Hull City 2-2 Fiorentina (Friendly)
It’s forty degrees outside. Bloody hot, but we shouldn’t complain as summer has finally started it feels, long due after a pretty underwhelming June and early July.
Tonight, I’m back in Hull as they take on Fiorentina in a pre-season friendly at the MKM Stadium, the Italian Giants yet to win on their mini tour of England having played Bolton Wanderers (1-1) and Preston North End (1-2) as they warm up ahead of their 2024/25 Serie A campaign.
La Viola are one of my favourite teams having been an avid fan of Serie A in the 80’s and 90’s… Rui Costa, of course Batistuta, Luis Oliveira, Enrico Chiesa, Dunga, Berti, Di Chiara and some bloke called Baggio all fondly remembered in those all purple shirts, shorts and socks often via my portable bedroom JVC colour TV and through monthly magazines of Channel 4’s Gazzetta, back in the day.
Hull City’s past players aren’t quite so extravagant although they did flirt with sexy stars when they signed the likes of Geovanni, Jay-Jay Okocha and Bernard Mendy during some lofty years that reached Premier League heights between 2008-10. I much better associate the Tigers with Match and Shoot posters of Dean Windass, Duane Darby and Billy Whitehurst, true working class heroes who were more your spit and sawdust type footballer to your elegant brand of sophistication in names, nature and birthplace.
The Venue
I’ve made it over the Humber Bridge and I’m on Boothferry Road, it seems to be a golden mile of pubs and takeaways which starts at the Fiveways Boozer, a good healthy walking distance from the ground.
There’s the Three Tuns, the Silver Cod, the Malt Shovel, the Albert and New Griffin before you get to Parkers on the corner of Walton Street and Anlaby Road, that’s where you cross into the West Park and walk the leafy last few yards to the stadium itself, a beautiful modern structure, it feels friendly around here, people are nice and quite relaxed, a steward says ‘alreet’ as I scan my mobile ticket on the zapper for entrance via the turnstile, up a few steps, not many, and inside the stadium, still early there’s plenty of room, it’s arena-like, modern, bowl shaped, a great view regardless of your seat, those that remember the old Boothferry Park ground, will say it’s ‘chalk n cheese’.
The Game
Fiorentina are classy, they’ve reached back-to-back Europa finals and their experience and quality shows, with 99 on his back you can’t get the ball off Christian Kouame, he’s bossing the midfield with a turn of skill, some technique and a trick or two.
The away side control the pace at their own leisurely Italian manor, often playing between their back five which involves the goalkeeper, often beating the press and breaking, stretching the Hull back line and they’ve had a couple of sniffs already, chipping balls into striker Moise Kean who’s headers cause panic, he’s won all his aerial duels against Hull’s six foot plus central defenders.
After some prodding and probing, Kean this time with the ball at his feet looks to have ran it out of play, his clumsy size elevens big enough to wrap around the sphere and stop it going out for a gaol kick, he stands one up for Dodo at the back post who arrives late, Hull are fuming, linesman’s flag failed to be raised, la Viola one up to a chorus of boos.
The Score
That’s how it stays until the break and early into the second half Fiorentina double their advantage when Dodo repays the favour to Kean, he chips into the box for the big number twenty to head home emphatically, he’s been a handful all night, it’s just what Raffaele Pallardino’s side deserve.
But typically Italian in philosophy, Fiorentina aren’t interested in winning friendlies, they’ve been much the better team tonight and are trotting at a canter towards the finish line, but Pallardino makes two subs in particular, replacing best players on the night Dodo and Ranieri, within a minute Hull force a free kick on the edge of the box, Omur curls home and suddenly the home team peckers are up.
As the Tigers press, Ryan Longman manages to creep one home with less than ten remaining, Hull’s resurgence buoyed by Fiorentina’s subs, but in their credit, they don’t stop and are typically British in the way they harass and push for even a third which eludes them ahead of the full time whistle.
The Stars
Fiorentina are classy, and classier than most is left sided defender Ranieri who looks like that stereotypical suave Italian in the classical mould of Maldini, Baresi, Nesta, Cannavaro. I liken him more to a left footed Christian Pannucci, a player who looks like a classic old fashioned full back, who doesn’t venture forward, but knows how to defend expertly, he played centre half but in his own little pocket to the left, picking up the ball with time and composure and casually intercepting danger in all too natural notion. The old Teddy Sheringham yard of pace in his head syndrome.
Christian Kouame was another player who stood out, silky smooth he’s now 26 but a proper athlete of Ivorian ancestry, good engine, had a bit of swagger with skill, but strong as an ox in the centre of the park, Hull just couldn’t get the ball off him.
Another player impressing was Croatia defender Marin Pongracic, recently signed from Lecce, he looks to fill the void left by Nikola Milenkovic who has recently left for Nottingham Forest, Dodo at right back brilliant going forward with an engine like a Mazda, Biraghi at left back solid and dependable more your uninspiring Volvo, Kean up top looks to have filled out and this could be a year when he starts to fulfil some of his undeniable potential. Think Alfa Romeo and all it’s problems, there’s something unique under the bonnet.
Hull City will be happy with their new goalkeeper who is probably one the clubs best players in possession, which doesn’t say a lot about what I think of them this season, but local(ish) lad Matty Jacob, Barnsley born but Academy bred, did well in a gutsy, tiresome performance from left back, Abdulkadir Omur shown what he can do from a set play, he’s neat with a trick when on the ball too, Regan Slater was as busy as he was at the weekend in midfield, the players are certainly willing to put a shift in for their new Manager Tim Walter.
The Verdict
Whether a shift will be enough for Hull this season is another question? I think they lack creation from their outgoings of last season (Delap, Greaves, Philogene to name three attacking forces who exit) and probably aren’t that solid defensively either? A tough campaign awaits perhaps? Unless they make some signings soon?
Fiorentina look in good shape to improve on last seasons achievements in finishing eighth, reaching the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia and losing in the final of the Europa Conference League to Olympiacos, they have been savvy in the market with the arrivals of Kean and Pongracic, another couple of additions and they could be close to silverware.
The Teams
Hull City: Ivor Pandur, Cody Dramah (Brandon Fleming 80), Alfie Jones, Sean McLoughlin, Matty Jacob, Jean Seri (Ryan Longman 46), Regan Slater, Xavier Simons, Abdulkadir Omur, Oscar Estupinian, Ryan Giles.
Fiorentina: Pietro Terracciano, Dodo (Fabiano Parisi 70), Cristiano Biraghi, Marin Pongracic (Leonardo Baroncelli 83), Josip Brekalo (Jonathan Ikone 63), Luca Ranieri (Pietro Camuzzo 70), Moise Kean, Michael Kayode, Rolando Mandragora, Antonin Barak (Alessandro Bianco 83), Christian Kouame (Maat Caprini 83).
7:45pm Kick Off. Tuesday 30th July 2024, Hull City Stadium, Kingston upon Hull (att 5,455).
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