How much influence did the two Aussies (Bresciano & Grella) have on either/or both games ? Would they have been missed (or not) by Parma if the AUS FA had insisted they play for the AUS NT at the Confeds Cup ? Thanks in advance.
The Aussies were essential. Bresciano was a key, taking some of the defensive pressure and attention from the Morfeo - Gila axis in the front. He had a scorching shot from a distance that Pagliuca tipped over the cross-bar in the second half. He's been a very good player for us over the last couple of years. Grella occasionally struggles with passing, but he's a pit-bull in front of the defense. That was no different last night. Not a pretty player but valuable in substituting Bolano, who's often out with injuries or disqualification.
Sorry, I didn't answer your question. YES, the Aussies definitely would've been missed, in both games but above all in the first when we had two-thirds of the team out with injuries and disqualifications. "Grazie" to Frank Farina and the Australian Soccer Fed.
I just want to give a big congratulations to Parma on staying in the first league! Great comeback guys Also a fairly late congratulations for eliminating us from the Uefa-Cup, and sorry for burning down your visitors section, hopefully it's ok now
I'm glad Parma are staying up. Because if they went down it could have been the end of the club. But now you got to do it all over again next year. And with all the expected departures it could be even harder to stay up next year than it was this year.
By the way, that woman announcer on RAI international was boring as hell. I wanted to take a nap hearing her speak.
I watched it on Gol TV because my parents are visiting and I know it's irritating to have a language you don't understand on the TV. Glad I did, I guess. It was a thrilling game, and the English announcer was very into it. Anyway, congrats to Parma - I feel for old Carlo Mazzone, but Bologna just didn't have the team. All they could do was blast it in towards Tare and hope something could happen. His effectiveness at getting to most of those crosses really surprised me, but nobody could take advantage. It just wasn't their night. My favorite part - shown on Gol TV, not sure about RAI - was when Carmignani was seen grabbing the phone in the stands and yelling into it. They then showed his assistant on the bench, who was yelling back into his phone. After he hung up, it was easy to read his lips: "Che minchione".
Best news I've had in a while. I had to go out of town and I was cut off from everything. This is unbelievably awesome, I didn't know if they could do it. Nice good-bye present from Gila, eh? Anybody know if/when it will be reshown (GolTV)? FORZA PARMA!
allycks, Thanks for the feedback. Glad they were of some assistance. FWIW we missed them too, especially Marco.
Congrats to Parma.... Been pulling for you guys all season and very happy to see Parma triumph and even more so that the goal that made it possible came from my boy Alberto Gilardino!!! Also spare a thought for Bologna, very good Serie A team, shoicking last part of season and with Serie A this tight all this season was inexcusable and impossible to escapethe drop eventually!
The teams that are usually coached by Mazzone are prone to be relegated. Just out of curiousity, what does "Che minchione" mean?
I would have preferred to have seen Siena get relegated. Parma and Bologna have a great history although in Parma's case it is more of a 15 year thing. Siena are nobodys compared to the two playing in the playoff.
He's a very important figure in the Socceroos midfield. Australia's performance would have been better if Bresciano was available.
"Minchia" pronounced MEENK-YA is a Sicilian dialect word, adopted as a funny 'bad word' in Italian, that refers to the penis. So 'che minchione!' is like "what a *ick-head!"
Re: Relegation Playoff vs Bologna Frank Farina (AUS Manager) is reported to have quit today, partly due to the AUS poor performance at the Confeds Cup. I hate having been right on this one. See FFA page:http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/public/article/show.asp?articleid=9260&menuItemID=
Bummer for Frank Farina. Sorry to hear about that. The conflict with the Conf Cup was unfortunate, but it was crucial to get the players rested for the play-off. All things considered, this play-off wasn't even that 'late' if you think about it. I mean, that was over two weeks ago, which is ancient history compared to the Serie B play-offs which only just wrapped up and the Conf Cup itself which is STILL on-going.