THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[RomaShield27]

Some cool Roma Fiorentina moments:











And i can't forget this one, cos I was there:



And how about that great game from 1956:

[DCGweez]

A.S.Roma starting XI: Goicoechea, Piris, Marquinhos, Castan, Balzaretti, Bradley, Tachtsidis, Florenzi, Pjanic, Destro, Totti.

Subs: Stekelenburg, Lobont, Taddei, Dodo, Burdisso, Romagnoli, De Rossi, Perrotta, Marquinho, Lamela, Nico Lopez, Osvaldo

Serious Question, you use the same CB pair for both teams who wins in a best of 5, Our Subs or starting 11?

[zafferano]

who is that NUT roma fan complaining about zeman ?
roma should have scored 77 timesand what a pleasura
to whatch

[RomaShield27]

Grazie Zafferano. That was indeed a pleasure to watch. Crazy game of football, well worth another watch tomorrow.

[DCGweez]

I know i'm marked as one of the ZZ defenders on here. I certainly have no problem with the results since the beginning. I knew what to expect.

If he doesn't drop a point the rest of the campaign i'll still be angry with his handling of De Rossi. His comments have been disrespectful and gratuitous.

With that said it is getting to the point where you can't argue with the results on the pitch. We are in 4th climbing. Our younger players are flowering nicely and it's exciting football.

[RomaShield27]

He hasn't handled in well, no, but really I don't see a big problem with it. Its nothing personal, it is just the way Zeman is, he shoots from the hip and doesn't hold back on anything (when perhaps he should), and it lets the media have a field day. Does Daniele look unhappy? No. Does he complain, or not give 100% on the pitch? No. Its more of a tactical issue, but no real drama in my view.

Super performance tonight, it really was a crazy sort of game which could have and probably should have had even more goals. We're now averaging four goals a game this season (although as Lupa pointed out, it'd be interesting to know the average for conceding).



Graphic to show Fiorentina's first wasn't offside, it was an offside trap fail. Who was that who failed to move in unison with the rest? Marquinhos? Piris? (not that it would actually have an effect on the offside call). Probably not the smartest move for a defence to make against a Viola side so lethal from set-pieces.

[red]

That sort of offside trap is always going to be knackered if someone runs from deep. I can't recall ever seeing a sensible team attempt such a move.

Thought Roma looked marginally less exposed tonight due to Piris playing responsibly and having Pjanic in the team. He defends better than Lamela and is also willing to hold the ball a bit more, rather than constantly trying to be immediately incisive.

Didn't understand Fiorentina's team selection.

Cuadrado up front? Olivera in midfield?

Unless Cuadrado had instruction to try and break Roma's high line (and there was no sign he did) I can't see why you'd start him up there ahead of El Hamdaoui.

And putting Olivera in midfield made no sense at all. He's such a nothing player. You either make an attacking move and start Fernandez in midfield or you make a proper defensive move and play Romulo or Migliaccio.

[Italiamia]

[maro]

[red]

Almost no-one runs out when defending set-pieces. Most just hold the line.

It's a tremendously risky thing to do and only sides who don't back themselves to defend properly try such a thing.

And I think that Rodriguez - the one guy onside at the kick - was the only Fiorentina player who really saw what was going on.

The others just made their normal runs and happened to end up in a dangerous position when the ball was headed back across. There wasn't really anything planned about what they did.

[RomaShield27]

Zdenek Zeman: Roma Can Play Against Anyone
/ 09 Dec 2012 Anthony Wright

Zdenek Zeman was in pensive mood after seeing Roma beat Fiorentina 4-2 on Saturday evening, stating to the media that the team still made errors despite the largely positive performance.

"It was a good match against a good opponent who play well and allow you to play", he said in his post-match interview with Sky Sport.

"From the start, the team has tried to play this sort of game. We have also made some mistakes, even today - the second goal was avoidable. For me, they were physically fine before. You need application, work - today the team showed they have motivation.

"[Miralem Pjanic] did very well, as at Siena. You can do a lot in that role, you can help the team both in the attacking phase and the defensive phase. [Pablo] Osvaldo still has some little injury problems, even if he made himself available. I would like to use him together with [Mattia Destro]


The coach was then asked about the situation regarding Daniele De Rossi, who was left on the bench in favour of Panagiotis Tachtsidis against the Viola.

"They are different situations. The Greek set up a goal, had a good game, he made errors on a few passes but that happens when you take risks. De Rossi has to provide more protection for the defence.

"When someone doesn't play they aren't happy but for me everyone is available. He is a professional, he has seen situations like this in his career, maybe not regarding him but with other players".

