In related news, I’ll be starting in midfield against Udinese this weekend.

I hate the fact that they quit, but having put in 10+ months of excruciating work and having the season won the way it was, nearly all of you would’ve done the same. There is nothing more frustrating than having your ultimate fate decided, and decided unfavorably, by someone else. I hated the last 15 minutes of the ManU first leg infinitely more than I’ll ever hate the last 20+ against Catania.

Not the finest hour, but it was about more than just Roma v Catania. Circumstances.

On Brazilians: After the Champions League run had effectively ended, I believed the only way forward was to show two tantalizingly talented, wildly inconsistent Brazilians to be shown the exit door. A couple weeks ago rumors arose saying that Roma was interested in a Doni replacement and a highly gifted vice-Doni, and at the time I wouldn’t change my tune regarding the intellectually comatose Brazilian netminder. Last week Doni signed a four year extension, putting my cardiologist on call during weekends and occasionally midweek until at least 2012, and putting me on the lookout for a psychologist to talk through his performances with on Mondays. Safe to say I wasn’t thrilled.

I’m ready to change my tune. Sort of. Now only one tantalizingly talented, wildly inconsistent Brazilian needs to be shown the door. I can’t in good consciousness say that Doni is the keeper of the present and future, and that i lupi can reach the promised land between now and 2012 with Alex in between the sticks. His reflexes are fantastic and his skill is evident. It’s the lapses in concentration which can turn fortune into despair in the blink of an eye. All it takes is one game. One half. One shot. One set piece. One Livorno. (I still…just…god.)

Undoubtedly he’s made strides in knocking on the door of “world class” this year. Actually, he’s been flat out majestic at times. There are days when I wouldn’t trade him for Gigi Buffon & Lev Yashin’s lovechild. There are also days when I’d trade him for half of half of Pietro Pipolo & Carlo Zotti’s unloved bastard.

For now, he’s won me over. I’ll live contently with Doni as Roma’s starting keeper for 2008-09, and truly believe that if he takes another stride of the length that he did this year, he’ll be a world class keeper. However, if he reverts back to Old/Bad Doni, it’ll be time to blow it up. I still pray nightly that Gianluca Curci comes to fulfill 50% of the hype and turns out to be a good, solid worthy Serie A keeper who won’t cause me heart ailments and/or death. Thus I reserve the right to change course once Curci actually wanders out on loan and Doni has another full season of growth underneath his belt.

As far as Mancini goes, the day we see the back of him cannot come too soon. His performance was abysmal yesterday and, unfortunately, that’s become par for the course. The way I see it, we’ve had two Brazilian wingers this season out of form. Their origins are probably different – Mancini was hurt before the year, but this doesn’t appear to be a valid excuse, while Taddei has gone down a few times now and appears to be suffering from an injury-plagued year – but their contributions have been vastly different. When Taddei’s technique and skill fails him, as it has during stretches and understandably so, he makes up for it with his workrate, tenacity and will. When Mancini’s technique and skill fail him, not exactly a rare occurrence, Mancini accentuates it by dropping a figurative turd on the field. Roma might as well be handed a red card, because it’s X v XI.

I find it hard to believe which such big money floating around Mancini will be in red & yellow Kappa next season. His backside walking out of Trigoria for good this summer seems to be a matter of when, not if. And, depending on whether or not he loves Roma just as much as he says he does, it’ll probably be for a cut rate price. So we thank you, Andy Webster, for completely screwing up the sport for your selfish wants, you useless prick.

And Grazie Mancini, there were certainly some great times, but some things just run their course.

On De Rossi: 100% correct to say what he said, and I find it downright laughable anyone, especially Inter fans, whose team is being coached by the most classless man in calcio with some players equally devoid of class, would say otherwise. This has nothing to do with class or grace or anything of the type. Actually, scratch that. It does. I don’t want anyone with class or grace in defeat anywhere near my team. It’s all a bunch of bullshit.

“Show me a good and gracious loser and I’ll show you a failure.”

-Knute Rockne

Truer than true. This isn’t a fucking bake sale, Sally.

Also, Daniele’s right, which helps the argument.

On Mexes: In the most heated, most important game of the year, I think he was the calmest person on the pitch. My eyes must have been fooling me. The man is more Roman than half of Rome (the baby blue half). Couldn’t be.

On Brighi & Aquilani: There was a little question at the end of an interview yesterday with The Poobah on the contributions of Vucinic, and he quickly answered but made a point to mention the contributions of two others: Brighi & Aquilani. Matteo coming in after so many years on loan and becoming something of a defensively-inclined Simone and late game specialist. His workrate and grinding play is a huge boon late in games and allows Roma to close out when the legs are tired and in need of a crutch. Wouldn’t say he’s indispensable, but perhaps his contributions are underappreciated, much like that Simone guy. And who the hell knows, maybe one year in the system and next year we’ll see him fulfill that massive hype (and transfer fee) which came after he was named Serie A Young Player of the Year.

As for Aquilani, Spal mentioned the difference of healthy Aquilani in the lineup. The loss of Taddei obviosly forced a shift in the lineup, Simone over to the wing and KA up top, a position he’s less familiar with in the Spalletti system. I think we all see – along with Real, Barca, Juve, Inter, Arsenal, Chelsea, ManU, etc. etc. etc. – the insane qualities he possesses and that his future is mighty bright. An untouchable key piece of the puzzle, another year of maturation and, hopefully, major tournament experience, will do nothing to add to the experience and core of the Giallorossi next season. My heart always sides with the present, but my mind has always said 2008-09. One more year for Daniele De Rossi, now the best midfielder in Serie A, and one more year for Aquilani, a phenom oozing with technical qualities, means great things for the Roman midfield, and the whole of Rome, in 08-09.

* – And he’s not going anywhere. End of.

On Vucinic: I’m sorry I ever said comparing him to Zlatan was a bit exaggerated. It’s not. Vuci is just that good, and has proven himself to be a world class player. I have a hard time saying a guy who’s scored 19 games in a season before just had a “breakout year”, but he at least broke through to another universe. His goal-to-big game ratio is simply something to behold, and the fact that he creates just as much for his teammates as he does for himself leads us to believe there’s much more on the horizon when he and Totti get more familiar with each other as on-the-pitch colleagues as opposed to Jesus and backup striker waiting for Jesus to go down. That left wing is his, and we hope for many, many years.

As far as the negotiations with Lecce go, he will be in Rome next season and that is that. As high as his price may have soared, they can’t afford not to buy him; after all the work they’ve put in developing him to sync with the system and the subsequent time they’d need to spend on a lesser replacement to fill his massive, yellow shoes it’d be simply foolish. This is as good as gold for the summer, because he’s not a new buy who will need an assimilation period. Mirko is a break-the-glass, ready-to-use world class player for a unique system. Those are absolutely priceless and extraordinarily rare. The hierarchy will pay whatever, though I doubt it’ll be a ton. More likely we’ll see some fringe Giallorossi heading south for either a new Serie A struggle or a renewed promotion campaign down in B. One of the benefits of a world class youth system. Sometimes it isn’t all about the money.

