THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[p_maldini_3]

[maro]

I think I may have misunderstood the nature of the joke. I was thinking that someone like dino's girlfriend on her back would be more appropriate - a position in which she clearly sees very little real action.

[Lupa]

Opponents: Both van Bommell and Schweinsteiger will miss the match Tuesday. Ribery will possibly be back.

[Carlo Romano]

Lupa, welcome news on Van Bommel and Schweinsteiger! Let's hope Ribery is kept for their next Bundesliga match. But we will still have our hands full in dealing with those who do play on Tuesday! That said, more promising news for us...




All info below from Vocegiallorossa:


DE ROSSI: His groin discomfort has practically disappeared and he trained regularly yesterday.(Sunday) Barring accidents he will be available for the Champions League match with Bayern.

RIISE: Also should be available for the Bayern game. He worked with the squad Sunday morning.

MEXES: Suffering a slight disorder to the calf but should be at least "bench available" for Tuesday.

PIZARRO: Did a full training session and will also be at Ranieri's disposal.

CASSETTI: Toward the end of the Udinese match, felt some discomfort in his right thigh. Should pass a Monday fitness test and be ready for Tuesday.

PERROTTA: continues to recover but is not yet ready to return.

TADDEI: Will hopefully soon be back with the squad. Did some training, Sunday morning.

OKAKA: Not available. Still has a right thigh problem.


Things indeed starting to look better. I read yesterday that Okaka has just changed his agent, not being satisfied with his previous one. I hope someone on our new management team, when that happens, realises he is worth keeping!

...and talking of looking better, though it's still not what we want to see, lying in fifth place now looks much more encouraging than from where we came not so long ago! This smaller caption of La Classifica will have to suffice for now. Some idiot virus attacked the tifosidellaroma.com site earlier, from where I get my usual results/league table caption and though the site is fine now, their "Classified" info is not fully updated at this point in time.




Later today we will get all the info from Ranieri's CL Press conference. As a closing thought, I'm reading here that our ex-defender Marco Andreolli is being targeted by Benitez for Inter's January calciomercato. I'm wondering which is the more likely to not be with Inter by the end of January...

[vtec]

i had a little explanation lined up about my little joke but i am so tired and sleep deprived right now that i can't think of anything coherent. maybe it will come to me later.

the only thing i remember is that it came from tommaso's silly banter in the shoutbox, where he told lupa that carlo isn't around because he got offended when stefano called him a gay sweaty bear. it was an obviously ridiculous thing to invent, typical tommaso, but lupa found it somewhat believable, asking why he did that. so i took that and ran with it here.

[Carlo Romano]

Get some sleep, 'Tec. We will put this behind us and move on.

[RomaShield27]

[RomaShield27]

Good game all round. Quite a good game of football, good crowd, good atmosphere and most importantly a good result. Its a pity Vucinic wasn't playing. Contrary to reports saying that he wasn't playing because he's been rested for the Bayern game, the truth is he had a few too many pints of the black stuff with us in Finnegans on Friday night. I tried to warn him but the fucker just wouldn't go home.

Have to say it was quite enjoyable in the Curva Sud. Either I've been misled or it has a unjustifiable reputation in the sense that it may be considered a bit rough, but it was anything but. Its actually in good condition, was straightforward enough going in (although I was searched twice), easy to get a beer and a bite to eat, and lots of stewards everywhere. There was also lots of women and children – quite young kids, in fact – which I was very surprised with but was nevertheless good to see (actually, herself was quite shocked when we were buying our tickets – I was €17 but she was only €10 – and she, perhaps understandably, thought this was some sort of sexist thing). I'm sure it can be a bit rougher, particularity in more tense games against one of the merda's, but all round its grand. When it comes to actually watching the game its perhaps not as ideal as a Tribuna as its so far away from the pitch, but its worth it for the atmosphere alone. Constant singing and chanting, flags and banners flying, all round good energy and banter. During the game itself you can see members of the Ultra groups down the front actually orchestrating the chants, which is something I've never noticed before. There was about eight of them altogether (I'm sure they rotate) and for the whole game they were on someone's shoulders down the front, singing and clapping in unison and then gesturing for the crowd to follow. Good pics of the Curva Sud and , some of which I've found myself in.

