(Problems in Rome - as Usual)

What is it about Roma vs. Manchester that sets people off?

La Gazzetta dello Sport is reporting that today, seven fans (five Manchester supporters and two Roma supporters) were injured in clashes that took place in the vicinity of Stadio Olimpico. Thankfully, none of the injuries appear to be serious, although it sounds like there was quite a scene, with chairs, tables, bottles (from nearby bars), and smoke bombs, being thrown. Also, five people were arrested, four of whom were British or Romanian (the fifth presumably was Italian).

Update: Channel 4 Italia now has a piece about the incident, in which they specify that some of the injuries were stab wounds. Also, Ansa has upped the number of injured to nine. This next part is pure hearsay, but I did read in an Italian discussion thread that the Manchester fans involved in the incidents sought out the Roma supporters. I can’t find any articles to verify that, although La Gazzetta did point out that all went smoothly at all the stadium gates, including the one set aside for Manchester supporters. (See the video linked below. Obviously, La Gazzetta was wrong.)

Another Update: A police chief in the UK is running his mouth off, stepping light years outside of his jurisdiction.  He’s probably a Manchester supporter.  Here’s a video of the incident, after the stupid ad.  Things don’t look too calm at the gates after all.

In Other News…

Lazio must be stupid. (No offense intended to any Lazio tifosi; that comment is aimed squarely at the team’s management.) Having just crashed out of the Champions League with the grace of a three-legged water buffalo, Lazio need to be reminded that Tommaso Rocchi is (as far as I’ve seen) the best player on the squad. Perhaps before they start looking to sign new players, they should work to keep their current stand-outs.

Man, I hear ya, Giorgio. Chiellini has made some comments in agreement with those of Daniele De Rossi, remarking that it’s unbelievable pain in the a$$ to trail Inter. While at the beginning of the season, it seemed like the Nerazzurri were getting lucky here and there, now it appears that they’ve turned it up a notch, which I didn’t even think was possible. It’s maddening, and a look at Inter’s schedule doesn’t do anything to restore my sanity.

Speaking of Inter… they actually fielded three Italians today against PSV. I know - My jaw almost dropped through the floor too! In honor of this vast Nerazzurri achievement, I have refrained from calling them ArgentInter in this post. If anyone’s wondering what Italians they even own, Bolzoni and Matrix started, and Puccio came on late. Wonders never cease.

Categories: Champions League, Inter, Lazio, Roma
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(The News - Week 15)

[I’m going away this weekend, so please excuse today’s brevity/format!]

Alright, we’re still not quite halfway through the Serie A season, but we’re getting there.  Of course, that means we’re terribly close to the January transfer window, and as a result, rumors are flying all over the place.  There’s a ton of news (both real and speculative), and I’m going to do what I can to pluck out some of the more interesting (or alarming) pieces. Here goes:

• A while ago, I posted something about a well-known German being considered by Juve. Now, it appears as though Juve may be considering an equally well-known Englishman. Interestingly enough, both are from Chel$ea.  The Channel 4 article claims that “just” £700K is stalling negotiations.  Just? Am I the only one that thinks that’s a lot of money?  Tuttosport seems to think it’s basically a done deal, money aside.
• Boy… it seems that Milan want somebody… anybody from Barcelona. First they’re talking about Zambrotta, then they’re talking about Ronaldinho, then they’re talking about both. Now Eto’s name is being thrown into the pot. My question is, what the hell will Barcelona want in return?  I haven’t read a thing on that. *cough*GiveThemRonaldoForFree*cough*
• This next one is being filed under “F’n alarming.” Lippi is being linked to the vacant England coaching position, and Corriere Della Sera is stating that he’s already “said yes.” In the past, Lippi has shunned talk of a trip to England, stating that it would be impractical due to the language barrier.  Here though, it seems like he’s wanted badly. I mean… Mourinho and Capello visited the FA, but the FA is sending a guy out to Lippi.  Please, England… with all due respect, kindly look within your own borders.
• This isn’t a transfer rumor [collective sigh of relief], but I found it interesting: Quagliarella says he’s not going to celebrate if he scores in this weekend’s Udinese v. Sampdoria match.  I think it’s a fair gesture, but it’s also easier said than done.
• OK. This last one has slid under the radar of plenty of news outlets… either that, or they just don’t care: Real Madrid wants Mutu and Vucinic.  It sounds to me that Roma aren’t in too much danger of losing Vuci; Lecce and Roma co-own him, and Lecce is being pretty good about warning big-brother Roma about Real’s prying eyes.  Mutu, on the other hand… 17M plus Diarra? Hmmm…

