Damn Right

By: vin | July 19th, 2008

Finally, someone who Prade might actually *hear* has spoken, and the good news is that he agrees with us:

“If we want to compete with Inter, Milan and Juventus, we need at least two more important players. At the moment, we are the fourth strongest in Serie A.”

“I like Baptista and hope he does come to Roma, but we need another reinforcement after that.”

So says Il Capitano. But is Prade listening? Who knows? What we do know is that Prade is in Madrid, presumably to negotiate Baptista’s move (and maybe that of Reyes as well), but if you listen Prade, he’ll tell you that he’s in no rush.

For that, I can think of only one response: No rush Prade? Perhaps you should look at the calendar and see what the other squads have done to date.

Well, at least he’s in Madrid. That’s a step, right? As far as what he’s doing there, I have mixed feelings; on one hand, the terms of the Baptista signing sound fairly reasonable, although I’d definitely prefer the loan option over the outright purchase. The Reyes deal, however, has me a bit nervous. I mean… 8 million euros? (La Gazzetta or Corriere dello Sport – I forget which – also mention that figure.) Here’s my stance on that: If Atletico Madrid spent a truckload of cash to pay for a guy who didn’t produce a goal in 26 matches, it was their mistake, so they should have to pay for it – NOT ROMA. I say either Reyes comes at a bargain (i.e. under 4.5 million euros), or he doesn’t come at all. Of course… my name isn’t Daniele Prade, and nor is it Rosella Sensi.

So, with the rumored Reyes move potentially being a rip-off (yeah, I just said that), are there any alternatives? Well, Channel 4 has linked our beloved Giallorossi with one Mario Alberto Santana, whom I would jump for (over Reyes) in half of a heartbeat. On top of being far from hanging up his boots at 26 years of age, Santana has steadily improved throughout his career, and would hopefully come cheaper than Reyes. Most importantly, word has it he would find it “difficult to turn down Roma.” Does anybody want to pitch in with me to cover Prade’s ticket from Madrid to Firenze?

Totti in Blue (I’m serious this time.)

Moving past the calciomercato stuff for a moment, did anyone see the rest of Totti’s comments? It appears as though Il Capitano may be willing to bend on one past decision (Azzurri), but not another (Poulsen).

Regarding the former, here’s what was said:

“With Lippi I have a great relationship. I hear from him often. I also complimented him when he returned as I was happy for him. We have talked about the future and Lippi asked me how my rehabilitation is going.”

“If I’m well and I don’t have problems, it will be possible to address this issue in six months or a year.”

Alright. Now, I know that ever since Lippi’s return, the press has been all over Totti regarding the Nazionale, and until now, I thought that the “anything can happen” statements were basically just ways to say “never say never,” which makes sense to me. However, the “address this issue in six months to a year” stuff is totally different, I think. Specifically, the mention of a time frame indicates that Totti has actually put some thought into a return. Add to that the fact that he’s apparently in regular contact with Lippi, and maybe we WILL see Il Capitano in blue again.

Hmmm… A 33 year-old on a World Cup squad? It wouldn’t be the first time…