Aquilani Has Arrived & Real Lost Their Mind

By: chris | August 21st, 2007

(Still my favorite picture of any I’ve used here at the offside – My Boy)

I’m In A Mood And I feel Like Starting A Debate:

Guess what? Alberto Aquilani just relegated David Pizarro to discussing the plight of the Italian at Inter on the pine with Gianluca Curci, Ludovic Giuly, Matteo Ferrari & Friends. Even the most ardent Pizarro nut-huggers will admit that, sooner or later, Little David will lose his starting XI spot to Aquilani. It’s non-negotiable. Aquilani is a superduperstar in training and Pizarro has peaked. Alberto is born and bred Romanista and along with Daniele De Rossi and that Francesco Totti guy as long as he’s still kicking around, he will form the heart and soul of the Giallorossi for years to come. Everybody knows this.

Well, that sooner just got here fast. Real fast. Like now. Yes, it was only one game, but combined with his performance at the U-21 tournament, his impressive Roma displays in the past (including rabonas) and his undeniably spectacular individual talent, his time has come. Despite the cries that he is better suited to Simone Perrotta’s spot on the field (when he’s not getting sent off on the touchline, that is), it has become quite obvious his partnership with DDR is destiny. It’s just too perfect. While Inter didn’t exactly have a world-beating attacking midfield on Sunday, they did still have some pretty good talent out on the pitch. Easily capable of securing a midfield – which they did not do. Alberto and Daniele were the reason they couldn’t penetrate aluminum foil with Excalibur.

Aquilani was able to fulfill his defensive duties more than adequately, compose himself on the ball, keep tempo when necessary, thread passes, start up the counter and be the complete midfielder Roma needs paired with De Rossi in a system that asks for so much attacking assistance from its defensive mids and back four. How well does Roma control that midfield with David in there? Not nearly as well. Does he provide that much more from a playmaking stance? No. Would he have helped the true Achilles heel for Roma this summer, finishing? Not nearly. Will he help the squad this year? Duh. Obviously Alberto’s transformation won’t happen overnight, and there will be speedbumps along the way. But in big games, the games that matter, it will be Alberto getting the starts. Not David. It happened, just a lot sooner than we all thought – including myself. The future is now.

Oh, and Rosella just wasted €12m this summer (not wasted, but when she heard that price she should’ve sprinted in the other direction immediately). Could probably buy a pretty decent fullback – or two – with that kind of bank, no? Chew on that. Feel free to rebut and verbally stone me. (And if you hadn’t noticed, Alberto is rapidly approaching DDR status for me)

Requisite mini-video (with rabona)…

Aquilani
Uploaded by elnorton

Your Daily, Soon To Be Hourly, Cicinho Update:

I’m nearly beyond words. In case you missed it, the always mature Real Madrid has decided to double Cicinho’s valuation over night to a mere €15m. Of course, this is per the Spanish paper AS, known for being afflicted with Algoreitis – which means they tend to just make shit up (like global warming). Even though Cici would be huge for Roma, I feel, as I mentioned yesterday before this development, that maybe it’s time to just walk away. Cicinho’s good, he’s not this good; even if he does have the potential to be. Throw that Cici money into a star LB and buy up a young, talented RB to add to the depth chart (Marco Motta, hellooooooo). If Real wants to come back and say they’re sorry and do the deal at the agreed price (€8m), fine. Or if Cici wants to force his hand, even better. But for now, just move on.

This is totally a crazy bitch “Maria” move. We may have to do alternative endings for the DVD.