Categories: Fiorentina, Juventus, Milan, Roma, Sampdoria, Udinese, transfers
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(Di Natale, FatRon, and a boy from California)

Boy… Di Natale’s gonna be expensive!

Regular serieAmerica visitors may remember my two posts (#1 & #2) about a Roma - Di Natale connection. Well, there’s more to report on that front. Apparently, Udinese’s sporting director, Pietro Leonardi, says that Di Natale isn’t for sale at the moment.

There are two feasible interpretations of his comments, but no matter how you slice it, Mr. Leonardi is a smart cookie: If his statement about Udinese not being willing to give up one of their “best talents” is genuine, then he obviously realizes Di Natale’s value and is wise in his desire to keep him. If it’s just talk (and I think it is), my guess is that Leonardi is attempting to dangle a carrot just out of Roma’s reach, in order to better justify an astronomical asking price for Di Natale, once negotiations actually begin.

FatRon is hurt… again.

Well, it’s the eve of Milan-Juventus (easily the most talked about match this week… to the point where it’s almost annoying), and FatRon is hurt. Again. That’s OK. FatRon would’ve been laid out by Chiellini anyway, I think. Unfortunately, Ron’s absence leaves Gilardino to get knocked around… and frustrated, I’ll bet.

On a related note, the Corriere dello Sport had an interesting headline today:

Milan, goodbye Ronaldo, hello Amauri - The Rossoneri are ready to give up on El Fenomeno and already have their hands on the Palermo hitman

Amauri, huh? That won’t be cheap. (Although the connection has been reported elsewhere, so who knows.) What’s up with the Brazilian obsession, Milan?

And introducing… The California Kid

Now this one, I can’t believe.

Apparently, an 18 year-old high schooler from California has been offered a contract with Cagliari. Yes, that Cagliari.

What does Cagliari want with a high school kid from California? Your guess is probably better than mine; I’m certainly scratching my head over it. I can’t even get over the fact that they were scouting in North Carolina. Did they make a wrong turn or something?

Anyway, this kid (David Bingham) is passing up a full ride at UC Berkley (That’s no joke, David!) for the opportunity to (possibly) have Kaka / Totti / Zalayeta / Quaglia / Gila / Rocchi / Mutu / etc. fire missiles at him. I’m not going to criticize his decision, as passing up one sweet deal for another is never easy. Remember the name Bingham; we’ll have to watch this California Kid.

Categories: Cagliari, Milan, Roma, Udinese, injuries, transfers
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(Two Old Men)

While I’m too young to remember seeing Babe Ruth calling out a home run, I’ve heard of the phenomenon, and always chalked it up to coincidence. I mean… how the hell can a guy be sure that he’s going to hit a home run, let alone call out the area of the ballpark that he’ll end up sending it to?

Likewise, how the hell can a guy know that he’ll score a goal in a match, let alone predict that he’ll score two? I suppose we should ask Alessandro Del Piero, who allegedly called out his brace prior to this weekend’s Juve - Palermo match. Come to think of it, this isn’t the first time that there was a spooooooooky pre-match Del Piero-related premonition; some tifosi may remember that Marcello Lippi supposedly predicted Del Piero’s goal against Germany in the ‘06 World Cup semi-final.

Whether or not one chooses to believe the stories of premonitions, most of us will concede that Del Piero had a strong match on Sunday, adding an assist to his pair of goals (one of which was a nice cruise missile of a free kick). Unfortunately, Del Piero (who is the first of the two old guys I’m discussing today, in case you haven’t guessed) isn’t exactly consistent. For instance, prior to this weekend’s impressive performance, he was silent in Week 12’s draw with Parma. Nonetheless, he is “hoping to convince Donadoni” that he’s worthy of a spot in Italy’s Euro 2008 squad.

