Roma v Arsenal Leg 2 Liveblog

By: chris | March 11th, 2009

Arsenal through. But the lads deserved it after their valiant fight. On so many levels.

Tonetto…MISS 7-6 Fnal.

Diaby…GOAL 7-6

Riise…GOAL 6-6

Sagna…GOAL 6-5

Aquilani…GOAL 5-5

Toure…GOAL 5-4

Totti…GOAL 4-4

Denilson….GOAL 4-3

Montella…GOAL 3-3

Nasri….GOAL 3-2

Baptista…GOAL 2-2

Walcott…GOAL 2-1.

Vucinic…SAVE 1-1

Van Persie…GOAL 1-1

Pizarro…GOAL 0-1

Eduardo…SAVE! 0-0.

Arsenal will be going first, and it’s Eduardo.

Riise looks like he’s got another 120 in him.

It looks as though Diamoutene – who has been so impressive based on such low standards today – might be going.

And here we are. Everything comes down to penalties with so many tired legs on the pitch. Who goes? Montella, Baptista, Aquilani? Those are a start. Are Pizarro and Totti’s legs good enough to go? Mirko’s? Does Riise have PK accuracy?

Montella wins it only for Mirko to give it up…Tonetto…Totti..Baptista. Stuffed. PENALTIES

Baptista straight to a Gunner. He’s been awful. Montella coming on for PK’s. On for Brighi. Standing O for Matteo today. Such a brilliant all around performance by everyone – sans a couple forwards – to make up for the loss of Juan in the back.

Nothing happening really….119 right now.

Totti…cross headed out…Pizarro bundled as he attempts to take a shot. The little man has earned my full respect today. He’s taken a beating and kept on chuggin’.

Class pass by Aquilani there. Tonetto with a cramp.

Brighi stcks a foot in to win possession…Motta running…cuts….Aquilani….Aquilani again….Baptista down in the box, no call.

Brighi…Totti….shot wide left. And it may have deflected upon further look. No dice – goal kick.

Aquilani wins possession…Totti on it but he’s well gassed and gives it up easily.

Mirko’s legs are gone as well. No life today – suspect he’s more injured than being let on.

Motta with a nice stop but Mirko can’t control his pass and Arsenal wind up on the counter with Nasri attempting an audacious chip that goes nowhere but well over the goal.

Free kick…Van Persie cross…too short…cleared out.

Both sides look well and tired.

Mirko slaloms through about 3 defenders before losing it at the top of the box.

nothing from the corner, Aquilani is bundled and he;s holding his right ankle – the hurt one.

Kickoff….immediately results in an Arsenal throw from about the corner flag. They, of course, get a corner eventually.

EXTRA TIME HALF

Aquilani ate too much spinach today. Everything is long.

Tonetto with a nice save in the box but a dangerous moment as RVP skies one 12 yards from the goal.

Aquilani’s limping ever so slightly and he’s a 90th minute sub. Fantastic.

I have absolutely no idea as to the time – sorry.

Motta caught too far ahead on the attack, here comes Nasri – acres and acres of MF space – Walcott cross blocked by Max for a corner…which goes out for a goal kick.

Totti has no legs left whatsoever. None.

98′ Baptista so easily muscled off the challenge. Brighi with it….Tonetto cross….into Almunia’s arms. The midfield for both teams is defensively nonexistent.

97′ Sagna forced to clear it for a throw with Miko steaming behind…possession…Pizarro…some Roma short work…..Motta’s flick is off but Roma regain…Totti fouled but somehow now call.

Totti…Mirko…stolen….Arsenal break…poor pass collected by either Piza or Motta. Aquilani on it now….Mirko…Totti shot deflects off Mirko for a goal kick.

95′ (?)Aquilani over the top for the second time and for the second time he’s far too strong with it. Settle down young lad. Or at least put it into one of those patented Howitzers.

Roma break…..Baptista with an awful, awful pass to an onrushing Arsenal defender. He’s been bad since, oh, January.

92′ And Riise again on Walcott. At least they’re attacking the guy with immense stamina.

Riise stifled Van Persie at the edge of the box. Atta boy.

EXTRA TIME KICKOFF

Both teams have one sub remaining and it’s not golden goal – at least not for Roma. If Arsenal score, it’ll be a steep uphill battle to get 2 goals on tired legs in less than a half hour.

So here’s what has happened: nothing short of minor disaster as any semblance of shape and tactics are gone, with the two seemingly most injured players going in – Totti & Pizarro – having to play a full 90 with one at least a full 120. This is no time to look ahead, but with standing suspensions and injuries, it’s fair to just write off the weekend’s fixture against Sampdoria.

FULLTIME

…but not before Aquilani takes Rodrigo’s place.

God this does not look good. Rodrigo is being stretchered into the locker room – he cannot walk.