The Happenings:

I) Keeping with the theme of the day, Alberto Aquilani was on the Calcio Italia’s Top 25 list of young players who play or have played in Serie A, have an Italian passport, or once vacationed somewhere in or around Italia. Courtesy of Gianfranco, the list:

Top 25 Young Players in Serie A
25. Marco Andreoli, Roma
24. Alessandro Potenza, Fiorentina
23. Arturo Lupoli, Fiortentina
22. Danile Dessena, Parma
21. Robert Acquafresca, Cagliari
20. Mourad Meghni, Lazio
19. Bosko Jankovic, Palermo
18. Antonio Nocerino, Juve
17. Dias Felipe, Udinense
16. Anthony Vanden Borre, Fiorentina
15. Cristian Zapata, Udinese
13. Marek Hamsyk, Napoli
12. Ralph Palladino, Juve
11. Domenico Criscito, Juve
10. Valon Behrani, Lazio
09. Valeri Bojinov, Fiorentina to Man City
08. Edison Cavani, Palermo
07. Alex Rosina, Torino
06. Giorgio Chiellini, Juve
05. Gourcuff, Milan * – Who has apparently felt a Brazilian kinship at Milan and switched to the one word moniker
04. Ricardo Montolivo, Fiorentina
03. Giampaolo Pazzini, Fiorentina
02. Alberto Aquilani, Roma
01. Guiseppe Rossi, Villareal

First of all, don’t even get me started with Rossi at number one. Yes, he had a spectacular few months with Parma, but if he was really number one, Sir Whiskey Nose would’ve found a way to get him on the squad – and not spend half the GPD of Mongolia on Nani. Good, but highly overrated. I’d assume this list might be based on performance, which would have to put Rosina much higher for me, although if it’s talent alone my mind goes directly to Montolivo (I’m putting my extreme Aquilani bias aside for the moment).

Needless to say, Calcio Italia isn’t exactly known for their expertise. Or, having any fucking clue whatsoever. However, I do wish there were more Roma players on this list. Stefano Okaka Chuka is certainly one of the top 25 talents in Italia, same with Gianluca Curci, though neither have really earned their stripes in Serie A yet. Marco Andreolli is also certainly higher than 25th in terms of talent, but kids don’t exactly have much of a chance to make their way past the 13 Argies in front of them on the Inter depth chart, so his experience is severely lacking. Anyway, it’s nice to see Alberto given credit for his talent and performances (especially when filling in for Totti two years ago). You could put him at #1 and probably wouldn’t hear too many arguments.

* – Oh, and Fiorentina is looking good for the future. Real good.

II) Francesco Modesto Watch:

According to various sources, the deal is off. According to more sources, Inter has decided to continue with their practice of buying up players Roma has scouted intently and/or purchased already. Well, when you have the tactical genius of Roberto Mancini at the helm, it’s hard to blame Moratti for stuffing his wish list in the back of his desk and sending out his spy team (fresh off their hiatus post-Bobo Vieri duty) to collect The Grand Imperial Poobah’s wishlist and/or team roster.

Whether this is legit or just an attempt at retribution for the Super victory I have not a clue. On one hand we do know Moratti likes Roma players and targets. On the other, it does look suspiciously like an attempt to drive Modesto’s price up with Reggina – because Moratti knows Rosella doesn’t have bank – or combat boots – to throw around. Not a clue. Nor would I be altogether upset if Modesto went to Inter and Roma picked up a different, more talented LB like an Asier Del Horno.

Either way, Moratti is a child.

III) Simone Perrotta will miss the Palermo game for saying not such nice things to the wittle weferee. Awww, big, bad Simone is such a meanie. I guess we can look forward to watching Ludovic Giuly miss beaucoup sitters once again.

* – From Fox Soccer Report, verbatim: Roma beat Inter “despite being reduced to 10 men in the 71st minute.” It’s getting to the point where I’d rather have FSC just be Tommy Smyth saying “bulge the ole onion bag” on loop 24/7 like he’s got repetitive Tourette’s. Alright, maybe not. But let’s just say the only way FSC could get less journalistic credibility or more of a dip in ratings is if they hired Katie Couric to anchor the news segments.

IV) I’m beginning to wonder if Matteo Brighi has even unpacked yet. First Napoli, now Udinese. It looks like he a Manuel Blasi are tied together in both cases, with it being a “one or the other” type situation. Saturday I said I couldn’t see this happening, that the team is already thin in the central midfield area. Now it looks as though Lulu Gulu is Perrotta’s sub and Mirko Vucinic will be taking over on the left wing when Mancini is busy hanging out with Little David on the pine. That leaves a backup for every position and Brighi as the lone man out. Who the hell knows anymore. I’ll tell you what I think is going to happen with Matteo on September 1st. Until then, enjoy what’s left of the silly season.

