Sunday, Bloody Sunday

By: The Offside | February 16th, 2008

I promise not all weekend posts will reference classic songs. Some, not all.

While it’s nice to see all the big fellas get their Saturday in the sun, it’s leaves much to be desired on Sunday, when The Other Sixteen get to dust off their booties and kick a ball around. Luckily enough, we’ve Derby della Lanterna to quench our calcio thirst. Other than that…far from sexy. (Well, maybe one other.)

No “six pointers” to speak of, with all the current relegation zone teams taking on formidable opponents, although Siena at home with Torino could provide some zebra-striped points.

Genoa v Sampdoria: I know it’s a derby, so it’s about “the shirt” rather than individual matchups, but I’m looking for this to be decided by either Antonio Cassano or Marco Borriello. Which means the bragging rights of the city are going to be decided a formerly pudgy, petulant little toddler who cries on the pitch for one and a guy who failed a drug test via stiddies cream on the other. Great day for Genoa.

Napoli v Empoli: The Battle of the Sucky Runs. Both teams have won once in their last 8 fixtures, Napoli against Udinese and Empoli against Lazio. That might change or it might not. (That was your Intelligent Thought of the Day.)

Reggina v Udinese: Udine’s favorite club has been plummeting as of late with only 4 points in 5 games, while Reggina has, well, plummeted. They’ve also taken only 4 points in 5, but that’s no big surprise.

Palermo v Cagliari: Battle of the Islanders. Alright, battle of one team which is on an unexpected “hot” streak and one which has unexpectedly sucked ass lately. Amauri & Fab Mic will be missing, but that shouldn’t matter. If Palermo fails to take the full 3, look for Franky G to be picking up unemployment on Monday. Hell, if Palermo wins 5-0 he might be unemployed Monday morn. As always: love calcio.

Lazio v Atalanta: The Other Nerazzurri have scored at least 2 goals in each of their last 4 games. Lazio’s back line? Porous. I’ll call a 3-1 victory for Atalanta. And it breaks my heart. Really does.

Fiorentina v Catania: I think this is the sleeper great game of the weekend….though Catania rarely plays their best away from home (that’s me almost changing my mind mid-sentence). But I’ll stick with it and say keep your eyes on this one. Especially Giampaolo Pazzini, who has slowly and quietly been starting to fulfill some of that massive promise. And watch him on the turn. Kid’s something special.

Siena v Torino: While Viola v Sicilians may be the sexiest game of the weekend, this one will probably be the unsexiest, also known as The Luis Figo.

Welcome to the new Italy Offside. (I hear Martha’s footsteps already.)