Have A Break, Have A Scoreless Draw

By: cathal | October 9th, 2009

I know the posts have dried up recently but I am back and I’m hoping the bang will come later. For now, it’s hard to muster much enthusiasm about a 0-0 game and subsequently, a fortnight of no Lazio but nevertheless, we can take heart from the fact that we held on against one of the Top 4. Not only that but I will personally enjoy talking about how good our defense was for a change. Let the review begin.

Radu (Lazialita) 04-10-09

Both sides were obviously tired after tough but convincing wins in midweek encounters and having to travel to Florence was, in itself, a hard task. However, we gave a good account of ourselves and with key players such as Kolarov, Brocchi and Ledesma out of the side, it is amazing that we defended as well as we did. Del Nero is a more than competent left-back and he turned out a game that will make many think about his future role with the side. The same can be said for Radu and Cribari; we slaughtered both in recent weeks but they have now claimed two clean sheets in a row away from home and I can’t stress how vital some of their interceptions were. I still like Diakite’ and despise Siviglia but we are getting close to a point where we can say one, top notch centre-back would suffice. Despite the fact he looks close to passing out on the field these days, Lichtsteiner is still doing a good job. There is much to be optimistic about from that point.

Zarate 2 (Lazialita) 04-10-09

My only criticism would be on our attack. I know the defence is costing us wins but on many of these occasions, our forwards are failing to put the game beyond doubt. It’s great to see Rocchi back and Cruz chipping in with goals but Zarate is not playing like the Maurito we know. I think he has lost conifdence and is too concerned about his selfishness; he seems to be declining shooting opportunities he would normally score from and I think the presence of Foggia is not helping. They have similar characteristics and as a result, Mauro is playing in an unusual position and it is not doing us any favours. This is something we need to look at over the next week.

Rocchi (Lazialita) 04-10-09

All in all, I am satisfied and let’s see how we fare against the revived Samp next weekend. Check out all the titbits below and Forza Lazio!

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Reactions:
http://www.goal.com/en/news/10/italy/2009/10/04/1540785/lazio-coach-davide-ballardini-satisfied-following-goalless
http://www.goal.com/en/news/10/italy/2009/10/05/1541886/lazio-chief-claudio-lotito-in-spat-with-mayor-of-florence

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Highlights:

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Pictures: http://www.lazialita.com/VisualizzaSezione.asp?IdArticolo=5698

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Player Ratings: If you didn’t see the game, you may think I have flipped in my praise of our defenders. Thankfully, goal.com agree – http://www.goal.com/en/news/10/italy/2009/10/04/1540705/player-ratings-fiorentina-0-0-lazio