Senad Lulic 'I finally realised what the Rome Derby means when I saw everyone in tears – not just the fans, but the players and kit staff too.' Radu swears by the Laziale Eagle that the biancoceleste is his second skin. The rumors about big clubs inquiring on him will now finally disappear.
Only came back yesterday from my trip to Rome and it was the best ever. The tension before the match was indescribable. I could not get to sleep the night before either. Never felt so much anxiety before a match, even the World Cup Final. This match was going to be immortal. It will never be forgotton. There was so much riding on this game. The ultras made a choreography showing Dea Roma. One of the best ever and referencing Veii. After we scored it was one of the longest 20 minutes ever. Every second seemed like a bloody age. The Romanisti quickly left the stadium though and even the city because I saw Roma merchandise shops clearly where Laziali had taunted them with banners and posters but no one removed them. One of the greatest feelings ever. One of absolute joy, relief and ectasy. The high lasted so long because we partied through the entire night. The next day as well. Celebratory atmosphere with Romanisti nowhere to be found. It is pity I had to leave but I will be back in a couple of months. This match will stand for time immermorial. 26.05.2013. Even in death you will never forget.
Yea thats sick man. Must have been crazy. I inquired about prices to get to Rome flight hotel tickets food etc... for the trip for the game but financially a couple buddies and I couldn't do it. Thats why when I read that 1 in 3 calcio fans in Italy only attend games I get upset. Theyve got to go for the people like I that just cant go, or else I would every game. Im glad you came back with extraordinary memories, I hope you share more stories !!
Great stuff Taib. My cousins from Rome have been quiet to say the least. I did hear some Roma fans renouncing their fandom after this season and defeat lol.
Also lets keep on eye on some of our players that will be involved in the Confederations Cup. Candreva (Italy), Marchetti (Italy), Hernanes (Brazil), Onazi (Nigeria), and Gonzalez (Uruguay). Marchetti will only get a chance if Buffon gets hurt which I obviously don't hope for but Marchetti is definitely Italy's #2. Hope Candreva sees some playing time, he's the best winger in Italy along with Cuadrado atm. Hope Hernanes has a monster tournament so someone can over pay for him. Hernanes is fantastic but he's also 27 and it might be a good time to sell high especially if he has a strong tournament. You know what you get from Gonzalez as does Uruguay. Onazi really came on towards the end of the season, he seems like a regular down the road for us, he'll gain some valuable experience in Brazil.
I think a lot of people are going through a difficult time financially and ticket prices are not cheap so they can not go. I do not think it is a lack of willingness.
Your cousins are Romanistas? Yeah, the Romanistas have taken it pretty hard. I think they only started coming out of their caves recently and that was to protest against their comical owners.
I hope Onazi is not a regular for us. I saw him only do a lot of fouls in the Final. I think he was lucky not to get booked since the referee ws so card happy. He has to add to his game. I think Candreva will play depending on the system since normally Prandelli does not play with wingers. I think it took Prandelli long enough to notice Marchetti since he was picking the awful De Sanctis before him. I do not know about Hernanes. In the friendly against England he was a substitute although it was his shot coming off the bar that led to the first Brazil goal.
My Dad's side of the family is from Frosinone so they are pre dominantly Lazio fans. My mother has plenty of relatives in Rome who are all Romanisti.
Unfortunately for Marchetti he will be remembered for that match vs Slovakia at WC2010. That definitely didn't help his cause, but he has definitely been the 2nd best Italian keeper. Playing second to travesty like DeScantis is puzzling, at least if it were Abbiati then it would make more sense. True though Candreva can play more of an interior role, though it would be tough to beat out Marchisio or DeRossi or Montolivo for playing time. Perhaps as a sub for Marchisio who usually is subbed around the 65 min mark. We saw today how they seriously lack someone who can make plays on the wings, Abate's end product is terrible. But he defends. I've liked Onazi's tenacity and he's quite composed on the ball. His silly fouls were very costly in Istanbul but I like what he's shown for us and he's only 20 years of age. Hernanes does have some good players in front of him like Oscar and Neymar. Hope he gets a chance to shine Italy match aside.
We still do not own Candreva. He is still on loan from Udinese. Why the deal has not been made permanant is puzzling. He said he does not want to go back to Udinese so it is up to us to sort it out now that his value has increased. Hernanes came on for Gustavo, the Bayern Munchen defensive midfielder. I think he offers a lot more going forward then what Gustavo does. I think we will sign a another centrel midfielder and people are suggesting it is Biglia from Anderlecht. I have not watched him so I do not know anything about him but he has been called to the Argentine National Team.
Hernanes and Gustavo are very different at least in their roles at club level. I saw a bit of Biglia for Argentina vs Colombia and was quite impressed. I see him more as a Mauri replacement not that Mauri is leaving but that type of player. The Candreva deal needs to be done asap.
Yeah, I know they are but in my opinion Hernanes offers more then Gustavo. Against France recently Hernanes scored after Gustavo was taken off in the 80th minute. On a seperate note our Primavera won the title after thrashing Atalanta in the Final 3-0. Congratulations to those guys and I hope we see some on them promoted to the main squad. I got the impression that Biglia would be an alternative to Ladesma.
Agreed Hernanes isn't the holding player that Gustavo is but he offers much more going forward and Hernanes' work rate is high and he is competent defensively when necessary. Nice to see the Primavera capture the title after making the finals last season vs Inter.