Speaking of Euro 2008, despite Del Piero’s flashes of brilliance, I wouldn’t be crushed if he was left behind this summer. His lack of consistency, coupled with his primadonna-like insistence on playing up front, makes him a less-attractive option in a country with no shortage of attacking options. On the other hand, if The Don does select Del Piero for the tournament, I won’t cry foul, so long as (and this is key) Del Piero is utilized as an off-the-bench striker, rather than a starter. My rationale here is that 1) he’s been better off the bench as of late anyway, and 2) playing him in as a sub is the one way that The Don appease Del Piero’s desire to play in a pure striker role while mitigating his age and lack of speed. (Think about it: If he comes in during the final third of a match, he’ll be working on a full tank while many are running on fumes, and his age will be less of a factor.)

Panucci! Panucci! Panucci! What can you say about an aging defender who scores three goals in as many matches? The first was surprising. The second was a stunner (i.e. Did that just happen again?). The third probably has people wondering if this will be a regular occurrence. One can only hope, or more specifically, with an attack wrought with injuries, Roma can only hope. At this stage, a healthy Roma player is enough of a curiosity; a healthy Roma defender who scores match after match is a friggin’ unicorn.

Look… Christian Panucci is 34 years old. As a defender, even if he was 25 years old and scored every five matches, it would be noteworthy. To do what he’s doing at his age and in his position is remarkable. In truth, (being a pessimist) I don’t expect it to continue… at least not at the current pace, but if it does, The Don had better include him in the Euro 2008 squad. Between The Old Man, Grosso, Materazzi (assuming he gets back into the swing of things) and Chiellini, Italy will have four scoring threats on defense… and yes, I just typed that without laughing.  Send some high crosses into the box (from Pirlo with love), and it’ll be an Azzurri gol di testa-fest!

Categories: Azzurri, Euro 2008, Juventus, Roma
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(Serie A has returned!)

Aaaaannnd we’re back to our scheduled programming. So, what’s going on, you ask? Well, here’s my best attempt at a round-up:

First off, two matches were played already:

Genoa 0-1 Roma

• There are actually two things to talk about here. First off, Cristian Panucci (a.k.a. The Old Man) - the guy responsible for the Azzurri’s game-winner in Scotland - saved the day here as well, this time with a header in the 89th minute. Whatever you’re doing, Old Man, can you please get your teammates to start? Thanks.
• Speaking of which (and this brings me to our second talking point), Roma need to start taking vitamins or something. As Chris at Offside pointed out before the match, to say that Roma has caught the injury bug would be a gross understatement. Injury bear is more like it.

Inter 2-1 Atalanta

• Everyone, your attention please! ArgentInter fielded an Italian today, when Materazzi came on for Dacourt in the 88th minute. [crowd]Oooooohhhhh! Aaaaaaaaaahhhh![/crowd] Thank you. That is all.
• Actually, that’s not all. I have to point out that Inter got lucky… again. With all of the non-Italians on the team, I’m starting to wonder whether or not there’s a lucky Irishman in the mix somewhere. They are that lucky. If one of them starts riverdancing, or if someone mentions a pot o’ gold or charms of any kind, (is that how they pay for The Great Zaltan and the Argentinian Superstars?) we’ll know something is afoot. Seriously, Atalanta should have at least drawn level. Actually, if you read between Mancini’s words, you can tell that he soiled his pants during the match.

Elsewhere in the Lega Calcio:

• FatRon is set to return against Cagliari… maybe. Ugh. In the same match, Pasquale Foggia of Cagliari may play the role of trequartista. If there’s any action from the home team, expect Foggia to be involved. Unfortunately, Gattuso will probably scare the poor kid off of the pitch.
• I fully expect Fiorentina to leapfrog Roma and slip into second place, as they face Reggina tomorrow. If not, the Viola could go on an untimely slide, as they were upset by Udinese back in Week 12.
• I think Juventus will have a hard time with Palermo, but will come away with the win in the end. Juve will be without Lanky Chiellini, but they’ll be looking to pick up the pace after drawing in their last two matches.
• Catania are visiting Napoli this week, and although they’re a solid side (relatively speaking), they’re 0-5-1 on the road. That said, I am expecting a win for Napoli.