While Pablo Osvaldo and Erik Lamela are on the verge of returning to the side, Zeman faces the problem of soon losing Marquinhos for half a dozen games for the South American Youth Championships in Argentina next month. While he is happy to let Marquinhos play for Brazil, the coach is less happy about the disruption caused by the international calendar.

"We must let him return home, for him it's important to play for the national team. But we aren't stopping, we must continue to play. I don't like that the calendar disrupts the championship".

With four wins in a row and a fixture against Chievo to come next weekend after the midweek cup tie with Atalanta, Zeman has seen his Roma side climb above Fiorentina into the European positions but did not want to be drawn on stating just how far the team could go.

"It's a question of conviction, this team is competitive and can play against anyone. They have shown this with their results and their performances. We want to keep going, we want to try and pull back those who are ahead of us. We will try to overhaul them one at a time".

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

Miralem Pjanic: Roma Are Lucky To Have Francesco Totti
/
08 Dec 2012 Anthony Wright | Print | Email

Miralem Pjanic played a key role in Roma's 4-2 victory over Fiorentina on Saturday evening, and the midfielder was delighted with the performance both of the team and of Francesco Totti, who scored twice and set up the other two goals.

"When you give him the ball he always does something important with it, a player like him is unique. There is only one captain. We are lucky to have him, he's having an excellent season and I'm proud to be in the team with him", Pjanic told Roma Channel.

"We have continuity now. We should not dream too much, we have done only what we have had to. It is nothing exceptional, because we are Roma. We lost points at the start and now we are getting them back. We know that Roma's position is closer to the top and we must continue in this way.

"We have the right mentality, and on Tuesday we have an important game in the Coppa Italia. We can be in the final in three games and we have to play with great determination. And then we have to pick up points against Chievo. We're hoping to finish well before Christmas.

"I think that after the derby, the team knew that something had to be done. We've worked and spoken a lot among ourselves and you can see the positive reaction. We have to continue with this mentality. The players always make the difference, but the mentality is very important at the moment".

Pjanic complimented Fiorentina and felt that the absences of Stevan Jovetic and David Pizarro were important, but Roma showed their worth on the pitch.

"Yes [they missed Jovetic and Pizarro], and I am sorry for Pizarro for what has happened. They are both important players, they have a good coach and you could see that, but today we were the better team".

The Bosnian also commented on his new position, as he again lined up on the right hand side of the front three. After struggling in the more advanced role against Siena, he was more enthusiastic about his performance against the Viola.

"I like it, I have the freedom to express myself, to find the forwards and to get shots on goal. I'm close to goal, it's a position I like. The coach gives me freedom and I like this a lot.

"I wasn't ready [for it against Siena]. Tonight I played how I knew, taking the ball and going forward, combining with Totti and the midfielders. On my side, [Michael] Bradley and [Ivan] Piris worked hard and I'm happy.

"The coach has managed the team well. Everyone is ready when they are needed, we are all focused. I feel really good and I want to continue like this".

[maro]

Many teams seem to me to do more than just hold their line - if you can nick a cheap offside you defuse an attacking threat cheaply. On the other hand, Monty's comments after the game would seem to suggest you're right and it wasn't planned - I just thought it was a weird cross (slow, deep, loopy), and so thought it looked like a more carefully plotted routine than it probably was. Certainly it ended up perfectly picking out the one guy who was able to make use of the ball.

[DavidP]

[Italiamia]

[maro]

He means, I take it, that in Roma's 15 games this season 61 have been scored, at just over 4 a game (4.0666*, or whatever it is). 64 in 16 is, of course, neater still, if a bit spurious. 26 in 15 games looks like it's 1.7333*. Which means, I think, that were we to play 1000 games this season, at that rate, and you were to stitch all of the goals together you still wouldn't quite get to the moon.

[RomaShield27]

[maro]

Alongside De Rossi and Bradley in the middle. Totti's going to go down with an injury soon, anyway, which will change everything.

[forzaitalia]

[DCGweez]

Lol some Dodgy math here by more than just Ed. The stat you were referring to is that there have been 4.06 goals/game in Roma matches this season. Not 4 goals for Roma mind you. Just four goals total.

By the way, if you want to remove the 3-0 forfeiture then it's 2.333 goals/game. Not 2.5. (If you're using the 35 goals in 15 games)

[maro]

"Il centrocampo De Rossi – Bradley – Pjanic lo vorrebbe qualsiasi allenatore, secondo me. Pjanic ha grandissime qualità bisogna vedere però cosa gli chiede l’allenatore."