(Spalletti has decided to keep Brighi around…today)

IV) Speaking of backups, it looks like Shabani Nonda has said “hells no” to Wigan Atletic (Smart move) and “absolutely” to Portsmouth. It’s obvious Shabs isn’t going to earn a starting spot in Rome unless the apocalypse arrives – again – and Totti gets injured badly (knocking on wood profusely). But wait, if Shabs and Brighi are sold, and Mirko is busy serving an apprenticeship under Mancini, then who backs up Totti? Kevan “I’m the next Luca @#$%ing Toni” Zarineh is on loan to Cisco Roma under the tutelage of Paolo Di Canio (Christ almighty….), as well as Okaka Chuka, which leaves Roma pretty thin up top. Adrian Pit (Pronounced ‘Piz’) backing up on the left? I need to stop before it starts to get ugly. Let’s just hope one of Shabs or Matteo sticks around. It’s better for the health of us all.

V) I’d like to take this moment to let all of you know a dream of mine has come true. Samuel Kuffour is likely headed to the Prem to be coached by none other than Roy “Studs Up” Keane (see Shabs’ link). Sunderland just got a new fan. Or at least a rubber-necker watching the train wreck.

VI) According to Fox Soccer Channel here in the states, Philippe Megches was dubbed in their Serie A season preview the best defender in Lega Calcio. Which is pretty much the only smart thing said during the entire show. I want that 30 minutes of my life back.

Also, Samuel Kuffour and Juan will be the first defenders off the bench next season. Apparently their fact-checking department consists of Eric Wynalda and a Down Syndrome baboon. Oops, sorry about the redundancy there.

Some Related Roma Posts:

Category: Team News, Transfer Rumors

« Roma Wins A Trophy At Inter…Again | Home | Strikers? Pfft. Who Needs ‘Em? »

DOe

cicinho's deal is wasting our time. we must looking for someone else... maybe chielini?
chris

Figured it was a good topic so I'd touch on it in today's post, but maro, I mirror you sentiments in the second paragraph.

Shield, I'm sure Chirs will like it. Chris does too.
maro

Actually, Shield, I wasn't really saying anything like that at all. I was just suggesting that the logic of the argument that because we were interested in Suazo we believed we needed another striker then and therefore still do now doesn't hold. Having Suazo instead of Esposito, say, might make perfect sense. CMP is suggesting we forgot to get a Suazo-type player when we missed out on him, as it were. And I'm saying that Esposito and Giuly and Vucinic are those Suazo-type players. Spags never intended to get an out-and-out striker over the summer - that wasn't the spot he was ever thinking Suazo might fill - and therefore we're very unlikely suddenly to go looking for another forward now.

I think the problem with Nonda is just that it's impossible to keep him sharp without treading on Voochie's playing time. There is, no doubt, a very real risk going into the season with only 2 strikers, even if your plan is to play with one up top. It's not quite so straightforward as the usual case of having two players per position - because it's such a specialised position, it's more similar to that of a keeper where a squad will always have three options. Teams which play two up front are simply much better covered with four alternatives since you will always have midfielders who could comfortably play as a second forward and, anyway, you have the cover which comes in numbers (whatever the right stats term is here - no doubt Chris will be able to help me out). I should imagine that Spags is thinking that Mancini and Esposito could cover at a pinch - Esposito is presumably listed as a striker because having played so much in the 4-3-3 you can just as easily call him a wing-forward as a winger. That, no doubt, leaves everyone a bit nervous, but my sense is that he wants to use Vooch both as Totti's number two and as a winger from time to time to give him plenty of game time. That's a big risk, but I think it's also the kind of risk that having Totti in your side playing as the lone striker almost forces you into taking.
RomaShield27

Actually I dunno if 'Chirs' will like it, but I'd say that CHRIS, given the love that he has displayed for Alberto, may...
RomaShield27

