What we’ve learned…

By: salvatore | August 11th, 2008

Well, with two European friendlies down and one more to go tomorrow, a few things have started to make themselves clear about this latest version of S.S. Lazio, particularly when it comes to some of the new signings and player returns (hello Foggia).

Here is my take on the good, the bad, and the ugly gleamed from the tussles with Liverpool and Porto (both 1 goal losses by the way, but who the hell cares about the result in a friendly?).

The Good:

1) Lichsteiner was a very, very good signing. The Swiss international was arguably our best player in both matches, and might have been one of the best players period on the field against Liverpool. Strong defensively, and impressive moving forward, Lotito might have pulled off something of a steal landing this guy. Realistically, De Silvestri should have the right-back position sown up, but Lichsteiner is going to offer really good cover, as well as a lot of tactical options for Delio.

2) Rozehnal is an element that this team has really missed since the departure of Stam, that is, namely, a tough center back that can cancel out strikers and settle an entire back line. The team may have looked a bit tired and out of sorts in Portugal, but against Liverpool two days earlier, they were organized, calm and tough to break down. Rozehnal was responsible for a lot of that.

3) Carrizo. Carrizo. Carrizo. Sure, he wasn’t really called into making any truly great saves in either of the matches. But doesn’t it just feel good to see a “real” keeper between the sticks again? Poised, aggressive and confident to the point of near arrogance, the team’s defense is better just with his presence.

4) Meghni and Foggia. Meghni looked confident and imaginative on the ball, and often ran back to help out on the defensive end. Foggia meanwhile, showed exactly why he could be a force this year, using pacy bursts and dribbling to create opportunities and test Reina (even if he lost the ball quite a bit against Porto). It seems like neither of these players has been given much of a chance to get a starting spot, but they’ve shown that they can be useful coming off the bench this year.

The Bad:

1) No matter how many chances he gets, Makinwa just doesn’t seem to be the right type of striker for this team. Granted, with Rocchi, Zarate and Pandev he probably won’t get much playing time, but even when he does, he just consistently seems to underwhelm. He looked a little better against Liverpool, managing a couple of shots, but it’s hard to see how he’d contribute.

2) Tuia may in fact be “the next Nesta” has many people have said, but it’s going to take some time before he gets there. What I hate about that comparison is that people assume he’s just going to step into Serie A as a teenager and shut down everything in his path. That’s not possible. He still needs to develop, and the team and its fans have to be patient. Clearly, the guy’s a massive talent, he just needs more time.

3) It may only be the pre-season, but eesh did Matuzalem’s timing ever look off. He is coming off a bad injury last year, so maybe this is a factor, but hopefully, this is just a matter of getting into season shape, and not a more serious display of his current, post-injury quality level.

The Ugly:

1) The team seemed dangerously out of creativity and offense in parts of both games. Preseason fatigue and condition are definitely part of this, as are the absences of Rocchi, De Silvestri and Kolarov, but it would be reassuring to see Zarate and Pandev take more assertive roles in the next friendly (provided, of course, that Makinwa is not given another start).

2) The “finishing” of Mauri and Manfredini. Good God. Brutal.

3) The English commentators during the Liverpool stream. I have no idea what channel this may have come from, but according to them, Rocchi is 27 years old, Mauri just missed out on a spot in the Euro Cup national team, Antonio Di Natale’s first name is Alessandro, and Jamie Carragher is the best defender in the world. Put simply, it was a great pleasure to watch the Porto game on a Portuguese stream. Not understanding a word has never felt better.

Some pics:

Some highlights:

Liverpool Pt. 1:

Liverpool Pt. 2:

Porto:

The team has it’s official presentation tomorrow in Rome against PAOK Thessaloniki. I plan on posting some photos and video once they become available.

Avanti Lazio.