But regardless of what happens this summer, Grazie Mirko. There are only a handful of people on the planet who could make a sans-Totti Roma squad continue along the road of calcio so smoothly. Daniele De Rossi was easily the most important part of the equation this season, but Vucigol wasn’t far behind. And can we all agree? He’s got It. Whatever the hell It is, he’s got it. You don’t show up in that many important games with that much quality without it.

Now if he’d kindly bag a triple in the Coppa final I’ll name my first born Francesco De Aquivucigol.

* – My thoughts are, joining Mexes and Taddei, he’ll become the next non-Italian Romanista. Like Philou, the man was born for this shirt.

On Zlatan: I can separate my in-season self with my out-of-season self quite well, which will allow me to appreciate Ibra for the month of June during the Euros. Whether or not the game was reffed unfairly yesterday was only irrelevant in the sense that he walked onto the pitch after a lengthy layoff and pushed that team over the hump when they were heading towards second place. And we all know how absurd he was during the first half of the year when Inter was so dominant. Starting in 03-04, when with Ajax, through this year he has ended the season with a title. The guy is a walking, talking championship. Pray he gets sold to Real or Chelsea this summer. Whatever credit Inter deserves goes to him.

On Totti: Soon enough, Francesco. Soon enough that trophy will be yours.

On Luciano: I’ve had more doubts than I’ll ever let on. Tactically never a question, but the way this team operates sometime really brings to question his ability to extract the right mentality from this team, the first and foremost quality for any great coach, teacher, leader, etc. in any aspect of life. His football mind is top of the mountain, maybe a bit higher, but otherwise, I can’t honestly say I’m sure he’s a coach that can lead a team to greatness. That overwhelming sense to will themselves to a win. To defeat regardless of tactics, blow up the gameplan and just win.

What I am confident of is that Spalletti as a coach, much like the team, is still absorbing, growing and progressing. This is also a learning process for him, and sometimes I, perhaps others, forget that. He is by no means a finished product, and is in some ways representative of the team. Heralded for his workings in Udine, but not yet considered world class. Experienced, but not experienced enough on the largest stage. His rise has coincided with the rise of Roma. After all, he’s just 49, still but a pup in the world of big game coaching.

My feeling is next year is it in terms of assessing Spalletti’s impact on this team. If they can grow mentally, I will fully believe and plan four plus children just so that I can spell out The Grand Imperial Poobah on Christmas cards. (I’ll feel might bad for “The”, but he/she will have to deal with it.) I do think they will grow mentally, and that’s not more hope than belief. I do believe that. Spalletti and the core has more experience now, more failures and successes to guide them in the right direction. This will be invaluable, and in the end I believe Spalletti will be invaluable. The journey continues.

On Serie A 2007-08: I can’t really do a proper assessment on the whole season until next week, and I do want to break down the season a lot more in-depth, but I figure there are a few things to be said.

It was a very good, borderline great season. 82 points in a difficult competition – Parma was in the UEFA Cup last year, Empoli this year….and they both got relegated, that says something – is nothing, absolutely nothing, for the boys to hang their heads about. Internazionale FC +1 has what was once called by then Chelsea-gaffer The Not So Special One “the biggest squad in the world”. From top to bottom they are a payroll. Period. End of. And when the coach of @#$%in’ Chelsea says that, it shows the the true depth of that team up north.

Roma is not that team. On paper, they have absolutely no business competing with a half-billion dollar team. And they did, right down to the final weekend, in a campaign marred by injury after injury after injury. When Inter lost Cordoba, Samuel and Materazzi, they simply plugged in Rivas and Chivu, two big money signings. When Roma needed an extra defender, they were forced to plug in two 30+ right backs. Roma has nowhere near the roster Inter does. On paper, the scudetto should have been handed out in August.

But what they did do was play better, and anyone not in bed with the Nerazzurri will agree. Inter was extraordinarily fortunate, if that’s what you want to call it, to get the results that they did. Roma was rarely, if ever, so fortunate. Nor were any other teams. Read into that how you will.

I’m not sure people understand how many injuries this team endured with a squad which is still fairly thin in certain spots. Juan, Taddei, Perrotta, Aquilani and Jesus, all key members of the first team, went down on more than one occasion and missed significant time. Matteo Ferrari, Juan and the Pizaman all had a late start to the season which didn’t help matters – especially not the first two, who couldn’t get healthy the entire year. Marco Cassetti, arguably the best RB in the peninsula during the first half of the year (yes, I said that, and it’s hard to argue with it – he was fricken’ fantastic and oh so underappreciated), went down more than once in the second half and lost his stride. Marco Andreolli never saw a minute in the shirt, forcing a 35 year old full back to play in central defense much of the year. This was far from a full team at any point in the season.

What I don’t buy is that Roma botched it will the small teams. When competing seriously on three fronts, you’re bound to drop some games you should win. Every team does it. Every champion does it. Real Madrid lost to Espanyol, Almeria, Real Betis and Getafe, while they drew with Murcia, Valladolid and Zaragoza. That sounds about the same as draws with Livorno (twice – they’re the bogey team), Empoli, Torino, Catania and Cagliari while losing to Siena. Actually, sounds awfully similar.

The difference is I don’t think Roma has the versatility in tactics or squad to break down lower-end table teams who park themselves in the back with a goalkeeper having a good day. When a team like Real can throw different looks at you, Roma is stuck in the 4-2-3-1. That, for me, was the most frustrating aspect going into the season, and is the most frustrating aspect going out. System is great, fabulous, wonderful, but it needs to be rotated every now and again.

That old boxing adage can still apply to so many sports: “Styles make fights”. Sometimes it’s just not about talent. Sometimes the counter methods just work. This is what needs to be changed; more than the level of talent, more than the salary cap, more than the ownership. Versatility within the system is nice, as evidenced by Giuly v Taddei or Cicinho v Panucci, but at the end of the day you need to be able to counter your downfalls. Roma could not do that. My greatest hope for this summer, even more so than any transfer target, is that Spal adopts a tactical alternative which can operate and change gears fluidly. I honestly believe that is a major key to a scudetto.

Two games kill me to this day from that list, however. One is Empoli. Roma beat them up and down the pitch like it was public slaughtering for most of the game, before Vannucchi got too much space and struck a wondergoal, and before Giovinco scored the luckiest goal of his career – now and through the end of his days it will stay the luckiest goal of his career. Roma had so many chances to close that game out, yet they were brutally inefficient in front of the net. Still can’t believe that was the same Mirko Vucinic who now could have a golden statue erected at Trigoria. The guy scores bullshit goals regularly these days, and back then he was missing bunnies against Empoli.

They had that game won; it was an easy 3 points in the bag. How Empoli managed a draw I’ll never understand. Never.

The second is the home game against Livorno. Mostly because of Doni’s absolutely criminal positioning on that free kick, giving one of the premier free kick takers these days in calcio the side of a barn to aim at. It’s the number one reasoning I can’t feel comfortable with Alex in net. For all his obvious feline talents, it’s the basic mental aspects of the game which fail him when needed most.

