As Weird As It Gets

By: cathal | October 19th, 2009

For once yesterday, I got myself an absolutely perfect stream and sat down thinking I was in for an absolute treat. I was salivating at the prospect of testing our skills against Samp and was rather confident about our chances. I have to say, it was a thoroughly entertaining encounter but for all the wrong reasons. Not for the first time this season, the referee spoils what could have been an absolute cracker and once again, it leaves me wondering where we are at at this stage of the season.

kolled

If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I would have to assume that the referee was donning a pair of Cassano’s underpants over his head. The visitors will claim they should have had a few stone wall penalties and I can understand that frustration but for me, there was nothing as unforgivable as Baronio’s red card. Can someone tell me when they introduced the shepherding of the ball out of play as a bookable offence? If I wasn’t so livid, I would have been in stitches laughing. That decision ruined the momentum we had gathered from the sending off of Padalino; in my ideal, footballing world, that is not a sending off either because he did clip the ball but nine times out of ten, you will be booked for that in the modern game so he can have few complaints. We had the upperhand at that stage and who knows, maybe we could have edged the tie. As for their penalty claims, I personally don’t think it should be a penalty when a ball is booted at a defender’s hand so for once, I actually empathise with Siviglia and as for Diakite’ and his spear, that was ridiculously risky but then again, the attacker was going absolutely nowhere. Both sides had reason to be upset, make no mistake about that.

zarmau

As for the performance, I think it was sufficient. They worked hard and remained disciplined but on another day (my favourite phrase this season) we take three points. We are hovering around that very thin line and if we had that little rub of the green, we could be in the Top 5 by now and I genuinely believe that. It would, however, be highly ignorant of me to say we don’t have our issues and many of them were glaringly obvious yesterday. First thing’s first, Zarate was magic; very, very sharp and while people will still bash him for being selfish, I can’t help but feel that Rocchi is just not on his wavelength and has no desire to be. This lack of an understanding is costing us goals and you have to wonder if we should be playing Cruz with the Argentine. Dropping Maurito is not an option for as long as we refuse to consider Pandev unless we play Foggia as a striker and unfortunately, that decision is almost a no-brainer. In other words, Ballardini has to find a constant partner for the boy wonder and fast. Speaking of Pasquale, contrary to popular opinion, I can’t see room for him in this squad at present. Matuzalem is on scintillating form and for me, he is too good to leave out now and Mauri was single-handedly, the creator on the field yesterday. I love Pasqualino; the maestro. I really do but I don’t see how we can play him outside of a three man attack and I struggle to see how a 4-3-3 would work without Ledesma. Finally, I think having Brocchi back in the side is a huge plus; the guy is just back from a very long lay-off and at nearly 60 years of age (slight exaggeration I’ll admit), he turns in the most energetic performance this side of the pitch, aside, maybe from Palombo. We need him to keep that up.

zaza

I am satisfied if a little disgruntled. We could easily have won that game and yet there are still issues on which we can definitely improve ourselves. It would be much, much worse if we had to fight for that point with a vintage performance. Roll on Villarreal. Forza Lazio!

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Reaction:

“In my opinion, we had a good game. We created many opportunities and when you concede, it is not easy to recover. We have tried until the very end to win this game against one of the best sides in the league.”

“After Padalino was sent off, we tried to play our best players on the wings and exploit that but it is not always possible. The numbers were cancelled out and Sampdoria have players with great individuality quality and stamina. Cassano and Pazzini are terrific players.”

“The referee didn’t help either of us but anyway, mistakes happen.” – Davide Ballardini

Read more from an in-depth interview here.

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Highlights:

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Pictures: http://www.lazialita.com/VisualizzaSezione.asp?IdArticolo=5883

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Player Ratings:

Muslera – 7.5: Pulled off a string of very fine saves in the first half but had little to occupy himself with in the second. Solid as ever

Kolarov – 6.5: Didn’t get forward as much as he probably hoped to, was too busy keeping Pazzini and Cassano quiet but he made few errors.

Cribari – 6.5: Very decent game for me, not easy keeping that frontline back but I think he did a good job. Shaky at times.

Diakite’ – 6: He had a stellar first half imposing his physical presence where necessary. Let himself down badly in the final few minutes with some dodgy defending and a ridiculous challenge that he was fortunate to get away with.

Siviglia – 5.5: Played in the unfavourable right-back position to give Lichti a rest and credit where credits due, he put in a good shift. He was caught out frequently and did nothing going forward but what else did we expect?

Baronio – 6.5: He might not be Ledesma but he is consistently average, for want of a better word. He went unnoticed for much of yesterday until that farcical sending off.

Brocchi – 7: The much needed boost button for our midfield is back and with a bang. He was typically Christian, running around like a headless chicken and yet somehow looking like he knew what he was doing. A massive mazy dribble near the end of the game typified his performance.

Mauri – 8: Stefano is a real touch of class when he is in the mood and Ballardini appears to be revitalising him. Played numerous dinky passes which would have equated to assists if our strikers could finish. The instigator of many attacks.

Matuzalem – 7.5: He has a unique ability of bringing people into the games, kicking off attacks and as he showed yesterday with a well-taken goal, he can finish them as well. Excellent game for the Brazilian which will only push Foggia further down the pecking order.

Zarate – 7: An absolute joy to watch, at times, he manipulated defenders in ways that Messi could only dream of being able to. The problem for him is, his strike partner was not on his wavelength and as a result, Maurito couldn’t find any form of end product.

Rocchi - 6: I can’t deny that he was sharp but I am frustrated by his lack of willingness at times. Didn’t take the half-chances he got and he needs to up his game if he wants to keep his place in the side.