THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[RomaShield27]

I've actually been thinking of asking of some suggestions of further things to do in Rome. As you know, I'm going next month for a four day trip, catching Roma-Juve. I'll ask in the , have a look there.

on Totti is that he's likely to start up front with Bojan the likely replacement for him in the second-half, as he's unlikely to last the full 90. Also questions marks on who will start at the back: Heinze will be one, and then its either Kjaer or Juan. Pizza, Borini and, obviously, Burdisso, were the only absentees from todays training.

Burdisso will have his knee operation on Sunday: "Nicolas Burdisso will rest tomorrow and be operated on on Sunday to treat ligament and skeletal damage to his left knee."

Detailed interview with Osvaldo here from A Different League talking about his departure from Espanyol and how he left on quite bad terms with the club and the fans. It also mentions his ‘brother’ (thats the way it has it) Cristian Alvarez (I discovered after some searching) who is Espanyol's first-choice keeper.

---------------------------------------------



– Saturday 19 November 2011 – By David Redshaw

In an interview with El Mundo Deportivo former Espanyol striker Pablo ‘Dani’ Osvaldo has asked the club’s fans to forgive him for the way in which he left the Catalans to sign for Italian giants Roma. Three months after his farewell the 25-year-old wants to explain the truth surrounding his exit.

For the first time since his move to the Eternal City, he discusses the reasons that led him to act as he did whilst also wanting to clarify statements attributed to him in which he said Espanyol was not a big club, and he would feel more pressure at the Stadio Olimpico.

For lack of an explanation here, in Barcelona, you have been portrayed as the bad guy. What have you got to say about it?
First of all I want to apologise to the fans for the way and the speed in which I left Espanyol. To clear things up I will say that I went the wrong way about it, to avoid talking and saying things in haste that I would later regret. But it’s true; at that time I would have had to explain a lot of things despite it being about business. For example, I was not lying when I said I wanted to stay at Espanyol. It’s true. My agent said it knowing I had the opportunity to go to other clubs and win much more.

That’s all fine but the reality is you are now in Rome. What drove you to it?
Like all footballers I am a professional and have a responsibility to me family. Besides, before the offer came in I asked Espanyol if they could recognise my contribution a bit more, being aware of how the club was when I joined. I am not ungrateful, but that said the club’s response was clear: they said no. Then I proposed something else to them to see if it was acceptable...

What was it?
Quite simply that my colleagues and I were due to be paid daily over the course of the season, something that didn’t happen, and we were all owed money. I wanted to assert my strength as one of the leaders of the group, but again the club’s response left me cold.

Please explain...
They told me they could afford to pay me daily but not my colleagues. I thought that was outrageous and shameful. How was I going to earn money daily when my teammates were not? I felt embarrassed. That was one of the things that made me realise I would have to go if an offer came in.

That offer arrived and you went...
Yes, but if you put a price on a footballer then it means you want him to go. That happened with me. Another thing is that people wouldn’t have believed me. At no time did they say I wasn’t for sale. When you put a price on something then you want to sell it. From then onwards, yes I wanted to go. I thought it was best for both parties.

You paint a hard picture of the year, something some people might have suspected, yet the fans didn’t know...
What I will say is that we went all season without being paid. But being professionals we got the team into the European places until the last minute: firstly for our self-respect but also that of the coaches and the Espanyol fans. It just seems incredible but I swear there were players who could not pay the rent on their houses. I’ve never seen that at any of the clubs I’ve been with.

Do you think that after explaining all these reasons the fans will understand why you left?
I can assure you I feel deep respect for the Espanyol fans. I can’t thank them in any other way because they always supported my family and I and made us feel at home. So it really hurt when I read they were disappointed in me and called me a money grabber. It wasn’t like that because I can look at myself and say I gave all my efforts for Espanyol. I love the club and the supporters. I hope to return one day. It was a hard decision to leave. But I can’t say I regret it now because I am very happy in Rome.

You could have said all this before you left...
Yes, maybe it was a mistake not to say anything. But everything got heated and I needed to go away to reflect. That I was ‘horrified’ was not appropriate and I knew I’d have said things I regretted, so I went back and gathered my belongings. That attitude, I understand, can lead people to turn against you, even hate you, but it would hurt me for it to be like that.

