A Shot At Glory

By: cathal | April 23rd, 2009

One more game. That’s all that stands between us and the Coppa Italia. Lazio steamrolled Juve yesterday with a performance that deserved both admiration and praise. What a week it has been. We have just beaten three of the best sides in Serie A; two of those games were away games and as a result, we can now sniff a place in Europe next season. However, we shouldn’t count our chickens just yet, be it Sampdoria or Inter, we will have a tough game on our hands, even at the Olimpico.

You have to give credit where credit is due, when this team has their backs against a wall, they shatter the bricks with a force that cannot be repelled. Who would have thought this? It would have taken a brave man to stick his neck on the line and say we would win one of those games let alone the three of them but there you have it. We came good when it was necessary. We can’t ask for any more than that.

The big question I guess is what does Delio do now? The league has become virtually immaterial with this result so do we start resting the big guns and throw on some youth or do we try and keep the momentum going on into the final? It’s a tough call and I am glad I’m not making it because frankly, I don’t know what should be done. Hopefully Rossi does though. On Monday, I made a poll which did not work. Perhaps it was an omen. The poll is simple; which means more to you, winning the Coppa or securing a place in the Europa League? It seems timely to put this to you now. I’m sure the question has crossed your mind. Vote here. I’ll post last week’s poll results later.

I have nothing to add except Forza Lazio!

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Reaction:

“I believe that we deserved to progress to the final because we eliminated another great team tonight after doing likewise to Milan earlier in the competition.”

“This is a great group and many of them have a great future ahead of them. For some, it is their first season playing at such a high level and that is a credit to them.”

“I’m not an alchemist but a coach who wants to be judged for what he has done. I can only do my best, and that is what I have proven tonight.”

“We will speak about my future in time though, not right now.” – Delio Rossi

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“We deserved this, the players showed great determination. We dominated the match and deserved to succeed. Hopefully in the final the players can play with similar levels of determination and concentration.”

“He is professional and so are we. The club have not considered any other options as we are in the middle of the season.”

“We will not consider these issues until after May 30th when the season is complete. In addition to this, we will not be in contact with anyone.” – Claudio Lotito speaking about Rossi’s future and the game.

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“When I arrived in Italy, I struggled to adapt to the Italian game. As a result, I failed to perform consistently and had some really bad games.”

“Since then though, I have started to understand the game much better and I feel more confident when I play.”

“Making the final is a very good feeling as I feel that I contributed to the result.”

“We put a lot of effort into preparing for this match and we deserve to be through to the final. Zarate scored a fantastic goal and fortunately I did my duty and only conceded the once.” – Fernando Muslera

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Highlights:

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Pictures: http://www.corrieredellosport.it/Fotogallery/Coppa%20Italia/11541/0/Lazio,%20che%20show%20contro%20la%20Juve!

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Player Ratings:

Ratings from three sources; myself, Omar (thanks for those) and goal.com

Muslera – Me: 8 * Omar: 7 * goal.com:6: He had relatively little to do but he came up with a few superb saves when Juventus were pressuring us. If even one of those slipped in, it could have been a very different story.

Kolarov – Me: 7.5 * Omar: 6.5 * goal.com: 7: Another lethal display from the rejuvenated left back. Solid in defence once again, troublesome in attack and he grabbed the pivotal second courtesy of a wicked deflection.

Siviglia – Me: 7 * Omar: 6 * goal.com: 6.5: He has been the weak link of late in my book but he was a rock in this game, defending solidly and winning the ball in crucial positions.

Rozehnal – Me: 6 * Omar: 6.5 * goal.com: 6: I wasn’t convinced by David, felt the Juve attack were capable of getting the better of him. They didn’t though so he did his job well enough I guess.

Lichtsteiner – Me: 6 * Omar: 6.5 * goal.com: 6: He is full of heart each game he plays, I just feel he didn’t command the game like he has recently. Nevertheless, the effort will suffice.

Foggia – Me: 6.5 * Omar: 6.5 * goal.com: 6: He has had better games but even when he is going through one of his quiet episodes, he still poses a severe threat. He was a nightmare to defend against but he didn’t come alive as such.

Ledesma – Me: 7.5 * Omar: 6 * goal.com: 6: I have to disagree with the other ratings on this one, I personally felt the Argentine had a great game, he was constantly sweeping up loose balls and protecting the defence. Underrated and understated. When Lazio play well, Christian has a good game.

Matuzalem – Me: 6 * Omar: 7.5 * goal.com: 5.5: He is a big player for us these days and a critical part of our team. He did his job well but considering his recent suspension, he should not be getting booked and he made incorrect decisions from time to time.

Brocchi - Me: 6.5 * Omar: 6 * goal.com: 5.5: On the pitch to give his maximum and pressurise the opposition and he did just that. He wasn’t stringing passes together and it was no surprise to see the spritely Lollo take his place early in the second half.

Rocchi – Me: 5.5 * Omar: 6 * goal.com: 6.5: I expect much more from Tommaso, he just doesn’t seem to be delivering the goods these days. Yes, he does make intelligent moves but we need more than that if he is to be an adequate back up for Goran or Maurito.

Zarate - Me: 8 * Omar: 8 * goal.com: 8.5: Another wonder goal from the boy hero cements his place in Roman folklore. Aside from his stunning strike, he had a good game but was wasteful on more than one occasion when we were in a position to add to the scoreline. I can have no complaints though.