Reja to take the reins

By: Cristiano | 3 Comments

It’s not yet official but barring a minor disaster, Edy Reja will be the new coach of Lazio.

Ballardini’s time is up and perhaps he has had longer than he deserves. Many, including myself, would’ve let him go during that horrible period when we endured four months without a league victory. In the end, he leaves us in the worst position we’ve been in since 1985 (a season when we were relegated to B).

My feeling is that Ballardini will go down as one of the worst coaches in Lazio history, if not the worst. Certainly I’m young and can’t comment on the club’s entire 110-year history, but even older laziali I’ve spoken to recently can’t name anyone else. Some others, like Caso and Zaccheroni, didn’t enjoy great results either, but their time in charge was never symbolised by a complete lack of coglioni and fight and his relationship with Lotito was never going to win many over. His decision to reside in the Formello sport complex, and not Rome, meant he could never forge a connection with the city and its residents. Don’t underestimate that factor.

As far as football goes, I see our failure to beat Chievo and Catania at home as disastrous and I personally hold him primarily at fault for these results. He simply was not good enough for the job, no matter what poor situation the club is in. I will credit him on one thing through, in the interest of fairness. I felt that he has got the best out of Stefan Radu who, like Kjaer at Palermo last season, has developed into a top class central defender. On the whole though, I’m not a fan of Ballardini’s football, nor his personality. Addio.

***

The new man coming in is a different coach entirely. Reja is pragmatic, he is far more experienced and he’ll bring a breath of fresh air, as well as discipline and a motivated attitude. To survive, Reja needs to galvanise this squad and begin establishing an identity from the start. Every point is vital. It’s probable that Mister Reja will have an added weapon in Ledesma, while Matuzalem and Foggia return from injury. At Napoli, he had a penchant for 3-5-2. With our players, it’s certainly a possible system but I’m not sure if it’s ideal at this stage or whether he will use it.

The man from Friuli has been more successful at getting teams promoted, rather than saving them from the drop, over the course of his career, but I have faith he can do the business for us. The key is for him not to repeat Ballardini’s errors. He needs to make his own decisions and not follow Lotito. He needs to show personality and command respect from everyone. If he does so, I believe the fans will back him.

The details are not yet clear, but Reja has freed himself from his contract with Hajduk Split. Lazio will need to pay a fee of around 100,000 euro. He is said to have a contract until 2011 worth around 900k a year. At the moment, he is stranded on the Croatian island of Brač due to bad weather and won’t arrive in Rome for some hours. Only then will it be official. We’ll update you with the details both of Reja coming and Ballardini leaving.

***

While I type also, there are about 1000 fans at Formello protesting at the current situation. Some have challenged some of the players and others have jumped the gates and scuffles with police have broken out. A couple have been arrested and three injured for good measure.

I’m all for protest against Lotito and Tare cause what is happening at Lazio is a disgrace. The banishing of Lichtsteiner to the tribuna because he criticised management for me is just another example of this.

Nonetheless, this protest is still ongoing and I haven’t heard anything so I can’t add my opinion yet.

Watch this space for updates on the coaching situation and the ultras’ protest.

DAJE LAZIO

Sometimes, Pictures Can Paint A 1,000 Words

By: cathal | 6 Comments

Dejection. Forza Lazio!

Elephants march on Rome

By: Cristiano | 14 Comments

The stage is set for a classic relegation battle as gli elefanti of Catania visit the capital with one goal: to survive.

Stadio Olimpico, Roma
Sunday, February 7th 2010
15:00 CET

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Avanti!

By: Cristiano | 8 Comments

With five new players at our disposal and potentially one more, let’s discuss the way forward for this Lazio as we continue the path of survival.

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The Ledesma Debacle…Again

By: cathal | 5 Comments

Same topic, different story.

There were two major issues that we failed to address in the January mercato; we didn’t cut down on stock as much as we would have hoped and we didn’t get rid of the thorn in our president’s side; Cristian Ledesma. Apparently 8-9million wasn’t enough to force Lotito into showing his hand and as a result, we face the prospect of losing the engine of our side on a permanent basis and more sickeningly, losing him for a measly sum, perhaps even nothing.

The tifosi are undoubtedly wondering where the heck we go from here and our options are fairly limited. We could integrate him back into the side, give him a contract worth signing and let bygones be bygones. Unfortunately, there is probably more chance of Totti pulling on our colours against Catania so let me try and illustrate how this is probably going to pan out.