It sure is nice to have calcio back, isn’t it? I know it was only a couple weeks, but it feels like we were caught in an international wormhole or something. (Speaking of international stuff, the draws for World Cup 2010 qualifying groups are set to take place tomorrow; it’s going to be a busy day.)

Categories: Atalanta, Cagliari, Catania, Fiorentina, Genoa, Inter, Juventus, Milan, Napoli, Reggina, Roma, injuries
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(The Man who Speaks to His Leg)

• He’s Inter’s only Italian starter, and may be Serie A’s most infamous defender.
• He leveled the score with a righteous header in the World Cup final.
• He was the recipient of the most famous headbutt in sporting history.
• He talks to his leg.

Wait… what?

Everyone knows that Marco Materazzi has a touch of the pazzo, but did anyone know (until now) that he speaks to his leg? Well… in all fairness, he may not speak to his leg anymore, but he did while recovering from his thigh injury, apparently.

Leg-talking or not, many will be happy to see Matrix back in action when Inter face Atalanta (with no Atalanta fans in attendance) this weekend. Even more will be happy that The Don now has another rock-solid defender at his disposal (assuming he’s the same ol’ Matrix).

Welcome back, Marco!

Poor Montella! Poor Sampdoria!

I can’t think of anything worse that could possibly happen to Samdoria. With Cassano typically either hurt or acting like a complete jacka*s (or both), I saw Vincenzo Montella as the blucerchiati’s only hope. Now, due to an injury picked up last week, he’s headed for a surgery that will sideline him for two months.

Sorry Montella. Hopefully, you’ll be back on track in January.

Totti In… No… Totti Out

I haven’t been posting much about Totti’s injury, mainly because it’s been misinformation since day one. Whether it’s mind games from Spalletti or honest confusion, I don’t know.

First, we were told that Il Capitano’s injury was minor. Then, for weeks, we were told that he’d return against the next opponent, only to be let down as each match approached.

Anyway, he’s out again for the Genoa match, and I’m not even going to mention his name again until he puts on the maglia Giallorossi and steps onto the pitch ready to play.

So there.

Everyone Loves Pirlo

Maybe it’s because Andrea isn’t a vocal guy, and others feel the need to make sure his presence is known. Maybe it’s because he is the second coming of the Codino (well… sort of). Whatever the reason, the big guns of calcio have been keen on pointing out the greatness of Andrea Pirlo as of late.

Most recently, Gianni Rivera has made a case for Pirlo, and not long ago, the normally reclusive Roberto Baggio (only like… the greatest Italian footballer ever) has given Pirlo his endorsement.

I’ll say one thing, if there’s a dead-ball specialist in Serie A, it’s Pirlo for damn sure:

Categories: Inter, Milan, Roma, Sampdoria, injuries
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(Again! Totò con Totti!)

About a month ago, following an interview in which Antonio Di Natale said that he was pleased to be linked with Roma, I noted that a Di Natale / Totti combination could bring Roma another Scudetto.

Well… I still believe that pairing Totò with Il Capitano could give Roma an undeniable edge [Miyagi]”If do right, no can defense!”[/Miyagi] so, with that in mind, I was pleased to see Di Natale’s name mentioned on ilRomanista.it today.

To make a long post short (because I’ve already made a case for bringing the player on board) , Di Natale’s agent says that his client isn’t going anywhere in January, but he implies that he may be ready to roll this summer. He concedes that a move would not be easy, since 1) Totò isn’t getting any cheaper, and 2) things are apparently going well at Udinese. That said, he also reiterates that Di Natale likes working with Roma’s bald-is-cool manager Spalletti, and he hints that anyone interested in Di Natale had better start negotiating now.

Do you hear that, Roma? Now!

Categories: Roma, transfers
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