THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[Carlo Romano]

Oh my good grief!

Deini, I just saw your post on Rosella and Angelucci being in league with each other...that would explain a couple of things I wondered about. Bad bad news for us if it happens that Angelucci has the winning bid!

I've said all along she is looking to somehow stay, one way or another!

[Italiamia]

I thought you were going to take a walk and avoid watching the game Tommaso. What happened?

[RomaShield27]

Is that all you have to say, Giovanni? Did you see the game today? No thoughts?

Cool video of the celebrations after the game:



Totti: 'I enjoyed that derby!'
– Sunday 7 November, 2010

Francesco Totti missed the Rome derby, but “really enjoyed this deserved victory from home.” The captain was suspended for the biggest game of his season and was so upset that he opted to watch on television rather than in the Stadio Olimpico stands.

“It was a great game that Roma deserved to win,” wrote Totti on his official blog. “It was wonderful to see Leandro Greco do so well coming off the bench, as he grew up in the Giallorossi youth academy, is Roman and Romanista to the core. I really enjoyed this victory from home. For all this I thank my fans and my teammates, sending a warm embrace from your Franceschino.”

Totti also had a message for Inter defender and former Roma teammate Walter Samuel, who will be out for the rest of the season after damaging knee ligaments. “A rock solid defender and great former teammate, including the year of the Scudetto. These are tough times and I know how it feels. Best of luck, Walter!”

[maro]

I was taking the piss, gio. Given that generally I have the bad habit of organising my weekends around Roma's games it wasn't all that likely that I'd miss the derby of all occasions. I did think it would have been better for my health to go for a walk with 20 minutes to go, but I didn't manage to wrench myself away from the action. A little perspective on such things is all I propose though I, for one, am unlikely to listen to my own proposition. Fuck the pigfucking cnuts. Fuck fuck run amok you dirty bunch of fucking cnuts. Roma rule. Lazio suck. Fuck yiz all.

[Lupa]

Is that you pretending to be maro, Threadzo? I'm so confused now.

[pocari_fenrir]

who was the elderly lady in the stands tonight?? i was surprised not to see Rosella and her usual moping self glued to he bucket seat

[Lupa]

[Carlo Romano]

Lupa & Pocari...it was indeed Maria Sensi...she represented her daughter yesterday! I noticed Marco Staffoli - to all intent and purpose "Mr Sensi" was absent too. Perhaps they were meeting with Signor Angelucci? I hope not!

[Carlo Romano]

In the peace and quiet of my home, it's amazing how much more detail I noticed in our derby when I watched the recording I had made, as opposed to what I experienced in the bar yesterday afternoon. Although by the end I'd say we had done enough to merit our victory, there were points when it could easily have gone the other way. At only one goal up and that through a poor penalty, we were always living on the edge. I'm smiling wryly as I type, thinking we were fated as much as anything else to win. But I'm not going to go through again what has already been discussed...incidentally, the "No Totti, No Party" banner was there, just at the beginning of my recording!


From Romanews, the comments and ratings. Being from a Roma source rather than an impartial one, the comments seem a touch biased but the ratings I'd say are about right:

The third consecutive victory for Ranieri, fundamental for the sake of the season. Today a more shrewd and concentrated giallorossi, attentive in defence! Vucinic was simply spectacular. Greco showed once again he too is fundamental, and Julio Sergio did it all. The Burdisso-Mexes pairing made no mistakes.


Julio Sergio - 7.5: Once again decisive. A miracle save on Hernanes, always sure and punctual, even in emergency.

Cassetti - 6.5: Played a very shrewd game, perfectly when he had to close someone down.

Burdisso - 6.5: Performed a miracle to be able to play after the injury against Basilea, he organised the defence and was decisive on more than one occasion.

Mexes - 6.5: Always very careful, showed Floccari little of the ball. Quick to attack, confirmed he is in good condition.

Riise - 6.5: Showed continually in attack. After many games where he seemed to be a shadow of himself, he has finally returned.

De Rossi - 7: He was on fire as captain, played very well. Threw his shirt to la curva sud at the end to celebrate the victory.

Perrotta - 6: He ran a lot, must have covered many kilometers. All heart and grit.

Simplicio - 7: Today he started and was very involved in the entire game. He won a penalty kick, made good passes, and had a derby to remember.

Ménez - 6: Only played forty minutes, then was forced to leave the field. A sin as he seemed to be inspired.

Vučinić - 8: When he is on his game he is a joy to watch! Played a devastating match, in attack and in helping his defensive team mates. He was a constant thorn in the side of the Lazio defence. Today he was the light of the giallorossa. Simply spectacular.

Borriello - 6.5: Took a poor rigore but what counts is it went in the back of the net!

Greco - 7.5: How much of a personality has this boy? Once again came on cold and was millimeters offside from another goal. He made good passes to his team mates and suffocated Ledesma. An optimal performer. Fundamental.

Baptista 6.5: Came on and won the second penalty which made the score 2-0.

Brighi: s.v.