But then when you got to Roma you said the Stadio Olimpico had much more atmosphere than the Cornella El-Prat. They haven’t forgiven you here...
It was simply that my words were misinterpreted. I never compared the Espanyol fans with the Roma fans. Upon arrival, I was told the Roma fans were fanatical. I said I liked that as it would be like the atmosphere in Argentina. I added that in Spain, not at Espanyol, they were not so passionate. They are more rational, quieter, more educated, and perhaps that’s how you should watch football. But both the Espanyol and Roma fans are great. I had some great times at Espanyol. The fans always supported the team through thick and thin and I only have words of thanks for them.

It’s not going badly at Roma. In the starting line-up, scoring goals as always, and better than expected you are an Italian international.
I’m happy, of course I am, and I’ve met a fantastic group of players and things are going pretty well, although we are hoping for better results. Rome is a marvellous city, as is Barcelona, where I felt at home for 18 months.

You say you are still an Espanyol fan?
Of course. I keep in contact with Pochettino, Cristian who is my ‘brother’, Verdu, Luis García and De la Peña, although he’s no longer at the club. I just want people to know the truth and ask them what they would have done in my place.

Your ‘brother’ Cristian is now first-choice keeper and vice-captain...
I’m glad because nobody deserves it as much as him, although I don’t want to detract from any of the others. But he had a very difficult time and now his chance has come. He was always a great captain despite not having the armband. He was always the first to support us from the bench and give us encouragement. I am very happy for him; I always follow him and he is doing brilliantly.

Does it hurt when you see him?
Him, Pochettino and the fantastic group of players I left.

Is it the same with anybody who returns to a former team?
I wish. We always said we’d meet up again in the Argentine national team. But maybe it’s my fault because I chose Italy. And why not at Espanyol? Mauricio taught me a lot both on the pitch and off it. He taught me to grow up and love my profession. I owe him many thanks and, of course, I will never forget it.

The original Spanish version of this interview conducted by Carmen Juárez and published on mundodeportivo.com

[RomaShield27]

– Updated: November 18, 2011, 1:50 PM ET

ROME -- Roma's new American owner revealed ambitious plans to make the team known the world over through new marketing techniques. Speaking to an elite group of Roman industrialists late Thursday, Boston executive Thomas DiBenedetto said he wants to open Roma youth academies all over the globe -- starting in the United States -- and make matches more enjoyable for fans.

"I see tremendous potential for our organization and our team," DiBenedetto said. "We want to make AS Roma a place where families, diplomats and students come and watch and feel safe."

DiBenedetto leads a four-man American group that became the first foreign majority owners of a Serie A club when they closed the deal for Roma in August. He said Roma has already reached a deal with a Boston-based academy with 8,000 youth players spread over five American states.

"We want everyone at these academies wearing Roma jerseys, so they, their friends and their relatives become Roma fans," DiBenedetto said. "This is how we hope to spread the Roma brand around the world."

DiBenedetto is also one of approximately 13 limited partners in the Boston Red Sox ownership group. The other members of the group that bought Roma are James Pallotta -- a minority owner of the Boston Celtics -- Michael Ruane and Richard D'Amore.

Roma plays at the 72,000-seat Stadio Olimpico, which features a running track and poor sightlines for soccer. The Americans would like to build a new stadium.

"We have had meetings with the mayor and met with some developers," DiBenedetto said. "We're studying sites, financial analysis and feasibility."

The Americans also have also been pushing to develop new methods for ticket sales, since fans buying tickets for Italian games usually need to go in person to a sales center and show an ID -- with no tickets available more than a week or two before matches.

And they have caused a bit of a stir by indicating they want to eliminate the huge VIP section at Stadio Olimpico -- where seats are given away -- and sell the best tickets instead.

"Rome is known for its culture, history and food and that brings a lot of people here," DiBenedetto said. "We want those people to also enjoy football. And we want them to become fans of our team, so that when they go back to their own countries they will be followers and supporters."

As for the squad, the Americans lured former England national team assistant Franco Baldini back to Roma with the position of general director. Baldini has put into action a youth movement rarely seen at the upper levels of Italian soccer.

