THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[DCGweez]

[RomaShield27]

/ Published On: Tue, Mar 19th, 2013 / Roma Club Focus / By Anthony Wright

Roma’s 2-0 win over Parma on Sunday night brought about a gleeful moment for Romanisti as Aurelio Andreazzoli’s team finally wiped out the lead Lazio have held over them for much of the season. Though the Aquile are still ahead of their city rivals due to their win in the derby last November, the stracittadina rolls around again on April 8 with the momentum very much in the Giallorossi’s favour.

Lazio have now lost their last three league games, and have won just once (at home to Pescara) since January 13. On the other side, Roma have won four of their last five, only dropping points away to Udinese where only Juventus have won in the league this season.

Francesco Totti, elated after scoring his 226th league goal to take outright second place in the all time Serie A scoring charts, commented that “it was a given that sooner or later we would succeed [in reaching Lazio]. We gave them a head start, but we shouldn’t think about them – we have higher objectives”.

However, Andreazzoli was reluctant to talk about the derby and insisted that his side must instead focus on their game against Palermo after the international break. “I won’t give myself the problem of looking at the derby. Next we have Palermo, not the derby”, he commented, while also going so far as to pay tribute to the work of Vladimir Petkovic this season. “I have the chance to salute Mr Petkovic, I’ve had a great impression of how he conducts himself and what he’s been able to do this year”.

While Andreazzoli was busy complimenting the way Petkovic has handled himself since joining Lazio, there has been wide appreciation for the way that the interim Roma coach has approached his new job.

Understated and humble, but always straight-talking, he has preferred to focus on the challenges of the next game rather than talk about where the Giallorossi might finish in the league or what his future might be.

Some fans have wondered what might have been if the management taken the decision to sack Zdenek Zeman earlier and give Andreazzoli more time to turn Roma’s season around.

Asked on Sunday what he thought of the scenario, Andreazzoli was typically modest. “I’ve never thought about if I had been called upon earlier. In fact it seemed odd to me that I was called after [Zeman left]”. He has also previously said that if Massimiliano Allegri or another full time replacement is appointed in the summer, he would be more than happy to return to being a coach and work under them.

Such has been the impression Andreazzoli has made in his first five weeks in charge of the club though that there are already calls for him to be given the job on a full time basis, rather than handed to the likes of Allegri or Laurent Blanc. Personally I think it is still too soon to judge, but Andreazzoli’s normality (in the best sense of the word) is exactly what is needed after the Luis Enrique and Zeman experiments.

While Luis Enrique’s Roma was overshadowed by endless talk about wanting to be a Barcelona-lite and neutrals delighted in Zeman’s gung-ho approach (as did most Roma fans – when it went well), Andreazzoli is more pragmatic. Eyebrows were raised when he opted for a 3-4-2-1 formation, but in fact he has shown that he knows exactly where to put his players to get the best out of them. There are also fascinating elements of different styles in his tactics, most notably elements maintained from his close friend and former colleague Luciano Spalletti.

There are still big tests ahead, with the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final and games against Milan, Fiorentina and Napoli to come before the end of the season. How well Andreazzoli fares in the big games could be the deciding factor when the Roma management sit down to decide who the next permanent coach should be. But he is certainly already building a strong case, and a win in the upcoming derby would really swing the popular vote his way.

[maro]

[maro]

for gio.

http://www.forzaroma.info/2013/03/20/co ... ane/204292

Condò: «Da Pallone d’Oro più di The Bald Algerian»
mercoledì 20 marzo 2013 09:56


(Il Romanista – M.Macedonio) Fosse per lui, il Pallone d’Oro Francesco Totti l’avrebbe meritato più di tanti altri, se non altro per la classe che lo contraddistingue. Ma, da componente della giuria di quel Premio, il più ambito per un giocatore, Paolo Condò, inviato della “Gazzetta dello Sport”, sostiene che siano soprattutto i meccanismi attraverso cui viene espresso il voto, a penalizzare il capitano giallorosso, oltre alla scelta, apprezzabile ma pagata a caro prezzo, di rimanere a giocare nella sua città. «La realtà è che, non dico per vincerlo – spiega Condò - ma anche solo per essere presi in considerazione, si deve arrivare perlomeno in semifinale di Champions League. Devi insomma essere un giocatore che, non in una singola stagione, ma se possibile ogni anno, si ritrova a giocare a quei livelli. Basta andare a guardare gli ultimi anni e – anche se è vero che Messi ne ha vinti più di quanti ne avrebbe meritati, e io sono stato il primo a non votarlo quest’anno – il Barcellona è sempre, come minimo, tra le prime squadre in Europa».