Taddei hurt. This is nice. Oh, and he’s being stretchered off with his head in his hands. Here comes Alberto….

Long ball over the top evades Mirko…down the other end, RVP’s shot deflects wide for a another corner…eventually headed over the bar by Toure. Frightening times.

Three minutes added.

90′ Riise heads it out for a corner…RVP….cleared, Totti fouled.

Something’s wrong with the side of Motta’s face/head. Grass burn?

Looks to be a free kick for Arsenal when he and Nasri get up – and Marco is yellowed for his troubles. Excellent.

87′ Nasri dribbles himself out of bounds, which is nice. Thanks.

Motta run…..cross sent in is cleared out but only to Taddei, whose bumbling shot lands in Almunia’s arms.

86′ Eduardo coming on for Bedtner.

84′ David does well to break up play in the middle of the pitch. Shocked he’s still on the field.

82′ Two Arsenal breaks today thwarted by their own diabolical passing. Ball behind Bendtener steaming in for a 1v1 with Doni.

Baptista’s first touch fails again.

Arsenal corner, of course. But Doni learned to palm one. Atta boy.

Another solid challenge by a knocked Diamoutene. I have to say, really beginning to like this cat.

80′ Baptista you bastard. Misses a fucking sitter 6 yards from Almunia after gorgeous work by Pizarro, Motta and Totti.

78′ Somebody needs to Photoshop a ‘Statue of Julio’. His touch is becoming the new David for opposing counters.

77′ Some quick and intelligent ball work results in Baptista unable to chasee up a Pizarro through ball. Arsenal goal kick.

75′ I’m fairly sure that was Diamoutene who just made a wonderful headed clearance only to be followed by a great tackle by Riise on Walcott. Wonders.

74′ Walcott for Eboue. Roma loses bodies, Arsenal gets them back. How loverly.

73′ Motta unleashes an Aquilani special to no avail.

72′ Mirko looks positively exhausted and has for, oh, about 71 minutes…but he bakes Sagna right as I’m typing that. All hail Mirko.

71′ Short Arsenal corner headed well out.

70′ And David looks genuinely hurt. Awesome.

But, and I mean this in the kindest way possible, it’s probably best it happened to someone who wasn’t capable of a full 90 anyway. Even though he’s coming back on. (?)

Onto that extra time thing again: Arsene has yet to make a sub. Dangerous, particularly with Theo Walcott’s legs.

Pizarro down again. Knee to the ribs this time. This guy cannot catch a break.

66′ Scratch that, twas a corner. Cleared well out after Motta clashed heads with Gallas. Yes, that’s what’s needed.

Nice tackle by Sagna on Mirko, Roma throw. Quality defender he is.

I genuinely see, in my most optimistic heart of Roman hearts, no way that how this team as constituted can play 120 minutes. They have to play for the regular time win.

64′ A begging chance after Totti’s gifted the ball but an Arsenal defender sticks a leg in and it ends that opportunity.

Another Arsenal corner upcoming……Doni punches…Diaby on it, makes space and shoots wide.

David walks gingerly off, but looks as though he’s not quite finished. (Already asking to come back on.)

61′ Baptista breaks, stopped by Gallas.

Pizarro’s down and holding his thigh with what looks to be a cramp? Perhaps Alberto should get real ready, real soon…

62′ Totti with enough time to father a child and pen a novella but his shot from 25 lands in Almunia’s arms.

60′ Slowing the tempo down here for a bit, which they desperately need. This is going to be the most difficult time for these bruised bodies and tired legs.

58′ Short corner….cross is headed out. Huge Arsenal counter thwarted by a piss poor Eboue pass – only Riise and David were back and someone was wide open to receive a pass but Eboue hoofed it far wide. Incredibly shaky there..

Totti volley goes wide…Mirko slalom….he’s double teamed in the box, after slipping, and Roma win the corner.

56′ Dangerous long ball sent over the top but Doni’s able to reach it before it bites Roma in the arse.

55′ Class stop by Motta. Sagna puts in a lazy ball and Roma take it back the other way where Motta is called for the foul. Boo.

54′ Tonetto beats his man, whips it into the box…Roma regain possession but it’;s eventually knocked way forward for an Arsenal goal kick.

Diamoutene is limping. This is SPECTACULAR.

53′ Arsenal break and Eboue’s shot deflects out for yet another corner….dangerous header saved by Doni.

It appears Brighi is in the back, btw.

51′ Totti fouled again – Diaby is on a tear – and it’s a free kick from 35. Riiiise…..saved by Almunia on the floor. Hard shot, easy save.

50′ Totti to Motta….cross…Baptista dives for the header but it lands just wide.

48′ Riise starts a counter after a sweet tackle on RVP and is flattened by Diaby for his troubles; yellow to Abou.

