THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[p_maldini_3]

It's time for ddr to fuck off. To Milan.

[ASR1927]

[DCGweez]

Lass Diarra:

The former Chelsea and Arsenal man has now suggested that Luis Enrique's side could be his next port of call.

"There's too much competition here [at Real Madrid]. I do not want to stay on the bench any longer," said Diarra.

"I am sure that my contribution could be important," he continued. "A project like Roma's would be perfect and then I want go to the Euros [with France]."

[red]

[DCGweez]

Good to know red. References or is that just your opinion?

[loazzi]

C'mon guys. lighten up. Believe me, I want Italians (and most of all Romans) on the team as much as anyone (and much more than most). The truth is, we've been running out an average of 4 Italians (3 Romans) in the starting XI per game and subbing in another 1-2. Thats not bad. Yes, we've been looking abroad for most of our mercato....who can blame the management? Talent is down in Italy right now. Its sad but true. Rosi has been good but our ONLY option for RB. We need another one. What Italian do you suggest that fits in with LE's tactics for that position? Maybe Schelotto? How about at CB? Maybe Bonucci? Those are literally the only 2 names I can think of. If their clubs don't want to sell them or they ask for more $$$ than fair value, what are Saba/Baldi to do? We have a PHENOMENAL crop of young '91-'92's that are rising up through the ranks. I expect that at least 2 (hopefully 3) will be integrated into next year's team. If not, THEN I will start to worry....but as of now, I have confidence that we will have MINIMUM of 5+ ROMANS on the roster next year (and 6/7 the following year). That excites me!!!

[red]

[RomaShield27]

Loazzi, well said, we do have a lot of promising young players coming through and with the right development and opportunities they will get a chance in the team in the coming years, and hopefully so. I really hope that happens. I know I'm probably being a little harsh in my views of the lack of Italian players, and it does probably come for my dislike of foreign ownership and what it can do to a club, but like I said its just my view of the path this club could be taking in the future and we need to be careful not to become another Inter. With foreign ownership and a foreign management team, that could easily happen. This may be the beginning of a great new era and we may be in the process of laying the foundations of something special, and while the ambitions of our new leaders have to be commended, with the finances and the ability to scout for quality youngsters we have at our disposal they may look to build a team full of foreign players and not be sympathetic to the fact that we are an Italian club. It may be a case of building the best team we can from the players we find and buy from around the globe, and there are no guarantees that Italian players – including those from our youth set-up – will play a part in that. I simply urge caution and skepticism.

With that in mind, I strongly disagree with the notion that there is no talent in Italy and so we have no choice but to look abroad. We all know the Italian game has suffered in recent years and also that lot of young players have complained about a lack of playing time, but to my mind to suggest the talent pool has suddenly dried up and there are no good players coming through is nonsense. Italia is a calcio crazed country with a rich history and heritage, and has top-class structures and youth set-ups in place to develop young players. Are we to believe that all of a sudden the talent is just not there anymore or not being produced? I don't believe that for a second and I think there is plenty of Italian talent out there.

If you want names, of the more established players we have the likes of Balotelli, Giovinco, Rossi, Poli, Ogbonna, Paloschi, Borini and Macheda, and then there are a host of promising youngsters like Insigne, Tassi, El Shaarawy, Crescenzi, Borini, Viviani, Destro, Petrucci, Fabbrini, Perin, Albertazzi, De Vitis, Pecorini and Dell'Agnello. And thats not including – Crescenzi and Viviani aside – the ridiculous amount of exciting young players that Roma have in our youth set-up right now.

For our own more immediate objectives, Ogbonna is a fine young central-defender and recently capped by the Azzurri who's been linked to a host of top European clubs, yet in all our time of hunting for a new defender we were hardly associated with him at all in the summer, and in the end the interest was never concrete and probably just an afterthought of some bored mercato reporter. Santon is a player who would have been a perfect fit in this system yet we hardly made a proper effort to sign him before the mighty Newcastle swooped in with an irresistible offer to move to sun-swept Tyneside. Another that would have fitted nicely into our system would have been Cassetti, yet we had no interest in him before he moved on loan to Fiorentina, and similarly Balzaretti could have offered a lot to this team.

[RomaShield27]

There was some official team group photo session thingy in the Olimpico today, with everyone at the party:

[maro]

[forzaitalia]

Love that picture of Totti, with everybody gathered round him in a circle. Legend.

Will he be fit for the Lecce game? I remember articles saying there was a 50/50 chance of him making the derby up until a couple of days before it, and that was over a month ago now.

[DCGweez]

Grazie Maro. Makes me feel better. It's also amazing to me how often it's mentioned how great life is in Roma.

Mancini today: "It's always difficult to get your hands on a Roman footballer and a Romanista who plays for Roma,If De Rossi is one day available on the market then Manchester City will be ready, as will Real Madrid, Chelsea and all the big clubs.
That's because a Roman is very attached to his origins and his way of life. As a result, I wouldn't be surprised if he renewed his contract."


Shield you missed the best pic. It's the one where they are lining up in their kits and Totti is sticking his tongue out at the camera.

[AS Collie]

[Italiamia]

[AS Collie]

I recommend it too. Especially if you enjoy sunshine and transport worker strikes.

[DCGweez]

Yup I was born there. Then lived in Firenze for a semester in college. Then for two years in EUR right out of college. I was very sad when I was transferred out. I'd love to live there again, especially being a bit more financially secure. But I still love to just walk around Rome at night, love to drive to Frascati, rent a table and eat Porchetta.

We went to Umbria last year right around the time of all the hill top Sagre and I only had 2 days in Rome. It's never enough.

[stefano]

Porchetta is one of the best things on Earth.

[AS Collie]

Anyone who comes to Rome is invited to eat porchetta with in in ariccia, the home of it all.

[Italiamia]

[AS Collie]