While it's clearly a long-term project, the new Roma so far has had mixed results. Entering Sunday's game with Lecce, Roma is seventh in the 20-team Serie A at 4-4-2.

Roma last won the Serie A in 2001, and missed the title by just two points in 2010.

Roma spent more money -- $78.7 million -- on new players in the offseason than any other club in Serie A.

The youth movement is modeled on European champion Barcelona, and so it was no coincidence that former Barcelona youth coach Luis Enrique was hired to coach Roma.

Like Barcelona, Roma has put a premium on Spanish and Argentine players, signing the likes of Pablo Osvaldo, Erik Lamela, Fernando Gago and Bojan Krkic -- plus Bosnia playmaker Miralem Pjanic.

Osvaldo, a 25-year-old forward, was born in Argentina but also holds Italian citizenship. Another forward from Argentina, the 19-year-old Lamela, scored in his first match as a starter last month.

The 25-year-old Gago, an Argentine midfielder, was cast aside by Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid.

The 21-year-old Bojan, a Spanish forward with a Serbian father and a Spanish mother, was signed from Barcelona. It was then discovered that he is a distant relative of Barcelona standout Lionel Messi, the two-time FIFA player of the year.

One of the few veterans Roma signed was 29-year-old goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg, who helped the Netherlands to the World Cup final last year.

Francesco Totti has been injured for several weeks now, and Enrique struggled to integrate Roma's 35-year-old captain into the lineup at the start of the season, drawing fans' ire. Roma still hasn't extended the contract of its popular midfielder, Daniele De Rossi, who was born and raised a Roma fan like Totti and is considered the club's future captain.

"I'm confident that Baldini will work it out with De Rossi's agent," DiBenedetto said. "And I can guarantee you that nobody wants to win more than Luis Enrique. And that's also what we want to do with Roma."

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

[AS Collie]

I'm takin you roller skatin, Edzo!

[RomaShield27]

The official Roma store has just gone and gotten itself a fancy new makeover. I can't help but notice the 'English' language option has an America flag next to it, though, which is a little odd, don't we agree?

http://www.asromastore.it

The site looks good, quite clean and user friendly with lots of options. Also has new page of the store loations in Rome: http://www.asromastore.it/locations

Also official press release about the new "web store" here:

http://twitter.com/?photo_id=1#!/Offici ... 72/photo/1

[ASR1927]

[forzaitalia]

Loving the new RomaStore site - might get myself some of those boxers in time for Christmas....

[Italiamia]

[DCGweez]

[RomaShield27]

COMUNICATO A.S. ROMA. I convocati per la gara con il Lecce: non c’è Juan
– – domenica, 20 novembre 2011 - ore: 10:57

COMUNICATO A.S. ROMA – Attraverso il sito ufficiale, la società giallorossa comunica che “Mister Luis Enrique ha diramato la lista dei convocati per l’incontro di Serie A che la Roma disputerà domenica sera contro il Lecce“.

NON CONVOCATI
BORINI Fabio; BURDISSO Nicolas; JUAN; PIZARRO David

LISTA CONVOCATI
BORRIELLO Marco; CASSETTI Marco; CURCI Gianluca; DE ROSSI Daniele; GAGO Fernando; GRECO Leandro; HEINZE Gabriel; KJAER SimonK; RKIC Bojan; LAMELA Erik; OSVALDO Daniel; PERROTTA Simone; PJANIC Miralem; ROSI Aleandro; STEKELENBURG Marteen; TADDEI Rodrigo; TOTTI Francesco; VALDES J.Angel; (LOBONT, terzo portiere a disposizione)


Roma-Lecce, il TOTO-FORMAZIONE. I quotidiani non hanno dubbi: Totti-Lamela-Osvaldo in attacco, Heinze-Kjaer in difesa
– Domenica 20 Novembre 2011 11:59

(Redazione Forzaroma.info) Ogni pre-partita delle Roma è scandito da un toto-formazione senza precedenti:
il sibillino Luis Enrique fornisce indicazioni non troppo precise, agli stessi giocatori fa sapere l’undici titolare a pochi minuti dal fischio d’inizio e i giornali, puntualmente, azzardano quello che reputano essere, in relazione agli allenamenti e alle indicazioni settimanali, lo schieramento più probabile: dubbi in difesa e in attacco con ballottaggi che verranno risolti al foto-finish.