Oh and Chirs, if you like that picture of AA (I always thought it a great shot also), you may enjoy this:

http://img215.imageshack.us/im...
RomaShield27

Still, I'm man enough to admit I had wet dreams at the prospect of seeing Suazo, Vucinic and Totti in the same all-attacking line-up, with Totti remaining as prima-punta and the other two wide on the flanks. This, of course, you may scream, goes against my previous long-standing rumblings of seeing The LitM continually played out of position, but hey, in the end, its hard to argue with a Golden Boot winner. So what your saying, Maro, is that if we had of secured Suazo way back when we wouldn't of acquired full-ownership of The LitM, or would of used him as a bargaining tool to strengthen other positions (such as a straight swap for Messi)? Perhaps. But, I see no reason why couldn't of had both, really, considering could of signed Suazo if we put just a teeny bit of effort into it and he wouldn't of cost that much more than what we paid for Esposito and Giuly. It comes back to what Chris was sayin: as much as I want to see Shabani playing in anywhere thats not Europe, can we survive the season with only Totti and The LitM as our only natural strikers (although curiously asroma.it has Esposito listed as a striker)? Or does anyone think we may, if Shamani leaves, purchase a new cheap back-up forward? I can't help but think that perhaps we should of kept Okaka, or Zarineh even, if only for the sake of having cover if the worst should happen.
billiverdin

Oh yeah one more from from valencia miguel after del horno. Are they all right?
maro

Suazo would almost certainly have spent most of his time playing as one of our wide forwards, not as a striker in front of Totti. It was in those terms that even his agent was talking about him at the time we were interested in him. We went after Suazo, didn't get him, and hung onto Vucinic and brought in Esposito and Giuly. That's the way that line of reasoning has to go, CMP. He would have been asked to interpret the position very much as Vucinic did in the Supercoppa - starting wide but getting into central areas beyond Totti fairly often, giving us width on the left flank when needed and an option in the box when the ball was being worked on the right.
rocco

ant, i'm not german, i'm slovenian.. if you know where that would be? but you're right, i shouldn't generalize.. a lot of americans then..
maro

Chris, for your file on the little eagle - from the nice interview with Sacchi over on ilromanista today:
«Comunque la Roma ha avuto un altro grande merito...».
Quale?
«Quello di aver saputo valorizzare giocatori come Perrotta, Doni e tanti altri. Quando sono arrivati non erano così forti. E poi a Milano ho visto un grande Aquilani, un ragazzo davvero interessantissimo».

"Un ragazzo davvero interessantissimo." What a perfect way of putting it. Forza, Alberto.
george

heinze going to real madrid is the last nail in the coffin, cicinho is ours.
Romanista SA

Chris, as I recall Esposito can play up front. True?

Plus we have Vuci if things go really pear shaped.

I think we have enough versatility up front - enough so that we can send Nonda packing.

And with all this Cicinho rubbish I'm tempted to say let him go and rotate Cassetti and Panucci because I don't think Cassetti is especially horrendous or anything (like Kuffour for example) that you would rather play a right wing out of position.

So I'm actually reasonably satisfied with our depth (would still love to get Cici though) EXCEPT at left back. It seems the Roma management doesn't share my concern though seeing as they are happily being f*cked around by Mijatovic and co. Maybe they scheme that Juan can fill in at left back should something bad happen. And if something REALLY bad happens maybe Rosi? I'm not sure I like those contingency plans.

I think our time will be better spent renewing mancini's contract and getting a left back, rather than letting real swing us from pillar to post!
Razvan

if i say something about americans, germans or whatever the best part is that you basically cant say nothing new about romanians. we are low allready. lol
Ant

Until Germans stop making sweeping generalizations, they'll never understand irony.
rocco

well rossi definately is in top 5, but no.1?? maybe for some... and about americans, until they stop using cars with 20l or more per 100 km i'll believe they're just plain stupid..
josh

i dunno about soccer not being one of the biggest sports in north america, it is until the kids reach 13 then it spirals out of control, get some infrastructure at a teen level and wed prolly produce some talent. didnt we ( everyone ) all play mini soccer at some point?
john

