THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[DavidP]

mexes is a big, fat cunt. great half from roma. we weathered the first 10 minutes and then dominated all the way until HT. radja is having a hell of game and watching toloi just makes you appreciate benatia so much more.

[RomaShield27]

lol at Mexes bashing. I don't mind Mexes too much, at least not as much as other former favourite players who play for other, more merda-covered rivals. He was lucky not to be booked in that first-half though in fairness.

Good first half, but we didn't really create anything until that but of genius from Pjanic. What a goal. Need to keep attacking in the second-half.

[DavidP]

he wants totti's blood tonight. is he still upset about last year's elbow?

maicon has killed a good number of attacks today when he's chosen to run down the right. he just isn't the typical crossing full-back, much more effective when coming inside.

[DavidP]

ljajic and pjanic both had good games. how about that, rudi?

[RomaShield27]

Whats with all the drama about Garcia and Conti? I missed all that. Seems like it was all blown a bit out of proportion by Conti, who we know is a classless cnut, or is there more to this?

Garcia said

Have you felt that Juventus' opponents haven't given their best against the Bianconeri?
There's never two without three... On Juventus, I expect that Sassuolo will play like a team who want to avoid relegation - that hasn't always been the case for teams who have played at the Juventus Stadium. I hope that I won't see at the end of the game that Sassuolo have left their best players on the bench, or hear a coach say "we lost 1-0, what a good result". Just that.

(Another )

To which Conti replied this

“I was surprised, because I found his statements very provincial, from all points of view. And going a little backwards, if added to the ‘little help’, I can catalog them as bar talk, as I had cataloged the ‘little help.’

“I honestly do not think the Italian league should have waited for Garcia to bring some new ideas to the teams who face Juventus, also because Garcia should know that it’s been three years since Juventus have led the championship, won the Scudetto and the Supercoppa twice, have always been the absolute protagonists.

“This year we are still at the top. And who play against Juventus play the game of a lifetime. So it is not that we had to wait for Garcia to bring great incentives to our opponents.

“That said, I find it also a great lack of respect towards the coaches who have to choose formations, the players who have to take the field, the clubs that invest to meet the salvation target.

“Either Europa League or Champions League, I also find it disrespectful for the fans, because I do not think that Livorno, Bologna, Inter fans or whoever may come to the Juventus Stadium and think that their teams don’t do enough.

“There was no need for the arrival of coach Garcia.”

[juventino_italiano]

[RomaShield27]

But what you really mean to say, Ennio, is that you can't hold back the joy and happiness you have as a result of your team about to be crowned campioni once again, right?

Garcia can sometimes be short when dealing with the incessant, mindless questions from the media, but to my mind he's always been nothing but respectful in all of his dealings. His comments on Sassuolo may have been playing a bit of mind games, but they were said in response to being asked the question, and he was referring to previous games when Livorno 'rested' Paulinho and Greco v Juventus in order to be ready for Livorno's next 'winnable' game v Chievo.

Conti, on the other hand, just reeks of desperation and ignominy. Everything about the way he conducts himself is pathetic. From petulant media outburst like this to the way he jumps up and down like a fool on the sideline (in one game recently, home to Bologna maybe, he actually started waving the imaginary yellow card to the ref – who the fuck does that?). He reminds me of Mourinho this season, creating a 'its us against everyone else' mentality and generally just being a total dick.

I'm trying to look this without my giallrosso-tinted glasses and without hating on Juve too much for a minute, but perhaps thats not possible?

[Italiamia]

I have no idea how you can defend Conte, Ennio. Garcia has been nothing but a class act since he came into Serie A and regardless of what he said or how he said it, Conte's reaction belies his primitive mind. It is obvious to everyone with a brain that Udinese, Bologna, save for the last few minutes of the game, and Livorno, all simply mailed it in when they played rubentus. It's not like these observations started with Garcia. If you read anything coming out of Italy, accusations have been leveled at some of these teams for just going through the motions and not giving their best effort. Sassuolo at least has something to play for today.

[juventino_italiano]

I'm not defending Conte at all Gianni and Ed.

Last month i was just going to post about how impressed i wasd with Garcia, then he started up all this nonsense.
I'm sure Garcia knows, like i already mentioned, that Conte knows very little on anything outside of Calcio, so its easy to bait an ignoramus like him.

I agree with both of you, he may have been a good player and he may have done some good things as coach for Juve, but other than that he has been disgusting this season especially (attitude wise).