Yes I actually watched the whole game. We totally dominated our semi finals and final matches, Very proud of our Aquilotti. Another trophy for the cabinet Cataldi played a great game as well as Tounkara. I hope to see them soon on the first team with Rozzi and Keita inevitably getting a callup to training camp preseason
Some Lazio players were able to have a positive influence in the Confed Cup most notably Candreva. He was excellent vs Spain, and had his way with Alba at times. Two solid performances vs Brazil and Uruguay as well. He's going to be a regular for the NT, though he needs to continue his play if he wants to be a starter in Brazil next season. I am sure Juve would love to have him marauding down the right flank instead of Leichtsteiner. With that said we need Antonio on our team. Hernanes got some playing time but it was always difficult especially with Oscar and Paulinho emerging strong in the tournament. Also Brazil wanted to get the youngster Bernard some opportunities at Hernanes' expense. Alvaro Gonzalez usually came on for Uruguay by the hour mark in most of their matches. Typical steady play from Gonzalez.
Not to forget that Onazi was injured and was unable to represent Nigeria which the coach deemed ' a huge loss.' No way Juventus will get him, atleast not Lazio's half of his ownership and not his sporting rights. Candreva was on Juve and they threw him to relegation teams. Lotito and Reja's belief is what made him who he is today. So far Lazio have officially signed Diego Novaretti and Brayan Perea. Also, just missing signitures to officially sign are Lucas Biglia and Felipe Anderson. Biglia and Anderson are very interesting buys. Hopefully Anderson can become the player that Lazio fans think he is. We are missing that central magic player and I hope Anderson can be that answer.
Onazi was sorely missed as you mentioned. Nigeria looked poor in midfield without him. That's true he was at Juve before, but if they come knocking with 20M I don't know if Lotito will refuse that. We shall see how good Anderson is without Neymar. Though he looks the part. Biglia would be an excellent signing no doubt.
While presenting the new 2013-14 jerseys, when presenting the players.. Senad Lulic got the biggest roar from the Laziale . Listening to it through radio, Senad seems to be a local hero. Like Batman for Gotham City. Legend? .. Debatable. I would personally say Yes. That Coppa Italia win was huge. Not only does it enhance the supremacy that SS Lazio 1900 has over AS riom, but it is making AS Riom crumble. Today AS merda fans ambushed and vandalized their very own training ground like the clowns they are. The win was huge and Senad made it happen. His goal will live in Laziale and Merdista's memories forever.
Roma fans are extremely angry because of combination of things. The club is a joke and a circus. The management are clueless. Things have been going worse all season and the Coppa Italia Final was the last straw. Many things have annoyed them and one of them was when Pallotta ciriticzed the previous management even though under Pallotta'a tenure Roma have not even qualified for Europe and under Sensi they nearly won the Scudetto and were very competitive. Then they decided to change the logo of the club to a very cheap and poor design just a week prior to the Final. The Roma fans hate the new design because it looks counterfeit and it does not even incorporate the club's name. When I was there, lots of posters were around to demand the change back to the previous design. The Coppa Italia loss was the straw that broke the camels back. The team did not even play well even when behind. All the supporters now are dissillusioned with the management. They are in a very bad state and I expect more protests. We need to keep strengthining. We need another striker because Klose can not last the entire season and gets injured a lot. Fiorentina have done well on the transfer market and I am sure Internazionale will do much better next year with Mazzarri. I am not sure about Napoli after losing Cavani and Mazzarri. We will have to wait and see who they buy.
We solidified our midfield to one of the strongest in Serie A IMO. We got the players and depth to compete on two fronts. But we need help at CB and forward as well. Maybe we can loan our plethora of mids to allocate those funds to those positions of need. Kozak and Floccari are ok but we really lack goals when Klose is out. I have no problem with them as the #3 and #4 options. I would loan one of the two out. Preferably Kozak since he's young and could gain valuable experience as an everyday player for a bottom club. With that being said I think we're a good club with an outside chance at the 3rd spot. Fiorentina have made all the right moves but they may struggle to mesh early on. Juve and Milan are ahead of the pack no doubt. Napoli will be fine, but Cavani was so clutch for them so not sure if they can adequately replace that. Though they have great support strikers and poachers can be found for cheap. I laugh at Roma, though they have some great players they're as Taib said a circus. Not only are they poor in Serie A but we have owned them in the past 2-3 seasons. Let the good times roll!
Candreva Lulic Ledesma Biglia Hernanes Onazi Gonzalez Ederson Mauri Anderson all classified as a midfielders. This is really deep and I am really happy with the midfield. We need that Vice-Klose and that huge gap will finally be closed. Tounkara and Rozzi are training with the first team as strikers and Tounkara is supposively doing a great job. Let Kozak go and let Floccari and Tounkara be the 3/4 respectively. One more strong striker and I will be satisfied. Defenders we have a lot of good but master of none, perhaps Radu being our strongest. We have signed Novaretti and Vinicius (20 year old showing a lot of technical ability early on) Weve got Konko Ciani Dias Novaretti Cana Biava Radu Vinicius. Satisfied, but I wish we had one more elite defender. Still on a good role of form, this mix of D is a wall. Marchetti is unreal and we will never have a problem with goalkeeping as long as he is here.