Per Totti c’è all’attivo un Mondiale vinto. Eppure, almeno quell’anno, il premio andò a Cannavaro, che non aveva una bacheca granché migliore di quella del capitano della Roma.
Difatti, quella sarebbe stata la grande occasione per Francesco. Di quel suo Mondiale, però, ricordiamo quel rigore contro l’Australia e poco altro. E non per colpa sua. Se si esclude Pirlo, che disputò una grande fase finale, quella vittoria si deve soprattutto a difensori e cursori. Ci ricordiamo di Buffon, di Cannavaro, di Materazzi. E di Grosso, che ebbe il merito di guadagnarsi quel rigore negli ottavi, segnò l’1-0 contro la Germania, e trasformò il rigore decisivo contro la Francia. Per non parlare di Gattuso o Zambrotta…
A Francesco bisogna riconoscere la grande voglia che ebbe di recuperare in tempo dall’infortunio contro l’Empoli, ed esserci comunque. E se avesse potuto giocare quel Mondiale al top delle sue possibilità, credo che il Pallone d’Oro sarebbe andato senza dubbio a lui. Il voto per Cannavaro è solo la riprova di quanto siamo disprezzati nel mondo. Perché considerati “catenacciari”, sempre. I giurati, non potendo esimersi dal votare un italiano, scelsero lui, proprio per sottolineare come avessimo vinto solo grazie al nostro calcio difensivo. E forse non avevano neanche tutti i torti.





Mi sembra di capire che oggi, per Totti, sia ancora più difficile poter essere inserito tra i candidati.
La vera discriminante è il bacino dei votanti. Che, oltretutto, fino a qualche anno fa era composto da soli giornalisti, mentre ora, da quando il premio ha messo insieme il Pallone d’Oro di France Football e il Fifa World Player Of The Year, ci sono anche i commissari tecnici e i capitani delle nazionali di tutti i Paesi. C’è quindi da chiedersi cosa arrivi, delle meraviglie che fa Francesco, alle Isole Vanuatu (piccolo stato dell’Oceania, ndr). Detto che i voti sono tutti uguali e contano tutti allo stesso modo, se uno come Totti sta disputando una stagione strepitosa, in una squadra che verosimilmente arriverà intorno al quinto posto nel campionato italiano, difficilmente se ne potrà sapere nel mondo. Perché se è vero che quasi tutte le televisioni, all’estero, mostrano la Liga spagnola, sono invece poche, ormai da tempo, quelle che trasmettono la serie A. Ciò che si vede, al di fuori dei Paesi più collegati al fenomeno calcio, sono perlopiù gli highlights della Champions League. E questo è il motivo per cui Messi vince sempre. Perché fino alle semifinali ci arriva, e poi fa dei gol indubbiamente molto belli. Nelle Isole Vanuatu, che scelgo come esempio, nulla sanno, purtroppo, di Totti. Ma anche di tanti altri. Come Cavani. Che lo scorso anno, proprio per questo, è rimasto fuori anche dall’elenco dei ventitré finalisti.





Eppure Totti è, insieme a pochi altri, tra i giocatori più popolari nel mondo…
Premesso che non saprei dire chi tra Totti e Baggio sia stato il giocatore più forte degli ultimi trent’anni, perché a mio parere non si va oltre questi due, è chiaro che gli appassionati di calcio conoscono Totti. Se si va però a rivedere uno spot, molto divertente, della Nike di qualche anno fa, vi si trovano le immagini di un Brasile-Portogallo, con in campo i più grandi delle due squadre che se le danno di santa ragione, tanto da finire pesti e incerottati. A un certo punto, compare anche Totti, come spettatore in tribuna. La palla finisce dalle sue parti, e Figo, da sotto, gli urla di rilanciargliela. In quel momento, anche Totti riceve un giusto riconoscimento, però in un ruolo assolutamente secondario.



