I only have a few minutes today, but I wanted to officially report, “Fiorentina Offside” style, that my man Giampaolo Pazzini has been sold to Samp. In return we apparently got 9 million Euros for him, as well as a season-long loan of Emiliano Bonazzoli that includes an option to buy. Thus we get a decent player and some dough in return for a kid who, a few years ago, was thought of as one of the up-and-coming strikers in all of Italy.
Generally, most Viola fans wish Pazzini the best of luck. At least as long as that luck doesn’t interfere with our luck, anyway. Pazzini always struck me as a team player, a good kid, and a guy who hustled and wanted to do well for the team. Whenever he missed a chance to score (which was uncomfortably frequent this season) you could see the look of pain and embarrassment on his face as plain as day. Many think he will be rejuvenated by playing with Sampdoria, particularly as he will be fed by nutty ole’ Antonio Cassano. That surely won’t hurt him, but I also think Pazzini was a player that thrived on confidence, and playing for a new club that obviously believed in him should help him almost as much.
As for Bonazzoli, well, I don’t know too much about him. I watched him play for Samp a few times but didn’t think much either way. He can play in the hole behind Gila, so apparently he could start this weekend, and he knows the Great man and his system fairly well since he played with him at Parma. We shall see, I guess, how he does this weekend.
I should be back tomorrow for a preview of an odd game; apparently Fiorentina is going to play David Beckham in a football match. One would assume our highly skilled team could defeat a single man in a football game, but that would enormously underestimate Beckham’s magnificent and sublime skills. No word yet on whether the Beckham’s will actually field 10 other players to assist their star man as he defeats us single-handedly, but I expect not.
One final note; this week is the one-year anniversary of me writing for the offside. That doesn’t really look that impressive in print, but you have to remember that you measure offside years in dog years, so it seems like seven years. But it seems like seven fun ones.