THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[edge_xeno]

Why isn't Mido called up to the pre-season ritiro??? Damn those American fuckers should have presented him today as our Mr. "X" of this transfer window! Losers!

[RomaShield27]

Welcome back, Edge, good to see you. Now if only our new management would get its act together and welcome back the great Mido, like you say, all our troubles would be sorted.

Hour long video of the conferenza stampa from yesterday, including the presentation of the new kits:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmU_yG50S_o

Also some good videos from ritiro here:

http://www.youtube.com/user/RomaChannel ... rx3Z9Z4swI

[maro]

Anyone who doesn't sit down and watch the whole presentation isn't a real Romanista, but rather a synthetic fan worthy of the Rube. Standing up and watching it would be fine too - for the record.

[Italiamia]

[RomaShield27]

– Friday 15 July 2011 13:57 – By Richard Whittle

[maro]

[DavidP]

[RomaShield27]

Fucking dirty, disgusting, treacherous prick. I always said he was shite. COMPLETE SHITE. JS is 99 times better. Overrated, overpaid disgusting, fumblor:

http://www.laroma24.it/index.php?show=a ... utm_source

Oh and we still haven't signed Kameni.

[ASR1927]

What a Ledge!!

[ASR1927]

From goal.com

Run, Roma, run - fitness fanatic Luis Enrique to combine endurance & extreme exercise with Barcelona beauty in Serie A

By Ben Hayward

"Rome wasn't built in a day." That was the message from Luis Enrique as he was presented to the press at Trigoria on Thursday. There was no promise of instant success; it will take time, the former Barcelona B coach insisted. Privately, though, he expects his new team to hit the ground running. Literally.


A day earlier, Luis Enrique had been out on the training pitch with his new charges and Roma's players must have been impressed with what they saw: a 41-year-old man who looks in just as good shape as any of the professionals under his wing - perhaps even better.


Luis Enrique is a fitness fanatic, a man obsessed with pushing his body to the limits, surpassing the pain barrier and reaping the benefits of extreme exercise. After retiring from the game in 2004, the former Barcelona and Real Madrid midfielder turned to other disciplines away from football, maintaining his impressive energy levels in marathons (his record is a shade over three hours), mountain bike pursuits, triathlons and Iron man contests, even travelling to Hawaii for a gruelling three-day competition. Fitness and endurance became new passions.

As a footballer, of course, the Cantabrian had combined talent and technique with stamina and strength to become one of the world's most gifted midfielders at Barcelona, buzzing around the box with energy and endeavour. Luis Enrique had been a promising player as a youngster, but went on to achieve great things in the game due to hard work, commitment, mental strength and superb conditioning. He believes that only by achieving a prime physical condition can proper potential be reached on the field - that fitness is the base on which the football must flow and flourish. And that's exactly what he will be instilling into his new men at Roma, long before any team-talks or tactics.

Indeed, such a mentality became a feature of the coach's Barcelona B side last season, with the Catalan club's youth team excelling in Spain's Segunda Division with an impressive third-placed finish - the side's best ever return in 42 seasons of football. Of the 42 games played, Luis Enrique's men won 20, often imposing their superiority in the closing stages, when teams had been run ragged and left exhausted - outplayed and outrun.

A NEW PHILOSOPHY

“My own style is like Barcelona but it's not exactly the same. I want us to keep the ball so opponents suffer."

It is a philosophy shared by Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, a good friend and former club and international team-mate of Luis Enrique. Working together under strict disciplinarians Javier Clemente (with Spain) and Louis van Gaal (at Barca), the two learned the value of earning a physical edge over their rivals. Now it's part of their own make-up as coaches. From youth level right through to the senior side, Barca's teams use the same system: 4-3-3. It's a fluid footballing formation that's easy on the eye and devastating when in full flow, but it's not all pretty passing; in fact, Barca's game is as much about pressing and probing, hustling and harrying, stamina and strength. In order to have the ball, possession must be won and once it has been, its use will then be maximised by optimum fitness and conditioning - it's a symbiotic science.

Luis Enrique would love his Roma side to play like Barcelona. However, as he admitted on Thursday, the two clubs possess different models; different players. "My own style is like Barcelona but it's not exactly the same," he said. "I want us to keep the ball so opponents suffer. That seems like Barcelona but it's not quite the same."

Speaking in Spanish in what was something of a surreal press conference alongside Roma's owner Thomas Di Benedetto, talking in English, Luis Enrique promised a spectacle.

"I don't know any other way of playing," he said. "My football idea is a proposal based on attack, on the use of players of great quality and taking a lot of risks," he added. He failed to mention his beliefs in terms of extreme physical conditioning and fitness. But that goes without saying, as Roma's players are about to find out. Later, so will their rivals.

[maro]

Was the press conference, presentation thing really conducted in English? That's appalling.

[RomaShield27]

[ASR1927]

[maro]

[taz]

Roma have ended one of the transfer sagas of the summer by completing Alexander Doni’s sale to Liverfekkin'wankscum.

The goalkeeper had initially rejected personal terms offered by the Anfield side, but finally agreed to the switch.

“Liverfekkin'wankscum today confirmed they have completed the signing of Alexander Doni from AS Roma,” read a statement on their official website.

“The goalkeeper has put pen to paper on a contract with the Reds after agreeing personal terms and passing a medical.”

The 31-year-old Brazilian had become a financial liability at Roma due to his wages, while he had been dropped to second choice goalkeeper under Claudio Ranieri.

“We are delighted to sign Doni,” said Liverfekkin'wankscum director of football Damien Comolli.

“It's a position we felt we had to strengthen because it will allow our young goalkeepers to go on loan and get some experience at some point during the season, which is crucial in their development.

“We are getting a very experienced goalkeeper who is used to handling the pressure of big games and international matches with Brazil. He had a very good end of last season with Roma, so we are very pleased.

“When you come here and know you will be a number two behind Pepe Reina, what's important for us is the attitude and mentality off the pitch and in the changing room.

“He's got to be supportive of the number one but also be aggressive enough to push the number one on a daily basis, and I think Doni represents all that.

“When we approached him the first time, obviously he wanted to be a number one somewhere, but he said Liverfekkin'wankscum Football Club is such a big club that if he wanted to come as a number two then he would come.

“He is suited to English football. He is big and good in the air and his distribution is quick as well. When you play for Roma for years and years, the pressure at that club in that city is tremendous, so the fact he can handle that shows he can take anything.”

[maro]

[RomaShield27]

Grazie, Thomo.

I heard somewhere Totti refused to attend the press conference and reveal our new jerseys cos he was annoyed he hadn't been in touch with our new owners previously. Probably bullshito. Unusual that there were no senior players there, though.

[ASR1927]

[maro]

I blame Totti, to be Frank, for once.

[DavidP]