File on Fiorentina
Stefano Ursolini reports on sad news for his club and country
After Gonzalo Rodriguez broke the deadlock against Livorno with a header from a corner in the 65th minute, I thought the game might close out without event. Instead, 3 minutes later, the Livorno defender Rinaudi kicked Pepito Rossi on his right knee, the object of 2 operations. Rossi went to the ground, some think the fall might have ruptured the cruciate ligament yet again. He will be assessed by the famous knee surgeon in Colorado as to whether he needs a further operation. It’s a mighty blow for Fiorentina and the Azzurri as he may miss out on the World Cup.
I thought it was a terrible foul and our President Andrea Dalle Valle called Rinaudi a ” farabutto” which, though translated in my dictionary as a ” rascal”, I think a “sh-t” is more accurate. The defender denies any bad intent.
The coverage is much more forensic than a British sports paper. Your papers prefer to report incidents such as the Walcott gesture. The Gazzetta Dello Sport had a graphic of the knee and an in depth analysis of the injury. Poor Rossi who was out for 2 years may never be the same again. Fiorentina are boiling with anger.