47′ Mirko starts to slalom but is held up by someone (Diaby? I’m now in small screen stream mode) and Arsenal head down the other end where Riise, playing out left, is called for the foul. Another goddamn free kick within dangerous territory. Headed out, thankfully.

Aquilani warming up.

SECOND HALF KICKOFF

The lads are returning from the locker room.

Also, if you bombard that Sopcast stream and force it to lag, I will hunt you down and make your life a living hell. Group hug.

I’ve gone to Sopcast – Channel 68115 – after experiencing multiple disasters with embedded streaming. It’s in Russian, so that’s an added bonus over English commentary, even if you don’t happen to understand a damn word.

HALFTIME

The result is precisely what’s been needed, but let’s not let the favorable – or even – scoreline cloud the fact that Roma is now operating with precisely ZERO centerbacks with starting experience in the shirt. They’ve played well in Juan’s absence, but they need to keep Arsenal well away from the Roman box. Riise and Diamoutene? God help us.

44′ My stream went down but I’m hearing a penalty noncall. Maybe it’s best I didn’t see it?

42′ Roma break…stuffed quickly by Gallas. He did well there.

41′ Pizarro fouled hard by Denilson – knee on knee. Because that’s just what they need.

39′ Splendid move by Mirko to create some space but the shot is off.

Baptista with a predictably awful pass to Totti. His form is just rubbish right now, unfortunately.

38′ Headed out easily by Diamoutene it appeared (my stream isn’t fantastic).

Another goddamn foul won by RVP within crossing distance of the box. You’d think this were by design or something.

37′ Motta pushed over by Bendtner near the goal line – clear foul – no call.

Intelligent look by David for Mirko but someone was riding up Vuci’s backside and the ball went through to Almunia.

36′ Clichy sends in a nice lofted cross and it’s headed well by someone (Diaby, methinks) but into Doni’s arms.

35′ Poor Totti throw results in Motta knocking it out of bounds. we’ll give him those.

Totti and Mirko on the attack and Mirko slides a shot in that deflects up and over for a corner.

33′ Bendtner taken off the ball easily again. I think I may actually fear his sub – whomever it may be – more than anyone outside of Nasri today.

32′ Yet another dead ball situation where the ball can be whipped into the box for Arsenal. The sheer volume of this already is alarming.

30′ Seriously, though, what a fantastic half hour from Juan. Played a helluva game.

What is going on tactically right now? Who’s playing where? Do we even want to make a guess?

(Riise is in at CB. This should go well.)

27′ Unreal. Juan comes off injured. Baptista on. Unfuckingbelievable.

26′ Motta’s shot deflected out for yet another corner. Short….Motta unable to get off a shot in the far corner of the box.

Pizarro yellowed going back the other way.

25′ Brighi on it…Mirko…Totti…Tonetto…Taddei…Riise….David…Totti….fouled. That’s what possession does.

This day is no going well technologically, is it?

23′ Three quick chances in possession after Roma hounded Almunia; Taddei playing like this is the final.

The liveblog has been deleted due to system glitch, so we’ll just keep going from here.

God I hate Word Press.

Some Related Roma Posts:

Category: Champions League, Team News

« Arsenal: A Tale of One Man | Home | When Everything Is Not Enough. »

jamyang

hats off to the Giallorossi and i have never seen any team from anywhere played the match as romas did and they gave everything they got..its with pure heart.with so many missing staring eleven n i could not have ask more from these lads,i have been romanista cause of totti but with that performance i will be romanista for my life.from yesterday match i sure that Giallorossi have won the heart from many fan arround the world and they should comaback next year for champion league, without as roma from next year champoin league is blow to us romanista all over the world and i pray to god not play arround any more with us and help us prevent from any more injuries, bad call from reff and lets us get our deserve rank in seria and hope that Giallorossi will always play like yesterday.thank for all those joy n moment that i have.
Joe

Sabastino, I agree, also, the top guys on the Italian teams are too old, its like a seniority system. You can get away with it in the slower Serie A, but when you play against the faster epl style, they get overwheled..
Lupa

I couldn't bear to comment last night, I was so gutted. I see Totti says that he would have preferred to lose 3-0, as this was like a stab to the heart, which got me upset again.

However, as many have said I'm so proud of the team. Our back four was makeshift, featuring only one player who player who has started the majority of our games, one clearly unfit player (albeit our preferred starter) who had to leave, and the regular starter had to switch to a new position. The other defenders were two new guys, one with I'd guess less than 40 Roma minutes under his belt, up from Serie B into the Champions League, and one who should be our future starter. The back line, however, stood firm. (Motta impresses me more and more) We had at least 3 players out there that I normally wouldn't have expected to get a full 90 minutes out there, but they dragged themselves for 120 minutes. Pizarro showed a huge amount of heart. Has Tonetto even started for us this year? How game fit could he be? Totti we all know about. If this had been a Hollywood movie, one of those 3 would have scored the winner in penalties, but life isn't like the movies, and fate has a cruel way of playing tricks with us Romanisti.