Chi al posto di Burdisso? L’ipotesi più probabile sembra essere una coppia formata da Heinze e Kjaer ma c’è chi azzarda un Marco Cassetti “centrale”; da notare l’assenza di Juan, alle prese con problemi fisici in settimana, assente nella lista dei convocati.

Il reparto avanzato potrebbe offrire soluzioni di ogni tipo: nonostante il rientro di Totti, appare tutt’altro che scontato il suo impiego ma i giornali danno piena fiducia al capitano, messo sistematicamente in campo da tutti i quotidiani. Con lui potrebbe esserci Erik Lamela, l’idea stuzzica molto Luis Enrique, ma non sono da sottovalutare le candidature di Bojan e Osvaldo: uno dei due sarà all’Olimpico dall’inizio e l’italo-argentino sembra favorito.

CORRIERE DELLO SPORT
ROMA: Stekelenburg, Rosi, Kjaer, Heinze, Josè Angel, Gago, De Rossi, Pjanic, Totti, Lamela, Osvaldo.

IL ROMANISTA
ROMA: Stekelenburg, Rosi, Kjaer, Heinze, Josè Angel, Gago, De Rossi, Pjanic, Totti, Lamela, Osvaldo.

IL MESSAGGERO
ROMA: Stekelenburg, Rosi, Cassetti, Heinze, Josè Angel, Gago, De Rossi, Pjanic, Totti, Osvaldo, Bojan.

LA GAZZETTA DELLO SPORT
ROMA: Stekelenburg, Rosi, Kjaer, Heinze, Josè Angel, Gago, De Rossi, Pjanic, Totti, Lamela, Osvaldo.

IL TEMPO
ROMA: Stekelenburg, Rosi, Heinze, Kjaer, Josè Angel, Gago, De Rossi, Pjanic, Totti, Lamela, Osvaldo

CORRIERE DELLA SERA
ROMA: Stekelenburg, Rosi, Heinze, Kjaer, Josè Angel, Gago, De Rossi, Pjanic, Totti, Bojan, Osvaldo

[DavidP]

forza tottiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

[RomaShield27]

Ay, great to have Totti back, if indeed he does play. LE doesn't if he'll play for certain. He see's Totti's best position as trequartista, which suggests its between him and Lamela to see who starts. Unless of course Lamela plays up top again. If that is the case it will be interesting to see if they stay in those positions or rotate or switch at all.

Also disappointing Juan isn't involved.

[RomaShield27]

FORMAZIONI UFFICIALI

Roma (4-3-1-2): Stekelenburg; Rosi, Kjaer, Heinze, Taddei; Gago, De Rossi, Pjanic; Bojan, Lamela, Osvaldo.


Lecce (4-2-3-1): Julio Sergio; Oddo, Carrozzieri, Esposito, Tomovic; Strasser, Grossmuller; Cuadrado, Bertolacci, Olivera; Corvia.


http://www.forzaroma.info/news-as-roma/ ... zioni.html

- Pre-game / during game discussion in the Shitbox on main page.

[forzaitalia]

Wasn't on here during the game so haven't read most of the Shitbox.

Decent performance. Should have been more than 2, so we made it harder work than it should have been. It was certainly scary for a moment when Corvia went down in the box in the 93rd minute. It's a minor miracle Bojan didn't get at least two goals, but hopefully he's saving them for tougher matches ahead before the Winter break. What about Osvaldo's overhead? Awesome! Stupid linesman ruining it, he was definitely onside.

Tactically, I thought Taddei had a good game. I didn't want him at LB tonight, but he got behind their defence on a number of occasions and, although his final ball was hit and miss, was a threat. Would still prefer Angel there though. De Rossi was also very good tonight. Some of his passing at the start of the game was wayward but once he swapped positions with Gago, his passing improved and he put some quality challenges in. Now get that contract signed. Lamela looked good in flashes, particularly when we went 2-0 up, hopefully he'll build on that. Great to see Il Capitano back and he showed one or two genius flicks and tricks.

Bertolacci looks pretty handy. Few nice dribbles, decent finish for the goal - there's some talent there. I hope LE was impressed by him.