Ledesma can leave courtesy of the now infamous Article 17 but only if he leaves the country. Now, I doubt Cristian would want to venture abroad considering he has worked tirelessly to forge a successful career ever since he landed on Italian shores, however, there is a little clause called Article 15 and this is where it all gets interesting. Basically, this FIFA law states that a player who plays less than 10% of his club’s matches over the course of a season can go elsewhere providing he is in the last year of his contract. And what do you know, here we have a guy who has played the equivalent of zero games and who just happens to have a contract that will be in its last year when the mercato reopens. Brilliant.

Therefore the cards are in our president’s grubby paws. If he asks Ballardini to give the Argentine the odd outing, enough to bring him over the required 10% then we may just make Cristian into something worth purchasing. Otherwise, it is quite simply, a case of arrivederci. Answers on the back of a postcard if you know why Lotito refused Inter’s advances. I am trying not to lose sleep over it. Forza Lazio!

Shalom

By: Cristiano | 13 Comments

It was always going to raise controversy but the transfer of Eyal Golasa to Lazio has now prompted disgraceful accusations from the media, directed at the fans of Lazio.

I’m disappointed to be writing this post. There are a couple of other things I wanted to write about, but I’d just like to clear things up.

An unfortunate reality of the media is that facts are often overlooked in order to sensationalise a story. All it took was a small group of (for want of a better word) idiots, and the media got the tool they needed to sensationalise this story. Someone, who didn’t actually have the courage to put their name to it, created a Facebook group titled “noi Golasa non lo vogliamo” (we don’t want Golasa). Having looked at the group, I’d say approximately 300 of the 400 or so members are Lazio fans appalled at the group’s message and Israelis venting abuse at various things.

The group in favour of Golasa’s signing is much larger and more positive. Reactions across various Lazio forums, made up Curva Nord regulars and season ticket holders is also positive.

However, the media knows that it is easier to sensationalise a negative story rather than a positive one. So, instead of writing about how Lazio fans defy the stereotype, they prefer to perpetuate it. The Israeli media too has made such comments, they are angry that their biggest talent has left their shores in such a manner. The German newspaper Bild meanwhile have questioned whether Lazio is the right club for anti-racism activist Thomas Hitzlsperger. They should have written that Lazio is, of course, the right club for him, because he is guaranteed first team football and a chance to rediscover his best form ahead of the World Cup. Instead they chose to talk politics.

It is true that many (definitely not all) Lazio fans will align themselves politically with the right-wing. This does not make them extremists, racist or anti-Semitic as the media would have you believe. The majority would keep their political views away from football. These fans care for Lazio, they are happy to see such a talent as Golasa come to the club. I read their forums and opinion pieces and can assure everyone that any talented player, regardless of ethnicity and religion will be welcomed at Lazio by the majority.

Eyal Golasa will be welcomed at Lazio as any other new player would. He is a great talent. Lazio players are judged by their ability, their commitment to the club and the manner in which they defend our colours. If Eyal represents Lazio with pride, he will become popular. We hope that one day, he can win us a Derby. Daje Eyal, facce sognà.

Mercato: Meet the New Boys

By: Cristiano | 15 Comments

The mercato has now closed and Lazio welcome five new players to the eagle’s nest.

***

Giuseppe Biava

The veteran defender has joined us on a two-year deal. He will be 33 in May so this is hardly a signing for the future, and it is hard to see him playing a major role with Radu, Stendardo and Dias all ahead in the pecking order. Nonetheless he adds depth and experience and will probably ensure the days of Siviglia will end with this season. Benvenuto Giuseppe!

***

André Dias

The 30-year old Brazilian defender joins on a 3 and a half year deal from South American powerhouse São Paulo. He was a decorated player in his homeland, having won the league three times and in 2008 and 2009 he was awarded the Bola de Ouro, given to the second best player in the national championship. He is not a young player but should add something to our backline and maybe he will break into Dunga’s Brazil squad. Bem-vindo!

