Buona sera. Big win for the Viola tonight in beautiful Florence, as Fiorentina never squandered their advantage from two first half Mutu strikes despite dangerous Lazio strikers Zarate and Rocchi tallying a goal apiece. This sees the Viola through to the semi-finals of the Coppa, and they will take on the winner of Inter and Juve. Either way, it is nice to see the boys advance and get one step closer to what would be the first trophy to come to Florence since the 2001 Coppa Italia at the height of the impending financial crisis. Roberto Mancini coached in that game, and my main man Nuno Gomes scored the goal that brought home the cup against Parma.
I must confess that I was not able to watch the game, but the team site has the highlights up:
After watching, its clear that Mutu has the fire back. He has been incredible since 2010 began, and now we just have to cross our fingers that he can stay healthy and fit to keep his contributions coming. With Mutu's swag right and a healthy Jo-Jo, this team will be able to score enough goals to finish in the top 4, scare the hell out of Bayern Munich and make a strong challenge for the Coppa Italia. Without him, there will be a hell of a lot of pressure on the Gila Monster, and while he's been great at Fiorentina and is the perfect striker for Prandelli's 4-2-3-1 system, he's best if he doesn't have to do all of the scoring himself.
El Gringo
So, a new central midfielder has been added to the mix for the Viola. His name is Mario Bollati and he's made a handful of appearances for Argentina, and comes our way via Porto and a loan deal where he impressed for Huracan. Per wikipedia, he's 6'2'' and a half and I think he's more of a sit in front of the back four type of a central midfielder, so he'll probably compete with Donadel for that role. Zanetti and RIckyMonty are more of deep-lying playmaker types. Since Zanetti and Lars are pretty much made of glass at this point in their careers, and since Fiorentina are still alive in 3 competitions, another solid option in the center of midfield is very important and I'm sure he'll get his opportunity to impress. I might have to call into this show and see if Tim Vickery can tell me anything more about him. I'm dying to know if he'll provide some defensive steel in the Viola midfield. And since my fiance will be out of town and I have a lot of chores to do around the apartment while she's gone, I just might be home on Friday night to place the call. More ViolaChannel goodness below (apparently he's "El Gringo" on account of his blond hair):
Ok, that's all from me for tonight as I was feeling lousy earlier and I need to catch up on my rest. I'm off to watch my man Bear Grylls try and survive some inhospitable place, hopefully eating something incredibly gross along the way. I'll be back, probably Friday, with a preview of Sunday's match against those loathsome pink Sicilians. Peace.