"no one cares about soccer here (usa) anymore"? soccer was never a big sport in america. the fan base for us soccer is definitely growing. soccer is much more recognized sport today, n the usa games are almost always sold out, when they werent even close to being sold out 10 yrs ago.

n my man no real (knowledgable) fan of the us really considers donovan top 5. i donno where u get ur ideas from.

i donno about other americans but i dont care one way or another about rossi. we considered him a possible us player as he was born in the us but he rather play for italy. no big deal we got altidore. who can be a better player anyway. forza roma. sorry for the ranting.
Vlad

Tuttomercatoweb says Real is close to buying Diego Milito. He's not really a winger, but maybe he could be enough to calm down the fans enough to sell Cici. Also, Nilmar is now a free agent. If Vucinic really will play as a left winger, is it possible to go after him? I don't know much about him but at one point or another he was considered pretty good.
Vlad

I'm not American, but nobody cares about soccer here anyway. They still think Landon Donovan is at least in the top 5 best players in the world.
chris

Yes, he's good, but the Rossi hype-machine has gone way the hell out of control. He might make the top 10, certainly not top 5.

What's more, I don't get all this American love for him. He has consistently knocked the US, said he has never considered it his home, wishes he wasn't born there, etc etc etc
Vlad

I think a few players deserved to go ahead of Rossi, but you guys are seriously underestimating him. I know the talk of the last few months has been Giuseppe, but there's a reason. At barely 20 years old he scored 9 goals for Parma in just half a season. 9! If you factor in his arrival to the team during mid-season and little game time for Newcastle, then that's an incredibly impressive feat.

Yesterday Aquilani played great with Daniele, he's even starting, supposedly as trequartista for Italy, in Perrotta's spot. But I still think Pizarro and he will fight it out till the end of the season for a starting spot.
chris

I'll answer this simply:

Calcio Italia (British publication)

+

Giuseepe Rossi (Once played in the Prem and speaks English)

=

Best. Player. Ever.

(Basically, as a rule, English speaking media blows as a collective group)
rickard

Welll it wouldn't exactly the first time a football journalist would just not bother with any research. We're not exactly talking about a bunch of Woodsteins here.
And that list still has to answer for putting Rossi ahead of Aquilani, Rosina, Montolivo, Pazzini, Nocerino...
chris

i'll just copy and paste this from the Juve comment thread,

"rickard, that list was copied by Gianfranco of Milan Offside fame from a magazine. I’m sure he didn’t care about correct spelling or spelling entire names whatsoever."

I think you may have some deep personal issues with Calcio Italia. Care to share?
rickard

On that stupid, lazy, non-researched, misspelled list (who the hell is Alex Rosina and who the hell is called "Danile"? I don't suppose Gourcuff was ever christened with a first name, was he? But hey, he's South American and they all have single names. Oh wait...), of course Rossi is on top, I mean he's obviously become a superstar since he played for Newcastle on loan.
I mean it's not like someone like Al Aquelano has actually proven himself in any sort of tough competition, since Serie A is weak because Milan won the CL BUT BUT look at the so very significant semifinals and he didn't graduate from a youth academy that produced anyone worthwile, so he'll probably not amount to anything.
chris

So Cicinho is a big deal in Norway, I guess
rickard

You know when a transfer saga has been going on for a while? When you google "7 million £ in euros" to get the currency conversion, and the first search result is about Roma bidding on Cicinho.

http://www.google.no/search?q=...
Razvan

meanwhile Milan got Emerson...
so the "real dont sell" is not true. I start to belive Bronzyballs is right, need patience to get to Cicinho. My guess: He will be transfered on 31 August, 17.59 CET
Traian

I just read that Heinze knocked himself out of Manchester due to the feud with his own club on a potential transfer to Liverpool. Personally I don't like him much, but...hey, plays on the left and I am not a coach, so...What do you guys think? I guess he's pricey since he played for United, huh?
Avala

Bronzetti quoted telling RAI that the YesMan (aka SiSi)
wants Roma and Roma only.
Lorenzo

Bronzyballs has given many statements reassuring Roma fans about Cicinho. If my memory serves me (and it usually doesn't), he was never one of the ones that gave a 24 or 48 hour timeframe. He always said that Roma fans need to have patience and Cicinho will come. The fact that he may have, for the first time, stated that it should happen by tomorrow gives some reason for optimism. BTW, everything I've read indicates that the only reason this transfer is still a possibility is that Cicinho himself has stated that Roma is the only place he wants to go. Supposedly, Real has received several better offers.