Worst of all, that game needed to be about Totti. When Francesco fell down taking that shot and Brozzi walked over to him on the ground, looking down before motioning immediately for a sub my stomach turned. Can’t say it was an obvious 6 month injury, but when a player goes down in that manner and is carted off the field immediately, you didn’t need to be a doctor to know the outlook was grim. That game should’ve held more, for Francesco and the news that was about to follow.

All in all it was a very good year. Milan. Madrid. Madrid. Udinese. Four games which I could watch over and over and over. Four glorious occasions. But what’s more is that all of this is something to really build on; and make no mistake about it, this is a building process which will continue to grow and progress. Spal:

“I must compliment my team on the way they worked this season. We have grown a great deal, have a project to continue and everyone did their duty.”

I don’t doubt for a second Spal has had one eye towards this year and another towards next at times during this campaign. This was certainly a project, more in the urban, undesired housing sense, when he rode in on his horse, saving the day a few years back, but now it is a great project and so much more. There will be better results to come and a brighter future for the Giallorossi. I’m prepared to say I hold absolutely no doubt in my mind or heart in saying that in the next two years, Roma will lift the scudetto deservedly. This club has always held something special off the pitch and in the stands; well now it’s on the pitch and giving notice to the world. As a team, as a system, they are still young. Their day will come.

For now, they have every right to be proud. If all was fair in love and calcio, we’d be still drenched in tears of joy, singing Grazie Roma to the hilltops and peppering the globe with an unforeseen slew of newborns named “Daniele, Francesco, Philippe, Alberto, Vucigol and The Grand Imperial Poobah”. Alas, not all is fair. Yet we can still sing Grazie Roma, because they deserve every bit of it, but perhaps saving our loudest voices for Mai Sola Mai.

I can honestly say no season in recent time has made me prouder to be a Roma fan. I can also say the same for next season, and the season after that, and the season after that.

As Roma goes, so do we. With an undying passion, bleeding yellow along with red, and the knowledge that we love the greatest club in the world. So Grazie Roma, for the good times we were lucky enough to experience and for the giallorosso dawn on the horizon. But also for the bad times, allowing us to realize that great sorrow comes only from great love. Grazie a thousand times over, for a club that is so much more. The whole is more than the sum of its trophies.

But for now…

…there’s still a game left to win. Time to show everyone who the best team in Italia really is.

FORZA ROMA

Formality over, and that’s precisely what it looked like: a formality. The game was as much terrible as it was painfully boring, especially towards the second half – at least for me. I’ve had more exciting prostate exams. And, quite frankly, it had the feel of a friendly. (Just like the prostate exams.) The first half was more or less even, as it was on the scoreboard, while Roma finally took over the second half. Catania looked like precisely what they are, an inferior team with a severe dearth of attacking punch. It seemed the more the tried to press the ball forward, the more they tried to pull the trigger from outside or send in a useless cross to one blue jersey surround by a half dozen of the white variety. It was more or less what we (I) expected, and it’s on to another Coppa Italia final with Internazionale FC +1 on May 24th.

I find it really difficult to take too much from this game from a negative standpoint. The only thing worrisome was the patchwork back line, which looked shakier than a hooker in church, and will be sure to give me nightmares if Juan and Mexes are unavailable again at any point over the remaining three games. I almost threw up watching that collection. Twice.

There was some good, though:

iTunes: Kid gets more impressive with each run out. Or at least more tantalizing. I find it hard to judge a players defensive qualities against the sterility of Catania. There were a few very nice tackles, some pinpoint crosses, smooth footwork and those two Howitzers at the end, all of which is something I think everyone would love to see more of in the future. Almost surely needs a year of seasoning in the upper levels of calcio before he’s ready for that LB spot, but who knows, maybe we’ll all be shocked and find that a world class back is waiting in the wings sooner than we thought.

King Alberto: Great game, and awesome to see him bag a goal. Surely deserves a steep increase in playing time over the last few weeks as Spal closes out the season.

At least he better…..

Cicinho: The guy sent in a couple absolutely gorgeous crosses today. That ball to Simone was a thing of beauty. Though I’m pretty sure he had to limp off the field after taking a shot to the buttocks. That, my friend, is totally uncool and anti-macho. Front side? Take your time, sir, while we all grimace with you. Back side? Get up you Sally.

And that’s about it. Good result, very good second half, and it’s time to bring on the Nerazzurri.

“Highlights”, if that’s what you want to call them:

Takeover

The big news with the takeover recently has been whether or not UniCredit would exercise its right to invoke a 2% clause, perhaps Georgy Porgy’s best chance at getting the club, giving it 51% ownership in ItalPetroli and thus the chance to sell to Soros to pay off their debts. Well today, after lengthy meetings, they stated they will not use their clause, therefore Soros must deal only with the Sensi fam. Who, according to all reports and pure logic, do not want to sell – or at least not to Soros.

They’ll still have to restructure the debt, but it seems like the relationship is good between the fam and UniCredit, and that they have a good amount of trust in Rosella. We shall see, but Soros as owner is looking less and less likely by the day.

Ludovicious

Via Giacomo, a lawyer in Rome with knowledge on the inner workings: Ludovic Giuly has put in his transfer request. Basically, he wants more playing time – a fair request for someone whose career is essentially winding down. Didn’t realize this, but he has played a full 90 minutes only twice since February 1, along with just six starts in 21 games. So even though his season stats don’t look as though he’s been riding the pine, it’s still going downhill.

And let’s face it, the guy hasn’t been a starter since he left Monaco. His career isn’t going to last forever, and this may be his best chance to become a starter again. It’s really hard to blame him. Plus he must’ve heard all these targetman rumors and taken them personally, feeling mighty unwanted. (No, he still can’t get on any amusement park rides.)

I really, really like what he brought off the bench, but is he an integral part of the squad? Not really. Could they find a serviceable replacement? Sure. In fact, though he’s recently suffered an injury, Alessio Cerci is a right winger/right forward, who was so good in the first half of the year there were thoughts that he may even be recalled in midyear. Then you start talking about a guy like Joaquin who has been linked recently, and it seems this may even be a chance to upgrade. Or maybe it’s time to begin the Adrian Pit Era. Forza Pit!

Looks like it may be one and done.

* – This may very well be the first RO breaking news story. Watch out, hell’s getting mighty chilly.

KA To Anybody, Everybody

So apparently Alberto’s dad has been in contact with Inter +1. Not only that, but he’s agreed to a big big contract with them on behalf of his son. Really. You know what this reminds me of? Remember when Philou was “dining” with Berlusconi and Uncle Fester in Milan the night before the Champions League final last year, and supposedly had discussed moving there? Well they were in Athens at the very same time, which was odd. Preventing them from attending any such meeting. A meeting which was later laughed off by all (or most) parties “involved”. Yet still reported.

