Falling Into Place

By: cathal | June 13th, 2009

There are signs that everything is falling nicely into place at Lazio and by next week, our plans for the season that lies ahead may become crystal clear. Much is going on behind the scenes as we try and establish the base we will work from over the summer. From the coaching crisis to the player crisis, Lotito and co. are working on it and frankly, I’m excited at what the coming days may throw at us.

The main mission as of now is clear; finding ourselves a half-decent coach. The name that currently sits on everybody’s lips is that of Ballardini. Our president has announced that a new coach will be appointed next week and this statement just happens to coincide with Ballardini’s resignation from Palermo. This resignation came hours after news broke that Ballardini was refusing to step down over in Sicily. You could be forgiven for thinking this is all just one big confusing mess but add into the equation that Davide and our whatever he is (still don’t know what he is) Igli Tare have apparently been in discussion and essentially what you get is a road paved for Ballardini to set foot in Formello. It’s not a certainty by any means and I wouldn’t put it past Claudio to spring a major shock but in reality, it seems inevitable.

Matuzalem is hoping to stay in Rome next season and there is no doubt that the club want to keep him. When he has played this season, he has solidified the whole team and eased the pressure on Ledesma. Hence, efforts to tie him down are underway and it is believed his club, Zaragoza will inform us of their decision in the next few days. This deal is further complicated by the legal issues that surround Francelino’s initial contract with the Spanish side so I would be hesitant to hazard any guess as to the outcome. At least we are showing an interest as I do feel it is important to hold onto him. Our midifeld is lacking in real quality and I do believe the Brazilian can be a spark for us.

Ledesma and his agent (who strikes me as being too into his narcotics) held a meeting with Lotito recently and the topic of conversation was a new contract. The overall sense I am getting from the reports is that the meeting went very well, however, that’s only words, I demand action. Nevertheless, I will say that his role with our club is colossal and he needs to stay and despite all these ridiculous rumblings from his agent, Cristian has handled the situation excellently. Many fans are quick to give him abuse but considering we only ever hear from his agent, I feel this is extremely unfair. Unlike Pandev or Rocchi, Cristian has always waited for our president to act; yes, his agent has tried to force negotiations but the Argentina has never expressed a specific desire to move on, at least not from what I can remember. If he happens to be wearing our armband on a permanent basis next season, I will not be too disatisfied. Forza Lazio!