Torino continued their fine start to the season as they won in Bologna for the first time in 33 years thanks once again to goals from Danilo D'Ambrosio and Alessio Cerci.
The Granata made the one enforced change as Ciro Immobile was unwell, so he was replaced in the starting eleven by Riccardo Meggiorini. Toro made an ideal start and were ahead within two minutes, as home goalkeeper Gianluca Curci was only able to punch Matteo Darmian's cross into the path of Danilo D'Ambrosio who headed into an empty net.
Alessio Cerci almost doubled Toro's lead from long range, but he was denied by Curci who made amends for his earlier error by turning his shot round the post.
On the half hour mark, Bologna equalised thanks to a former Torino player, but it was not the one you may have expected - Rolando Bianchi, who most of the pre-match attention was focused upon. Once again Toro failed to deal with a set piece, and Cesare Natali's initial header was saved by Daniele Padelli, but the rebound fell to the big defender who was literally able to walk the ball over the line.
Bologna almost took the lead moments later, when defender György Garics's long range shot rebounded off the crossbar. Just before the break, Torino also hit the woodwork as Alessio Cerci's free kick from 40 yards out also hit the crossbar.
However, in the aftermath of that incident Omar El Kaddouri was fouled by Francesco Della Rocca in the away and Toro were awarded a penalty. Cerci stepped up to take the penalty himself, and although Curci got a hand to hit, the ball still found the back of the net.
A strange incident occurred at the beginning of the second half, as it transpired that Bologna's goalscorer Cesare Natali was sent off for dissent towards the referee at the interval. Despite having an extra man advantage, Toro failed to extend their lead in the second half - although Omar El Kaddouri twice came close to scoring his first goal for the club.
Torino held on to record their second victory of the season, ahead of a big week for the club that will culminate in the Turin derby next Sunday.
Tuesday, 24 September 2013
Saturday, 21 September 2013
Bologna V Torino Preview
Rolando Bianchi scored 77 goals in 180 appearances during his five years at the club, but left in the summer after his contract expired to join the Rossoblu. The former Toro captain has yet to score for his new club, and Toro fans will be hoping that he doesn't open his account for Bologna on Sunday.
The Granata are expected to stick with the same side that came so close to beating Milan last weekend, as Guillermo Rodriguez has not yet recovered from injury so Cesare Bovo will continue to play in the middle of the back three.
Marcelo Larrondo will also miss out after being injured in the draw at Milan, so Toro's striking options look a little bit lightweight with only Alessio Cerci, Ciro Immobile and Riccardo Meggiorini to choose from.
Prediction
Bologna 1-1 Torino
Sunday, 15 September 2013
Torino 2-2 AC Milan
Torino were seconds away from securing their first Serie A victory over Milan in over a decade but conceded a controversial last minute equaliser from the penalty spot.
As expected, Alessio Cerci returned to the starting eleven whilst Cesare Bovo replaced the injured Guillermo Rodriguez in defence. For AC Milan, Kaka started to behind a front two of Mario Balotelli and Robinho in his first appearance in Italian football for four years.
The Granata made the brighter start, with Giuseppe Vives and Alessio Cerci both going close from long range. Cristian Zapata went closest for Milan just before the break, but his header from a free kick went narrowly wide.
Two minutes after half time, the home side took a deserved lead when Cerci's pass found D'Ambrosio and the wing back cut inside on his favoured right foot to fire a shot past Christian Abbiati. And with twenty minutes remaining, an exquisite through ball from Ciro Immobile found the outstanding Cerci and the Italy international kept calm to double Torino's lead.
And when Daniele Padelli miraculously denied Mario Balotelli from close range, it looked as though Toro were on course for a memorable victory. But with three minutes remaining, Milan got a goal back in bizarre circumstances as Padelli's punch fell to Sulley Muntari and the Ghanaian's scuffed shot found the bottom corner. However, Toro felt that this goal should have been disallowed due to Balotelli being offside in the build up, despite not obviously interfering with play.
