THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[maro]

[arthurfonzarelli]

[RomaShield27]

[arthurfonzarelli]

[RomaShield27]

Club Focus - Roma - The ghost of a future derby
– By Andrea Tallarita

One match at a time, goes the old slogan. Not this time, goes the voice of the veterans. Claudio Ranieri and the rest of his brigade will tell you that they have nothing in mind other than Atalanta, but the upcoming match only gains meaning in light of the one right after it – that is to say, the derby. The weaker iteration of the Nerazzurri stand as the second in a string of seven opponents which we sketched from here to the mid-seasonal back-flip as representatives of Roma’s seeding time. None of these seven games can be understood individually. A look at the bigger picture is very much called for.

In terms of the present game, Atalanta represents only a moderate threat. They are not as soft as Livorno (who did take Roma down), but they are under-par competition regardless. Their game is comparatively physical, especially now that they have lost their creative fulcrum in the sale of midfielder Luca Cigarini to Napoli. A few of their individuals possess a discrete degree of talent – Cristiano Doni, for instance, was very threatening a couple of years ago, and even though he seems to have lost some shine this season, he could still throw up a spark or two. They also enjoy a surprisingly lively home support. They are not incapable of defeating Roma if the latter are on a bad day, but this is not the condition. In fact, the Giallorossi are in full growth, and the Atalanta defence seems an unimpressive rival for the newly regained Francesco Totti. It is only too obvious to call Roma the favourites for the game.

The maturation of the team from the capital has finally reached a steady rate of growth, a condition which is bound to remain stable regardless of the result against Atalanta. Earlier during the season, glorious victories such as the one against Fiorentina were not symptoms of ‘growth’ – they were an expression of the constant dips and leaps of chaos, a case in which the inconsistencies of a team busy in the labour of finding itself gave way to whiplashes of excellence and ineptitude alike, neither suggesting continuity in itself or the other. Against Bari, and before that against Inter, Roma gave signs of real cohesion. They had marshalled their qualities, rather than witnessing them as their own bodies let them loose. Even if Atalanta were to achieve a win, Roma are stable enough to pick themselves up quickly. Errors at the micro level no longer spiral into important disturbances at the macro level because the team has the internal solidity to absorb them. It is the end of the butterfly effect. The system is settled.


This is the great achievement of Ranieri so far, and it is precisely the greatness of the achievement which suggests that it must be protected. Though Atalanta are no longer capable of derailing the Roma machine, given how the scale of the match against them is micro rather than macro, the opponents immediately successive to them can. A derby is much more than a single match. It has the power to create or destroy the entire psychic condition of a team. A defeat against Lazio could undo all of the work conducted so far by Ranieri. It could lose Roma much more than just three of the fifteen points we expect them to gather on this seven-game mini-epic.

The match against Atalanta then becomes significant, less for the points that it yields than for the image of the team that it projects as they march towards the derby – the only true test left for Roma alongside the match against Sampdoria. Winning against Atalanta means paving the way towards a victory against Lazio of course, at least in terms of morale, but the truly meaningful aspect of this game is not the psychic boost or knock represented by the result. What really matters is that this is Ranieri’s last opportunity for experimentation. When facing Bari, he was as bold as to field a three-man offence, with Totti, Mirko Vučinić and Jérémy Ménez all on the field together. Many have applauded him for the choice (it is hard not to applaud after a victory by 3-0), but we are left with a grain of scepticism. The disposition is very daring, and it may lead the team to suffer against weightier opponents. If Ranieri is planning on using it over the long term, or even just against Lazio, then this is his last chance to trim the edges and oil the engines. By the time Atalanta is finished (for the better or for the worse), the formation must be perfectly efficient – or it must not be the same. Lazio are not a team that Ranieri can afford to experiment with.

It may seem early to start speaking about Lazio. The players certainly should stay focussed on the match ahead – three points are still an important booty, especially in the middle of this seven-game run. External observers, however, are advised to concentrate less on the immediate display and more on the bigger picture. That is where the real drama is going to play out. The proportion of older to younger players fielded, the choice of the formation, the performance of the defence and the fitness of the key players are factors that will come together to form a fresco. When walking into the game against Lazio, which will be one of the most important games of Roma’s season so far, that fresco will be the only thing available to us. Ranieri, hopefully, will have studied it carefully. For our own part, it will provide the flesh for nothing less than both our next two columns.

[maro]

Well Frence', I've got to say I enjoyed that. Especially the first half - the way rugby's supposed to be played. Now if only the Irish and the Boks could be persuaded that it's not evil to try and run with the ball from time to time.

[Frenchesco]

[stefano]

[maro]

His writing is a bit precious, isn't it, stefano - over-wrought. His English is rather more polished than my Italian, though, I suppose.

