Palermo v Torino: That’ll Do

People, for a team full of washed-up old men, Torino are awfully good. Despite having a ludicrously shaky defense, they’re tough as nails and damn hard to play against. Palermo have been rampant so far this season, even when they were losing to Roma, but they really struggled to find fluidity against Toro, albeit partly because Miccoli was getting fouled every time he tried to explode somewhere.After Fabio Simplicio’s early goal (which stemmed from useless defending and an unfortunate deflection as much as anything else), Toro settled down and managed to keep possession well, though the absence of Nicola Ventola was seriously limiting their options in attack — there was a lot of lovely passing between the midfield and the defense and many long balls forward (Hooray, Corini!), but nothing particularly threatening ever came of it.

In the second half, though, Torino came into the game and even dominated stretches, with Alvaro Recoba and little Rosinaldo — yes, I’ve finally given into the awful nickname — combining increasingly well. Eventually, that pairing created Recoba’s first goal for Torino and very nearly got Rosina another, but he shinned the ball over from the top of the box (which somehow led to Walter Novellino losing his mind and being sent off for dissent). Recoba must be deliriously happy right now — he loves being able to roam all over the field, and at Torino he can drop all the way into his own end and face the field with the ball at his feet, doing whatever the hell he wants.

Torino screwed up a couple FANTASTIC chances late and couldn’t let the game end without some hairy moments at the back, but the point was well-deserved, and when the whistle blew, the crowd at the Renzo Barbera were torn between whistles of dismay and wild cheering of their departed hero Eugenio Corini (who was his usual solid self and well-deserving of their adoration).

[Also: BOBO SCORED! WOO HOO!]

Category: Corini, Palermo, Results, Serie A, Torino

Tags: Corini, Palermo, Recoba, Results, Rosina, Serie A, Torino

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