Insomma, l’essere stato penalizzato per non essere andato a giocare altrove.
Francesco va apprezzato per aver fatto la scelta di rimanere nella sua squadra. Non ho dubbi che, quando è stato fatto Papa il cardinale Bergoglio, più di uno a Roma avrà detto “Francesco II, visto che il primo già ce lo abbiamo”. E questa è una grande cosa nella carriera di un giocatore. Ma che Totti ha pagato a caro prezzo. Per dirla tutta, per me Totti è più forte di The Bald Algerian. Però, The Bald Algerian ha giocato nella Juventus e soprattutto nel Real Madrid. E ha vinto anche il Mondiale da protagonista, segnando nella finale. Se mi chiedono però chi scelga tra loro due, io dico Totti.





E’ ipotizzabile un Pallone d’Oro alla carriera da attribuirgli alla luce di questi vent’anni straordinari? Se il premio esistesse, Francesco non potrebbe non esser preso in considerazione. Di fatto, però, non esiste. E non ho la minima idea se la Fifa penserà mai ad istituirne uno. Laddove lo fosse, Totti, a mio parere sarebbe tra quei dieci giocatori, o forse anche meno, che meriterebbero di aggiudicarselo

[Italiamia]

The most overrated player in history. The faux French, Bald Algerian.

[AS Collie]

[red]

I don't get the incessant hoo-ha in England about sackings.

Make a big deal about teams making stupid managerial appointments, not them realising their stupid decision and getting rid of the guy.

[AS Collie]

[FedaynULTRA83]

“What was the Lazio result?” Totti joked after Sunday’s victory over Parma.

[forzaitalia]

Haha, never thought I'd see a picture of one of our protests in the Roma thread on here. This was the one forum I could come on to avoid talking about the nightmare that is Rovers...don't even get me started.

[RomaShield27]

Now look what you did, Colly, scared away forzaitalia. Rovers have been fucked, for sure, but I don't see much difference in how their owners behave compared to the likes of those of Man City. Its just a much smaller scale. Rovers were at the small end of that scale, City the other, and Rover suffered more for it, although Mark Huges didn't last that long at City either. Foreign ownership as a business or as a rich mans play thing doesn't work unless its run properly, from the top to bottom. Admittedly, things have been done alright at Roma, but not great either.

[AS Collie]

[red]

[AS Collie]

[DavidP]

what a fantastic article. i wonder if it was written by collie.

Quale è il tuo sogno più grande? Qual è il sogno più grande per «noi romanisti»? Quale domanda si può fare al principe dei romanisti per ottenere la risposta più logica? Questa, appunto. Quale è il tuo sogno più grande?, chiedono a Totti e a Francesco, quei due fuoriclasse che consentono all’As Roma di giocare sempre in dodici da vent’anni a questa parte. «È rigiocare la Champions, è un obiettivo che abbiamo un po’ tutti in comune, noi romanisti». Lui, noi.

Dimmi cos’è che ci fa sentire amici anche se non ci conosciamo, anche se lui è lui e noi dei semplici, comuni, umanissimi, contemplatori dell’estetica tottiana. «Ma ora penso all’Europa League, per accedere alla Champions dovrebbe accadere un evento importante e fino alla fine…», puntualizza più tardi Francesco in un’intervista che concede al presidente del Coni, Giovanni Malagò, per il “Corriere dello Sport”. Due giorni dopo il sorpasso a Nordahl, a margine di un evento benefico che si tiene al Circolo Canottieri Aniene per il Bambin Gesù, desiderio di Coppe e di Campioni a parte il Capitano confessa che il pubblico encomio di Prandelli gli ha fatto «molto piacere», dice di non pensare per ora alla Nazionale, detta la sua ricetta per l’immortalità, ripete che il merito è della preparazione di Zeman, giustifica l’esultanza di Conte a Bologna («per me ha fatto bene, non lo ritengo un gesto troppo eclatante, si è rivolto verso i suoi tifosi, quando sta vincendo uno scudetto è doveroso festeggiare con i propri tifosi»), assegna il titolo alla Juve («lo ha già vinto») e spiega, soprattutto, di non avere ancora iniziato a parlare di rinnovo con la società.

