Mulling Over Kalac And Rossi

By: cathal | January 31st, 2009

Lazio are said to be contemplating a loan deal for Milan veteran Zeljko Kalac. Apparently we have lost faith in Carrizo to a degree at least and there are also reports that he was involved in some kind of post-Cagliari bust-up. No doubt there were some harsh words exchanged after that game but whether an “altercation” took place or not is a different story. It is noted that the decision to sign Kalac will be made on the final day of the transfer window, which will be Monday, not today. As the final day of January falls on the weekend, leagues were given the option to extend it to Monday and as far as I’m aware, Serie A have taken that option. Some leagues have decided against it so many moves will be made today and I will be keeping a close eye on that although I don’t expect Lotito to whip out his chequebook.

The only way I can see Kalac coming to Lazio on loan is if we loan out Muslera. JP is going to be relatively untouchable for the time being, maybe not as number one goalkeeper but it’s not as if we can loan him out to the likes of Siena or Lecce. His stature is just too high for them. Nevertheless, I would welcome a move for Kalac. I think it is a sensible idea when you have doubts over your two main goalkeepers. I have doubts over Zeljko as well but at least he has the experience and knowledge of Italian football that our younger goalkeepers are lacking in. Watch this space on that one.

I had a long journey yesterday so I haven’t been following all the news lately but I have heard and read reports of Rossi being sacked, Rossi staying to the end of the season, Rossi getting a contract extension etc.

My opinion on Delio is very simple; he’s a very competent coach. He has had remarkable success with various clubs. Take Salernitana as an example. He led them from Serie C to Serie B, left them but came back, led them into Serie A and almost managed to keep them up. He went to Lecce, almost managed to keep them up also and then guided them back to Serie A the following season. At Atalanta, he almost pulled off a great escape from a most damned position. Thus, it is difficult to argue that he is not a quality manager going solely on his past achievements. Even at Lazio he has guided us to Europe twice with fairly average squads. In saying that, there is a pattern within his coaching career. He starts off every job excellently and then fades away. Perhaps he finds it difficult to keep his sides from going stale and that is problematic. For that reason I empathise with those calling for his dismissal or resignation.

However, there are a few problems I have with him leaving. First of all, it doesn’t make sense financially. He is out of contract in the summer and if we were to sack him, we would have to pay the remainder of his wages for the season. That doesn’t amount to much as he is on a low salary anyway but we would have to pay out the contract of another working manager if we are looking to poach a coach. That leaves us in a position where we would actually lose quite a bit of much needed cash by letting him go now. Of course there is the other theory that there is nobody able enough to fill his boots at Lazio. Giampaolo has been mentioned and I think he is a worthy candidate but he is contracted. The Curva were heard chanting the name of Diego Simeone and yes, he is a free agent, but his management career has been short and topsy-turvy. He would be a major risk and risks are not something we should be looking to take. Of course, there are also some dreaming of Mancini and Eriksson but they are not realistic options; we don’t have the finances anywhere near sufficient to fund their appointments. Therefore, I hope Lotito weighs everything up and makes the correct decision. The most important thing for Lazio is that we do anything within our power to make Europe; that generates bags of money and if Rossi is incapable of getting us to Europe and if Claudio knows somebody who can lead us there then Delio has to go. That’s the only circumstance where I would back the departure of Delio.

I will have a preview posted in a few hours, I am just waiting for some more information to become avaialble. I can tell you now though that injury and suspension is leaving our squad rather depleted for tomorrow. Oh dear…