Then in injury time, substitute Giovanni Pasquale fouled Andrea Poli in the penalty area to give Milan the chance to rescue a point - and Mario Balotelli continued his excellent record from the spot to deny Toro a famous victory. However, Torino also had complaints regarding the equaliser as in the build up to the penalty incident, they were not allowed to substitute the injured Marcelo Larrondo despite the ball going out of play.
This will feel like a defeat for Torino, but it is important to remember how well they played for 88 minutes, and the fact that it took two controversial decisions to deny them a famous victory. The performance of Alessio Cerci was an obvious high point, but once again the midfield trio of Giuseppe Vives, Matteo Brighi and Omar El Kaddouri also impressed.
Forza Toro
As expected, Alessio Cerci returned to the starting eleven whilst Cesare Bovo replaced the injured Guillermo Rodriguez in defence. For AC Milan, Kaka started to behind a front two of Mario Balotelli and Robinho in his first appearance in Italian football for four years.
The Granata made the brighter start, with Giuseppe Vives and Alessio Cerci both going close from long range. Cristian Zapata went closest for Milan just before the break, but his header from a free kick went narrowly wide.
Two minutes after half time, the home side took a deserved lead when Cerci's pass found D'Ambrosio and the wing back cut inside on his favoured right foot to fire a shot past Christian Abbiati. And with twenty minutes remaining, an exquisite through ball from Ciro Immobile found the outstanding Cerci and the Italy international kept calm to double Torino's lead.
And when Daniele Padelli miraculously denied Mario Balotelli from close range, it looked as though Toro were on course for a memorable victory. But with three minutes remaining, Milan got a goal back in bizarre circumstances as Padelli's punch fell to Sulley Muntari and the Ghanaian's scuffed shot found the bottom corner. However, Toro felt that this goal should have been disallowed due to Balotelli being offside in the build up, despite not obviously interfering with play.
Then in injury time, substitute Giovanni Pasquale fouled Andrea Poli in the penalty area to give Milan the chance to rescue a point - and Mario Balotelli continued his excellent record from the spot to deny Toro a famous victory. However, Torino also had complaints regarding the equaliser as in the build up to the penalty incident, they were not allowed to substitute the injured Marcelo Larrondo despite the ball going out of play.
This will feel like a defeat for Torino, but it is important to remember how well they played for 88 minutes, and the fact that it took two controversial decisions to deny them a famous victory. The performance of Alessio Cerci was an obvious high point, but once again the midfield trio of Giuseppe Vives, Matteo Brighi and Omar El Kaddouri also impressed.
Forza Toro
Saturday, 14 September 2013
Torino V AC Milan Preview
The Granata have not beaten Milan in over a decade, and Toro lost both games against last season including a 4-2 home defeat last December.
Guillermo Rodriguez has been struggling with injury, so Cesare Bovo could deputise - whilst Alessio Cerci should return to the starting eleven after only being on the bench for the defeat at Atalanta.
The returning Kaka is expected to start for AC Milan, whilst former Juventus striker Alessando Matri could also be included alongside Mario Balotelli.
Prediction
Torino 1-2 AC Milan
Tuesday, 3 September 2013
Atalanta 2-0 Torino
Torino fell to their first defeat of the season as they lost 2-0 at Atalanta on Sunday evening, despite the Granata hitting the woodwork on two occasions.
Toro made three changes to the side that beat Sassuolo last weekend, with Migjen Basha, Omar El Kaddouri and Marcelo Larrondo all coming into the eleven. The omission of Alessio Cerci from the starting line up was certainly a surprise, but the Italy international was apparently struggling with an injury.
The home side started brightly, as firstly Giacomo Bonaventura and then German Denis went close for Atalanta, with the latter forcing a good save from Daniele Padelli. At the other end, Omar El Kaddouri almost scored a memorable goal on the counter attack after running from his own half, but he was denied by Andrea Consigli.