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Thomas Hitzlsperger

Probably our most exciting signing. We needed a midfielder of quality and we got one in the man known as The Hammer. The former Aston Villa player and Stuttgart captain has been a regular for Germany for six years and has over 50 caps. His form dropped considerably over the last few months and hopefully this is the fresh change he needs to rediscover himself. At 27 years of age, he still has plenty of football ahead of him. I look forward to seeing him smack goals in with that beast of a left foot. Wilkommen!

***

Eyal Golasa

This is a controversial signing, but Lazio have officially registered the 18-year-old starlet, so for all intents and purposes he is a Lazio player. His former club, Maccabi Haifa dispute the validity of this. The deal is further complicated as in July, Golasa is required to enlist with the Israeli Defence Forces. At this stage I’m quietly confident these two issues will resolve themselves in our favour. The player’s technical quality is not in doubt though. At 17, he led Maccabi into the Champions League group stage and should step right into our side.

ברוך הבא

***

Gonzalo Barreto

We have already presented the Uruguayan and his contract has now officially been deposited to the Lega, so he can begin playing for Lazio. Interestingly, he has been registered on loan deal, which has not been explained yet. He was said to have signed for 5 years.

***

DAJE RAGAZZI.

The 24-Hour Mercato Liveblog

By: cathal | 48 Comments

18:00 CET

I believe we have one hour left and then whatever unfolds unfolds. No Ledesma sale is the latest news and whether Biava, Dias or Golasa are 100% official remains to be seen.

I would now rule out all other rumours.

* * * * *

15:45 CET

Cristiano may still be around somewhere but this is Cathal with you for now with some key updates.

The Golasa deal is controversial; basically, he has a youth contract at Maccabi Haifa and his representatives reckon that makes him a free agent as he is no longer a youth player and thus, his contract doesn’t quite fit its description.

At the minute, we are working on selling Ledesma and signing Andre Dias. The latter looks set for a move, which should rule out any potential deal for Ederson while Genoa president Preziosi acknowledges that Cristian wants Inter and as a result, he is trying to convince Lotito to cut his losses and accept it; at the minute, the figure stands at just under 10million I believe.

I feel the Eguren deal is off although there is a realistic possibility that we will not be able to get out of that deal which could well land us in hot water.

*****

14:15 CET

Lotito continues to resist Inter’s pressure for Ledesma. He wants 10 million euro cash and a deal is looking unlikely.

Ederson’s agent says that negotiations are ongoing and that in the end it’s possible the Brazilian trequartista could come to Lazio.

*****

13:45 CET

OFFICIAL: Lazio sign Giuseppe Biava

According to Corriere dello Sport, the 32-year old central defender signs on a two-year deal.

*****

13:30 CET

The agent of Genoa defender Giuseppe Biava will meet Claudio Lotito at the ATA Hotel Quark in Milano.

Lazio are the only side without a ‘box’ at the hotel where final discussions are taking place.

*****

12:30 CET

Bologna have begun discussing a move for Chievo’s Manuel Iori as their aim to take Roberto Baronio from us gets difficult.

Pasquale Foggia meanwhile is set to turn down a loan move to Bari.

*****

12:00 CET

The agent of Ledesma claims there is still hope that the Argentine can seal a move to Inter. He has underlined that they are only seeking a move to the nerazzurri and no other club.

Meanwhile, Makinwa’s agent says that foreign offers are not concrete and that if he moves he is most likely to find a new club in Italy. Clubs from Russia, Greece and Qatar have inquired about the Nigerian striker. To free up another non-EU place, Makinwa must be sent to a foreign side, not an Italian one.

Giuseppe Biava’s agent says that the link between the Genoa defender and Lazio is more than just a rumour.

The word on Ederson is still that the player wants to come to Lazio.

*****

10:30 CET

The rumours surrounding defender André Dias are intensifying. The 30-year old Brazilian is said to be in Rome already, ready to join on loan with an option to sign him for 1.5 million euro in June.

Dias is non-EU, therefore for an unlikely signing of Ederson to be possible, we will need to let Makinwa go. A Qatari club has expressed interest.

Giuseppe Biava (Genoa), Michele Canini (Cagliari) and Victor Mareco (Brescia) are all other defensive options.

Eric Djemba-Djemba is still on the cards. As with Dias, this signing doesn’t excite me. Hopefully it doesn’t go through.

Napoli wouldn’t mind taking Tommaso Rocchi. Bologna still in for Baronio.