Guess what? Bunch of horseshit. How often do we hear of things like this that are complete fabrications? If the media sees a lookalike of either he or his agent, Big Superstar Player has signed a deal with Big Club. I think it happened with Emmanuel Adebayor recently. Aquilani’s pops has agreed no such deal, I’d bet my life on it.

Aquilani is a very desirable commodity and the fact that he isn’t a lock for the first XI makes the journalists of the world go all batshit crazy thinking he’s going to be tempted to move away. Not happening:

i. Rosella isn’t going to allow a Roman born phenomenon go anywhere in Italy, so Inter and Juventus can stop salivating about, oh, now.

ii. The kid’s family is loaded. It’s not about the money.

iii. Do you think leaking some stuff to the press, via your agent, would be a good way of, oh I dunno, letting people know quietly of your desires? It’s about the same as renting a huge ass board at the Olimpico that says “FU#$ING PLAY ME!!!”.

Roughly, you know.

Of course, this has been my greatest fear with David Pizarro being Spal’s cuddle buddy. You have a kid who could start for most any team on the planet on the bench often at the expense of one of the most frustrating players on the planet. In fact, this may be costing him a spot on the Azzurri when the Euros come rolling around. Maybe even a starting spot. Wouldn’t that frustrate anyone else in the same position?

Rest assured, he’s not going anywhere. His presence means too much to the future of the club and one day, when healthy, Spal will have no choice but to play him over DP. That day being mighty soon. It’ll all be fine, and now I’m going to enroll in a seminary to make sure things go smoothly. You know, get tight with the Big Guy.

Everybody Wants Spal

The Grand Imperial Poobah was asked about the recent rumors in France that Jean-Michel Aulass wants to bring him over to the lesser side with a big, fat contract. TGIP replied:

“I am very happy at Roma,” the 49-year old told L’Equipe. “I can do a very, very good job here.

“I have everything I want here. Everybody has his place and everyone trusts everyone else.”

I don’t really care about Lyon, his next move will clearly not be a step down to OL, but that’s a great line to hear from someone so influential in this side. I, and many others, still believe he has room to grow, but I think to a man we hope he does so in Rome….and in the process breaks his nasty addiction to pint-sized Chilean playmakers. Tis a tough nut to crack, though.

My favorite part of the little Lyon-Spal report was this:

“A few weeks before that game, I received a Christmas message from Lyon,” he revealed.

“In the card it said: success is for those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

God, that makes the usual corn you get from Hallmark sound like riveting prose. Typical Frenchies.

Cry Baby 3.5

I took great satisfaction in this video until the very end. A good thing is never left undisturbed, is it? Bastards.

Tis the first game in the sans-Totti stretch we’re about to endure; unfortunately, the boys in red & yellow have had a lot of experience dealing without their captain this season. Now, though, they’ll have to march on knowing it’s about them and only them, because Francesco won’t be making any miraculous recoveries, walking up the stairs and onto the pitch for the rest of the season. It’s time to form the team around themselves and without Him. The leadership will be fine in the form of Daniele De Rossi, but they need to start finishing much, much better as a whole. That is unless Mirko goes bananas, which is altogether possible.

Could there be a better team to kick of this stretch with than Torino? In the standings, very few, but this team knows how to grind out draws away from home – and we know how well Roma can gloriously flub finishing at times – with 2 wins, 6 losses and 9 sister smooches. They’ve also got Gianni De Biasi back in the fold, and have a rush of adrenaline as they attempt to avoid relegation, sitting just four points off the zone.

Luckily for Roma, they’ve had severe difficulties scoring goals against anyone (4 goals in their last 9 games, held scoreless 7 out of those 9), much less a team of Roma’s defensive capabilities; so to say they’d be lucky getting just one would be the understatement of the century. Actually, if they get 2+ goals I’ll fly to Rome and disembowel Doni myself. That’s a promise. (One I probably won’t keep but I’d at least think about it, so that’s something.)

And thus it begins. There is still a mathematical chance the season isn’t effectively over, but that’s simply numbers. I have no doubt Spal will play for the full three points every week for the rest of the season, but the question becomes who will see minutes that hasn’t seen all that many so far. The first name which pops to mind is Antunes. His playing time has basically come in the Coppa and a meaningless CL game, and his status for next year could still be up in the air – loan looks likely, but one never knows.

Adrian Pit? Perhaps? Strange to see him on the squad the full year with zero time on the pitch outside of the Coppa. Then there are guys like Mauro Esposito and Gianluca Curci, both of whom are almost certainly headed elsewhere in the summer (Espo sold, Curci on co-ownership/loan), and could do well to bump up their pricetags/sex appeal a bit.

But those are likely for the coming weeks. For this week, should be standard. The one overwhelming question I have is what happens when Vucigol comes off (he’s not playing every minute from here on out, that’s for damn sure). Ludovicious? Sure, but he’s less than ideal. Taddei? Mancini? Alright, but those are emergency band-aids. There is one guy I’ve felt for a while (I said it in the beginning here) on the roster who could potentially take Totti’s prima punta spot in the future when Francesco’s time is up: Alberto Aquilani. They aren’t like-for-like, but start thinking about Alberto’s first touch, finishing and passing qualities in that spot and……………

Last Five

Roma: WDWWD

Torino: LWLLL

I think both clubs would like a couple “do-overs”. Roma two, precisely.

Squads

Roma:

ANTUNES

AQUILANI

BERTAGNOLI

BRIGHI

CASSETTI

CICINHO

CURCI

DE ROSSI

DONI

ESPOSITO

GIULY

JUAN

MANCINI

MEXES

PANUCCI

PERROTTA

PIZARRO

TADDEI

TONETTO

VUCINIC

Torino:

Portieri: Fontana, Gomis.

Difensori: Dellafiore, Di Loreto, Franceschini, Lanna, Motta, Pisano, Rubin.

Centrocampisti: Asamoah Kwadwo (n. 24), Barone, Corini, Diana, Grella, Lazetic, Rosina.

Attaccanti: Bjelanovic, Di Michele, Recoba, Stellone, Ventola.

Key Injuries

Jesus.

Torino lost Matteo Sereni, which means Fontana in net being backed up by a 12 year old. Corini and Bottone are suspended. And Gianluca Comotto is out for the year, though his mouth isn’t.

Probable XI

Roma:

Doni;
Cicinho, Juan, Mexes, Tonetto;
DDR, Pizarro;
Taddei, Simone, Mancini;
Vucinic.

Seems pretty straight forward, though expect Marco Cassetti to come in later to rightfully reclaim his old spot and Alberto Aquilani to do the same. Pray they don’t get injured.

Torino:

Fontana;
Motta, Di Loreto, Dellafiore, Pisano;
Diana, Grella, Barone, Lazetic;
Rosina, Stellone.

Started out with similar last week, seemed to work alright….

Predictions

Let’s see, Roma got manhandled in Torino 3-1 and snuck down to the level for a sister smooching in the Serie A encounter over a few weeks in December. Then, in January, Roma put on a 45 minute clinic in the Coppa at the Olimpico. Where will this one end up? Somewhere in between.