Baptista - the guy has scored some big goals for us, but I've always felt that he doesn't truly fit our style of play and the less said about his touches the better. His confidence must be about zero now.

No excuses, we won the game but lost the series on penalties. We have to move on and forget this, although I expect Trigoria to be a very quiet place today and I wonder how many fit bodies we will have come Sunday.

Forza Roma!
Sabastiano

Hmmm... Three Italian teams went out and four English teams advanced to the next round!!! What in the Hell is happening to Italian teams for a third year in a row no one is able to advance to the semi-finals / finals of the champions league. If you ask me, I say that the problem is that Italian teams; such as Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus & Roma are not concentrating to sign the elite players of the world and mostly do not focus on young guns. Todays game you need young guns, talented players and mix them with experience players. The young talented players are always hungry to show the best of their abilities for 2 important reasons; one is to win a trophy to list it in their CV's, eventually that will raise their stock in the market which means more money more luxury and that is ambitious. While the old players are not so hungry anymore and exhausted, they play because the love of the game and that is important.
Tarek

I'm heartbroken! It's awful.... but oh well, at least we played well
Tarek

ahh I'm heartbroken!
lalapolala

*3 aspects
lalapolala

buy more player?nah..i think we should improve on these 2 aspects.

1. The medic team.
2. The training.
3. Give Menez gud nutrition.
Jacob

lalapolalaa i disagree. I think Baptista is partially to blame for this match. Missed some sitters, and was terrible. Great effort from the team though, and Riise was outstanding. I loved the Roma fans reaction at the end, and also this little communtie's, greatfulness of how well Roma played. Totti, Motta, Riise, and Diamountene were fantastic. I think this match was a blessing in disguise as it means no more dropping points over thinking about champs matches, and less injury concerns. Roma will win it someday, we just gotta wait a bit. I think what we need to sign a quality mid, forward, defender, and seriously, get a better penalty stopper than Doni.
Oh and Baptista should be dropped for Menez.
Fantastic effort Roma.
FORZA ROMA
jed

gotta love roma.. great effort
lalapolala

nobody is to be blamed for the loss.we just run out of luck and yea, maybe the referee..
fital

All praise to my beloved Roma, great perofrmance...
they stood for 120 mins like Roman Gladiators, just luck was not in our side, love you all.
You make me feel as I'm a real Roman, I wish I'm.
The fans in the stadium too, we all are the real winners.
Hail Giallorossi.
As Mexes once said 'I'm a ____ from _____, but I'm a Roman inside' fill in the blank dude.
Love you AS Roma. Forever
Ian

I don't know, in the end, we had no problems with our backline. We didn't concede a goal.
avala

With healthy bodies and an addition in goal, at midfield and at striker the team can contend in everything next season.I am assuming that Pan will be back or will need another good'un on the the backline. How big would Pan have been today,the poofter bastardo.
Ian

I would have liked to have seen Motta take a penalty, but I guess you go for experience in a situation like that. Apparently Tonetto has apologized, which shows how full of character he is, but really, he cannot be blamed for the loss. I just feel bad for him, because it's his name in all the headlines. Vucinic is just lucky his missed kick came first.

I just rewatched the shootout, and it's not true the Doni went right every time. He went left once out of 8, and on about 4 of them he just sort of stood there.

We did the best we could, though, with what we had, and I'm proud to be a Romanista.
Bashar

Just to re-iterate my point about Italian performances in the United Kingdom, 0 goals were scored in England this year.. That is a worrying stat.

The only time Italian teams have scored there since 2004 were Milan in a 0-1 win in Old Trafford, Milan in a 2-1 loss to Celtic, Juventus in a 2-1 loss to Liverpool, Milan in a 3-2 loss to United and Roma in a X-1 loss to United. Really.. 6 goals since 2004 in 10-15 games in the UK. Pretty poor.
jonkon

also, we have all condemned inter for not having any italians. yet i don't see fish & chips or tea on the colney training ground menu. not that theres many good english players to go around, but still, this is a team without character.
jonkon

hate to disagree with you all, but Wenger is a piece of shit. the worst coach. we complain when man ure rob us of petrucci, then praise a rat who makes a career out of such actions???? "Runs the club the way it should be run"---are you joking Sneakers?? A club should win nothing for four years? That's not how I would want my club run.
As roma fans we need to be consistent. we can't excuse wenger while condemning man ure for poaching petrucci, that just embarrasses us.
jonkon

but montella on the other hand.... wow. that was guts. i've never before seen a pk like that in my life. to bad it wasn't a winner.
praxis

I was happy for Montella too. He did make another goal in the jersey. I continue to be impressed with Motta. In his short time with us, he has had a huge impact. His future with us is going to be very bright.
Bashar

I don't think it's a disaster that all the Italian teams didn't go through.. Juventus gave it their all, were better overall and I hear the refereeing was rubbish. Roma fought valiantly in the face of injury and matched Arsenal over 2 legs. The only difference was penalties. Inter I hear were disappointing but still tried hard and hit the woodwork twice against a monster of a team.

