be a Toro fan)
By: bingitz2002 | 2 Comments
Ladies and gentlemen,
These seem like bleak times for Torino. We have dropped points to all of our relegation rivals (though fortunately only one of those, that ugly 2-5 to Bologna, was a loss). We are currently sitting in 18th place, far off track of the “magic 40″ points that are necessary for survival.
We do have some reasons for optimism though. One of those reasons came in January when Cairo finally appointed a Director of Sport in Rino Foschi. This gives us hope in a number of ways. First of all he is a pretty good DS, having worked at Palermo and most recently Genoa where he orchestrated their successful transfer campaign this summer. Furthermore, he is fully committed to saving Torino from relegation. “How?” you may ask, especially considering that the transfer market is complete. The answer is that he is a figure in the management that the players can respect and are comfortable dealing with, as opposed to Cairo, who has done all he can to alienate our best players, most notably Rosina and Sereni. By providing an link between the team and the management, Foschi can can help improve the attitude of the players. I find it no coincidence that the morale in the dressing room has improved since Foschi’s appointment.
Another factor we have to take into consideration is Eugenio Corini. When Corini was out injured we had perhpas the worst spell of our season, the one that really led us to the troubles we are having now. “Il Genio” brings a certain dynamic to the team that no other player we have can bring. He is not only a natural leader, but a veteran with vast amounts of experience in his career. His legs may be going, but he’s still a very smart and technically skilled player. Having him on the pitch will give the players the confidence they need to start winning games they might draw and drawing games they might lose. He is pegged to start against Udinese this weekend and I cannot be more thankful.
The last factor is something that has been blogged about recently in the main blog. This is Mr. X, now revealed to the world as Raffaele Ciurcarriello, a wealthy Turin-based businessman and a lifelong Torino fan. (I am under the impression that Cairo too is a Toro fan, but the way he runs the club you wouldn’t know it.) He is prepared to offer €100 million for the club and is reportedly ready to spend plenty more in the transfer market. The €100 million figure is well above what it is worth and what Cairo acquired it for. However, Cairo being the stubborn fool that he is, has now said he won’t even talk to Ciurcarriello’s lawyers, making this a right pain. Mr. Cairo, if you love this team, then you need to let it go!
So, despite what the pundits may think, all is not lost. We can potentially turn our season around on Sunday against Udinese. (Unfortunately, I will be in transit at game time.) The Mr. X ordeal won’t get resolved before the end of the season, but should we survive we will have a great set-up with his money (and hopefully brains) as well as Foschi’s expertise on the market. Even if we go down perhaps it’ll persuade Cairo to realize that his project has failed and that it would be best to sell the club. Interesting times? I think so.
Category: Team NewsHere’s the dealie-o
By: bingitz2002 | Add Comments
I’ve been here on and off. I’ve been ghosting around here for a little bit and I see some posts and comments lamenting/commenting on the fact that there is no active Torino blog, and for that I apologize. When I agreed back in August to write on this blog, I sorely underestimated the time I would have to devote to it. Back to the now, I have been traveling through South America for the past month or so. Soon I will be settling down in Chile to study there until July. This means I will probably not get to watch as many Toro (or Serie A) games as I would like, nor will I be able to write more than once-twice a week, if that. I will try to update this when possible and do a better job than I have, but if there is anyone reading out there that wants to help me out, or even just occasionally post something of interest to the blog, then I would be more than happy to work with you. Torino deserves a regularly updated blog, and I can’t always promise that.
That being said, I will try to get something in soon.
Category: Team NewsTorino Legends: Il Grande Torino, Pt. 2
By: bingitz2002 | 6 Comments
Despite a bit of euphoria from the fact that we have now won two of our last three games, it is looking to be a slow week for Toro, one in which we can recuperate and get ready for a difficult away trip to Sicily next Sunday in which we might see the return of Matteo Sereni. In the meantime, I’m going to continue something I started a few months ago when I started writing here and continue with my pieces on Toro history. I started with the first part of the Grande Torino legend, so today I will continue with Part 2. For those of you who need a refresher, here is Part 1. And now, enjoy Part 2, covering the war years and the first post-war scudetto: Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Torino HistoryI’m Baaack!
By: bingitz2002 | 4 Comments
Some of you, I hope alot of you, will get the reference I made with the picture and title, for those of you who don’t, to answer your question, no that is not what I look like. Anyways, after election craziness here in the states and an avalanche of work, I feel the inspiration to write again. I wish I could say it was the team that inspired me, and in a way they always do, but if I were to pick a word to describe Torino so far this season, inspiring would probably be towards the bottom of my list. Nonetheless, a win today has boosted my spirits a bit, even if we played like a Serie B at times. At least Palermo was crappier.
Looking Back, Looking Forward
By: bingitz2002 | 1 Comment
Looking back at our defeat against Inter, nobody can say it was really unexpected. While we all like to spring a surprise, we hadn’t won at home against Inter since 1994. Of course it was also that long ago that we last won a Serie A opener, but this time it wasn’t to be. Inter generally bossed us around but we showed some dangerous moves, forcing a few great saves out of Júlio César and hitting the woodwork twice. However, Inter’s quality told at the end of the match. However, there were more worrying problems in the match than our predictable defeat. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Game Preview/ReviewReggina-Torino Match Preview
By: bingitz2002 | Add Comments
Tomorrow we are going to Reggio Calabria to face Reggina, a team that has miraculously survived a couple times now. It will be an emotional return to the tip of the boot for a couple Toro players, but the whole team will be concentrated on getting a full three points from this match and maintaining the excellent start we’ve had. Things won’t look too different from two weeks ago, so as long as De Biasi gets his tactics right we can probably score a win here.
Category: Team NewsPlaying Catchup
By: bingitz2002 | Add Comments
So, I’ve had a pretty stressful week or two, between moving back into school and various personal/family issues, but now everything’s falling into place and I’m back to blogging. Luckily, not a whole lot has happened in the world of Toro thanks/no thanks to this two week international break we’re having. I swear, FIFA needs to do better than having its international match dates just as the European season is starting, though I wouldn’t mind an earlier Serie A start either. Also David Di Michele has left Torino on loan and probably won’t be welcomed back two kindly and we played two friendly matches, with mixed results. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Team NewsTorino 3-0 Lecce and the End of the Mercato
By: bingitz2002 | 5 Comments
We won! It is the first time we have won a Serie A opening match since 1993, so that is a noteworthy achievment in my book. However, we should not get carried away with ourselves. Our goals were fairly lucky and Lecce hit the post twice. That being said, we definitely deserve to have a bit of luck on our side. Also, we see the end of the mercato today. Although it was a pretty satisfying one, seeing some of the last day signings made me a bit unhappy (Stendardo and Basta to Lecce, Milito to Genoa, Kerlon to Chievo especially) as I feel we could have certainly done better.
Torino-Lecce Preview
By: bingitz2002 | 2 Comments
After months of anticipation, transfer dealings, and meaningless friendlies, the time has finally come for Serie A to kick off. While we will see Udinese host Palermo and Sampdoria host Inter in two exciting matches on Saturday, Sunday will be the moment we Toro fans have all been waiting for. Will our team perform after a questionable (but admittedly not finished) mercato? Can we score some goals now that Amoruso and Bianchi are in the fold? Can we start our season off strong after two poor starts in a row? These are some of the questions that will be hanging over the heads of Cairo, Pederzoli, De Biasi, et al as the ball gets rolling at the Olimpico.
Category: Game Preview/Review
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