*****

09:45 CET

Expect Pasquale Foggia to complete a loan deal to Bari today. The galletti will take him with an option to buy at season’s end.

Israeli starlet Eyal Golasa has signed a 4 and a half year contract with us, yet this is slightly complicated due to the player’s situation. More on this later.

The Ederson transfer seems to be an increasingly unlikely move. There is however, limited information on proceedings. We’ll see how this pans out. It does require the release of Makinwa though.

*****

01:45 CET

Cristiano here with the calciomercato update.

The latest news as we enter the final day of the transfer window.

Sadly, the Ledesma saga continues to go badly. The latest is that Lotito has rejected Inter’s offer of 8.5 million euro plus half a primavera player for a total value of 10 million. This would see Ledesma forced to miss a lot more football while Lazio would get nothing. He can leave for free at the end of the year via Article 17.
Inter have turned to Fabio Simplicio and the deal has been agreed, although not yet official. Let’s hope there is one more twist and Ledesma is sold.

Ederson could be ours. Lyon are said to be accepting our offer (loan deal with 12 million euro option to buy). The hitch is we need to offload Stephen Makinwa to sign him. Lecce have signed Di Michele from Torino so he will have to look abroad. A Russian club (probably FC Moscow) has apparently made an official offer. Let’s hope this works out.

The defender we may get is 30-year-old Brazilian Andrè Dias of Sao Paulo.

Roberto Baronio has been offered a two year contract by Bologna. Lotito is considering former Manchester United and Cameroon midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba as a replacement. Replacing one mediocre player with an even worse one is not my idea of a good transfer but let’s see where this goes.

Stay tuned for more updates.

*****

22:20 CET

Mauri – I take it all back, son. It’s 1-1 and game on. I hope.

* * * * *

22:10 CET

Dive, much? I want to see that again but it looks like the Moggi cloud has come back to hang over us. Penalty and 1-0 to Juve. Tremendous shame if my gut instinct is right.

* * * * *

21:45 CET

Ballardini appears to have got his tactics right for this one, at least defensively, but I’d like to think we can get our hands on a pair of vampire fangs because we are as sharp as your grandmother’s dentures right now. Let’s see what the second half brings.

* * * * *

21:15 CET

Not much happening in this one, eh? At least it’s goalless…

* * * * *

19:30 CET

Official line-up for Juve:

Lazio (4-3-1-2) 86 Muslera; 87 Diakitè, 28 Stendardo, 26 Radu, 11 Kolarov; 6 Dabo, 33 Baronio, 4 Firmani; 5 Mauri; 74 Cruz, 10 Zarate. A disp: (88 Berni, 52 Luciani, 2 Lichtsteiner, 13 Siviglia, 42 Sevieri, 9 Rocchi, 18 Makinwa) All. Ballardini

Diakite’ preferred at right-back, ahead of Lichtsteiner and Rocchi also on the bench and now 4th choice striker. Summer moves could be on the cards for both.

* * * * *

19:00 CET

I’ve been told Hitzlsperger is due to arrive in Rome tomorrow; I am guessing the formalities need to be completed but until pen is on paper, we can never be sure. Our president keeps people waiting outside his office, he sends people home after a few neat snaps have been taken and on occasion, he vanishes off the face of the earth completely. Let’s not count chickens just yet.

As for Ledesma, Moratti is repeatedly offering 8.5million with the co-ownership of seemingly random youngsters if the media is to believed. The latest is Luca Tremolada who I know absolutely nothing about. Claudio is still whispering 10million to them. There is less than a day left to conclude this deal and in the past month, neither party has altered their stance. Will it change in the next 24 hours? It better.

* * * * *

16:30 CET

Cristiano and myself are being driven crazy by all the speculation and the breaking news and thus, we have decided to do everything in our power to keep you all in the know over the next 24 hours or so. We may discuss the Juve game one way or another so you have many a reason to be checking back here on a regular basis. This is how things stand:

The Eguren deal is off, supposedly for medical reasons. Perhaps a certain, more suitable candidate entered the frame, perhaps he had a nasty verruca; who knows.

A more suitable candidate may be Thomas Hitzlsperger and according to German media, goal.com and Stuttgart’s official website, he is ours. He looks set to link up with the team on Tuesday morning providing Lotito doesn’t send him packing on arrival.

