How To Ruin A Season, by Adrian Mutu

By: chris | May 6th, 2008

Mooootooooo It has been an altogether fantastic season for the Viola, their first with a clean slate after the turmoil of Calciopoli. They’ve spent most of the season in fourth place and made a deep run into the UEFA Cup, before running into the Scottish team bus. Boasting a young, promising nucleus, the two unquestioned stars of the side have been two veterans in Sebastian Frey, creeping into that Buffon, Cech & Cassillas pantheon and clearly the best player on the team, and Adrian Mutu, the leader of the outfield.

As much as Fiorentina has been good, Milan has been poor, magnified by their Champions League title capture just last season. Enabling Fiorentina to make a sustained assault on Champions League football, a feast they haven’t been able to taste, but an aroma they’ve known for a few years now. The spot was theirs until last weekend, when Milan finally leapfrogged the Viola and into fourth place with a derby win and a Fiorentina loss to the scrappiest team in calcio, Cagliari.

What’s more important than the actual loss – they’re still but one point off Milan in fourth place with a favorable remaining schedule – is that during that loss Adrian Mutu managed a yellow card, and in the aftermath had some not so nice things to say to the ref who subsequently sent him off (3:15). Well the FIGC came down hard today, and with two games left and that priceless fourth CL spot still up for grabs, he was handed a two game suspension, ending his season. Simply, a veteran has to know better, suck it up and move on.

While they still have Frey, a sure bet to save one or two goals a game, the Viola will always have a chance. La viola also have a mighty talented squad and Cesare Prandelli, one of the most gifted tacticians in Italia, at the helm, and they’ve slain some mighty big squads without Mutu. However, that still does not excuse your offensive catalyst and attacking mastermind from placing himself on the sidelines for the two most important rounds of the season.

They may make the Champions League or they may not. But they could certainly use their best offensive player in the attempt. What makes this worse is all the stories of Mutu turning his career around in Firenze. Quite frankly, he’s been doing it all season. Same old Mutu, and it just might cost Fiorentina a Champions League campaign.

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Category: Champions League, English Premier League, Serie A

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chris

I wasn't referring to "same old Mutu" in the cocaine-huffing, pornstar-romping sense. Just the idea that many non-Viola fans seem to think he's a whiny, dirty player (along with a certain owner of a certain Sicilian team who tends to take things too far). Hasn't done much to dispel that myth this season.
Ted

dumitru certainly makes a good point. Chris, I too hoped that Mutu could control his emotions a little better considering the circumstances, but I do wish the larger circumstances dumitru so rightfully cites were also taken into consideration.

And it’s also unfair to claim that this is the "same old Mutu," Chris. The "old Mutu" had serious problems that we don't need to rehash here. This year's version has not been perfect, but he's generally been a good guy, a good citizen, and a leader on the field. That's a far cry from the "old Mutu," and he really is a big reason why we are having this magical season.
dumitru

when you get knocked from uefa cup in the most unfair way possible,being one step short from the final,and then lose the last cl place,after holding it almost the entire season,and all that during a week?!tell me,how more stressfull can it be,chris, for viola and mutu in particular?i think this suspension is way too harsh for mutu,one of the main reason why fiorentina got so far this season,and you trying to make a scapegoat out of him betrays your hate towards mutu,wich you mentioned in other comments before.i don't try to excuse him,i'm just saying that if totti were in his place,he wouldn't even been sent off.