The big news out of Florence over the last few days is that the club has sold Pablo Daniel Osvaldo to Bologna for seven million Euro. This sale comes immediately on the heels of the sale of my man Pazzini to Sampdoria, and may suggest that Osvaldo, for all of his talent, was real poison in the changing room. We all recognize that this move has left the club awfully thin up front, especially with talented striker Adi Mutu having an especially injury-prone season. No official at the club, however, has said anything other than politely wishing him the best, suggesting the team really thought it was time for him to go. Considering the fact that he has played for the U21s, has boatloads of talent, and already had a signature moment with the club (his bicycle kick goal which secured us a place in the Champions League) he may really have been a disruption behind the scenes.
In other news, rumor has it that Marco Donadel, Sergio Almiron, and, well, basically anyone else in a purple shirt might be for sale. We’ll see. I don’t think anyone will lament the loss of Almiron, but if we lose one or two more quality players people are going to start using terms like “fire sale.”
There are also rumblings of the sort that suggest Fiorentina is not getting a fair shake from the refs. (See here, here, and here.) No one here needs the history of Italian football rehashed, but everyone involved should think carefully before making serious allegations like these, and when they are made, they should be treated with seriousness. Due to the history of the league, there should be little other choice.
Finally, I know I was down after the Milan game. Sometimes it's tough to keep one’s chin up when you lose a potentially winnable match. But it’s water under the bridge, and I’m just looking forward to our next opponent, the indomitable Newcastle United.