Ledesma to Inter is imminent but that’s coming from a man who lost a court case to King Claudius so I wouldn’t blame you for ignoring that rumour.

Eyal Golasa, the talented 18 year-old Israeli midfielder has undergone a medical and has requested the No.15 jersey after agreeing to a four-and-a-half year deal. It looks like we have finally snapped up a creative midfielder but taking his age into consideration, I was hoping for someone more solid. That may still happen though because…

…Tare claims Lyon have a firm offer on their table for Ederson and he is optimistic that it will be accepted. I don’t think they are keen to sell a player they spent a considerable amount of cash on but it seems we are demanding a permanent conclusion; even if that is impossible with Serie A’s non-EU eligibility policy. So, how that deal shapes up remains to be seen.

The central defender search is proving elusive but Cristiano spotted an unlikely candidate; Christoph Metzelder. Lalazioinrete are carrying that story and it’s worth keeping the corner of our eyes on that one.

* * * * *

Stay tuned…

The Zac is Back

By: Cristiano | 7 Comments

We travel north to the cold city of Torino to face the Old Lady, and we are reacquainted with an old mate of ours, Alberto Zaccheroni.

Stadio Olimpico di Torino
Sunday 31st January 2010
20:45 CET

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Mercato: What’s going on???

By: Cristiano | 12 Comments

Even by Lazio standards, things are confusing.

Firstly, Sebastian Eguren. The club agreed a deal with Villarreal and the player, he flew into Rome, did a medical and was photographed wearing our shirt (smiling proudly as one does when they wear the biancoceleste). He then returned to Spain to complete some paperwork and Villarreal officially confirmed the deal on their club website. Eguren is ours then, right?

Wrong. Lazio have not officially confirmed the deal themselves. Seems Mr. Eguren’s first medical was unconvincing, and he had to take a second upon returning to Rome. Problems arose and the deal is in the air. His agent assures us he is with the team and ready to go, and the problem was merely high blood pressure caused by excess travelling. Something is not right here and whether Eguren will play for Lazio is anyone’s guess at this stage. It’s not looking good though.

***

This brings me to Ederson. The Lyon attacker apparently does want to come to Lazio, according to his agent, who seems to believe that a deal is very possible. I hope so, as this would mean more quality going forward, someone to support the strikers and less game time for Mauri. This move can only be a loan deal (with option to buy) as Ederson is a non-EU player. He must take the place of Carrizo, who was loaned out.

***

Jakob Poulsen has turned down Lazio. He doesn’t want to be playing second-fiddle to Lichtsteiner and Brocchi in the lead up to the World Cup. He would’ve cost us 3 million. We need reinforcements but this isn’t anything to cry over in my opinion.

***

Pasquale Foggia is set to leave for Bari. He wants game time and the galletti are prepared to give it to him. Bad move this I feel. Not because we’re giving Foggia away, but because we don’t benefit. I think that Paccuale is certainly expendable, but as a bargaining chip. Why not offer him to Genoa and bring in Zapater or a defender? Instead he’s off to Bari, while we get a small fee at the most and lose a valuable option.

***

Ledesma’s future can be summed up quite briefly with the following symbol – ‘?’

Tommaso Rocchi is a target of Fiorentina, who now need a replacement for the lovable Adrian Mutu, who has seemingly moved on from the nose candy to herbal concoctions.

Bologna still want Roberto Baronio. The bresciano will be out of contract in six months and would prefer to remain in Rome. I’d like to sell him now and get a set of steak knives for him but sadly we may need him cause our midfield is light.

Lecce want Makinwa. If they grant us this favour and take him off our books, I will personally buy a Lecce top and give it to a local kid next time I’m in their city. And that’s a promise.

***

On a rather bittersweet note, while our mercato bombs hard, yet again, more talented foreign youngsters are pouring into Formello.

Nigerian striker Seyi Adekele has been scoring goals and impressing for the Primavera since his arrival as a triallist.

The club has now added Lithuanian defender Aurimas Vilkaitis and Salam Denè from Burkina Faso.

We are also trialling Olympiakos super-talent Vasilis Skourtis, a young Albanian forward who rejected a loan deal to a smaller club in Greece and is trying his luck with us.

***

Not long left to go now ’til the mercato closes. There’s also the little issue of the trip north, where we are reacquainted with our old mate Zaccheroni who has taken charge of a band of lost thieves.