Giannotti 3 - 2 Atletico (393561807)

The 549 fans in attendance at Campo Orange were roasting in the hot sun. Erroll Fray was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Conrad Van Minnebrugge and Heimrich Hampeis. Giannotti tactics involved an interesting 3-5-2 combination. Lineup: Picard - Esposito, Ardondi, Beneït - Marena, Agasucci, Dattoli, Grohmann, Lillelund - Jalif, Michelucci.

Atletico started off with a 3-5-2 lineup. The following players took the field: Akrout - van Geffen, van Mastrigt, Liljenstad - Eufrate, Bach Hansen, Varpula, de la Puerta, Maldini - Cavedon, Carlea.

Counter-attacking seemed to be the preferred strategy of Atletico. The sun seemed to put S. Esposito in a great mood, and he showed off his technical skills all match long. With 5 minutes played, Giannotti's well-worked indirect free kick caused havoc in the penalty area, and when the ball eventually fell to M. Grohmann he gleefully slotted the ball home to make it 1 - 0. One of many good crosses from G. Maldini on the wing was received and skillfully taken care of by G. Carlea, who scored for Atletico. 1 - 1 34 minutes into the match, Atletico nearly took the lead, as J. van Mastrigt broke through on the right. L. Picard made the save, however. After 37 minutes, G. Jalif came in from the right, feinted, then sped past the off-balance defender to make the score 2 - 1, giving Giannotti the lead. Things were going to get worse for the visitors. M. Agasucci squirmed through their central defence after 38 minutes, increasing the lead to 3 - 1. The crowd roared its approval when L. Picard somehow managed to block a shot which seemed to be a certain goal by Atletico's G. Carlea 39 minutes into the game. 3 - 1 was the score after the first half. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Giannotti, with 57 percent of the ball.

Atletico's G. Carlea refused to leave the field after injuring his achilles tendon after 52 minutes. The intense heat forced L. Eufrate into making some errors because he couldn't seem to keep up with the others. Atletico were great at switching from defence to attack, and after 59 minutes, C. Cavedon swept through the middle on a counterattack, making the score 3 - 2. Giannotti put in a good effort on the right, but V. Marena saw his volley fly wide of the mark 60 minutes into the game. With 62 minutes played, seemingly due to lack of experience, P. van Geffen needlessly tripped an opponent just outside the penalty area, but the free kick that followed didn't succeed. Giannotti had most of the ball, with 58 percent of possession.

The most dominating Giannotti player was without a doubt M. Grohmann. S. Esposito on the other hand, had a terrible day. Atletico's best player was A. Varpula. On the other hand, L. Eufrate's play was disheartening. The match ends 3 - 2.