Score: 2-0 Roma
Goals: De Rossi (21), Vucinic (36)
MOTM: Mirko
Mancini Give-A-Shit Factor: π

When: 1500 CET, 0900 EST
Where: Stadio Olimpico
Forecast: Sunny, 21°C.

Streaming: Here.

FORZA ROMA

 The Roman Derby was Lazio’s most important game of the season. Francesco Totti even laid flowers in front of the Curva Nord, purely because he’s classy. Add to that the fact that Lazio’s European ambitions ended a long time ago and the death of Gabriele Sandri and you have all the ingredients necessary for a major upset. (Did you see Delio Rossi run after the winning goal? The emotions displayed on his face demonstrated just that)

Lazio stopped hovering above the relegation zone just recently and are now in an Intertotto-esque position in the table. This is the best they can hope for under Lotito’s management.

You can’t fight faith my friends. Roma were not outplayed, just that Lazio couldn’t afford to lose the derby this time out. Karma worked its magic and there was nothing la Magica could do to modify the script. At least we’re still fighting for European supremacy…

Chris will prolly have something on the game eventually (Once he crawls out of the foetal position we’ve all  been holding since Wednesday night)

Seeing I’m an eternal enthusiast, let’s talk about the future;

Mercato/Speculation time:

Doni seems to be on the verge of renewing his contract. Personally, it pisses me off that Roma have a Brazilian keeper. I know Doni came on the cheap but he isn’t exactly a world beater. A team like la magica has been working hard on all 3 fronts for the past 3 seasons now and we would like that to continue. A team Ambitions like Roma needs a keeper that can single-handedly win you a game once in a while. Unfortunately, Doni isn’t that keeper. That’s were Marco Amelia comes in once again. The Roman-bred keeper stated this week that: He would NEVER play for Lazio, NEVER! His blood runs giallo and rosso and has even offered Roma to pull a Damiano Tomassi style return at the end of his career! Cash in on the heart attack generator and bring in Marco now!

The Livorno Stopper has been magical all year and deserves some Champions League Football but please don’t let him got to England or Russia.

Ando Cazzo e il centravanti ?

I’ll just start taking for granted that Roma’s looking for a Centre Forward. It’ll be simpler if you do the same.

We know about the KJH and Mario Gomez links, The Amauri/Totti love fest and the Gila possibility (By his stock while it’s low!). All of Europe wants a piece of these strikers (ok, maybe not Gila) so Roma needs to prioritize its striking priorities

KJH is looking at Real Madrid, Mario Gomez is drawing interest form Milan as well, so basically the only rumour that has picked up some speed his the Gilardino one. It seems TGIP and Totti think they can convert the Gila into a bona fide born-again Calcio player.

I’m all for trying it out, if he comes cheap. But seeing Ancelotti pick Palloschi, Pato and Inzaghi before the Biellese bomber has surely caused Gila’s price to drop. Hell even Sampdoria are inquiring.

The new name that needs to be added to the Centavanti list is: Sevilla’s Luis Fabiano
The Brazilian Bomber’s claim to fame was the penultimate Copa America. Before moving to La Liga in 2005, Fabiano was drawing interest from Roma and Palermo, he finally chose Sevilla.

Luis Fabiano has scored 48 goals in 102 games in Spain and has 8 goals from 14 games when he’s wearing the VerdeOro. Fabiano’s fairly young, cheap and has only one year left on his contract, which makes him a realistic target. Not to mention that no one can throw a better looking bitch slap!

Centre Forward, Brazilian and affordable; what more can Roma ask for !

Marc Borriello a.k.a. the STD farm

Some echos of Marco Borriello are reverberating around Rome. I will reiterate what I have already said on the Italy page; Marco Borriello is the Fabio Quagliarella of the 2007/2008 season. Milan still owns half of the STD farm and his cartellino will probably make its way to le buste. Roma will be keeping a close eye on the situation as it unfolds.

The Young studs

Roma are seemingly keeping an eye on Tijani Belaid a 20 year old Tunisian part of Inter’s Vivaio. The kid is on loan at Slavia Prague and managed to score on his Champions League debut. I don’t know much about him, but let’s keep an eye out.

Speaking of players I know nothing about, Roma are testing out the ‘’new Kaka.’’ Fabrizio Messias (1990) has been training in Trigoria for the past week. He looks like Ronaldinho but he plays like Kaka(the player, not like shit), or so his agent says.

A decision should be made in about a week or so.

Outgoing:

TGIP, Aquilani and De Rossi are drawing interest all over Europe ! Thank You Captain Obvious!

How is this news? Who wouldn’t want them in their team? NEXT

Barcelona has singled out Amantino Mancini for next season. The Catalan club thinks Amantino would be a perfect addition to their Fantastic Four.

Amantino hasn’t signed yet; Sara Varone ! You need to work your Magic because this is starting to smell like Chivugate all over again…

Forza Ragazzi! Andiamo a prendere l’Europa intera !

Derby time.

This is supposed to be the “derby of peace”. You know what? Bullshit. This is not a time for social commentary, and it’s not a time to honor someone who had nothing to do with the game besides having a favorite team. That time is long gone for those at a distance – we, the fans – and that time is every day who knew the victim on an intimate basis. It’s a football game. One of the most heated and hate-driven games in the world of sport. Why don’t we just leave it at that? (As you know, I’m not a fan of crossing genres.)

Back to what it’s supposed to be about….the game. Somebody said it in the comments a few days back, a win here would be the scudetto for those suburban fuckers. They suck, once again, and they have nothing to lose and everything to gain here. They’re supposed to get crushed. The Goddamn Giallorossi are supposed to wax their asses up and down that pitch until the Lazies go crying back to the away locker room looking for a pile of Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder to soothe their diaper rashes while Gaby Mudngayi waits in the showers. The merda are supposed to be sent back to the rolling hills with their tails between the hills, looking for a nice flock of sheep to ease their sorrows with for the night.

And if Roma doesn’t cream them, or at least take three points? That’s their scudetto. It’s their season. The most successful season they could ask for, quite frankly. It won’t matter that they got manhandled by Milan, or that they finished last in their Champions League group, or that Claudio Lotito impregnated Tommaso Rocchi and he had an abortion so that Goran Pandev wouldn’t get jealous, or that they’ll head to Serie C2 before they ever win a scudetto again. Their inferiority complex will be soothed for way too long as they await another meaningless Serie A season – meaningless if you excuse the sheer joy they must feel for actually being in the top flight. (11 anni in B, was it?)

Of course, that’s what makes this game so dangerous. It’s not about form. It’s never about form in a derby. And it often has nothing to do with class. Anything can happen in a derby. How in the hell else would you explain Lazio having won even one in their history? They’ve never been the better squad, yet the footballing gods have lapsed and handed them victories, for reasons unknown. Showing us that a derby is a game apart from every game, where all that matters is the two teams that show up on that glorious day. Then again……

Roma is looking good right now. Damn good. It’s the best they’ve looked since the beginning of the season, when they started up with five clean sheets in a row. They’ve dethroned Real Madrid – the same team Lazyo managed a measly point against, the highlight of new millenium for the burini – and they proved their massive cojones with the improbable 3 minute comeback against Milan over the weekend. They’ve got form, class, beauty, The Mister, the gods and all the pretty ladies in the building on their side. Alas, they still have to play the game, to humor the masses.

