THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[maro]

Lots - when he was in that little run and keeping Simone out of the team.

[RomaShield27]

Brilliant: 'lo stesso strazio' – the same agony.

[RomaShield27]

Daniele De Rossi Proud Of Roma After Derby Victory
/ Monday, 23 September 2013 19:44 Anthony Wright

Daniele De Rossi has praised Federico Balzaretti and Rudi Garcia after Roma beat Lazio in the derby, and the midfielder says he is proud of both the professionalism of the entire Giallorossi squad as well as their faithful supporters.

The 30-year-old admitted that Roma were anxious in the build up to the derby as not only they strove to make up for last season's Coppa Italia defeat but also to end their winless streak in the derby which had extended to five matches before yesterday's game.

"It tastes like it always does, maybe a little bit more so this time because of how long we've had to wait for it. The team is becoming a thing of beauty", De Rossi said to Tele Radio Stereo.

"There was some anxiety in the days before, and there was this huge weight of May 26 on our shoulders that will probably stay with us forever. The team was angry, even the new players understood this. But all our feelings [yesterday] were wonderful".

De Rossi then had some kind words to say about Balzaretti, who he knows has not performed to his best levels since signing from Palermo but added that this is also the case for nearly every player who has pulled on a Roma shirt in recent times.

"[Balzaretti] and I are very close, our families are friends. No one deserves this goal more than he does, not even me. He's given less than he's been able to, he knows that he is capable of more, but he has taken a lot of stick and he deserves this.

"People can always talk about our performances - he has not done enough but I can say the same about me and about 99% of the players who have played here in the last few years. Beyond how he is as a man, as a player he deserves this".

Many who were sceptical about Rudi Garcia at the start of the season have been won round by the Frenchman, but De Rossi knew there was something he liked about the coach early on when he stood up as the lone voice to defend want-away striker Pablo Osvaldo during the summer.

"I realised there was something interesting to find out about the coach when he publicly and strongly defended Osvaldo. Even the stones knew that he wanted to leave, but he took the responsibility to defend him. Our fans were angry and disappointed, but a coach who puts the team first is important. The basics are already looking good.

"We have not dropped any points, and there are many things we must do to make sure Rome keeps its feet on the ground. Fortunately we are playing again in two days, I don't know what will happen but I can say this - we will take it on in the right manner, as we should".

Roma brought in the likes of Morgan De Sanctis and Maicon over the summer to add experience to their squad rather than youth, and De Rossi believes this change of philosophy - added to the professionalism of the fringe players - has helped the team to start to achieve its potential.

"When you raise the average age of the team and put big players into it, things change. The players who are out of the team can be the difference - [Nicolas] Burdisso, Marquinho, [Rodrigo] Taddei, [Marco] Borriello, [Michael] Bradley. They could all be starting somewhere else, but they are here - they aren't complaining, and they're showing themselves to be great players and great people.

"[Kevin Strootman] is one of those players you watch who you know can play at international level. He's a true player, with the mentality of a professional. He's settled in very well and already speaks Italian - someone found that difficult to do..."

De Rossi also revealed his pride at seeing the Curva Sud full of life and colour again after a difficult pre-season for the squad, who were desperate to redeem themselves in the eyes of the fans.

"The hardest thing was preparing for this season, not being able to show that we wanted to make them smile again. They had to wait for something that they deserved. Even at the Open Day, to have that few insults was a miracle. We got some, but they weren't that bad.

"The response was great, and then you saw how they've been since - they've showed their pride, the pride that isn't reflected by any other set of fans. I can honestly say that I was proud of yesterday's choreography [in the Curva]".

[RomaShield27]

Some great photos here. Will have to do some nice Photoshop work.
























































http://www.tuttomercatoweb.com/media/ro ... album-5955
http://www.vocegiallorossa.it/primo-pia ... lery-59266
http://www.forza-roma.com/76755/derby-r ... ma-lazio-3
http://www.voicesinfootball.com

[DavidP]

good shit. maicon was enjoying himself out there.

