Who Is Your Man?

By: cathal | August 17th, 2009

We are making a few small changes on the blog for the new season and today you will see the first of them in our new and hopefully improved poll format. However, the actual structure of the poll remains the same; opening on a Monday and closing on a Sunday night. Any feedback on the new features is much appreciated.

Without further ado, here is this week’s poll. Il Corriere dello Sport has published a five-man shortlist of defenders that we are supposedly intent on pursuing; my question to you is, hypothetically speaking, if we had all the money and ambition in the world, who would you opt for? If you could only sign one centre-back and if it had to be taken from this list, who woud be your choice? To aid you with your decision, I will profile the candidates below while doing my best not to influence you. I hope there is a difference between ‘aid’ and ‘influence’ and if there is, I hope you can see it or else, I’ve just rigged this poll.

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1. Fabricio Coloccini

He started out as a kid at Boca Juniors before moving to Milan where he was too young and struggling to adjust to life in Italy as much as the actual calcio. He moved from club to club until he finally landed on the ground at Deportivo La Coruna. He spent four reasonably successful seasons there beforing making the switch to Newcastle United last season for a transfer fee in excess of 12 million euro. Since then, he has come in for a lot of criticism as his team have tumbled down a division and with the Magpies coming under intense scrutiny and suffering every problem under the sun, a departure is likely for the Argentine. Are those credentials suitable for us?

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2. William Gallas

The Frenchman is the reason why this poll is hypothetical; Seeing William play weekly at the Olimpico next season is about as likely as Lotito asking Tare out on a date, gaining approval and then taking him to some posh Roman restaurant. In other words, even if the Arsenal centre-back takes Claudio’s fancy, what is the chances of a player of that calibre being interested in his proposal and furthermore, would Claudio really put up the cash? I mean…really? At 32 years of age, William might not be the player he was once but nevertheless, he would bring bucketloads of experience to the side and I am sure nobody here doubts his ability. Question marks do, however, surround his behaviour and overall attitude to the game.

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3. Renato Civelli

The name might not ring too many bells but he is certainly an interesting option. He is a free agent having just left Marseille and that information alone probably shoots him up Claudio’s shortlist. The guy is predominantly a midfielder; a holding midfielder and potentially a back-up or replacement for Ledesma but at 1.91 metres in height, he can also fill the role of a tall, commanding centre-back. At 25 years of age, he still has his best years ahead of him and as an Argentine, he virtually has Serie A in his genes. He certainly has an Italian surname. The only doubts would be his quality; is he good enough for Lazio?

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4. Alberto Rodriguez

Mr. Rodriguez is a Peruvian centre-back who plies his trade for Sporting Braga in Portugal. He is a competent centre-back and now a regular for club and country. I also presume that he has European experience under his belt as that generally comes with playing for Braga. I don’t doubt that he’s a solid player and at 25 years of age, like Civelli, he has a long career ahead of him but can he make the adjustment to Serie A and the necessary step up to play for Lazio? That is the question.

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5. Michele Canini

The Cagliari centre-back has been linked heavily with us in recent weeks and few have noted that he has actually played under Ballardini at Sambenedettese during the 2004-2005 season. In those days, he was just escaping his teenage years and since then, he has embarked on a successful playing career. He is one of the highest rated prospects in Italy and has U-21 caps to illustrate such potential. It is difficult to find fault with the guy; perhaps he is not quite ready to be a starter for us but surely it would only be a matter of time. A move to a big club is on the cards but will Rome be his destination?

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Please cast your vote now. Forza Lazio! (click here if you wish to visit polldaddy.com)