Over 8 Italy-England games, 6 goals for and 7 against is a much better showing from the Italians than the disaster last year (0 for, 8 against in 6 games) and with a slice of luck Italy would have had 1 team through. Italy more or less matched England this year with the exception of confidence and mental strength that Wenger talked about. I have a new found respect for this man.

The problem is Italians can't play in England to save their lives and that is something they need to work on. All 4 games in England this year were losses (including three 1-0s). In Italy, it was 2 wins and 2 draws. The last Italian team to win a competitive game in the entire United Kingdom (including Scotland) was Milan in 2005! I am not sure about the UEFA Cup but I doubt anything happened there..
Arto

We have to GRAB 4th place. We are starting to get a lot better in the Champion's League. We need continual experience in this competition. It maybe blessing in disguise because I believe if we are not going to win the champion's league, winning 4th place is a lot more important than getting through to quarter finals and losing then.
lalapolala

it's not easy to take penalty the way montella did.to jump before kicking the ball?wow. =D
ben

I am sooo pround to be a Roma fan tonight. Because of today's performance, I am sure we won over at least 50000 fans around the globe. This team is surely amazing, I would say this team is the uttermost example of how a football team should be like. We are viewed on par with Man Utd, Inter, Milan, Real, Barcelona, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea whose resources are uncomparable to ours. This is an amazing team, not a strong team per say but an amazing team.

Also, we discovered another jewel in Diamond! He will be our next Juan. Just like Motta had a "break out" game against arsenal in the first leg, I believe it's this game for Diamond. I would think that this year is probably the
Ranjeet

I think you guys could have done better than sign Baptista. The guy was such a disaster in front of the goal. Those 2 misses just cant happen at this level of the CL. Anyways I think the performance was really great. Roma were better,even without so many key players,and it showed that Italian teams can fight against BPL teams.
Sneakers O'Toole

Guys, on a different note, how is it possible that Roma can have a sponsor (kappa) that doesn't have a distributor outside of Europe? That has to be killing potential jersey sales. No one other than an absolute Roma nut (present) would buy a jersey for 90 bucks when they could buy an adidas or nike branded club jersey for 50.
Guaman

yea Chase, Wenger def respectable coach and it's just unfortunate that Roma couldn't make it through. But lets go now all the way for fourth place!
Sneakers O'Toole

I like Wenger as a coach. He runs a club the way it should be run. Unfortunately, as we know, you can't win trophies regularly by just having more skill than everyone else.

However, Spalletti had his way with Wenger tactically in this match. Spalletti controlled the match pretty well, but that couldn't have happened without Riise playing so damn well.
Chase

These are the words of an honest and respectable Coach...take not Murhinho!

Wenger on the Potential penalty before halftime-
"It was a very close call. I would like to see it again on the replay. It could have been. Did Gael touch Motta or not? I was worried about that."

Heck of a lot more respectable than denying what is in plain sight like Jose and Inter Merda FC did after our trip to the San Siro.
Amir

I have to simply say i m very proud of this team and i have never seen a better fans ever being behind their team then Roma's.
Everyone gave it all, this is what this game is all about.. We should not talk about misses but should only think about the future. Roma is the best team and the best fans and i knew i could believe in no matter who played tonight.
I feel bad for Tonneto , Mirko and Julio Baptista but hey they should put their heads up and move on!
All this time i spoke about Mirko's ability and tonight he surpised me a bid especially with his PK but i hope and again i really hope that he will learn from this and only grow to be more consistant. He could be briliant if he could just grow up a bid more!
Chase

I'm truly at a loss for words...missing four starters and our only reliable back up cb...losing two more of our starters before the game was up... against such terrible odds...and absolutely devistated by the terrible luck of our injuries...and we played the most beautiful game I've watched all season. Total heart, bravery, unity, and we played so well. Our chemistry and passing was utterly brilliant at times because it had to be. Riise was heroic even when he had to switch spots. Pizarro and Totti limping all over the place but never quitting. We limped and hobbled all over that filed and still outclassed the gunners by miles...truly by miles! Who said Diamounete couldn't play? He did so well, hardly put a foot wrong. Who can blame Tonetto, who played his first full game in ages at 34 years old, ran up and down the flank and went the full 120 minutes. I'm not mad at any of these guys, they were all my heros tonight, and if you want to complain and bitch at them then you obviously didn't watch the same game I watched. Baptista was dissapointing yes, but lets not forget the games he has one for us this season on his own.
DeGuilio

