Livorno Visit Sardinian Soggy Bottom Boys

By: Marco Stucazzo | December 1st, 2007

Don’t touch # 9 Bitches!

Livorno are riding the Momentum wave into Cagliari on Sunday. With 10 points in their last 4 matches, the Labronici are kicking Serie A ass. After conceding 9 goals in their first 2 matches, and losing 7 of their first 9 games, they lost 5 straight and drew the other two. Who here expected to see Livorno take 10 points in the last 4? I want names!

Our favourite Burgundy Boys are 16th in Serie A and hovering above the Relegation zone with an uncomfortable 2 point cushion. If they can continue with this on this positive run, they’ll be in a great position come Christmas. I don’t see how the confidence level can get any higher than right now and Livorno need to keep the winning mentality alive. They have tasted victory and are getting addicted.

I’ll say it again but since Giancarlo Camolese took over from the non-Livorno worthy ex-inter dude Nando Orsi, things have been going smoothly;
“We are in a better position than we were a month ago,” said Johnny Camels. “But we still have a long way to go.The important thing is that the team has more confidence in its own abilities. But we must remain humble and remember that we haven’t achieved our aim yet.”

Livorno have won their last 2 games and are looking to add another casualty at the Saint-Elia on December 2nd. The thing that scares me the most is that Cagliari won’t want to lose another game. They are Last of the class with 9 points, with a game in hand (Let’s face it, that game in hand is against AS Roma, the only team worth watching in Rome, so we can pretty much say last place is where they would be anyway)More on the Non-Bolognese RossoBlu further down.
The new TT strike partnership up front has shown some nice promise. The Sampdoria game, where The Amaranto shot 17 times on goal, is a nice indicator of things to come in my book.
Striker Francesco Tavano is on a roll. He had this to say about Livorno’s recent positive run ; “Ours is not a transformation but an improvement.’’ Livorno like a good Wine, Davide Balleri or Christian Pannucci get better and better over time. The Caserta born Striker has been burning nets as of late, scoring 6 already this season. He’s been bagging goals like Sean Connery bags widows at a Nursing Home.

Diego Tristan showed great things during the win against Samp and his first ever Serie A goal could spark the resurrection of Super-Deportivo Diego Tristan. Yes, THAT Super Depor team that smacked ACMilan in the CL in 2004. Plus I can’t wait to see his patented Dirty Sanchez Goal Celebration!

Last 5:

25/11 VS Sampdoria 3-1 WIN!
11/11 @ Siena 3-2 WIN!
04/11 VS Udinese 0-0
31/10 @ Reggina 3-1 WIN!
28/10 @Parma 3-2 loss

Formation :

Jose Vidigal and Antonio Filippini are out injured AGAIN, and Martin Bergvold and Erjon Bogdani will be game time decisions.

Livorno (3-5-2):
Amelia;
Grandoni, Knezevic, Galante;
Balleri, Pulzetti, Loviso, De Vezze, Pasquale;
Tavano, Tristan.

Cagliari

Unfortunately the new official Cagliari song;

They are the official bottom boys of Serie A now. The Sardinian outfit haven’t copped well with the departure of David Suazo and Mauro Esposito. The addition of Acquafresca, Matri and Foggia hasn’t boosted the Rossoblu to the point Massimo Cellini would have hoped for. Acquafresca came in as part of the Suazo deal with Inter; he’s a legitimate aerial threat, a game aspect that has been Livorno’s Achille’s heal since the start of the season. Pasquale Foggia, the little dynamo, is another one that needs to be watched closely. He’ll never become the winger that the Italian NT has been looking for but is a better than decent player and could give the Livorno defence a hard time working behind the Matri and Acquafresca duo.

Cellino recently fired Giampaolo AGAIN and has hired Nedo Sonetti AGAIN!. The new boss will want to start off on the right foot and give the Cagliaritani their first home win since September 30th . Nedo Sonetti had this to say about the Livorno game this week; “We will look to win it but we must be intelligent and be careful not to lose it.”. Basically his fear of losing will overcome the teams will to win . A draw would be a good thing for Cagliari, but Livorno won’t go out without a decent fight. If the Labronici can shoot 17 times against the likes of Sampdoria (ok a Montella and Cassano-less Samp) they should have no problem netting a couple against Cagliari. Not only is Sonetti coaching the likes of Cagliari but he will have to make due without #1 goalie Marco Fortin. I guess it’s not that much of a loss, the Cagliari fans have been calling for the ‘keeper’s head for quite some time now. Antonio Chimenti’s name has been popping up as name to replace the Far-From-fan-favourite-Fortin

Cagliari (4-3-1-2):

Marruocco;
Ferri, Lopez, Bianco, Agostini;
Biondini, Conti, Parola;
Foggia;
Matri, Acquafresca.

Last 5 LLDLD (Sucky, Sucky!)

PREDICTION 2-1 Livorno wins!

Cagliari will be affraid of defeat in this one , so i expect them to defend like crazy and try for the opportunistic goal on the counter. Livorno will dominate and what the hell will win ! Acquafresca will head one in early , Tavano will even up the score on a nice Balleri cross and Tristan will pull out a rabbit from his ass to score the dramatic winner!!
But if i’m betting on this game, i would go with a draw. If Cagliari lose they’re screwed.

Cagliari VS Livorno
Matchday 14
Who: Cagliari (20th, 9 points) vs Livorno (16th, 12 points)
When: Sunday 2 December 2007, 15:00 CET
Where: Stadio Sant’Elia, Cagliari
Where to watch: Streamed on UUSEE Here or Here. BTW if you know how I can get an actual picture and not just a green screen I would appreciate it!

Onwards!