Claudio Ranieri 7: Third consecutive win, today made no mistakes. Got a gritty and fundamental victory.



La Classifica is looking more healthy now:




But what a week ahead...first la Viola at home, then the bianconeri in Torino. Who said life is easy?!!!

[Deini]

Simplicio had a very good second half. Greco was playing like he was playing in this team for years, IMO he should start over Perrotta but that is up to Ranieri. Happy with the 3 points. Now onto Fiorentina this midweek. Get some 3 points again. It's looking bright now in Rome.

[vtec]

roma has strong links with , right?

[RomaShield27]

Vucinic was indeed on his game and when he's in this kind of form he is unstoppable. As if I need to say huh. Ranieri and co must do everything they can to keep him in this vein of form and hopefully he keeps it up, and if he continues like this the goals will start to come think and fast. He is our current record goalscorer against the lazie bastardos. It was a pity Menez went off so early too as he looked to be up for it as well, and if stayed on we could of won 14-0.

DDR was on top form in midfield as well and really dominated particularly in the second-half. I still feel there is more to come from Daniele, however, and now that he has a bit of a rest and came back with a few good performances I hope he can continue to improve. I was critical of Simplicio in the first-half for losing the ball too easily but he made up for in the second, good stuff from him. Greco, too, deserves great credit for his performance and he played like a veteran of many derbies. He was excellent throughout and wasn't afraid to get stuck into the cnuts. How great was it to see another Romanista make his mark in the derby?

As Vucinic said afterward in his interview, the most important thing was the victory and how we all hope it will act as the turning point for us in our season so we can finally get our shit together and forget about our poor start. The confidence of the boys will be up and we have Fiorentina on Wednesday – a side who are not particularly doing too well themselves lately – and so we should push on with another victory.

New, better quality cap of the Derby available to download in the . This is one to save. Limoncello

[ASR1927]

Again from Goal so I don't know how accurate it is. What the hell did Cassetti do to warrant a one match suspension?!
Roma and Lazio have both been fined €25,000 after their fans caused trouble during Sunday's derby. He wasn't sent off and I don't believe I saw any players fighting after the match!?

Roma were punished after their fans threw various objects, including bottles, towards a military band playing anthems before kick-off.

Lazio were fined after their fans hurled racial abuse at a number of players and for having aimed laser lights at the referee.

Marco Cassetti and Lichtsteiner each receive a one-match suspension for their disorderly behaviour during the game.

In a separate incident, one fan was stabbed before the game but his injuries are not thought to be serious, according to Il Corriere dello Sport.

[maro]

Accumulated yellow cards, Goffredo. I forget how many one needs - five, perhaps - and then it's an automatic one-game suspension. That's what the 'diffidati' refers to on the gazzetta projected team line-ups. Cassetti knew straight after the game that he'd be missing on Wednesday. The Italian for a run-of-the-mill yellow, as La Gazzetta gives it in its commentaries, is "comportamento non regolare" which I suspect here the translator has made a little bit of a meal of.

[ASR1927]

OK thanks Tom. :-)

[maro]

Just don't call me contentious.

[Carlo Romano]

Today I can only give you what amounts to a revisit to my "Colonna di Gossip!"



Obviously this is for all to share but more so for Lupa & Pocari for having mentioned Donna Maria, widow of our late president Franco, yesterday. She speaks of her double blessing, having had a husband and a daughter as president.




From Il Romanista:

(Thank you Roma for having let me live a derby like this!)

“It will probably be the last derby with my daughter Rosella as president,” she said in an interview on Radio Les.

Remembering, the wife of the presidentissimo (Don Franco) stated: “I lived the derby in every detail and I thank the coach and the players very much for having made it happen like that. The president Franco Sensi is always with me. For me it has been a double gift. A most important era. I do not know how things will now go, this could be be the last derby with my daughter Rosella as president.

I have said this also to Franco, to the president, on Saturdays when I go to the cemetary: It makes us win. If we have our public as the twelvth man, we win. And yesterday, all were there. With the first goal I preached calm, but with the second I felt jubilation because I knew the game was over.” Mrs. Sensi then perceived: Perhaps one day I will say something, because a person such as my husband did not have to enter into soccer. Soccer did not deserve him!”



Romanews: Somewhat predictably, Giuseppe Bozzo, agent of Leandro Greco is full of praise for his client, following his very effective two appearances as a substitute. He hopes soon to see Greco starting a match. (Tommaso, let's both be grateful here that I seem to be correct in my estimation of him from back in July. He is one for the not so distant future and he will be more than Cerci ever could.)

Also from Romanews...Pizarro, Menez, Juan, and Okaka did not train today. They project our selection and module for our meet with Fiorentina as:

Next Game: Roma-Fiorentina (Serie A 11th round, Olimpico di Roma, 20:45CET, Wednesday November 10)
Indisposed: Taddei
In doubt: Juan, Okaka, Menez.
Disqualified: Cassetti
Probable Formation: (4-4-2) Julio Sergio; Cicinho, Mexes, N. Burdisso, Riise; Perrotta, De Rossi, Pizarro, Vucinic; Totti, Borriello
Voting by ballot: Cicinho/Rosi



tuttomercatoweb.com reports the young Montenegrin defender Stefan Savic of Partizan Belgrade is in the Roma "view-finder." He has been recommended by Mirko Vucinic to the Roma management and such has been the good impression given by him, first contacts will soon be made. The value of Savic currently is around €1mil.