The last derby we know about: Roma put three on the bastards from the burbs. And I think they were missing a little something…what was it? Oh yeah: Francesco Totti. I hear he’s pretty good. Given that he doesn’t have an infinite number of these left anymore, he may very well be more amped than usual, showing why he’s the best player in the world on his day, and by far the best player this derby has ever seen.

Then there’s that other guy, Daniele De Rossi, who has spent the last month putting on midfield clinics for the best attackers in the world. Quite simply, there is not a single player on the Lazyo squad who is worthy of getting within sniffing range of his golden jock. Their starting XI should be charged admission for the show he puts on while he takes ball after ball after ball off them like it’s candy from their toothless, illiterate children. Not a single player on the Lazyo rosa belongs on the same pitch as Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi. They should thank their lucky fuckin’ stars they get the opportunity to have their pants pulled down and spanked heartily by two living, breathing, ass-kicking Roman deities.

And then there’s the third entry in The Holy Roman Trinity, King Alberto, whose derby exploits are well known in these parts, limited though they may be. All I can say is this: he damn well better start or I’m going to have some words with Spalletti. Screw tactics, you can’t tell me for a second David Pizarro is going to give one fraction of the heart and soul to this game that a born Romanista will. He has to start, and if he does, well Signora Ballotta had better start hiding behind those goal sticks like Paolo Negro….it’s going to be raining bombs. It’s a derby, a Roman derby, and only one team has the Roman legends.

Quite frankly, the three names listed before you are exactly why this derby is absurd: Lazyo is not in Roma’s class, they’ve never been in Roma’s class and they’ll never be in Roma’s class. Sadly, the Giallorossi will simply have to entertain their delusions for another year while we await their eventual – and permanent – descent to the dungeons of calcio, putting all this derby shit to rest.

There’s one team in la citta eterna, and its name is Associazione Sportiva Roma.

Here’s a Pot-Pourri, a Melting pot, a ramassis of Mercato stuff :

Let’s get right in to this !

So it seems like la Roma is interested in half of La Viola ?

Gazzetta is reporting that Roma are interested in Fabio Liverani, Tomas Ujfalusi, GP Pazzini and Adrian Mutu.

Liverani :

Fabio Liverani is a Roman, self-hating Romanista and has recently declared how honoured he would be to grace the Red and goldish colours. However, Liverani was a LAZIALE ! That’s why it didn’t work out in the 1st place. Rolando Bianchi ”once was” a Roma target as well. Check this out !

I know Fabio Liverani was linked with Roma before signing in Purple ink. Spalletti likes Liverani’s non 5 foot 4, David Pizarro-ness . He would arrivee dirt cheap and would make for an acceptable 5-6th midfielder. But aren’t we supposed to be nurturing guys like Ahmed Barusso and Ricardo Faty ?

Nope!

Ujfalusi :

For free I wouldn’t mind. He’d have to be happy with a less than Ferrari-esque role and cost next to nothing and that’s only if Jeremy Mathieu doesn’t come by. Ujfalusi’s upside is that he can slot in pretty much anywhere on the defensive line.

Only extremely cheap and accepting a limited role a la Leandro Cufre, so basically no

Mutu:

FUCK! I hate the guy* but now that he’s injured all hell has broken loose. Rosella and Prade (the other DP) are probably preparing a bid as we speak.
*Maybe not as much as Chris though.

Pazzini: Ok so he scored 3 goals in Wembley stadium, hailed as Luca Toni’s replacement and likes to poke his eyes while celebrating goals. But common.! I’m guessing he would be too expensive anyways. Add that to the fact he ain’t no Klaas-Jan Huntelaar.

Speaking of KJH, Reportedly Daniele Baldini, Roman emissary extraordinaire went to Amsterdam recently, and it wasn’t only to enjoy the world class ganja, but also to start negotiations/talks with Ajax.

Alberto Faccini, a sort of Ernesto Bronzetti but for Holland, has confirmed that Roma are among 758 English teams in the hunt for the hunter’s services. Faccini seems to think Roma have a good chance nonetheless and has confirmed that there has been concrete contacts between Amsterdam and Rome. 20 Million Euros is the minimum bid to start negotiations.

KJH isn’t the only Ajax player on the Roma radar. It’s no secret that dreaded Urby Emanuelson has also received roman flowers from trigoria. The young, explosive Left Back is one of the players being considered as Tonetto’s replacement (not Vice-Tonetto, New and Improved Tonetto) The kid ‘s worth about 12 Million Euros but it’d be great to see him an Cicinho running up and down the flanks at blazing speed.

Cicinho to Man City ?

Ya okay ! and Claudio Lotito is going to purchase Roma any minute now. Did you see Cici (pronounced ; See-see (like the Texan version of Sissy but with a Portuguese/Spanish/Italian twist) kiss that jersey ? D’you see Bruno Conti ? )

His agent had reiterated his desire to stay in the Eternal city even before his wonderful display against Florence. The Real Madrid start is questionable, but the only reason he saw no pitch time at all was because of Juan’s contusion. Or else he would have been speeding threw the Madrid Flank.

Plus Spal said Cici never asked to leave, I’ll keep Cicinho in Roma myself if I have to.

Maybe this has something to do with Valeri Bojinov’s recent comments about wanting to play for Roma someday. Dude, you were once a Juventino!

What is this Amauri for Alessio Cerci, Stefano Okaka Chuka + 15 M$ Euros bogusness?

What are you freakin’ crazy? Okaka Chuka will be better than Amauri in less than 3 years! Even Rosella isn’t that stupid, even she can resist the fact that Amauri has been recently injured. No way in hell would Roma sacrifice money + the future. It’s either or Zampa.

Zamparini has been denying everything anyways saying how only Aquilani and Vucinic really interest him. I know the hype machine has been running hard on Amauri, I mean his agents deserves a Degree Honoris Causa just for getting the bidding this high already. Amauri’s good, enough so that even some members of the Italian media are wondering if he shouldn’t be selected for the Azzurri. But please, this guy hasn’t played a 50 games for Palermo that he’s already considered a Luca Toni 2.0 ? Let’s calm down here. Although seeing Totti alongside Amauri would be exciting, we already have more than enough Brazilians on the squad and I’d much prefer we go after Mario Gomez and his 23 years of age. (Please don’t crucify me but I’d prefer to see Gilardino over Amauri, purely as an Azzurri fan. I think Roma, Spalletti, DDR and Totti would work wonders for the ex-Parma player’s career. Albert’s a real Centravanti, we can’t deny he has talent and if Spal managed to turn around Perrotta’s career imagine what he could do with AG. Forza Italia!)