[Lupa]

Just got home from my trip. Happy we won. Wuz we awesome?

[RomaShield27]

Welcome back, Lupa. Not quite awesome, but then again, not much is, unless its in space. The full match is up in the (new name) for your viewing pleasure, anyway, it is one to watch again.

It was an odd sort of game. There were certainly parts in which we played LE's possesso paella to the tee and bits which I'd expect LE might get the DVD off and tell the lads, this is what I want. The build up for the goal involved some lovely passing and movement and we were patient and precise, eventually picking our way through, ala Barca. In fact, there were for the goal.

It was far from perfect though, as the score-line clearly suggests, and really we shoulda been outta sight and have put this game to bed with still over a half hour to play. We were wasteful and a little sloppy. With a slender one goal lead you can never be sure of victory, especially with the way we defend at times, being prone to brainfarts and susceptible on the counter. We must also remember this was also a limited Lecce team – a side who will be doing very well to maintain their top-flight status this term – and even if were unfortunate with Osvaldo's disallowed screamer and Bojan fluffing his lines, if Lecce had had a bit more about them going forward this easily could have been a draw.

All the pagelle . Gago, Taddei, Pjanic and DDR coming out on top, Bojan and Kjear at the other end.

[AS Collie]

The passin was tasty last night. It was as good as Bojan was bad. I thought the bloke in front of me was gonna have a heart attack he was so pissed off. Goin through the replay now, hoping to pick out a few of Gago's tackles that I remember, because he really impressed me.

Nice to see Greco get a look in. The atmosphere was pretty good, for a really cold night against a "small" team. The scoreline really didn't reflect the game well – Roma were pretty wasteful, even if they were entertaining. First time in a while there's been a lot of smiling in the Curva. But there were some funny things shouted about Rosi. Bertolacci looks pretty good.

[RomaShield27]

What was the attendance last night, Colly, do you know? The Curva Sud looked packed but that was about it. Funny things about Rosi like what? On Greco, I didnt realise Greco's contract was also up next year. We need to get both these sorted ASAP:

A week of talks for Roma
– Monday November 21 2011 – By Football Italia staff

Roma will hold talks with Daniele De Rossi and Leandro Greco this week in an attempt to extend their contracts. The midfield duo are only committed to the club until June 2012 which means they could leave on free transfers next summer if they don’t sign new deals.

De Rossi and his agent have been negotiating with the Giallorossi since the start of the season, but agreeing personal terms is proving problematic. The Italian international reportedly wants a salary of around €7m, whereas the club’s initial offer was of closer to €5m.

Greco, meanwhile, is a 25-year-old who impressed with the Giallorossi last season under previous boss Claudio Ranieri. De Rossi has one goal in 11 Serie A games this term, while Greco has appeared in just three top-flight matches under Luis Enrique.

[maro]

I thought Bojan's finishing was as bad as his movement was good. I hope it won't prove to have been a career-defining missed opportunity: he should have had a hatrick last night, would then have had fan and media blowing smoke out his arras, and would have made it very hard for LE not to include him in the upcoming weeks even with that Totti bloke coming back into the picture. Bojan attacks space with an incisiveness that none of our other forwards do. If he's a confidence player, as people in and around the club keep saying, now he's well and truly forked. Gago and Taddei were excellent. I'm surprised Taddei wasn't used a bit more five or six games ago - just to give Angel a breather; it also seemed anomalous given LE's clear desire to keep as many players involved in the project at this stage. Perhaps he was selecting by numbers - he'd decided from the very beginning that Taddei would need exactly 117 days, or whatever it was, before he could be truly relied on in this 'new' position.

[maro]

[AS Collie]

Taddei was very effective. I'm not his biggest fan, but he sure puts himself around.

Bojan certainly attacks the space well, but his finishing ... I share the fears about him being goosed now, at least for a while. There was a good vibe in the stadium last night, but people were violently angry with him. Hopefully he keeps his head down and perhaps impresses as a sub in the coming weeks. Lamela did well too last night I think. And Kjaer was all right. Actually, aside from Bojan's finishing, I wouldn't like to single out anyone for harsh treatment or high praise based on that match – it was a good team performance and showed a lot of positives. They impressed, entertained and squandered chances as a unit. Which is nice.