Roma has to finish in the top 4 for the good of calcio. i'm sorry to Fiorentina, Genoa, Napoli, and Palermo but those sides will crash out in the group stage. Fiorentina proved that this year and can't attract superstars to change that (agruably us too, but we already have a few stars in place). Roma is a top 8 side and has proven it once again. the last 3 seasons Roma has proved their worth. Ok they lost 7-1 but really ManU has demolished all comers the last couple seasons. to bow out to ManU, and penalties is nothing to hang their heads about. I'm tired of the English Fucks, next year has to be different and with a little luck Inter, Juve, Milan and Roma can all reach the quarter's next year. Sadly Fior and others stand no chance.
Bashar

Montella's penalty kick was brilliant.. Quite cheeky if you think about it.. Totti's was nice..
stefano

Riise the best player in this match
DeGuilio

depresing to read this on an arsenal forum

Ginger_Reyes (Forum Member) on Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:41 pm

Lucky win but like people have said we we're the better over two legs.

Big up to the ref was very brave with the decisions tonight. Any other ref we'd be out.
Sneakers O'Toole

Did anyone else see the footage of Menez every time we had a chance? Off the bench with his hands on his head ever time. I've gotta say that despite the diving, he has shown his commitment to the club. He was in the Curva Sud during a game he was hurt for, and he is running from the bench while everyone else sits there during the game.

Can't help but think he could have been used late in the game. His lightning speed could have been utilized against tired legs.
lalapolala

not only us will be focusing on the league now as other italian teams also have crushed out of european football.so we should expect other teams will be giving everything in the league.
Ian

Arian, unfortunately we didn't play with 10 players. Baptista was there, screwing things up all the time. We would have been far better off if he was off the pitch, where he couldn't give the ball away.
Matthew Totaro

It was nice to see that Montella penalty!!

I'll always remember his celebration at the Olimpico on Scudetto day 2001!!
lalapolala

btw,loves montella's penalty kick.even though he didnt play many games this season,dat old lad still got the composure n confidence doing dat penalty trick.. :)
Matthew Totaro

At the very least, our entire focus now can be placed on the league.

Although winning tonight would have great, and potentially playing a champions league final at the Olimpico a surreal dream; it's much more important for us to qualify for the champions league for next season.
We need the money to compete with the 'cold winds from the north'.

11 matches left, a potential 33 points left. We have to tighten up our away form, and scrap for every point.
Sneakers O'Toole

agreed, lala. As soon as the game ended I wanted it to be time for the Samp game. The fact that it was in Rome and our league position is in doubt right now is what hurt the most.
Sneakers O'Toole

Baptista had a lot of bad giveaways. Vucinic was free on the break and Baptista couldn't get him the ball a couple of times.
Tania

I just watched a late showing of the game and honestly, I'm so proud of them.
Everyone on that team sacrificed themselves to play today. Totti who wasn't supposed to be playing in the first place played the full 120 minutes and scored his penalty.
I thought this year was our year, but I guess not. I'm obviously disappointed that we didn't get through, but I'm unbelievably proud.
Grazie Roma.
Grazie Totti, Vucinic, Pizarro, Riise, Brighi, Aquilani, Tonetto, Juan, Motta, Diamoutene, Doni, Montella, Taddei, e anche Baptista.
lalapolala

Roma, always n always in my heart..last nite was history, lets move on and stop those hates against our own players.they've done their best.the mission now is to grab the 4th place.
mac

Tottigol....Arian.... I not defending Baptista's play, although I have in the past hoping for the best in the future. I was only pointing out that the only other thing he did in this game beside seperate Motta from the ref was hit his penalty. I know that the tension is high, don't take it out on another Roma fans. We should all take a breath, a sip of some strong drink and save some for the fight ahead.
Sneakers O'Toole

Rosina and Krancjar on a free. I'm pretty sure I've heard he is going to be free for whatever team he choses.
Matti

"sigh" well wat can u do right
i mean we could go bak and say "the ref didint give the penalty!!" or we could blame baptista for the miss but we got to be proud of the boys today. de rossi wasent there neither was mexes. in my oppionion they are the best players on the team. i cried at the end of the game but i am sure this will help us in seria A
i have a strong feeling we will win things next year
here are the biggest dissopintments of today
all italien teams are out
all english teams are in
roma lost..on pks
i failed a test lol
he
here are the good things
we played amazing considiring the injuries i mean mexes and juan!!
we showed heart
idk wat else lol

soo all in all im not to sad
actually i AM NEVER MIND
Sneakers O'Toole

Actually two decent mids, and one at every other position.

The balls of Montella on that penalty, I was loving it.
Kurdt

I need to rest, thank you all of you people and Olimpico, our fans are the best!
Matthew Totaro

Ciao Romanisti!!

The agony and the ecstasy of being a tifosi of our club!!