In the meantime, it would be nice to hear about some progress in getting a LB.
chris

Bronzettiballs said Cicinho should be Roma's tomorrow.

Latest reports have me not giving a fuck anymore.
Romanista SA

George where did you hear Cicinho to be confirmed tomorrow?

Or are you a day behind the news?

Cos if that's the latest report I think I might never again read any news reports about players from Real Madrid.
Lorenzo

Latest reports have Prade flying to Bellinzona in search of a LB. Ok, just joking but just as believable as some of the latest insane reports.
Martha

At least you can't blame Inter for this particular moment of Real madness.
lgarzone

@ goduerza

it's true lol, aquilani's nickname is "il piccolo cocodrilo"
and it fits him well, he does look kind of like a little crocodile

and here is the video to prove it: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ifn...
george

cicinho to be announced tomorrow!!!!!

great news, finally.
Chico

Great game on sunday, I was very pleased and excited by Roma's performance. Although that might have been influenced by the fact that I was watching the game in a bar in Ibiza surrounded by the hottest chicks I have seen in the whole 2007 - what a place...
Anyway, I was really pleased by the form of Tonetto, Aquilani, Totti, Mexes. Positively surprised by the caothic but significant impact of Vucinic on the left (we might have found the vice Mancini). Overall a solid performance from the team.
To find a negative side, I really think Giuly is more effective on the right and I dont understand why Spalletti has not played him there yet. I see Brighi, Aquilani or Taddei being more suited to the vice Perrotta role. My view is that Spalletti is trying to justify the money wasted on Esposito or that he simply uses Giuly out of position because he wants both him and Taddei to start all games full stop.
The left back situation is currently heaven or hell, with Tonetto at his best being heaven and no player whatsoever (or Cassetti or Panucci) being hell, a bit like Ibiza or England in mid august.
I feel like saying let's forget about Cicinho and let's spend our money on a young leftinho.

P.S. I still wonder why we refused Samuel and Grosso for Chivu - the usual salary cap perhaps - but I feel that with those two we would have been even stronger.

Daje Roma daje
billiverdin

BTW DEL HORNO ?????????
billiverdin

FUCK MIATOVIC AND COMPANY
Romanista

Couldn't agree more about Aquilani.

I just hope TGIP doesn't let his man crush on Pizarro cloud his judgement.

And Real must kindly go to hell.
Goduerza

Actually,Aquilani's nickname is "The Little Crocodile" LOL
Traian

Yeah, I agree...Real will have to kneel in front of the Colloseum before reopening the negotiations with Roma. I still hope it will be done close to the deadline.
maro

Besides, having spent another couple of years learning from Alberto, Pizza will be a much more complete player and we'll be able to sell him on for something like 20mil+. And that's only, of course, if we think he's still not quite ready to compete with the little eagle for a starting spot.
chris

You're right. Good investment. Well worth the 12m.
maro

But surely Pizza's got loads to learn from the little eagle?
chris

Not backup, apprentice. Every fullback target will be groomed to eventually be a starter. Pizarro is being groomed for the pine. Big difference.

It's pronounced Mexes. Self-explanatory. FSC had it pegged more as Megjczhes.
maro

Phil.
Chris, why spend 12 mil on a back-up to Max or Panucci and not 12 mil on a back up to the little eagle? Makes perfect sense to me.
The_Tuna

LOL, after we bought Pizarro from Inter, FSC actually went and reported it the other way around. They have no clue when it comes to Serie A. Oh and btw what is the correct way to pronounce Mexes?