[RomaShield27]

Defeat in the derby could have pre-empted the end of his tenure, yet instead Claudio Ranieri's team moved up to seventh spot
www.guardian.co.uk – By Paolo Bandini – Monday 8 November 2010 10.10 GMT

Lazio's eagle, Olimpia, was not allowed to fly before yesterday's derby, for fear that Roma's supporters would target her with fireworks or missiles. The Aquile themselves never really got off the ground either. A 2-0 defeat may not have been enough to dislodge them from first place, but it was enough to make their rivals' weekends. "Where is the pigeon?" was the gleeful demand heard ringing from the Roma supporters' enclosure in the Curva Sud long after the game had ended.

Down in the press room, Claudio Ranieri was invoking another creature. "I don't understand these protests," shrugged the Tinkerman in response to Lazio's complaints over various refereeing decisions that had gone against them. "The Laziali are too attached to their pipe smoke. It gives us at Roma even more satisfaction, making us celebrate like ricci."

Godere come i ricci, a popular slang term in Rome, is not the simplest term to translate because even in Italy the phrase's origin is disputed. Ricci means "hedgehogs" but can also be short for ricci del mare – "sea urchins". Either way, though, the reference is to the supposed sexual habits of the creature in question.

His words were enough to send the Romanista newspaper – slogan: "The newspaper of the most fanatical fans in the world" – into meltdown. "There was Jesus's mountain sermon, Martin Luther King's 'I have a dream' speech or Pope Wotyla's 'Don't be afraid'," wrote Tonino Cagnucci in the paper's front-page editorial. "But against Claudio Ranieri's 'we are celebrating like ricci', everything pales into insignificance."

In truth the game hadn't been much to write home about. The Corriere dello Sport described it as an encounter between "two teams of fire-fighters, not gamebreakers", neither of whom boasted much dynamism in the final third. Roma were marginally the more expansive, but both their goals came from penalties. Their goalkeeper, Júlio Sérgio only really had one save to make – getting down sharply to deny Hernanes midway through the second half – though Lazio also hit the post through Pasquale Foggia late on, with the score still 1-0.

Lazio could protest that key decisions went against them with a degree of justification. Both penalty awards to Roma were correct, but Júlio Baptista had fouled Stephan Lichsteiner in the build-up to the second. Lazio, meanwhile, had three penalty appeals of varying validity turned down. Fábio Simplicio appeared to handle twice in the area but intent was lacking. The other shout came when John Arne Riise hauled down Stefano Mauri, a clear foul which might also have deserved a red card, but Roma could counter that the flag ought to have already gone up for offside against André Dias.

Roma had grievances of their own, however, most significantly the disallowing of what would have been an opening goal from Leandro Greco in the 40th minute. If Marco Borriello had been offside in the build-up, it was by a matter of millimetres, and the flag went up extremely late.

Not that Claudio Ranieri will be worrying about any of that this morning. Roma had been 14th going into yesterday's game and the manager has been on the ropes these past few weeks, with many analysts agreed that he would have been out of a job if it the club hadn't been too busy trying to find new owners. His high-spirited press conference made for a stark contrast with his on-air meltdown in September and also with reports he had been forced to ask his own players if they still had faith in him.

Defeat could have been a tipping point towards the end of his tenure, yet instead Ranieri emerged not only with his team up to seventh, but also in a position to say that he has claimed more points than any other manager in Serie A over the last 25 games (51) going back to last season. Edoardo Reja would have surpassed him with a win.

Ranieri can also take pride in having achieved the victory despite having the captain Francesco Totti, centre-back Juan and winger Rodrigo Taddei unavailable. The midfielders Davide Pizarro and Matteo Brighi also had to start on the bench (and Pizarro wasn't used) as they sought to regain fitness after injury, while Jérémy Menez limped off after less than 40 minutes.

Some of that may have been a blessing in disguise, of course. Greco played well after coming on while Totti is yet to score in the league this season. In his place Mirko Vucinic was many newspapers' man of the match. By rights the Montenegrin deserves to start every fixture and Ranieri will once again have a problem on his hands when Totti – who while still capable of being effective, too often lacks the energy and explosiveness required these days – returns from suspension.

That's one to worry about on another day, though. After a third successive win over Lazio, he can enjoy celebrating like a hedgehog. Or maybe a sea urchin. But certainly not an eagle.

[Carlo Romano]

Seeing as it's a slow day, how about a piece of nonsense to make us smile? As soon as I saw this image I thought of Loria!

[red]

Reminds me of Trigger from Only Fools and Horses.

"I've had this same old broom for twenty years. I've replaced the handle fourteen times and the head twelve times."