From the resulting corner, Torino went even closer as Matteo Darmian stabbed the ball onto the crossbar. And it took a miraculous save from Consigli to deny Toro's other wing back, as Danilo D'Ambrosio almost headed Torino into the lead from close range.
At the start of the second half, an inch-perfect pass from D'Ambrosio put Larrondo through on goal, but the Argentine striker could only hit the side netting with his shot. Moments later, the former Siena man had another excellent chance to give Torino the lead from the edge of the area, but on this occasion he ballooned the ball over the bar.
With Toro missing so many clear cut chances, the inevitable happened after 57 minutes when Toro failed to deal with a free kick and the ball fell kindly to Guglielmo Stendardo who struck it past Padelli to give the home side the lead. However, there were question marks regarding whether the goal should have stood as fellow defender Mario Yepes was clearly standing in an offside position which left Padelli unsighted.
Giampiero Ventura acted immediately as he took captain Kamil Glik off and brought on Alessio Cerci as the team switched to a 4-3-3 formation. Moments after that switch, Toro came narrowly close to an equaliser as Omar El Kaddouri struck an excellent free kick but it rebounded off the crossbar.
But Toro's inability to defend set pieces was their downfall once again, as Atalanta doubled their lead ten minutes from time when an unmarked Stefano Lucchini powered a header past Padelli.
This was a difficult loss for Toro to take considering they were the better team for much of the contest, but they learnt a valuable lesson regarding the importance of defending set pieces properly. However, there were a number of positives also - the performance of Omar El Kaddouri especially - and the fact that they were able to create so many chances, but unfortunately were unable to convert any of them.
Forza Torino
Toro made three changes to the side that beat Sassuolo last weekend, with Migjen Basha, Omar El Kaddouri and Marcelo Larrondo all coming into the eleven. The omission of Alessio Cerci from the starting line up was certainly a surprise, but the Italy international was apparently struggling with an injury.
The home side started brightly, as firstly Giacomo Bonaventura and then German Denis went close for Atalanta, with the latter forcing a good save from Daniele Padelli. At the other end, Omar El Kaddouri almost scored a memorable goal on the counter attack after running from his own half, but he was denied by Andrea Consigli.
From the resulting corner, Torino went even closer as Matteo Darmian stabbed the ball onto the crossbar. And it took a miraculous save from Consigli to deny Toro's other wing back, as Danilo D'Ambrosio almost headed Torino into the lead from close range.
At the start of the second half, an inch-perfect pass from D'Ambrosio put Larrondo through on goal, but the Argentine striker could only hit the side netting with his shot. Moments later, the former Siena man had another excellent chance to give Torino the lead from the edge of the area, but on this occasion he ballooned the ball over the bar.
With Toro missing so many clear cut chances, the inevitable happened after 57 minutes when Toro failed to deal with a free kick and the ball fell kindly to Guglielmo Stendardo who struck it past Padelli to give the home side the lead. However, there were question marks regarding whether the goal should have stood as fellow defender Mario Yepes was clearly standing in an offside position which left Padelli unsighted.
Giampiero Ventura acted immediately as he took captain Kamil Glik off and brought on Alessio Cerci as the team switched to a 4-3-3 formation. Moments after that switch, Toro came narrowly close to an equaliser as Omar El Kaddouri struck an excellent free kick but it rebounded off the crossbar.
But Toro's inability to defend set pieces was their downfall once again, as Atalanta doubled their lead ten minutes from time when an unmarked Stefano Lucchini powered a header past Padelli.
This was a difficult loss for Toro to take considering they were the better team for much of the contest, but they learnt a valuable lesson regarding the importance of defending set pieces properly. However, there were a number of positives also - the performance of Omar El Kaddouri especially - and the fact that they were able to create so many chances, but unfortunately were unable to convert any of them.