Hatem Ben Arfa ?

Speaking of French targets, It seems as though Roma have joined the race with Barcellona, Manchester United and Tottenham to secure the young French International’s services. Hatem Ben Arfa won’t come cheap and I think this is only Roma backing their Asses in the highly unlikely possibility of seeing Mancini leave. We know Lyon is more than just interested.

If all hell breaks loose in the contract negotiations between Roma and strong>Mancini, and I doubt it will because of…well… Sara Varone, Only at that time does the Ben Arfa situation become slightly more plausible. Altough Ben Arfa will be huge one day, just ask Inara

How about some defenders now?

Roma are scouting another young Frenchman ; Habib Bellaid. The 22 year old CB from Strasbourg has a contract that runs all the way to 2011, but that hasn’t stopped Roma’s interest. The French U21 player is makin’ about 400 000 a year in France, which’s exactly in Roma’s budget. Let’s hope ex-teammate Ricardo Faty can help broker the deal if ever it’s needed.

Maurizio Domizzi’s agent is saying that the Napoli stopper is ready for Roma

Domizzi’s agent, Danilo Caravello spoke to Romanews.eu recently;

Ci conferma le voci che vorrebbero Domizzi alla Roma nella prossima sessione di calciomercato?”Le ho sentite anch’io queste voci, speriamo possano concretizzarsi al più presto…”Il giocatore gradirebbe questa possibilità

“Senza ombra di dubbio, anche perchè Maurizio è romano. E’ cresciuto nel vivaio della Lazio, ma è romanista da sempre. Chiunque gradirebbe giocare in una squadra come la Roma”.Domizzi è pronto per una grande squadra?

“Sicuramente è un giocatore importante. E’ uno dei migliori difensori del campionato italiano. Secondo me ha dimostrato di essere un giocatore da Roma”.Qual’è la valutazione del giocatore?
“Per me siamo tra i quattro e i cinque milioni di euro”.

Free Translation:

Roma interested in Domizzi?

Yeah! I heard that and i hope we get it done as quickly as possible

Domizzi would be happy about this?

Of course! Without a shadow of a doubt my friend, Maurizio is a Roman. Ok so he played his youth soccer (very young) with Lazio. But Maurizio has always been a Roman Romanista at heart. He would love playing here

Domizzi’s ready for the big time ?

Of course, he’s an excellent defender , one of the best in Italy at the moment. For me, he has shown that he deserves to play for a big team

How much is he worth:

I think between 4 & 5 Million Euros

Domizzi: Now that’s what I’m talking about! Ciao Ciao Ferrari. I love Domizzi’s Grinta and think he would be an decent (if he comes cheap) Back up as CB and a good mentor for Andreolli,Freddi and the other kids. This guy’s a bulldog. He’s a Gennaro Gattuso dressed in torn jeans and a leather jacket, with a switch blade between his teeth

How much do you think those 2 romanian kids cost?

Browsing through the latest Roman Financial reports I found this :

Sebastian MLADEN and Alex Daniel PENA from the Scoala de Fotbal Gica Popescu Craiova cost exactly 516 Euros a piece. Now that’s what I call a good deal ! We also made 350 000 Euros with the sale of Alessandro Tulli to Lecce.

Finally, I’d like to say a big screw you to PriceWaterhousecoopers and all their French Oscar love, Roma will not be sold dickwats !

All of this wouldn’t have been possible withoutto Romanews.it and it’s almost stalkerish, yet extraordinaire AS Roma coverage. Thank You Romanews!

Bring on Madrid !!!

Roma start their crucial month of March with a game in Parma, If you don’t believe me ask Francesco! You’d think that after an emotionally charged encounter with Inter we’d have at least 6 days to get over it, But Serie A don’t play that way. They like to have their biggest games on Wednesdays, Rome derby included. Add that to the fact Roma’s travelling to Madrid in less than 4 days and you get… Turnover!?!?

What!? Spalletti knows what turnover is ?! (Hey Spal, Why not try a 4-4-1-1 while your at it ? Remember how Lippi used Totti as a supporting striker in Germany ? They went on to win the WC so maybe Lippi was onto something by playing Jesus in the same position he’d been playing for his whole life. Stick Vucinic up top and let him poach and hold the ball up !) Looks like Brighi and Esposito might make it into the line-up and OMR a.k.a The Panuchster a.k.a. 1940’s haircut will be moving to CB for this game. (If the Gazzetta isn’t lying) But don’t worry, there won’t be any Adrian Pit(z) sightings

This is why this game’s a dangerous one. Let’s remember Parma gave Inter a run for their money the last time they played. And if it wasn’t for bad refereeing (Yup!), The Parma Prosciutto Posse would have snatched a well deserved 3 points from that encounter. I have no idea why the Tardini outfit is hanging out with Lazio and Livorno at the bottom of the table. We need to watch out, for Parma’s a sleeping giant that we don’t want to wake up. They’ll be heading onto to the Olimpico’s pitch with confidence after coming down from a Midweek high after they beat Udinese 2 to Nil.

This is what Happened last time:

Squads :

Parma :
Bucci;
Coly, Falcone, M Rossi, P Castellini;
Dessena, Morrone, Cigarini, Pisanu;
Gasbarroni; Lucarelli
Note to David Pizarro : Luca Cigarini ; Watch and learn DP, watch and learn…

Want more news about Parma ? Go here

ROMA

Roma are without Teen heartthrob Philou Mexès. A dislocated shoulder means Marco (smart parents) Cassetti is out for about 20 days. Bad news for Marco, but that’s great news for Cicinho and his fans. I also do not think Spalletti will want to risk the easily contused legs of Juan a.k.a J-Smooth a.k.a. Chivu who?

Probable Starting Line-Up

Doni
CICINHO!, Panucci, Ferrari, Tonetto;
Brighi, Aquilani;
Esposito, Perrotta, Vucinic;
Totti

Who ?: Roma (2nd place, 52 points) v Parma (14th place, 25 points)
When ?: Saturday, 1st March 2008, kick-off 18:00
Where ?: Stadio Olimpico, Roma
Why? 1- Because Roberto Mancini’s an untalented tactician. 2- Because we can’t play Madrid just yet
Streams : Here and Here

Prediction : 3-1 Roma

Vucinic will get a brace and Cicinho will blast one in from afar. Lucarelli will head in a useless goal for the Parma Parmigiano/Prosciutto Posse.

Forza Ragazzi!

Inter – Roma

La Liga’s big clashes manage to catch my eye but I can’t seem to get excited about the Ping Pong-ish style of The Premiership. (And don’t get me started on the damn USL league!) I, for one, love Calcio unconditionally. Unfortunately, Serie A’s reputation has been taking a bruising in recent years. Even the amazing WC 2006 win seems to have been overshadowed by different controversies;

Marco Materazzi’s headbutt reception means the French Fans will never admit to losing cleanly.