I just read this morning that Garcia again responded to Conte, he might be enjoying this, but its also disappointing from Garcia.
This argument is like racing in the special olympics....

And Ed, i honestly dont care anymore about juve....i've been let down by the lack of intergrity of the entire sport.
Diving has gotten worse, officials are terrible, the media is a disgrace more than ever, the football associations, uefa, fifa are all politics, its all a disgrace.

All i can say is i hope Juve can win EL to get some coefficients, and italian teams do better in europe to get the extra CL spot back. Maybe some success can help Serie A, but the calcio of old is gone. It's all fools and donkeys...once Totti, Pirlo and Buffon (maybe a few others) fall off the radar, who's left....

I saw a good sign from a player i dislike, Dani Alves, in dealing with the racist act of banana throwing....excellent response.
Perhaps a glimmer of hope....

But everything is a symptom of game that been downhill for years, all sports for that matter are becoming more and more disgusting.

Teams not trying against Juve (the league leader) or picking/choosing games in which to put an effort in, this isnt a new thing Gianni.

You conspiracy theorists are horrible....again....another symptom of a game in decline...

[p_maldini_3]

teams folding over to juve certainly isn't a new thing, and calling a spade a spade is hardly provincial either. Garcia just stated the obvious which git the cunt's panties in a twist.

[DavidP]

i don't think i agree with garcia on this one. udinese put on a pathetic display but the rest of them made rube work very hard for the 3 points. when you have tevez and llorente who can bail you out at any moment there's not much an opponent like livorno or bologna can do. what did garcia expect, a team with cristaldo and garics to attack in turin? i thought they defended rather admirably for an hour and curci fought like a warrior until he pulled a doni.

[DCGweez]

I'm with Davit on this one.

Personally think it was Garcia's first misstep. I said it back then and it's true now. Those 4 draws in a row cost us a shot at the title and now Rudi is frustrated because we keep winning and so do they.

I don't know if Conte is that thin skinned or if he feigned anger to motivate his players.

Either way, worrying about the other teams is a waste of time. I'm more worried about Ogbonna's crazy shirt pull in the box right in front of the official that wasn't called.

[DavidP]

i think it evened out for us over the course of the season and we're probably around where we deserve to be points wise. i'm not sure rube is though.

[RomaShield27]

Mehdi Benatia: Sign A New Contract Rudi Garcia, Roma Needs You
Thursday, 01 May 2014 16:32 Anthony Wright / http://asroma.co.uk/news/interviews/ite ... -needs-you

Mehdi Benatia was a guest on beIN Sports' programme 'Le Club du Dimanche', where the Roma defender was interviewed by Alexandre Ruiz alongside former Milan striker Jean-Pierre Papin and French great Luis Fernandez.

In the interview, Benatia discussed how he arrived at Roma last summer from Udinese, as well as publicly stating that he hopes both Rudi Garcia and Miralem Pjanic stay at the club for a long time to come.

Ruiz: Benatia, it's a huge pleasure to have you here, one of the top centre backs in Europe and one of the very few players to have dethroned Totti and De Rossi from the front cover of Il Romanista. Mehdi, who are the great players who have left a mark on your career, who has inspired you?
I had the fortune to get to know Ribery at Marseille, Drogba was also there at the time. I enjoyed watching them train every day - I remember Didier would stay to practice free kicks after training, I was 16 or 17 then and I realised that if someone like Drogba handled himself like that, then to become a professional you had to do as he did. So I stayed and worked hard. They are great players. I've since had Di Natale as a team-mate in Italy - he is a huge figure at Udinese - and now I have Totti, who is a football legend in my opinion.

Ruiz: But who is the player who you dreamed of as a youngster?
Like many people of my age, it was The Bald Algerian. I grew up watching Zinedine The Bald Algerian. As for defenders, I have always liked Maldini - he is an icon. I think Jean-Pierre [Papin] could confirm that. But when you're with the great players I spoke about before, watching them day after day and how they handle themselves, everything they do makes you improve and I have learned a lot from them.

Fernandez: Rudi Garcia has a similar philosophy to Pep Guardiola at Bayern Munich, with a lot of ball possession and a lot of passes, is that right?
Exactly. We play a short, simple game. Sometimes I watch Bayern, I know the coach likes their style a lot because he often talks about them. It's rare to see them make life difficult for themselves, they play with their heads up and when I watch them it seems very easy. We're trying to do the same thing at Roma. We're not at Bayern's level yet but we're trying to play a fast game with the ball on the floor, making the opponent turn on their heels, and a lot of my friends in Italy say that it's not easy to play against us.

