Roll On Sunday

By: cathal | August 20th, 2009

Lazio strolled to a comprehensive win over the tricky Elfsborg in Rome tonight and will now have a comfortable margin to protect in the return leg, next week in Sweden. For now, our attention will quickly switch towards our opening Serie A fixture against Atalanta on Sunday and we should go into that game brimming with confidence after tonight’s impressive result.

Many were critical of Ballardini’s line-up prior to kick-off but few can criticise him now. Everyone did their job on a night were the usual suspects rose to the occasion along with a couple of unlikely heroes. Zarate was on stellar form yet again; still can’t decide if he is carrying some extra kilos or if he was spending a lot of time in some Argentinian gyms but whichever it may be, it hasn’t affected his speed or his ability to pull out virtuosic performances from nowhere. The guy is becoming more machine than man and he was involved in most of our scintillating plays tonight. Kolarov was another who excelled on the night; he signalled his intent to bomb forward by firing a piledriver into the net from an imposssible angle. Enough said. Baronio managed to convince me that he would be a great back-up tonight and if I am being honest, he made me think he should be a regular at times too. Mauri also looked like a man who is getting close to his old form. We all know he can be a quality player on his day but too often he shows the most infrequent glimpses of this. Tonight, he managed to sustain a high level of performance throughout and push Dabo further down the pecking order. I could go on and mention the others but they were all competent and I can have no complaints. Serie A here we come. We are primed and ready.

I would guess that the next few days could be busy and the build up could become intense. There are a few key issues for me that will probably see a resolution of sorts this weekend. Firstly, will Ledesma be a part of the squad for Atalanta and if so, will De Silvestri, Pandev, Stendardo and the others be left out yet again? Will a few of them depart in the very near future? Will Ballardini change things around and if so, to what extent? The early part of this season will be full of lessons and the learning curve is steep. I just hope we can brave out our troubles and keep this winning run going for as long as possible. Forza Lazio!

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Reaction:

“Despite the 3-0 scoreline, next time, they won’t be any easier.”

“I am very happy with this game against a real team; strong physically and well organised. I congratulate the boys for the way they approached the match. I think we deserve this scoreline as we created much, even though their defence was disciplined.”

“Zarate? He must do what he did tonight and certainly, he will become one of the strongest in the world. He must remember to play for himself but also the team. I have had the fortune to train many great players but Zarate will probably become the best player I have ever trained.” – Davide Ballardini

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“I saw a great Lazio tonight; we took to the field knowing we had great potential. We faced a good team who always arrive in the top three of their league and we must not forget that they are ahead of us in terms of preparation.”

“We know that we need reinforcements and this is something we are working on.”

“For the first time ever, I saw Zarate pass to five companions. Ballardini will help him to become a great player. I don’t want to speak about the rest as individuals but I will say that the team spirit we have is what makes me happiest.” – Claudio Lotito

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- For additional reaction, check Lalaziosiamonoi. I will try and summarise the player’s views in the comments section tomorrow.

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Highlights:

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Pictures: http://www.lazialita.com/VisualizzaSezione.asp?IdArticolo=5061

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Player Ratings: Check the comments section of the last post; I don’t disagree too much with those ratings and a dodgy stream (or five) prevents me from drafting up wholly accurate scores. I’ve mentioned the star men already and it wasn’t a night were anybody disappointed in particular.