There were strong winds present at the Stadio Sant’Elia on Sunday afternoon when AC Milan came to visit, but unfortunately for all those associated with Cagliari, they were not the winds of change, just adverse weather conditions, which did little to help the home side’s cause.
The Sardi took an unlikely lead after 28 minutes, with Marco Sau converting what proved to be his team’s only shot on target; Andrea Cossu did well to pile pressure on Riccardo Montolivo in the opposition penalty area as the Italian international passed the ball back to ‘keeper Marco Amelia.
The custodian’s badly scuffed clearance only reached the edge of the 18 yard box, and fell kindly for Mauricio Pinilla, who proceeded to chip a delightful through ball into the path of the on-running Sau. Daniele Bonera’s attentions weren’t enough to stop the 26-year-old from grabbing his fifth goal of the season, as he chested the lofted ball down, clipped the ball onto his right foot and side-footed in, to send the fans behind the goal into raptures.
It was a crucial strike, and for the best part of an hour, it looked as though the Isolani were going to pull off a famous home win which hadn’t been achieved against the Rossoneri since the 1998-99 campaign, when Tiziano De Patre’s 19th minute effort gave the Rossoblu victory against a Milan team which would go on to lift their 16th Scudetto that season under Alberto Zaccheroni.
This was a time when the legendary Paolo Maldini, George Weah and Oliver Bierhoff lined up in red and black, and although the current crop of Diavolo talent isn’t of the same calibre, defeating one of Serie A’s seven sisters is never something to turn your nose up at when you are a club of Cagliari’s modest standing.
At the weekend, the Sardi were threatening to do just that, with Vlada Avramov in sparkling form between the sticks, denying the Milan forwards on no less than six occasions; He made at least three key saves, and kept out some vicious efforts by Mario Balotelli and a point-blank header from Keisuke Honda, all despite the strong winds which were blowing in his direction.
One has to wonder if this form was inspired by the rumours about a possible move for Queens Park Rangers custodian Julio Cesar, with the Serbian perhaps keen to prove his worth to the club’s hierarchy in light of recent troubles in the goalkeeping department for the Rossoblu.
Atalanta youth product Michael Agazzi started the season as Cagliari’s number one, but due to a sharp dip in form was replaced by 34-year-old Avramov in mid-November, a move which coincided with an upturn in fortunes and a run of seven matches unbeaten for the Sardinians.
Following a domestic incident which saw the Serb cut his hand on a glass bottle after the turn of the year, he was forced to hand over the gloves to Adan for the away trip to Chievo on January 5, with the former Real Madrid custodian not being tested once during the 0-0 stalemate. He kept his place for week 19’s encounter against Juventus, but performed horribly as the Rossoblu fell 4-1 at home, highlighting the need for more reliable goalkeeping options.
Adan has since had his contract terminated by mutual consent, and finished his stint in Sardinia with only two appearances in as many months after touching down as a free agent in late November.
Agazzi has also been linked to an exit, with Udinese and Chievo both interested in acquiring his services, so there will almost certainly be a change in goalkeeping personnel at the club in the near future, and Cesar could potentially arrive sooner rather than later.
However, for the time time being at least, Avramov can be safe in the knowledge that he is first-choice shot stopper, and he performed wonderfully for his team against Milan, really deserving to be on the winning side.
Meanwhile, 19-year-old left-back Nicola Murru was one of the best players on the pitch, and certainly the best Cagliari defender, winning two aerial duels, and venturing forward frequently to muster three shots on goal. He is enjoying somewhat of a breakout season at his boyhood club, and it’s safe to say that he would already be a part of the national set-up were he born in a different country. He has a bright future though, and will soon be a target for some of the peninsula’s biggest teams.
Captain Daniele Conti once again led by example in the midfield, making five tackles, half as many as the rest of the team put together, as well as two interceptions. He constantly broke up the oppositions’ play, interrupting their attacking flow, and if it weren’t for him, the Isolani would certainly not have held on to their slender lead as long as they did.
Upfront, Sau and Pinilla did their best to pierce the Rossoneri back-line, with the little service they received, and the two combined excellently mid-way through the first period, capitalising on Amelia’s calamitous mistake to go 1-0 up.
This was to remain the scoreline until the 87th minute, when substitute Matias Cabrera conceded a hand ball on the edge of the Cagliari box, an incident which proved extremely costly for the Isolani, and a vital turning point in the game; Balotelli stepped up to take the resulting free-kick and lifted a curling effort over the wall and into the left side of the goal to equalise, leaving Avmarov rooted to the spot. The volatile striker was then booked for a provocative gesture aimed at the Cagliari tifosi, who had been goading him for the duration of the match, and he was later fined €10,000 for his antics.
If Pinilla had managed to jump instead of raising his leg, the goal could have been prevented, however with 75% of the wall remaining in a standing position, Balotelli’s job was made easier as the four Cagliari players in his path proved only a minor obstacle.
Then, just when Cagliari thought they would at least be able to salvage a priceless point from the game, two minutes later, Honda’s corner from the left was met acrobatically at the near post by Giampaolo Pazzini, who somehow managed to connect his right boot with the ball despite being crowded out by a host of Rossblu defenders.
In the space of two minutes, the home team had seen their chances of taking anything from the match evaporate, with two easily-avoidable set-piece situations turning a famous victory into a wretched defeat.
You might argue that the result was the outcome of tired legs, mere bad luck, or Milan’s ‘Seedorf effect,’ with the rookie Dutch tactician having provided added impetus to the beleaguered side since his arrival, however the Sardi can take real pride in their gutsy showing, even if they have nothing to show for it.
Coach Diego Lopez congratulated his players after the game, but also expressed his disappointment.
“The incident at the end changed the match, we have no points from the last three games, but we are playing very well, I’m sorry for this.”
The same was true of the week 20 encounter against Atalanta; For all of Cagliari’s attacking endeavour (they dominated the first period, had more shots on goal and hit the woodwork three times), the Sardi fell foul of a 68th minute strike from Giacomo Bonaventura.
“We focused for the full ninety minutes, the team had a great game and you have to continue like this,” Lopez stated. “Despite losing today I can say that we are on the right track.”
Even if Cagliari aren’t getting the results they really deserve, a six game winless run since the middle of December, during which they have only taken three points, should have the alarm bells ringing, although things are certain to pick up if they can continue to play as they have been in recent games.
Good performances, and an ‘A’ for effort are all well and good, but as the old adage goes, football is a results game, and the Rossoblu will have to get some points on the board soon if they don’t want the summary of their season to read: ‘relegated, but not for want of trying.’