[forzaitalia]

Quality pics. Love De Rossi's quote about Strootman having already learnt Italian - "someone found that hard to do...."

[RomaShield27]

Ha, yeh that was quality. No nonsense from DDR, he says it how it is. He's been great this season and really looks back to his best. His tackle at the end (on Ederson?) was nothing short of heroic and match-winning, yet we come to expect it of him.

Maicon has really impressed me, David. He's another who looks back to his best. At Citeh he looked sluggish and not the same player, but perhaps it was just that he never settled there or got a run of games. He looks like he's got back into good shape – I suppose a WC next summer has played its part in that – and he's really bombed on down the right like the monster Maicon of old and looks solid defensively. Not a bad signing at all.

[RomaShield27]

http://instagram.com/p/elE1CFNiUy/

[DCGweez]

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/blogs/pit ... 08609.html

[maro]

[DavidP]

lol. at least he gives cunts around the globe someone to look up to.

i was looking for a document on my laptop today and ran across a file called roma 2013-14. i know the ancelotti part is a long shot but i could yet get this one right.

[maro]

Ah, Davit - the ability to laugh (generously) at yourself is a priceless virtue. I guess what that really shows is how insanely high the turn-over has been at the club (and is generally in football) and how few promising youngsters really ever make it. Both are a bit depressing.

[DCGweez]

That's hilarious. That you've demoted Totti to second string (i'd have assumed the same thing) and he continues to put in MOTM performances is a testament to the old man.

At least you had Ale in there, that's a plus.

[DCGweez]

If this doesn't get Maro on twitter i fear we may never see him there:

@Gervinhoofficial: Good morning my #tweetinhos #matchday Sampdoria vs ASROMA #ForzaRoma

[Lupa]

Wow, David. It really does go to show how many guys have left. I'd forgotten about Gago.

DCG - Gervinho might have persuaded maro to be on twitter, but I fear #tweetinhos might not be terribly convincing.

[DCGweez]

For some reason i'm very nervous for this game today. Don't like playing Samp at their place and don't like our record against Delio.

Have a feeling Maicon and perhaps Totti will be rested which could be decisive. Not sure who Samp play but hopefully someone easy on the weekend and they rest up their players for that match.

[RomaShield27]

You're a mindreader, DCG. Either that or you really are Rudi Garcia (Spalletti was known to read these pages for advice back in the day, no messin).

No Totti no party. Look at that front three. Who would have thought we'd have such a horrible looking forward line back at the start of the summer?

AS ROMA (4-3-3): De Sanctis; Maicon, Benatia, Castan, Balzaretti; Pjanic, De Rossi, Strootman; Marquinho, Borriello, Gervinho

Substitutes: Lobont, Skorupski, Burdisso, Jedvaj, Romagnoli, Taddei, Dodo, Ricci, Florenzi, Caprari, Totti, Ljajic

SAMPDORIA (4-4-2): Da Costa; De Silvestri, Mustafi, Gastaldello, Costa; Gavazzi, Kristicic, Obiang, Wszolek; Sansone, Gabbiadini

Substitutes: Fiorillo, Tozzo, Castellini, Salamon, Regini, Bjarnason, Palombo, Soriano, Gentsoglou, Barillà, Renan, Pozzi, Petagna

[DCGweez]

Top of the table. If we go on a 38 game win streak the title is ours.

Benatia was immense today. Gervs was solid.

If we're gonna play Marquinho why not play Caprari in the wide forward?

[RomaShield27]

5 wins out of 5 for Roma, which is the first time thats ever happened in Roma's history. Hard to argue with that. Scudetto in the bag baby.

[DavidP]

de rossi top 10 goals vid, i think i made the music too loud but i hope you guys enjoy it anyway. some of the goals i left out would be many a midfielders #1 strike

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