As for the game itself, it was a dodgy enough start from us, took us a while to get going and Udinese were certainly on top, but Menez's goal was pure magic and he was on smashing form throughout. He really has the potential to become a top-class player and hopefully he keeps going like this, and it was nice to see the way he was embracing with Ranieri for the goal and when he came off. We did give Udinese a lot of time on the ball but I suppose with our inexperienced midfield three it wasn't unexpected. The midfielders done well and worked hard all the same, and at the back Juan saved us several times while Burdisso was again looking a bit on edge and Floro Flores gave him a lot of hassle. Providing he's fit, we'd better see Mexes back in for Burdisso against Bayern. Totti didn't have the greatest of games and wasted a lot of ball, while Borriello took his goal very nice. Baptista was booed heavily when he came on (although later on several people, myself included, cheered and clapped for him when he chased down three Udinese players and their 'keeper late on), but Adriano got a big cheer when he came on and every time he (tried to) touch the ball there were a great buzz of excitement and anticipation (for him losing the ball), it was quite a good laugh I have to say. He's clearly still a fat cnut and was ineffective in what he was supposed to do when he came on, Okaka would do better.

[p_maldini_3]

[maro]

Oh, Kaka would do better.

[RomaShield27]

Kaka what?? Been watching the game again (in the ), just noticed how when Mexes was coming on for Totti toward the end, Phillippe was expecting Totti to hand him over the captains armband and he looked back toward Totti when he never did, and he had to later get it from the sideline. Totti also never really pleaded the case of Burdisso when the ref flashed the red card at him. You could see Burdisso looking at Totti as if to say "I'm innocent" and it most cases the captain of the team would protest to the ref, but Totti turned his back to him. I don't mean to criticise him but he just seemed a little distracted and very tired and out of sorts.

[maro]

I actually thought Totti played very well, thredzo, and was struck again by the accuracy of his decision-making in attack. Of course you get a much better sense of this if you're actually in the stadium since you get a much better sense of the options that were available. Still, I'm surprised that was your take. Maybe you had your Vooch goggles on?

[stefano]

Totti never hands over the armband. When he leaves, a new armband is always brought from the sideline.

[RomaShield27]

That's interesting, Stef. Any idea why that is the case? No Tom, didn't have any 'Vooch goggles' on, I just Totti was poor and didn't have a good game. While he does still produce moments of magic with something that looks so simple (such as his flick to release Simplicio), too often made the wrong decision and surrendered possession.

[p_maldini_3]

[Carlo Romano]

Totti tends to be superstitious in these matters, doesn't he?

On tomorrow...as we see below, Bayern have already qualified for the next stage of the CL. We have to hope they aren't too "up for it" tomorrow night though needless to say, our respective two coaches insist Bayern will make a game of it. To quote Signor Claudio, our destiny is in our own hands tomorrow night. If Bayern needed a win it could be different but they don't, and it's an away fixture for them so we ought not to waste this opportunity. We need 4 points from our last two games to advance and if anyone needs reminded, we are away to Cluj for our final group match...

Bayern 12 Roma 6 Basilea 3 Cluj 3


In Il Romanista, Ranieri said today:

“The Bayern squad is to be respected. They are not showing continuity in the Bundesliga but are sending out a strong message in the Champions League. We will go into the game against Bayern with the intention to win. We need another four points after the victory over Basilea. Bayern have great organisation and ball possession with great champions and you have to recognise the hand of Van Gaal in all this. He is professional, prepared and determined. It will be a beautiful game.”

Ranieri on Jeremy Ménez: He has made gigantic steps forward already this year. The important thing is that he understands it. He interacts with it and gets the feeling. Now he feels loved by the team and by the fans and this is important for a sensible lad like him. Jeremy must be calm. He still has wide margins for improvement. Even he doesn't know how much he can grow.”

Original Italian article:


Around 3,500 Bayern fans are expected at the Olimpico tomorrow. For some reason it has been considered newsworthy that at La Villa Borghese, one of the designated fan zones for the visiting Germans, a feast of rigatoni all'amatriciana and pasta al pesto is being cooked up for them. There will be live entertainment laid on also. I'm no expert on this matter but is it perhaps in contrast to visiting English fans who are best left to their own devices?

[RomaShield27]

[Italiamia]

[stefano]

[RomaShield27]

Indeed, Stefano. Just like his previous three posts, beginning with his comment about my mother.