Crunch Time

By: cathal | April 15th, 2009

I can’t remember a more critical period of time in recent years than the two weeks that lie ahead for us. The short-term future and the long-term future of this club is at stake, not only on the pitch but off it as well. I’ll try and round up what may or may not happen in the coming fortnight but without my crystal ball (Spaghetti’s head), it is a difficult task.

The derby win has undoubtedly increased the number of possibilities that could arise in future weeks. I should start by rounding up the on-field matters. We face a difficult trip to Genoa this weekend to take on an in-form side who are determined to succeed in their battle for Champions League qualification. A win against Genoa is incredibly unlikely. At home, they are as tough as anyone in Italy and surely we will go into the game with tired legs. As fans, we can only hope that our confidence and motivation overrides our fatigue but considering our game of the season is only a week away, you would have to think Rossi will rest a few key players which makes the task obscenely difficult. If we beat Il Grifone, we have to be in with a shout of qualifying for Europe through the league but if we eliminate Juventus next week, we are one game away from direct qualification through the cup. Of course, there’s always a slim chance that Inter can overturn that three goal deficit against Samp now that Serie A is pretty much theirs. A chance but slim nonetheless. Is it possible to defeat both Genoa and Juve? Only time will tell but it would be an impressive feat if we did.

European qualification could be the key in keeping some of our stars at the club. Rumour has it that Lotito will be jetting off to Qatar in the next week to discuss signing Zarate permanently from Al-Sadd. As far as I’m aware, our option on Maurito expires at the end of the month and should that happen, the Qatari club can speak to whoever they want about Mauro. With Liverpool supposedly eyeing up a deal already, Lotito must act quickly. In addition to that obstacle, we are still waiting for Pandev to put pen to paper on a new deal and I expect that situation to be resolved imminently. The deal is said to be close if not closed and Claudio is insisting Goran goes nowhere. His signature would be a huge morale booster for all of us.

The huge transfer rumour to emerge this week is the apparent deal we have struck with Catania stopper, Albano Bizzarri. The Argentine’s arrival at the club would presumably spell the end of Carrizo’s career in Rome and it has been reported that JP is on his way to Atletico Madrid on loan. I find a certain irony in the fact that we would be getting rid of Argentina’s number one and replacing him with an Argentine who has never played for his country. However, Albano is a talented guy, he was Casillas’ stand-in when Real Madrid where in their prime and he is having a stormer of a season in Sicily. However, if he does come to Lazio, he will be our number one. I can’t see why a guy who was unhappy at being on the bench at Europe’s finest team at the time would come to sit on our bench now. His experience would be a welcome addition to the squad but not at the expense of Muslera. Fernando has the talent to become a star, Bizzarri will never reach the heights Nestor can. An interesting rumour and one that is open to debate.

As Jacob kindly (or gloatingly) pointed out in the comments section, both Lazio and Rioma are said to be chasing 16 year-old wonderkid, Marco Verratti. After the Macheda/Petrucci incidents, I severely doubt the credibility of this rumour. I am assuming this is just the media trying to prolong the Manchester United thievery agony. However, it is an intriguing proposition and should this be true, it will be interesting to see how it all unravels. His club, Pescara absolutely hate us but we do have a former Pescara coach in charge here (Delio Rossi) and we did snatch one of Pescara’s “wonderkids” in the past (Mobido Diakite’, anyone?). In a sense this is credible and the capture of a highly-rated youngster like Varretti would be a signal of our intent.