A margine di un evento benefico che si è tenuto ieri al Circolo Canottieri Aniene, di cui è presidente il romanistissimo Malagò, Totti sintetizza in un paio di minuti il momento d’oro di uno splendido trentaseienne. Prandelli, innanzitutto. Il Ct gli ha spalancato le porte della Nazionale. «Se tra un anno sarà in queste condizioni, sarà impossibile non tenerlo in considerazione per i Mondiali». Totti non si sbilancia. «Le sue parole mi hanno fatto molto piacere. Se mi chiamasse? Non lo so, non lo so. Certo che in questo momento sto bene. Da qua a domani o al 2014 in Brasile, si vedrà». Di fronte all’insistenza della stampa, che tenta di penetrare ulteriormente il suo pensiero, il Capitano se la cava allora con una battuta: «Se avrei la forza di dire no ai Mondiali? Può darsi anche che tra un anno smetto, che ne sai. Percentuali per la Nazionale a oggi? Zero». A oggi. Tra un anno, chissà.

Quanto all’intenzione di appendere gli scarpini al chiodo, per adesso non se ne parla. Per fortuna. Perché ha un obiettivo preciso. «Finché non supero Piola io non smetto», ricorda al “CorSport”. Non c’è un solo ingrediente per l’eterna giovinezza, per la luccicante brillantezza del campione, per la terza età del calciatore che pare invece la prima. «Cosa mi ha portato a questa condizione? Mantenersi in forma, essere professionista», dice Totti, «è normale che poi ci siano delle annate in cui vai meglio e annate in cui vai peggio. Però a 36 anni penso che nessuno si sarebbe aspettato di trovarmi in questo modo. Come ho detto l’altro giorno, è dovuto alla preparazione di mister Zeman. La dieta? Non è un problema di dieta, è il mantenersi. Normale che non si mangi più come una volta, quando avevo 20 anni, ma non penso che dipenda principalmente dalla dieta». È un fatto di genoma, è un predestinato del Dna. C’è chi può e chi non può. Lui può.

Sul rinnovo fa cronaca. «No, ancora non ne ho parlato con la società e non so quando lo farò. Quando mi chiameranno». Facciamo il punto. Non è stata avviata ancora una trattativa, ma accadrà presto. La società vuole trovare un accordo con Totti ben prima che inizi la prossima stagione, che sulla carta è l’ultima: l’attuale contratto scade a giugno 2014. Il presidente Pallotta lo ha detto più di una volta, l’offerta della società non è in discussione. «Spero che sia Totti a segnare il primo gol nel nuovo stadio». Considerato che se tutto va bene non se parla prima di tre o quattro anni, la frase di Pallotta vale una proposta di rinnovo sine die. Questo confuterebbe la tesi di chi ipotizza l’offerta di un contratto annuale, con ingaggio inferiore ai 5 milioni netti attuali ma con una parte variabile considerevole, in pratica dei gettoni legati alle presenze. L’impressione è che un’intesa con Totti possa essere trovata rapidamente, a patto di cominciare a lavorarci prima che inizi la prossima stagione. Poi andrà trovata anche quella con Francesco.

[RomaShield27]

/ Mar 21 12:26 PM GMT / Posted by James Horncastle

"Next Stop Piola" read a banner unfurled in the Stadio Olimpico's Curva Sud a fortnight ago. Roma captain Francesco Totti had just scored his 225th goal in Serie A. It meant he was second in the all-time list, level with Gunnar Nordahl and 49 behind the record holder Silvio Piola.