Then Calciopoli happened; Means pretty much everybody thinks Serie A is the only corrupt league in the world and that it’s not worth watching ”mafia” fixed games. Serie A witnessed a massive exodus of its stars and it’s membership in the Euro Big 3 club was being reconsidered by almost everybody outside the boot.

Why can’t Calcio/Italian Football get the love it deserves?

Not only that, Inter has been ”monopolizing” Serie A standings for the last 2 years. Causing Calcio to look like if there was only 1 horse in the Scudetto race. Thus, making Serie A a dull league.

I want to see this change. Serie A doesn’t deserve all of the dirty looks it has been getting by its European colleagues over the last few years. If being World Champs isn’t enough, Calcio needs something good…amazing.

How do we fix this? How can Serie A be able to bask in all of its glory once again? And Above all, WTF does this have to do with Roma you say?

With a crazy foto finish Scudetto race; and this exactly where Roma comes in. Serie A needs a battle to the end, a neck-and-neck,close contest type of thing. It could happen. And if Serie A’s fixed WWE style like some people might want to think, then this would be a perfect season ending Script/Scenario. Inter being the heel of course (I’m am so sorry for the wrestling metaphor).

Worst case scenario : Inter wins the Scudetto and no one lives happily ever after

Best case scenario : Inter loses to Roma making it a 6 point gap. Then Inter lose to Milan and/or Juve. They lose to Palermo and/or Fiorentina and draw Parma on the last matchday. Thus, seeing Roma win a well-deserved Scudetto

Inter need to win best supporting actor in Serie A this year. And all this will start with a Roma win on Wednesday.It’s time for Inter to stop hogging the top spot and step aside and let Roma shine in the Serie A Spotlight before winning the Champions League next year as well. Thus, consecrating itself as a legendary European club, as it should be

Match :

To say ; The outcome of this game will affect the Scudetto race is an understatement. This is the Big one;

TGIP’s saying this is the Match of truth ; ” The match against Inter can be described as the `match of truth,’ because if we beat them we confirm we are the team that has caused them most hassle in the last two years, and we reduce the gap at the top of the championship,”

Spalletti then added: “Inter have more of a physical presence, and can change the course of a match with one single action. We on the other hand play more as a team, and we will be looking to use our speed to our advantage.”

As for Inter, Roberto Mancini’s saying that a draw would suit his team just fine: No shit Sherlock! We know that this won’t be a cakewalk but Inter can’t think they’ll be facing a demoralized 10 man Roma team this time out as long as LP remembers Aqui is better than DP. Yippie!

Squads :

Inter

1 Abbondanzieri, Roberto Carlos
23 Ustari, Oscar

2 Ayala, Roberto
21 Burdisso, Nicolás
7 Samuel, Walter
17 Cufré, Leandro
6 Heinze, Gabriel
15 Milito, Gabriel

16 Aimar, Pablo César
5 Cambiasso, Esteban
22 González, Luis
8 Mascherano, Javier
19 Messi, Lionel
10 Riquelme, Juan Román
13 Scaloni, Lionel
3 Sorín, Juan Pablo

9 Crespo, Hernán
20 Cruz, Julio Ricardo
14 Palacio, Rodrigo
18 Rodriguez, Maxi
7 Saviola, Javier Pedro
11 Tévez, Carlos Alberto

Form (D W W W D)

Swedish striking sensation Zlatan Ibrahimovic will again miss out with a knee problem. Mario Balotelli is called up has been called up because Julio Cruz is out as well. South American allstars Cordoba and Samuel join Dacourt and Cesar on the list of long lasting, tough acting injuries, proudly presented to you by Tinactin. That means we’ll probably get to see Mean Marco Materazzi, Tyson Rivas and Crystal Chivu. For their part, Luis Jimenez and Dejan Stankovic are returning to the squad.

If you want to hear more stuff about Inter, you’re on the wrong page!

Inter (4-3-1-2)

Julio Cesar;
Maicon, Burdisso, Materazzi, Chivu;
Zanetti,Vieira, Cambiasso, Stankovic;
Suazo, Crespo

This is what happened last time :

Roma

Form (W L W L W)

Let’s not make this more sequential that it already is…

4 JUAN SILVEIRA DOS SANTOS
5 PHILIPPE MEXES
7 DAVID MARCELO CORTES PIZARRO
8 ALBERTO AQUILANI
9 MIRKO VUCINIC
10 FRANCESCO TOTTI
11 RODRIGO FERRANTE TADDEI
14 LUDOVIC GIULY
15 VITORINO GABRIEL PACHECO ANTUNES
16 DANIELE DE ROSSI
18 MAURO ESPOSITO
20 SIMONE PERROTTA
21 MATTEO FERRARI
22 MAX TONETTO
25 CARLO ZOTTI
26 ADRIAN FLORIN PIT
27 JULIO SERGIO BERTAGNOLI
30 MANCINI ALESSANDRO FAIOLHE AMANTINO
32 DONIEBER ALEXANDER MARANGON (DONI)
33 MATTEO BRIGHI
77 MARCO CASSETTI

Juan is out while Cicinho’s suspended. The only question Mark is Amantino’s fitness. Miss. Varone, can you please layoff Mancini until Thursday? That would be much appreciated

Roma (4-2-3-1):
Doni;
Panucci, Ferrari, Mexes, Cassetti;
Aquilani, His DDRness
Taddei; Perrotta, Vucinic
Totti

Who ?: Inter Milan (1st place, 60 points) v Roma (2nd place, 51 points)
When ?: Wednesday, 27th February 2008, kick-off 20:30
Where ?: San Siro, Milan
Why ? To end Inter’s supposed Serie A Supremacy.
Streaming : Here or Here
PEOPLE AT WORK : Fuckin’ Corporate FireWalls! You might want to try this. It usually shows the Big Games…

Categorical Matchups :

Inter vs Roma ; It doesn’t get any more categorical than this.

Final Analysis:

Don’t ask me to analyze this game. I can’t. I’m too freakin’ stoked about this encounter. I’m trying to put some thoughts together but Carlo Zampa’s voice is stuck in my head and won’t stop screaming Forza Ragazzi! FORZAAA!

It doesn’t matter who’s on the pitch, Roma will want to show Europe from what Pasta they’re made from. Inter has crazy money…I mean talent. All of their players are international stars, Chivu being the exception that confirms the rule of course. DDR and Totti can stand up to anybody on that field tomorrow. Roma has a united squad that can stand up to the un-homogenous, individually talented being that is Arg-Inter ! Not only does Roma need to win to keep the title hopes alive. They need to win in honour Calcio’s beauty.

Prediction :

3-1 Roma

Er Pupone hasn’t scored since Week 18 against Atalanta. Don’t foget the Golden Boy loves to score at the San Siro whatever colours the stripes he’s striking against are. Mr. Totti deserves a brace. It’s pallonetto time bitches! Who cares if Jimenez gets the only Inter goal ? DDR will get the other with one of his patented bombs

Forza Ragazzi ! Andiamo a prenderla! ‘sta partita determinanta è nostra ! Forza Roma !!!!!!!