Lazio - Inter

Well calcio fans, unless you’ve been living under a rock, I’m sure you’ve heard that Lazio is taking on Inter this weekend.

Let’s not beat around the bush here. We’re in a lose-lose situation. Win the game, and hand Rioma a scudetto lifeline. Lose the game, and some will likely claim we threw it. I’ve already come across various message board posters who feel Inter will get a pass on Saturday, in return for one in the Coppa Italia semi-final.

I wouldn’t necessarily put something like that past Moratti and Lotito, but personally, I don’t believe it for a second. Sure, there has always been a tradition of friendship between the two teams, but from the betrayal of Mancini to the quasi-theft of Jiménez, I wouldn’t call the last few years cordial.

Besides, unlike May 5th 2002, this is not the last game of the season. After this weekend there will be another 7 games to play, and that stretch run will be much more important to the Scudetto than anything that can happen on Saturday.

Still, fueling the fire of all this is Delio Rossi and Rioma’s Luciano Spalletti, who’ve spent the last couple of days trading barbs in the press. Like any Lazio fan, Delio wants Inter to beat out Rioma for the championship. And like most Riomanistas who yap and yap, Spalletti…bah who cares what he “thinks” anyway?

Discounting the ten men loss to Fiorentina last week, we’re in our best form of the season, and we need three points. Inter, meanwhile, has been struggling, and is once again in the process of being raped with injuries. Call me stupid if you will fellow Laziale, but I hope we play to win.

Thankfully, the six players called for International duty this week will be available Saturday, and since Delio has stated the team will treat this like a derby, the lineup he’s reportedly going to field is, fittingly, almost exactly the same as that of the Derby Della Capitale. The only difference is the possible inclusion of Radu, which will be a boost, even if it means Kolarov gets dropped. Ultimately, I’d like to see both players on the field at the same time (preferably in, um, different positions), but there’s time for that.

Up front, the trident attack of Pandev, Balboa, and Bianchi will likely get another shot, and I hope to Christ Bianchi can get on the scoresheet. If he’s really going to cost us 12 million Euros, he has to start scoring, especially against the bigger teams.

Hoping to provide Rolando with some service will be the midfield trio of Dabo, Ledesma and Mudingayi (in for Mutarelli, who’s suspended).

On Inter’s side, Esteban Cambiasso, Olivier Dacourt, Walter Samuel and Ivan Cordoba are all definitely out with injury, which theoretically should help us. But since Inter have like five team’s worth of players, I’d say this is still going to be tough. Cruz is suspended and talented faccia di schiaffo/douchebag extraordinaire Zlatan Ibrahimović is doubtful, so it’s likely we’ll be facing former Eagle Hernan Crespo and David Suazo.

Forza Lazio.

Probable Formations:

Lazio: Ballotta; De Silvestri, Siviglia, Cribari, Radu; Dabo, Ledesma, Mudingayi; Pandev; Rocchi, Bianchi

Inter: Julio Cesar; Maicon, Burdisso, Materazzi, Maxwell; Stankovic, Zanetti, Chivu; Jimenez; Suazo, Crespo

Likelihood Lazio blows it: 65%
Likelihood Bianchi hits the back of the net: 33.3%
Likelihood a Riomanista says something stupid afterward (regardless of the outcome): 100%

Here’s a video of us playing the Washington Generals to Inter’s Harlem Globetrotters (aka, the last time these teams met):

And a news report on the game (In Italian):

Category: Previews

Tags: Bar Talk, Delio, Inter, Lazio, Lotito, May 5th 2002, Previews, Scudetto, Spalletti

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