Forza Torino
Saturday, 31 August 2013
Atalanta v Torino Preview
After defeating Sassuolo on the opening day, enthusiasm amongst Granata supporters is high, and returning to the location of their most impressive victory in the last campaign - a 5-1 away win - could give them added hope for the season ahead.
New loan signing Giovanni Pasquale, a defender from Udinese, has been included in the squad although Matteo Brighi misses out and should be replaced in the Toro starting eleven by former Atalanta man Migjen Basha. Alexander Farnerud struggled in his league debut last weekend, and it would not be a surprise to see the former Swedish international replaced by Omar El Kaddouri.
The home side began the season with a disappointing 2-1 defeat against Cagliari, and will also be looking to gain revenge as Toro took six points from them last season. Talented striker German Denis will be leading the line for Atalanta, whilst Giacomo Bonaventura is also a player to look out for.
Match Prediction
Atalanta 1-1 Torino
Friday, 30 August 2013
Maratona & Elsewhere #13 : Toro v Sassuolo: “The one in which we’re very rude about Enzo Maresca’s mother”
....pation!
Last week against Pescara didn’t really feel like the real thing, to be honest. More a holiday atmosphere than anything else. The Piemontese equivalent of a “Kiss Me Quick” hat and a stick of rock wouldn’t have been out of place. Much catching up with friends not seen since May, comparing suntans (not me, obviously, being a Barbarian), it felt like an aperitivo, as if we were all just dropping in to say “ciao” en route to another engagement.
But this was the real thing.
In M&E#12 I touched upon the possibility of Enzo Maresca joining the club and the reaction said possibility provoked. Some behavioural psychologists speak of the concept of reinforcement, whereby certain behaviours can be strengthened or increased via reward or punishment. I vaguely recall studying this in Manchester in the late ‘80s in moments of relative sobriety.
We entered the stadium as normal, bought beers as normal. Then the singing started:
La mamma di Maresca è una puttana!
Bastardo non ti vogliamo!
Enzo Maresca gobbo di merda!
Maresca tu sei un figlio di puttana!
I would like to think that the many thousand fully-qualified Granata behavioural psychologists present were merely indulging in some form or another of reinforcement therapy for the benefit of Cairo, Ventura and Petrachi, something along the lines of “don’t you fucking dare try anything like that again.”
[The aforementioned songs and their many variations feature regularly in the Maratona songbook, along with many other popular favourites. In the coming weeks and months I shall endeavour to devise a drinking game called “Maratona Binge-O!”, the purpose of which will be to consume a certain quantity of a particular beverage upon hearing a given song or chant from the Curva. As there are obvious dangers and practical difficulties inherent in attempting a drinking game inside the stadium, this will be a TV-based game for armchair Ultras everywhere, season ticket holders who are unable or unwilling to attend away games, and for anyone who for whatever reason needs a drink when watching Toro. I know how you feel.]
The recently-but-not-dearly departed Angelo Ogbonna also received a “gobbo di merda!” for good measure. It would have been rude to leave him out, after all, and - as my late grandmother used to say -honey catches more flies than vinegar (which puts honey in second place, behind bullshit). I wish him well and hope he enjoys his next few months on the bench at Venaria Town before going to Sampdoria on loan in January in order to get a game before the World Cup comes around.
And so to the announcement of the teams. No prizes for guessing whose names were greeted with the least enthusiasm: Vives and the Meggiorini.
The Ultras still seem to be in pre-season. Perhaps the guys who can find their own arse with both hands are still at the beach? Any way you slice it, the banners (which were made from somebody’s mother’s floral wallpaper and single-sided, so those standing behind couldn’t read them) and general orchestration left something to be desired. The rendition of “Forza! Vecchio! Cuore! Granata!” was the weakest I have heard since my debut against Modena in November 2010.
I will also retain the right to get a little bit pissed off whenever they become so self-absorbed that the game (and others’ enjoyment thereof) takes second place to their collective ego. The €230 I paid for my season ticket was to watch the team play, thankyouverymuchrantover.
