Almost Two Weeks At The Top

By: cathal | September 11th, 2008

For some, the international break can be a pain in the backside, for others, it brings out the patriot within, but for Lazio fans, the current international break has been ultra sweet. Why? Well, we get to spend two weeks at the top of the table. Beautiful, isn’t it? Long may it continue…

To remain on top, we must prevail in a tricky tie against Samp at the weekend (look out for a preview over the coming days). What we really needed was our guys to exit the internationals fit and fresh and it seems our wishes have been more or less granted, although Pandev must be feeling some pain. As I mentioned in the previous post, Goran has had a few minor issues in training and he took a slight knock again on Saturday too, yet he still managed to put in an impressive performance for Macedonia against Holland. He registered his name on the scoresheet with a well taken penalty but he also had two strikes ruled out for offside. Highlights can be found below but if, like me, Holland playing in blue irritates you (it just looks unnatural) then I would advise you against viewing.

Due to a goalkeeping crisis, Carrizo lined out for Argentina once more this week and he was seconds away from keeping a clean sheet, Sadly it was not to be as he conceded a late goal that gave Peru a share of the points. Nevertheless, it was a fantastic effort and it’s great to see him play internationally. It can only be a positive for us as far as I am concerned. I tried to find highlights for this game too but after trapsing through countless videos of joyous Peruvians celebrating, I conceded defeat. I settled for a picture instead. I had to put in something, the guy is fantastic!

Rozehnal helped keep a clean sheet against Northern Ireland despite heading the ball dangerously close to his own net. Thankfully, Lichtsteiner did not play in Switzerland’s disastrous loss to Luxembourg and Radu sat on the bench for the duration of Romania’s game against the Faroe Islands. All in all, an encouraging evening for us.

But if that wasn’t encouraging enough for you, then perhaps an 8-0 victory for Lazio’s non-internationals against Nuova Tor Tre Teste will do the trick. It was the “Zarate Show” yet again as Mauro went one better than he did at Cagliari and fired a hat-trick. Experience and youth also shone through as Inzaghi and Mendicino bagged a couple too. Even Mauri got in on the act. Good to see our fringe strikers in particular, hammer a few home.

Now the mercato is complete, eyes begin to turn towards the nitty gritty, the issues that plague us year in, year out. Just the mention of the words “new stadium” sends passionate fans into a frenzy. It is clearly a contentious issue but the latest word is that Lotito is seeking to buld a new stadium within Rome. This news will hearten many fans but some will wait to see Lotito’s words turn into actions before they cast judgement. It is unlikely the stadium debate will ever go away, at least not until the foundations are firmly set. This is something I will be keeping an eye on in the weeks to come.

There are also rumours circulating that Lazio are currently negotiating a sponsorship deal with Samsung. This is exciting news indeed as Samsung tend to flash the cash as their current agreement with Chelsea illustrates. Obviously, we shouldn’t expect to see the cool £50million (approx. 70million euro) that Chelsea receive, however, I think it is wonderful that a big brand like this view us as a potential investment for them. I won’t hold my breath, but I will if you catch my drift. Just envisage this on our shirts:

Ok, it’s now full steam ahead for Sampdoria on Sunday. If anything develops in the meantime, another post will be made but be sure to check back for the preview on Saturday. I, personally, cannot wait.