Ruiz: How is your recovery from injury going?
It's going very well. It's already been 20 days, I'm hoping to start working with the team again next week. I'm training separately at the moment.

Studio shows Roma's goals against Milan. Ruiz: That was impressive, 2-0 against Milan with a phenomenal Pjanic
It was a great game. It was a bit tricky in the first quarter of an hour, then we settled into it and were on top for most of the rest of the game, but it was Mire's goal that made the difference. We played a fine game and even if we were missing some important players, and we had many people out, the team can always rotate. This is credit to the coach, because he's built a squad with a precise style of play. And even without important players like Strootman, Destro and Balzaretti, the team still won without conceding a goal. This sums up our season, which has been a brilliant one.

Papin: [Roma] have a style of play with players who not only support it but who are far more talented than the ones at Lille. That shows that Rudi Garcia is a great coach

Ruiz: Mehdi, tell us about how you were approached by Roma. It was a coup by the Giallorossi and their great director Sabatini.
It was the end of the season at Udinese, I was coming back from a long spell out with injury and I wanted to move somewhere else. I had enjoyed it a lot at Udinese, but I wanted something new after three years there. My agent told me that Roma were interested, but that we had to wait until the end of the season and then we could go to meet them. After we played the last game and before I left for my holidays, I met Sabatini in Milan and he said to me, "I won't lie to you, I want you to know that you're top of my list. I'm not after a defender, I'm after you". He won me over. Then he said, "I'm sure that if you come, we'll win the title". I looked over at my agent and said, "I would love to go to Roma, but I think we'll have difficulties in winning the league no?" And Sabatini replied, "No, no, have faith in me. I know the players who are there very well, and I'm certain that if you come we'll have a great season. Give me your word of honour and let me do the rest". I said, "Of course, yes. I would love to come and be part of a great project". Roma are also a club who I've always had a lot of time for, so I said yes immediately. "Do what you have to do with Udinese", I said, "and if you come to an agreement I'll have no problem in coming to Roma". It wasn't a quick transfer because Udinese don't let you leave easily, they sell their players for a lot of money. That's their strategy, while we also had to wait for the new coach to be appointed to get his OK on it. That's when Rudi Garcia came in.

Ruiz: Why did you say yes to Roma before Rudi was there?
In Italy, things are different compared to here. In Italy, the sporting director works the transfer market and the coach works with what he has. It happens at Roma too. But I was certain that if they wanted me to come and they had paid for me, then I wouldn't be going to watch others play from the bench. If I was in shape, I would play. And that's the main thing I wanted - to play. I also wanted a great project and a great club who would be competitive, and that's what I found at Roma. Then obviously when I found out that the new coach was Rudi Garcia and that we would be able to speak French, people said that I had really made a good choice in Roma. I didn't know him as a man, but I knew him as a coach because I had watched his Lille.

Papin: Rudi bought players who he knew already, like Gervinho
The worst case scenario was that I would spend the first year trying to win Garcia over, because it would have been difficult for the new coach to say to Sabatini, "I don't want this player" before he'd even started. But if you look now at the results our coach has achieved, I think it's right that he has a say in the transfers. I hope that Rudi signs his contract extension because we need him, and the club knows this. Maybe some things will change. But, as you said, Rudi brought in his own players and the facts say that he was right to do so, so hopefully the club will also listen to him in the next few weeks for the next transfer window.

Ruiz plays part of a previous interview with Rudi Garcia
Garcia: I knew Benatia a bit, he's not only a player with great talent but is also blessed with a phenomenal sense of anticipation. He's intelligent, physically strong and is also personally a great man and that's important for a coach because he is a true leader in the dressing room. He's also played at Udinese for three years, so he speaks perfect Italian. We're very solid defensively now.

I hope he still thinks that! I have a great relationship with him, he has confidence in me and I'm trying to repay this faith on a daily basis. We've had an amazing season, and Rudi has given a huge amount to this team.

Ruiz: How do you get along with the two Roma stars? It can't be easy to become part of Totti and De Rossi's family
Honestly, they are both very humble, and I don't know if the coach has told you already but our captain is an extraordinary person. He's like any one of us, he doesn't boast, he's 37 years old but still trains every day and never wants to miss a session. He's a great professional, he's very careful about his diet. For me, these players are examples who should be followed. Totti doesn't play at his level by accident.