Continuing in contrary mood, many people in the Maratona – those in my immediate vicinity and myself included - disagreed with Rob and Peter and with 52% of ToroNews voters in their selection of Vives as Man of the Match. In the Maratona we don’t have the benefit of commentary, action replays and multiple camera angles, but we do have the advantage of being there.
My received wisdom (Maratona level 2, section 213) was that Cerci had a good game and was M.o.M., despite playing out of position for much of the game as a second striker. No surprise that his goal – an almost carbon copy of the beauty he scored at Fiorentina last season – came from the right wing. Honourable mentions also for Matteo Brighi for his goal and all-round first half performance (I hope his injury - an adductor strain, I believe - is a temporary inconvenience), for Migjen Basha who came on in his stead second half, El Pelado Rodriguez and Padelli in goal (who made only nine tackles fewer than Vives, according to legaseriea.it!).
As an aside, four days later 67% of ToroNews readers who responded said they would replace Vives with Bellomo for the Atalanta game! Shall we add “fickle” to “superstitious”, and/or get bogged down with statistics instead? Nah. Let’s not.
I think Ciro Immobile can be happy enough with his performance, if not with the cretinous short corner routine on 80 minutes that led to him receiving a yellow card on the halfway line for what could be considered a professional foul. We had three guys waiting at the far post, for fuck’s sake. The exact same kind of moronic set-piece – I’m assuming we don’t practice set-pieces in training – that all too often last season led to the ball arriving in our penalty area for Gillet to deal with.
I also have to disagree with ToroNews regarding Orsato, the referee. He seemed keen to wave play on when there was no discernible advantage to be had, and there was one comedy moment where he ran 30 metres to bark at Ventura, having just given us a free kick. Ah well, it could have been worse, I suppose; we could have had Bergonzi (who refereed the most recent derby after his short break in Dubai with Beppe Marotta, and the pleasure of whose company we’ll have again in Bergamo next Sunday), or Rocchi, Tagliavento, Peruzzo, Banti or any of the other clowns. Orsato getting a favourable review for being merely average shows you the standard of officiating we have in Italy.
So, for Pescara 3-0 in 2012, read Sassuolo 2-0 in 2013. We saluted our first win and first Fisherman’s Friends of the season with “Tutta la notte, coca e mignotte!”(“All night, cocaine and whores!”) and invited the players to join us under the Curva, which they duly did – cf. the Pescara game.
And what of the new-fangled 3-5-2 formation? I’m not a fan, on the evidence of this match. Kamil Glik doesn’t look comfy on the right of a back three, Darmian and D’Ambrosio aren’t wingers, and Cerci doesn’t play with his back to goal. I’m hoping for a counter-attacking 4-4-2 and Farnerud playing left right out for the Atalanta game, which is yet another 2045 kick-off on a Sunday night. Don’t Lega Serie A realise that some people have to get up for work on a Monday morning?! It’s not exactly conducive to attracting away fans to add to the atmosphere and/or televisual spectacle, either.
FORZA! to our travelling tifosi.
Tune in next time for M&E#14: “Toro 0 - 2 Milan”
F.V.C.G.!
P.S.: Whisper it - fourth place in the classifica! Officially we’re 4th, because (get this) in the event of two or more teams having identical records the tie is broken according to last season’s final league position (shakes head). We’d be 4th alphabetically, too, BUT WE’RE FOUR PLACES ABOVE THE GOBBI.
P.P.S.: Final word on superstitions. Mine is wearing a silver earring in the shape of the Warner Brothers Tasmanian devil –yes, I know I should know better at my age, but I didn’t wear it against Pescara while I did against Sassuolo. And which game did we win? ;-)
Steve is a season ticket holder who moved to Torino in 2009 after meeting a Torinese lady called Raffaella on Facebook - you can follow Steve on Twitter here.
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