Since then, the count has come down again and now stands at 48. Few expect Totti to break it as he nears his 37th birthday. One newspaper estimated that at his current scoring rate, it would take him another 114 games. Time doesn't appear to be on his side.

Yet maybe this is exactly the motivation Totti needs to keep going. Piola didn't retire until he was 41. So why should he? It's especially curious that the careers of these two players are aligning. All of Totti's goals have come at Roma. Most of Piola's were for Lazio in the '30s and '40s. Here's a pair of footballers separated by time, divided by a fierce club rivalry but brought together by goals, the pursuit of a record and longevity.

Totti's magnificent showings of late have not gone unnoticed by Italy coach Cesare Prandelli. "If next year he were still to be in this kind of form and have the same motivation that I see now, we would be obliged to take him into consideration," Prandelli said at a press conference ahead of Thursday's friendly with Brazil and Tuesday's qualifier against Malta. It would be a stunning turn of events.

Totti's last game for Italy was the 2006 World Cup final in Berlin. He announced his retirement from international football the following summer. A comeback after over six and a half years away wouldn't be unprecedented in Italy, though. For it's here that Piola's name recurs.

An encounter between Austria and Italy in Vienna on November 9, 1941 looked like the final time he'd represent his country. Five years later, however, Piola, then almost 39, would return for one last appearance in a blue shirt, against England in Florence on May 18, 1952. It was a friendly, though. Not a major tournament like the 2014 World Cup, which is what Prandelli said he might prospectively be open to calling Totti up for next year.

Let's be clear, this wouldn't necessarily be a regressive move indicative of a change in selection policy. Using the inclusion of Milan's young full-back Mattia De Sciglio ahead of Fiorentina's more experienced Manuel Pasqual in his latest squad, Prandelli insists that "between a 20-year-old and a 30-year-old, I prefer the 20-year-old. [But] for Totti, it's a completely different argument."

He'd be an exception to the rule, just like Udinese's 35-year-old striker Antonio Di Natale was at Euro 2012. Prandelli had never picked him in qualifying but told him that the door was open and that he should make sure he was ready if the time came, which it did. He is taking more or less the same tack with Totti.

It's worth reflecting at this point on how and why Totti's international career ended nearly six years ago...

As an open top bus carrying the Italy team slowly made its way to Rome's Circo Massimo to celebrate their triumph at the 2006 World Cup, many of the players on board couldn't believe the scenes they were witnessing.

According to the city's mayor at the time, Walter Veltroni, at least 700,000 people were out on the streets to welcome the Azzurri back from Germany. Team-mates looked at each other in disbelief. The only one prepared for it was Francesco Totti. "What did I tell you? This city is like this," he said. "When we won the Scudetto there were even more people..."

It was an innocent enough remark. And yet it was spun by some to mean that, for Totti, winning the league title with Roma, his hometown club, in 2001 held a greater personal significance than lifting the World Cup for Italy. The insinuation was a familiar one: To Totti, club came before country.

It hurt him that people still thought he was more committed to one than the other. Totti played under this suspicion throughout his international career. He was once criticised heavily for pulling out of a friendly with the United States in 2002. To avoid that happening again he played on despite picking up an injury in Italy's following match against England. By doing so, he aggravated it further and was ruled out for much of the run-in that season. Some believed his absence cost Roma the Scudetto.

But back to the 2006 World Cup. Hadn't his very presence in Germany again done enough to disprove the claims that he shirked his international duties?

A hundred days before the tournament began, Roma were playing Empoli at the Stadio Olimpico. Totti fell awkwardly following a challenge from defender Richard Vanigli, his left ankle getting trapped in the turf and buckling under his body weight. He'd torn the ligaments and suffered a fractured fibula. No one gave him a chance of recovering in time for the World Cup.

If he didn't care for Italy, as some claimed, he wouldn't have made the effort that he did to come back. Totti wanted to be there. And so he was.

The debate about whether Totti's loyalty was exclusively to Roma and not to Italy as well should have ended there and then. It didn't. The sacrifices he'd made were soon forgotten once the tournament began. As you might expect, he was lacking in match fitness and unable to give the best of himself in the group stages.