I was able to see the replays on ESPN classic and it appears the match was a real classic. We definately had the best chances in the match and should have been ahead by two goals.

For Motta's potential penalty, it did look like Clichy made contact outside of the area and Motta fell while inside, but we certainly should be awarded a free kick on the edge of the area.

As for Baptista's miss.....it should have been buried. Hella disapppointing.

Equally as disappointing was Vucigol's penalty. What the fuck was he thinking??? The studderstep worked, so slot the ball into the left corner. How he kicked straight to Almunia was incomprehensible.

To the Mr. Spalletti and our squadra...Bravissiomo. We brought a team with a payroll double of ours to the brink. We should feel nothing but pride.

Grazie Mille: Totti, Riise, Motta, Pizzaro, Taddei.

Daje AS ROMA: Thank you for all of the emotions!!!!
Sneakers O'Toole

I'm not blaming the ref, I'm blaming Baptista, but damn.
Sneakers O'Toole

That Clicky on Motta challenge was every bit as much of a penalty as that challenge Mexes had on RVP.
Kurdt

It was already break-time and you could see Motta argued politely with both of his hands on the back. I didn't see he could get a card from this action. From channel4 : "Roma wanted a penalty 30 seconds before half-time. Motta sprinted past Clichy into the box and as the Arsenal man slipped, he bundled into the back of the Giallorossi player. The referee waved away penalty appeals, but Motta had no reason to dive, as he was clear on goal."
Sneakers O'Toole

Forwards everywhere had annurisms watching that Baptista attempt. That would have been blasted in by Napoleans rotting corpse.
Tottigol

@Kurdt

Are you willing to risk a YC for Motta at half time just for that argument?
Tottigol

mac

he was expected to (not in the context of the match, but you know with him being a "beastly" striker with an eye for goal and all). if he hadn't we should have severed ties with him then and there.
Arian

@ mac:

Dude, he may have scored in the penalty shootout, but those shootouts wouldn't have been played if he had scored the sitter earlier in the game. You can freely say that Roma played with 10 players.
ilcapitano

We need a "new" BATI not BAPTI!
Joe

Agree w you 100% Capo Corso, never thought I would say this, But I think Roma had the most heart of the Serie A teams this year..Im just worried that with our $$ situation, it isnt gonna get any better..
Kurdt

That was pure shit, it's just a gesture to please the ref. I prefer to argue for the penalty wave. Shit ref is fucking too harsh on Motta tonight. Even Totti went to argue with the ref. If only DDR and Mexes were on the field, that ref would get his ass kicked right away.
mac

Baptista hit his penalty Tottigol.
Rahul

Thanks ilcapitano. :)
All I want now is 4-0 mauling of Samp.
As for Baptista, I really liked him initially. Then I was indifferent. Now I hate him. We need a striker - pure finisher. I would really go for Cavenaghi. I like that guy.
Tottigol

The only worthwhile thing Bapshitsta did today was pull Motta away from the ref, at the break time when Motta almost got into a heated argument with the ref for that non call.
Kurdt

Curci, Andreolli, Rosina, Quags I want this summer package.
Bren

Man as soon as Doni made that first save I thought we had it wrapped up, he saved the first shot! that makes it even harder to swallow
Arian

Goal.com rated Batishit with 3.0

http://goal.com/en/news/1716/c...

IMO 0.3 is a better rating. ;)
Sneakers O'Toole

I think we need one more solid player at each position. A keeper, defender, mid, and forward, and we should be alright.
Bren

Well he's still pretty young and has plenty of time to add muscle to his frame. But adding Motta to Menez really should get us all excited about the years to come
Kurdt

I forgot to give the credit to J-smooth, if it's not of his lone goal we would hardly played with our heads and controlled the match tonight. Gotta love this man!
Uncle Fester

As for music I also recommend Mozart (his music makes cows produce more milk :)
http://abcnews.go.com/Technolo...
Sneakers O'Toole

Menez needs to have a 100% protein diet. All he needs is 5 or 10 pounds. Although, honestly, he is what he is. He's a quick, finesse player. He will always go down easier than a lot of guys.
ilcapitano

And music, what about some Caparezza? Cant help but laugh at that crazy man.
Stefano

I still in shock I can't SPELL Taddei
Mike

In the wake of this loss I can say that I am proud of Roma. Max will make 1,000 Penalty shots from here on out and it will makeup for the regret of that miss. Totti's dream is dead but watching Roma today reminded me of why I love them so much. They have more heart and more love for their fans than any other team I know of.

Forza Roma

Now lets aim at a top 4 finish on our table and make another run at it next year.

