Roma v Livorno
And here it is, game number eight versus a Tuscan side this season. As devastating as the trips to The Poobah's home have been (that much ballyhooed "Curse of Tuscany" rearing its ugly head), its been equally as delightful to host that rascals.
In Tuscany:
Fior 2-2
Empoli 2-2
Livorno 1-1
Siena 0-3
Hosting Tuscany:
Siena 2-0
Fior 1-0
Empoli 2-1
Here's to hoping the trend continues.
Aside from superstitions and black magic and tomfoolery and all that jazz, I'm not looking forward to this game one bit. It wasn't simply the fact that Roma was in its most dreaded province the last time around or that the Armando Picchi had been declared a state of emergency with water levels higher than New Orleans during Katrina (also making it yet another occasion Totti has walked on water); it was mostly that Livorno countered Spalletti's men well and fully deserved their point. If you recall, they eschewed the team bus in favor of hauling the team plane onto the pitch and they parked that SuperBus in front of the goal for nearly the entire game, having no less than 37 men in their own box at the same time. And now we get to see their away tactics. Nice. Have they called in the Italian navy for this one?
It's hard to score with that much space closed down and that many angles nullified, but it's a doubly as hard when the guy between the sticks is pretty damn good. Goal-a-game saver. I believe this is the one game where everyone was bemoaning the lack of a tall striker who can rise above the defense and get on the other end of a cross instead of watching Ludovic "I'm A Grownass Man And I Still Can't Get On Amusement Rides" Giuly fail to outleap a cricket. Still no tall striker, still searching for someone besides Grumpy Old Man River to leap into a cross regularly (and Rodrigo Taddei's face).