Frence', I thought your boys played pretty well with the ball in hand in the first half too, though - I just thought there was great attacking intent from both sides which was great to see. And you made two lovely clean line-breaks which probably ought to have resulted in tries and would have done with just a bit more accuracy. In the last 30 minutes, it's true, you did get a bit over-run but I felt when watching the first half that it was what rugby's supposed to be - played with the ball in hand, teams less worried about making mistakes and more focused on trying to make something happen, and that was a credit to both sides.

[Frenchesco]

Yes I guess that is true. It s not new though...France and New Zealand have always been playing like that...as opposed to the English for example.
Although it is nice to watch, that cost us some games when playing against the British. They usually play rugby with quite a different tactic that is aimed to put the other team at fault instead of developing a game of passing. How many times I have been upset to see us loosing when clearly we were playing a beautiful rugby and England for instance was just playing and scoring on the mistakes made by us.

[RomaShield27]

[stefano]

[RomaShield27]

[stefano]

[RomaShield27]

Oh, sorry Stef, I didn't see you were responding to Tom's post, I thought that was in reply to me.

So what do we think today, Menez, Vucinic and Totti all in from the start again, but not as the tridente which worked so well against Bari (well, at least in the first-half)?

PROSSIMA PARTITA: Atalanta-Roma (Serie A, domenica 29 novembre ore 15:00 - Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia)
INDISPONIBILI: Tonetto, Cassetti, De Rossi
IN DUBBIO: -
SQUALIFICATI: -
DIFFIDATI: Perrotta

PROBABILE FORMAZIONE (4-2-3-1): Julio Sergio; Motta, Mexes, Burdisso, Riise; Brighi, Pizarro; Perrotta, Menez,Vucinic; Totti.
BALLOTTAGGI: Juan/Burdisso; Menez/Taddei

[maro]

Over-wrought - as in too self-consciously striving after a style. Rather than understanding elegance of expression in terms of precision and economy he tends to understand it as writing preciously. It is, as it were, the difference between precosity and wisdom - Liszt was a brilliantly virtuous pianist but his compositions are impressive for their technique rather than moving for their substance.

Edzo, until the Irish actually beat the All Blacks it's hard for me to take seriously their claim to be the best in the world. They're a strong side and if they win the 6-Nations again this year - or, at least, come a desperately close second to France, say - then I will agree they're right up there. I thought their performance against the Aussies wasn't great and the Boks' results in November have been almost unbelievably poor. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to detract from the Irish - they've beaten the Boks three in a row now, is that right? While the Boks have beaten us three in a row. Still, being the best team in the world means going away and expecting and being expected to win. If the Irish were to play the All Blacks at Eden Park in a couple of weeks' time I think the Irish fans would be cautiously optimistic; were they to play them at Croke Park, the New Zealand fans would be expectant. That's all I mean.

[Frenchesco]

Hey Maro...I just realized that ur posts could be misunderstood.
Are you sure you were talking about rugby? Or were you playing with words and teasing me here? :):)...because actually some words in your posts seem to mean something else.
I didnt even realize at first...very nice Maro :)

[maro]

lol. No, Frence' - I was talking about the rugby plain and simple. I've been so disheartened by the way rugby's been being played this year that it was an absolute joy to watch that first half. The second half I enjoyed as an All Blacks supporter; the first half I enjoyed as a lover of rugby.

[Frenchesco]

ok...I guess I ve read and heard that word hand and ball too much recently then. I thought you were teasing me Maro...it would have been nicely put by the way

[RomaShield27]

Yes, Tom. No doubt I'd be getting carried away if I were to truly claim Ireland to be the best side in the world right now, that'd be too much of a bold claim, I think. Of course its hard to pick one – other than South Africa i suppose because they are the world champions, as any of the top 6 or 7 teams could beat another on any given day, but certainly I think Ireland have, with yesterdays result, confirmed themselves up there amongst the worlds (southern hemisphere) elite in rugby (alongside France). Wouldn't you agree? And yes, three in-a-row against the Boks ain't too shabby.

have Juan in ahead of Burdisso:

ATALANTA-ROMA, Diretta testuale: Ci sono Juan e Motta in difesa
29.11.2009 14:10 di Alessandro Carducci articolo letto 39 volte

Claudio Ranieri sceglie Juan al centro della difesa e Motta sulla destra. A centrocampo, vista l'assenza di De Rossi, c'è Brighi accanto a Pizarro, mentre in avanti confermato il tridente Vucinic, Menez e Totti.

PROBABILE FORMAZIONE

ROMA (4-2-3-1): Julio Sergio; Motta, Mexes, Juan, Riise; Brighi, Pizarro; Perrotta, Vucinic, Menez; Totti. All. Ranieri