PS. I've been kicking Arsenals arse with Roma in Fifa 09 all week long.
ilcapitano

Rahul- Hope this cheers you up, I posted it before, helped some people lol:

Some comic relief:
Asked this girl to prom today, but Roma was in my head all day. After I did it, I realized she resembled Rosella.
Fuck my life.
CapoCorso

Ah shit, what can you say? Love Roma more today than yesterda. Fucking Totti! Hobbling around at 50% and still setting Baptista up for the winning goal.
Motta is quickly becoming my favorite player.
If you asked me before the match if I would be happy with 1-0 and penalty kicks I would have taken it gladly. With more than half our starting 11 unavailable we gutted it out and had a great shot.
Forza La Magica Roma!
mac

Dhaw.... Go Team is a great band that would work, or a really awesome band from Sicily called Uzeda.
Stefano

Anyword on Taddiei?
Kurdt

at least serie a are gonna be tougher from now on with every team pushing for their objective this season. Messi is simply both footballer and entertainer, beautiful solo.
Rossi

Menez will be a solid player. He does need to hit the gym and more importantly he needs a tougher attitude. Arthur's doesnt have to go hes been good for us. Baptista nailed in his coffin as far as i am concerned! ive been on the brink now im sure. Roma need another star scoring forward and a dangerous flanking midfielder. A new center back is needed to but who could tell with Riise and Dim playin superb tonight
Benito

Im proud of Roma's effort today... they played great considering all the injuries. EVERYONE stepped it up today (except Vucinic and Baptista... I was expecting more out of them... but oh well). Arsenal's attack were silent.. Roma's D and midfield shut them down nicely. at the end of the day, Roma won 1-0.

its hard to accpet defeat though... especially because it was in PKs :(

FORZA ROMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Uncle Fester

Dhaw, I suggest Kylie Minogue. I've read about a farmer who claimed that his hens began laying egg after egg after listening to her song in radio. So if she helps to produce good results connected with eggs, she may help the team as well.
Rahul

I am so sad that I would really like to cry, when Tonetto was taking that kick I just closed my eyes and hoped but in my heart I knew ....
Still, very very proud to be Roman tonight. The walking wounded were far better than the so called physically superior EPL side.
Flip side - every team in Italy is going to concentrate on the league - we have nothing else left to play for.
Dhaw

Messi scored another wonderful goal today.
good stuff.

Even Man U scored 2 sweet goals
mac

I was post 1,000!!!!! That means you guys owe me a beer!!! Go ahead and drink it yourself, its on me. You earned it, you are all great fans of a great team.
ilcapitano

Fester- Yeah Menez wouldnt have stood a chance in the great hair debate of a few years ago.
Dhaw

Oh so Spal is not going to play music in the locker room.
Any suggestions to what he should play ???
Kurdt

and the biggest buy is a new training ground.
Uncle Fester

As for Menex, we should send him to a gym. And find him a good hair stylist asap!
ilcapitano

Biggest sell of this summer MUST be the medical staff...
Dhaw

After reading Mou's comments I am glad Inter are out.
That twat thinks too much of himself.
Fuck Inter. They pay 6m per year for this ??
bastards !!
Dhaw

Who knows even Rosella might be out in the summer.
Tottigol

Jonas. This was an arsenal team that barely looked like they could threaten Doni. Our back 4 were immense in keeping them out. Doni just had to come running in diving only a few times when our back 4 started pushing up. There was no way any sort of Arsenal fury on this day could have beaten the real beast that was Riise, Diamond,Motta and hell even Tonetto too. Even if they did they would have f'ed up against Doni. None of the Arsenal players had their finishing boots on today.
Dhaw

Oh Sorry sans Riise I think others will go.
Baps has to. Loria certainly will. So will Artur. Menez probably should be loaned out.
mac

Spaletti is by far the best possible coach we could ever have right now and for the future. Lay off that shit about it being his fault because it is way off base and salt in my wounds. I had hoped Baptista could step up for this game and make amends, I wish that was the case. I have yet to hear anything conclusive about why his form has dropped off so much. A injury? Sex change operation? (he has some nice breast) ? What is it? He has quality, but he is not the right man for Roma. I respect the fact that he has tried but it is not enough. I am very proud of our team and I hope we are able to recover from injuries and fight for 4th or better.
Dhaw

Its going to get all the more tough in Serie A as Milan,Fio,Inter,Roma have nothing else to play for.
ilcapitano

Im willing to give Yeremy time, but not Bapti, he can go por favore. Maybe defect to Inter? Or MLS is always an option haha.
And Dhaw, I'm just assuming you forgot Riise, or do you seriously want him to/think he will leave after his helluva game today?
Stefano

I keep Riise and Menez.
Kurdt

The facts that shown tonight:
- We actually won the 120 minutes with a debut start for Diamond, a second debut start for Motta, back injured Doni, rarely play Tonetto, limping Pizzaro, limping Totti, invisible bapshitsta, limping Alberto, Riise's new role against Arsenal with the so called amazing walcott, van pussy, eduardo in the squad and last but not least a shit Ref.

how could you not love this team?