Hellas Verona earned an extremely respectable point after drawing 2-2 against league leaders Juventus at the Bentegodi on Sunday February 9, and it was an especially impressive result considering the Gialloblu’s fightback after going two goals down.
Coach Andrea Mandorlini said the result felt like a win to the staff and players, and to score a last-minute equalizer against hated monolithic giants that are the Bianconeri was a wonderful moment to be cherished by the Gialloblu fans who endured seasons of suffering in lower league obscurity. Midfielder Romulo picked up two assists in the game and is currently on eight overall this season, the most in Serie A.
Despite the club’s cautious rhetoric in public, survival is all but assured and it would be exciting to see the Scaligeri go full out for European football. With the news that the Coppa Italia final will be contested by Fiorentina and Napoli, the chances of the Mastini going on a European tour are looking increasingly feasible as the final Europe League qualification place will drop down to sixth barring a spectacular collapse from the Partenopei or Viola.
Even the Europa League would be a great reward for a club that’s been through a lot and it would be extra sweet to be back in Europe after having to endure the sight of little Chievo somehow finding itself in the 2006-7 Champions League preliminary round. European competition would be the cherry on top of the cake and would clearly show that Hellas have established themselves as Verona’s number one team.
Verona have fond memories of their brief excursions into the continental football. They last played in Europe in the 1987-88 UEFA cup were they knocked out Polish side Pogon Szczecin, Dutch outfit Utrecht, Romanians Sportul Studentesc Bucuresti before narrowly crashing out in the quarter finals to German side Werder Bremen 2-1 on aggregate.
Whilst the prospect of European football is quite tempting, the club should already be thinking about next season and they will be wary of looking to run before they can walk if they want to ensure they maintain their form next season.
The Scaligeri’s youth team is also contributing to the sense of excitement in Verona thanks to their exploits in the Viareggio Cup. A 10-man Verona side managed a great win in the knockout rounds after beating Juventus 4-2 on penalties after the game finished goalless after extra time. Gialloblu goalkeeper Daniele Borra drew some attention to himself after saving the first two spot kicks while his teammates 100 per cent conversion rate gave Verona’s youth team the win.
The Scaligeri appear to have a talent in 17-year-old French midfielder Mohamed Fares who is of Algerian descent. The youngster scored in the Viareggio Cup during the Gialloblu’s 10-2 destruction of L.I.A.C New York, and ManchesterCity and Liverpool both reportedly sent scouts to the Tuscan town to keep an eye on him. Following the win over Juve, Verona were disappointingly knocked out by Palermo after a 4-0 loss but were largely happy with their tournament overall.
The club have also confirmed on its official website that Moldovan international winger Artur Ionita will be arriving in the summer from Swiss club FC Aarau. Club director general, Giovanni Gardini, spoke in an interview about his pride in the club’s successful transfer policy of giving young players who other clubs think aren’t good enough a chance to prove themselves.
The potential of this policy could be quite exciting if it is combined with the development of the home-grown talent that’s impressing in Viareggio. Gardini pointed to Jorginho who has since moved to Napoli, Ezequiel Cirigliano, Michelangelo Albertazzi and Juan Manuel Iturbe who were all born between 1991 to 1993 as examples of the club’s success.
Iturbe is continuing to be the subject of speculation of a summer move, but Gardini said the club will activate the clause in his contract to make his loan from FC Porto permanent in June. He suggested that they hope to see Iturbe play some more games in a Verona shirt next season and that by making the deal permanent they will be able to profit when the Argentine does eventually move on.
Next up is the visit of Torino to the Bentegodi. Both sides are high-flying surprise packages and with Verona sitting in sixth, three points above the Granata in seventh, this could be a key game in the chase for the Europa League qualification—something nobody would have expected at the start of the season. It’s a hard game to call on paper, but the Mastini will be hoping their great home support can give them edge and help them maintain their sublime form at the Bentegodi where they have picked up 25 points from a possible 36.