None of this was taken into account in the assessment of his initial performances. He was "lame, un-influential, [and] never decisive". The criticism was unfair and showed a lack of appreciation for the pain he'd gone through to answer coach Marcello Lippi's call to be part of the squad and to repay him for waiting until the last possible moment so that he might get the all-clear from the doctors.

As a tournament, the 2006 World Cup wasn't Totti's best - Euro 2000 was - but without him, perhaps Italy wouldn't have won it.

Down to 10 men after Marco Materazzi's red card early in the second half of their last 16 knock-out tie with Australia in Kaiserslautern, Totti came off the bench with the scores still level at 0-0 and saved the day for Italy. He freed Fabio Grosso down the left. The full-back jinked into the penalty area, where he fell over Lucas Neill. A spot kick was awarded, which Totti converted to win the match in the 94th minute and take Italy through to the quarter-finals. Once there, a back-heel for Gianluca Zambrotta and a cross for Luca Toni assisted two of his team's goals in a 3-0 win over Ukraine.

There can be no doubt that he'd gone above and beyond for his country, still managing to make the difference in key moments despite not being near 100%, something that Prandelli will be mindful of. Even if you can get 45 minutes, or less, of high quality from Totti maybe it would be worthwhile taking him to Brazil to start on the bench.

That Totti's contribution to Italy's triumph in 2006 got lost in the polemic disillusioned him.

"It was difficult to make some people understand, above all outside of the squad, that I wasn't a normal player in that period because I'd recovered from a [serious] injury in [just] two and a half months," Totti said. "I showed an attachment to the blue shirt, I showed that I wanted to be there at all costs, but once again many people didn't understand. Even if I'd already thought that it could be my last World Cup, everything that they said about me convinced me [that I should retire from international football]."

Rather than do that, though, Totti revealed it was his initial intention just to take some time out. This was comprehensible. He'd worked non-stop to make it to the World Cup and needed to relieve his body of some of the strain. Once again, though, this was construed as Totti prioritising Roma.

Admittedly, the whole situation could have been handled much better by his camp. Playing for your country is an honour and a privilege not something that you should be able to opt in and opt out of when you feel like it.

Totti was only just turning 30 too and evidently still had something to contribute. Concentrating solely on his club football, he'd have one of his best seasons, scoring 26 goals to win the European Golden Boot. There was a clamour for him to come back, but also some resentment that he was keeping Italy waiting on his decision.

As if replacing a World Cup winning manager wasn't enough of a problem, Lippi's successor Roberto Donadoni could have done without this. Seeking legitimacy, it threatened to undermine what authority he had. Totti, it seemed, was making his job harder. It was a drawn out process. Too drawn out. Totti drew flak for it and on July 20, 2007 came his announcement.

He was retiring from international football "for physical not technical reasons". "My health is the most important thing," he said. Totti's wife had tried to talk him out of it. But his body was telling him 'enough was enough'. There was controversy. Roma were the priority, he said, doing nothing to discourage the claims that he lived to serve his club not his country, as if it were that black and white. He'd had a go at Donadoni too. "When I need to talk to someone I call them. I don't do it through the newspapers," he said.

"All the criticism that rains down on me is because I am Roman," Totti argued. "When Maldini and Baggio said 'Basta' to the national team, the treatment reserved for them was different. But the decision has been taken. If I want to continue playing at these levels, unfortunately I have to give something up."

In a blog post on Monday, Totti wrote: "It's always nice to get compliments and I'm really getting a lot at the moment from coaches, colleagues, from many people who live and work in football.

"I'd like to thank everyone once again and Mister Prandelli too because his words are definitely an incentive to do well. As it's right to, obviously I now live 90 minutes at a time, game after game, I focus on the present and right now I'm thinking about the challenge of [Roma's next opponents] Palermo."

Later, speaking at a charity event, Totti was asked what his reaction would be were Prandelli to call him up now or in the future. "I don't know," he said. "Sure I'm doing well at the moment but between now and tomorrow or the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, we'll see." When pressed for a percentage chance of a return to international football in the near future he replied: "I'd say zero" and intimated that he might have retired by the time the World Cup comes around.

