Pekin Boys

By: salvatore | August 7th, 2008

Olympic football kicked off today, and Lazio fans have three reasons to tune into games in the middle of the morning: Aleksander Kolarov, Tommaso Rocchi and Lorenzo De Silvestri.

The ever developing Kolarov is reportedly going to be in the Serbian starting 11, while Rocchi and Lorenzo are both being counted on by Casiraghi to play a big role in Italy’s gold rush.

As most Serie A and Italy watchers know, Balboa was chosen as Italy’s sole overage player, and whether or not you think another youngster (like say Osvaldo) should have been chosen in his place, I think I can speak for most Lazio fans when I say I’m very happy he’s there (even if it means he’s missing out on preseason training and friendlies). The son of a bitch just deserves some credit.

Maybe I’m ridiculously biased, but I believe you’d be hard pressed to find many others players in Italy who are as hard-working, consistent, and loyal as Rocchi. He’s a real team player in the truest sense of the term, and if he doesn’t get much attention outside of the Bancoceleste world, it probably has to do with the fact that he’s an unassuming, humble type of player, the sort that will run his ass off for 90 minutes, and be just as happy dishing off passes as he is finishing himself.

Basically, he’s a leader. Pure and simple.

Here’s one of my favorite Rocchi comps, though it hardly shows how important he is to the team:

All that said, Rocchi picked up a minor injury today and missed out on his chance to start Italy’s first game. Acqafresca played well in his place alongside Rossi and Giovinco up front, but Balboa will be in the lineup on Sunday.

Meanwhile, De Silvestri was in Casiraghi’s starting 11 today, and Lollo (as the kids call him) had a bit of a rough game. His first touch seemed to abandon him at times, and he managed to get himself tangled up in an awkward tackle/collision in the late stages of the game, which resulted in a penalty (eventually missed, though the Honduran player may get bonus points for the field goal attempt).

Here are some photos of the two meeting some Chinese Lazio fans in the days prior to the first match.