The world of football is in the midst of its revolution: contracts with monstrous sums, agents and agents who command the market, marketing, social networks and rebranding, a change so all-encompassing that it makes us forget the very essence of this sport: Football.
And if for “Soccer” we mean everything that has not been mentioned previously, what remains is the crazy beauty of the last Pisa-Catanzaro, a real modern football poster ended in a draw (as it should be), in which two gaming philosophies clashed that were as similar as they were different in some details which, for now, are making the difference in terms of classificationthe most important detail for football pragmatists.
The match
Ready, go, and Catanzaro comes out with yet another applause-worthy shot. This time, it is a scheme well prepared in training and carried out perfectly by the Vandeputte-Pontisso duo, but not only that, because to free our Friulian director to shoot there is a choral work of all the components present in the penalty area: Sounas makes the classic crescent to come out taking the man away while Ambrosino, Biasci, Antonini and Brighenti throw themselves in at the same time. The result is a quadruple block train that allows Pontisso to coordinate and smash the door. Catanzaro draws his advantage in training and executes it on the pitch.
Once the ice is broken, the real game begins game pure to very high intensity. If Catanzaro is now a consolidated machine, on the other side there is a growing Pisa with one of the most interesting coaches on the scene. Aquilani, having overcome the traumatic impact of the first round, is demonstrating excellent tactical qualities and the great performance against the Giallorossi is proof of the Tuscans’ great moment of form. Both teams play openly, zero speculation, no simulation, just a lot want to play football and scoring goals. The first half ends 0-1 for the Eagles but the flow of the match suggests that it will never, ever end like this, because in the first half the Pisans came close to equalizing on several occasions, first missing the goal following a crazy exit by Fulignati, then committing the same to the save on a deflected shot.
The second half begins at the same fiery pace as the first 45 minutes. Bonfanti smashes the crossbar and Catanzaro is saved again, but those who really love football ignore the crossbar to celebrate the brilliant assist from Alessandro Arena, the Sicilian born in 2000 with Baldanzi-like movements, in turn compared to Dybala and specifically taken by Roma as his replacement. Exactly just over a year ago, Braglia said about Arena, when some strong player in his career treated him: “Arena? In Spain he would play in the best 5-6 teams in La Liga.”.
And while Arena enchants with its plays, on our side one stands out Ambrosino possessed. The boy from the Napoli school, having well passed the settling-in phase, is now in the midst of his season and it is a pleasure to see him play with quality and pace. The youngster seems to know how to do a bit of everything, and he does it well: he comes to take the ball in mid-field and protects it to then open up play, he dives deep to provide new game solutions and even self-launches the ball to the foot taking advantage of an uncommon speed. This time it’s not just physical arrogance, because just like in the first leg he rewards himself by scoring the second goal with a flat shot which apparently closes the game, reaching 3 in the championship.
Games closed only apparently, because in front of Catanzaro there is a Pisa very much alive and with enough cold blood to continue grinding, building from the bottom, looking for the right spaces to hurt. And if luck smiles on the Giallorossi for 74 minutes, only 7 are enough to completely reverse the flow of the match. First Moreo from the corner with a third time as a basketball player, then the former Marin in the final minutes with a deviation from Pompetti, bring us back to planet Earth and the match ends inexplicably on a low and boring rhythm, almost like a self-destruction induced by the chaos of a spectacular match but full of errors.
Is it genius or madness?
In the analysis of the match, the defensive horrors committed by both sides, for which it is right to open a specific chapter.
Between a rash exit from the front by Fulignati, a backward pass by Scognamillo and a Pisa that in the 63rd minute allows a 2vs1 between two furies like Vandeputte and Ambrosino, Pisa-Catanzaro reconfirms itself as a manifesto of modern football also due to some inexplicable choices that are increasingly common in the new interpretation of this sport.
Despite the beauty and fun of an unquestionably spectacular match, both Pisa and Catanzaro demonstrated limitations in the management of some moments, most likely dictated by a constant search for that specific type of game. Construction from below And very high defensive line they are the basis of our recent successes, but sometimes it becomes inevitable to risk harming oneself with one’s own hands, see Catanzaro-Brescia (2-3) And Catanzaro-Modena (1-2). Having thwarted the two potential scoring opportunities, Pisa decides to commit suicide by conceding the second goal with an inexplicable 2 against 1 in an open field which attracted the attention of many Fiorentina fans, with their coach, Vincenzo Italiano, at the center for months of criticism for having conceded several goals, above all Bowen’s 90th minute goal in the UEFA Conference League final and Rafael Leao’s goal in a recent Fiorentina-Milan match at the end of March, due to this unscrupulous tactical structure. And it will not be a coincidence if, with Italiano increasingly distant from being the Viola coach for next season, transfer rumors point to Alberto Aquilani as a possible replacement.
Vivarini “masterclass”: why is playing always the right choice?
Having analyzed the spectacular match, all that remains is to make sense of this new football.
To the genius-madness question, it is impossible to give a clear answer in one sense or the other, because Catanzaro has both things in his hands, a football genius it’s a crazy visionary. At the end of matchday 35, Catanzaro is mathematically in the play-offs and they will play them at least from sixth place upwards, an unthinkable result if one considers the value of the squad compared to real battleships built to the tune of millions, forced to suffer the spectacular dribbling of Vivarini’s boys throughout the year.
Among the various goals achieved by the coach, it is important to highlight the quality of the game and the winning mentality installed like a virus in the mind of every single player, day after day since that fundamental November 30, 2021. Catanzaro, however their season ends, has been able to rewrite a page of football that goes beyond the mere result, with a team always willing to play, to put on a show, to satisfy the spectator’s desire for football and the desire to improve of a coach capable of changing shape and becoming pragmatic when it is right to do so, as in the Derby won against Cosenza in which Vivarini he managed to combine an excellent defensive scheme with proven playing qualities. The mentality brought by the coach and supported by the club is now evident, the Giallorossi take to the field only and exclusively to win even at the cost of making some mistakes, and regardless of the final result the feeling upon leaving the stands always remains sweet, demonstrating functioning gaming system which, despite its spectacular aesthetics, allows the club to increase its appeal at an international level and above all to economically enhance its squad, factors that are anything but trivial in a modern football in which being sustainable is the basis for a reality like Catanzaro.
With the play-offs in the bank and only 3 days from the end of the championship, all that remains is to continue enjoying this spectacle, convinced of the fact that, for Vivarini’s Catanzaro, playing is always the right choicethe basis for a winning future.
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