His respectful reticence is understandable. If Totti is playing as well as he is now late into his 30s, it is, in part, because he retired from international football relatively early. But were Prandelli to call him up, it would presumably only be for the World Cup itself, not for the remaining qualifiers, just as with Di Natale for the Euros.

There'd be no begrudging that within the squad. Gigi Buffon has said he'd be in favour, while Italy's other veterans, Andrea Pirlo and Totti's club team-mate Daniele De Rossi are behind him on that too. The youngsters, you'd think, would relish the opportunity to learn from him. All except Mario Balotelli, perhaps, with whom he has previous.

"That said, we hope we don't need [him] in a year's time," La Gazzetta dello Sport's Luigi Garlando wrote. It would mean that the likes of Balotelli, Stephan El Shaarawy, Giuseppe Rossi, Lorenzo Insigne and Italy's other promising young forward players hadn't established themselves further. Italy have moved on. But Prandelli is right to keep his options open, to leave the door ajar. Not least because it seems Totti, as the pink paper quipped, is Italian football's equivalent of Benjamin Button.

[Italiamia]

http://www.calciomercato.it/news/205607 ... tunio.html

[RomaShield27]

De Rossi Equals Rivera Record
/ Published On: Sat, Mar 23rd, 2013

Roma’s Daniele De Rossi has stated he would be honoured to be amongst Italy’s all-time top scorers. The tenacious midfielder scored in the Azzurri’s 2-2 draw with Brazil on Thursday evening, taking his record to 14 goals in 84 matches for the national team.

“My Italy sides have never played as well as that against Brazil,” De Rossi said. “We did well in the first half too despite the fact that we went in at the break 2-0 down.”

“My goal? I’ve scored four goals for the national side this season and none for Roma yet. It would be an honour for me to become one of the top scorers in the history of my country.”

De Rossi’s strike against Brazil has drawn him level with Italian greats Giovanni Ferrari and Gianni Rivera, each with 14 goals to their name.

The Italian international requires a further nine goals to make the top 10. Luigi Riva leads the charts with 35 goals, two ahead of second placed Giuseppe Meazza on 33 and five ahead of third placed Silvio Piola on 30.

[RomaShield27]

Osvaldo is a clown. I'm sick of him and his fake arse rock'n'roll bullshit attitude. If he really said that part about the likes of Chelsea, Tottenham and Juventus being after him then he's an even bigger dick than I thought. Sooner we get rid of him the better.

And good thing Destro is about ready to return.

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Roma's Pablo Osvaldo Hits Back At Critics
/ 22 Mar 2013 Anthony Wright

Roma forward Pablo Osvaldo has hit back at his critics who believe he has not had a good season with the Giallorossi, though he conceded that at times his mental attitude has not been what it should be.

In an interview with Sportweek, Osvaldo insisted that although he has had problems in front of goal recently he is largely content with what he has given the team this season, and that he is not as self-centred as he may seem despite opinions to the contrary.

"What annoys me is that I'm said to be a self-centred person and a nervous person at the same time", the 27-year-old said.

"You tell me, do I care about what I do or not? I say yes. Of course, it's not easy at the moment because there have been many mistakes. I'm a striker and I live on goals - if this is missing then it seems everything is missing.

"But when I read in the papers that I haven't had a positive year but at the same time squads like Chelsea, Tottenham and Juventus are [reported to be] interested in me, something doesn't add up in my opinion.

"If someone is thinking about me, I'd imagine it's because of something good that I've done, no? When people talk about me, it's not difficult to hear contradictory things".

Osvaldo, who has scored 12 goals in all competitions this season (one behind top scorer Erik Lamela), admitted that he started the season with higher hopes on personal level but believes he has done well nonetheless.

"Maybe I've had the wrong attitude on some occasions, which hasn't helped me. And in terms of the numbers, I can't deny that I expected to do more, but nevertheless I'm happy with what I've contributed".

[maro]

-1 (except for the bit on Destro - we'll play that)