Ruiz: Is Totti witty?
Absolutely! He never tries to make a drama out of anything, he's always laughing and he puts everyone in a good mood. De Rossi is the same, he's part of Trigoria, and even though he is a World Cup champion he doesn't seem like it - he's a humble person and it's important to have those sorts of players.

Ruiz: Does Rudi consult you occasionally?
We've spoken a lot, which was partly because of how he started - he didn't speak the language then so we discussed a lot of things together. Sometimes Rudi will ask me what the opposition are like or what I think about them. After four years in Italy it's natural that he asks me to tell him what I know, given that I know Serie A very well. He really is a top coach and has the support of super staff like Bompard and Fichaux, it's a pleasure to work with them. Like De Rossi said not so long ago, we all hope that they stay because both we and the fans are sure that we'll win something with Rudi and his staff, if not this year then next year because the team is strong. Really, really strong.

Ruiz plays Miralem Pjanic's interview after Roma-Milan
Pjanic: What can I say about Benatia? To begin with, he's the best defender in Serie A. I'm happy that he's here, he's an exceptional player, a great friend and he deserves everything that is happening to him, and I hope it continues this way for him. He's enjoying it in Rome and I hope he stays.

Ruiz: According to a lot of experts, you're the best defender on the planet
First of all I want to thank Mire. I don't have many friends in football but he's become a true friend after the last seven months, like a little brother to me. He's someone who I think a huge amount of. We spend a lot of time together and obviously what he has said about me makes me very happy. I hope we stay together for a long time, which means he should stay at Roma. And I hope he does.

--------

Full video of the interview here: http://www.beinsports.fr/news/article/j ... x16wqxpjio

[DavidP]

what's the general consensus on dodo? i'm a little concerned about how injury prone he has been, if that doesn't change i think it'll be the deal breaker. that said we've done fine with him on the pitch and i think he's done well to make progress over the course of this season, unstable as it was for him. can he and balzaretti be trusted with the left-back spot for next year?

[RomaShield27]

Dodo has improved quite a bit since earlier in the season, but Im still not convinced he has what it takes to be our number one left-back. And I'd worry if Balza can get back to his best. So no, I wouldn't be happy with just those two, I think we need a new face there. Not to mention right-back.



http://www.football-italia.net/48628/pj ... estination

Pjanic again talking up a move. For a player who says he'd like to sign a new contract and stay at Roma, he sure does talk quite a bit about other clubs. Anyone else getting sick of it now? Time to negotiate the best price, Saba.

[DCGweez]

Pjanic's latest statements i thought were disrespectful. If he wants to go, just let him. Take the money and move on but he should shut his trap until he's sold.

[Italiamia]

Who gives a flying fuck what Pajama says. Loyalty is dead and contracts mean nothing. Nobody is irreplaceable except Totti. Start counting the hairs on your ass before another Roman like him comes along. I've only seen 3 in my lifetime and 2 were contemporaries. DiBartolomei and Conti. Then enter Totti. You all can do the math.

[RomaShield27]

E FORMAZIONI UFFICIALI

CATANIA: Frison; Peruzzi, Gyomber, Rolin, Monzon; Izco, Rinaudo, Barrientos; Leto, Bergessio, Castro.
A disp.: Ficara, Biraghi, Capuano, Cabalceta, Lodi, Plasil, Garufi, Boateng, Keko, Caruso, Fedato.

ROMA: De Sanctis; Maicon, Castan, Romagnoli, Dodò; Pjanic, De Rossi, Taddei; Florenzi, Ljajic, Totti.
A disp.: Skorupski, Lobont, Benatia, Jedvaj, Torosidis, Marin, Bastos, Ricci, Mazzitelli, Pellegrini, Gervinho.

Arbitro: Banti di Livorno.
Assistenti: Crispo e Schenone.
IV uomo:Posado.
Assistenti di porta: Irrati e Candussio.

[RomaShield27]

PAGELLE: http://www.forzaroma.info/2014/05/04/ca ... nzi/337040

Is it too harsh to judge individual performances today, given that the entire team wasn't at the races today whatsoever and looked like they were already on holidays? I don't know.

Id agree with those ratings anyway. De Sanctis was at fault for two of the goals, while the entire back four were very poor. Castan didn't look fit, but I don't know if that is enough excuse for his performance. Dodo and Maicon perhaps highlighted today just how much we need new faces in their respective positions next season. Taddei, Pjanic, Ljajic, problems everywhere.