With a 2-1 away win at Atalanta, Hellas Verona did what they needed to do with a largely young team to keep the momentum going with four games left.
A wonderful strike from Massimo Donati to open the scoring was one of the season’s highlights. However, unfortunately that moment of joy for the ex-Celtic midfielder was almost immediately undermined by the news that he’s picked up an injury to his right hamstring and will be out for about a month. His season is therefore over and Andrea Mandorlini now has even fewer midfielders at his disposition.
Juan Manuel Iturbe was again in fine form as he set up Luca Toni’s goal and his status at the Bentegodi will perhaps remain the most important issue to resolve for next season. The club insist they will sign him outright and it would be a real coup if they could get another season from him before he moves on.
Despite the Mastini’s supremacy over the Nerazzuri, the main cause for concern in the game was the fact that they again conceded from a set piece. Player recruitment chief Sean Sogliano must already be looking at a way to remedy this for next season. A tall, lumbering hulk of a defender whose happy to just nod high balls away would be a very useful addition to a side that is adept at scoring from set pieces yet simultaneously vulnerable when defending them.
The victory against La Dea was doubly significant as it was the Gialloblu’s 15th win of the season. The last Scaligeri side to win that many was Osvaldo Bagni’s Scudetto-winning outfit of 1984-85 although that admittedly was back in the days when Serie A was a 16-team league. Hellas still have four games in which to try and better that record.
Combined with Luca Toni’s record number of goals in a Serie A season for a Verona player, this Hellas squad and Andrea Mandorlini have created a reputation for themselves that deserves to create a lasting legacy given the way in which they have re-established themselves so confidently in Serie A. There may not be trophies in the cabinet but these records will go down in the history books until a new Gialloblu team can beat this current crop. This side deserves to be remembered for reasserting the club’s credentials as a Serie A side.
The Atalanta victory was also important as it marked the competitive debut of 17-year-old Ghanian midfielder Godfred Donsah. The Accra born youngster played for 22 minutes after replacing the injured Donati. He didn’t dazzle and was booked but he was solid enough in the short time he was on the pitch.
Donsah has been compared to his fellow countryman Michael Essien in that he is a modern type of midfielder: powerful, tough but technically sound and able to contribute to all phases of play. He moved to Italy at age 15 as part of a youth development programme before spending time at Como where he impressed but couldn’t be signed due to bureaucratic issues before heading onto Palermo’s youth team and eventually his current home of Verona at the start of the 2013-14 season.
In an interview after his professional debut the midfielder spoke of how Mandorlini is something of a father figure who constantly reminds him of what a good player he is. The 17-year-old was delighted to get onto the pitch in Italy for the first time and thanked Mandorlini for his faith and reminding him of the need to keep working hard to become a great player. Despite having only made one senior appearance he is reportedly the subject of interest from Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Monaco after impressing at the Viareggio Cup although it seems it would be best for his development to stay in Verona which he has called his ‘second home’.
The next visitors to the Bentegodi are bottom club Catania. They have been poor all season but did get their first win in nine against Sampdoria to give themselves a faint hope of survival. Presumably, the Etnei will be desperate to win and if they play an attacking but scrappy game it could play into the Gialloblu’s hands. Mandorlini’s boys are patient and don’t mind letting the other team take the initiative and they don’t tend to get wound up. Carry that on against Catania and they should be able to pick them off on the counterattack.
Verona cannot afford to be complacent as they are still in with a shot of the Europa League, but they will have to play quite an inexperienced team due to injuries in midfield. The performance away to Atalanta was one of the season’s best and a win against the Sicilians will leave them in good stead to make things awkward for their rivals in the tight race for Europa League football. After a dreadful March, April has been kinder to Hellas and they should be able to finish strongly to cap off a fine season.
