"I fart in your general direction!" (and other suspensions)

A bit of humorous news via Gazzetta today. Christian Okpala, striker for the German C-league team Stuttgarter Kickers was indefinitely suspended after punching one of his own teammates, Sasha Benda. The reason? "Benda provoked me, he kept farting in my presence." I can only imagine if the whole Zidane-Materazzi confrontation had been sparked by a bunch of flatulence...

Some more relevant suspensions were also handed down today. After a video review, Ascoli's Simone Pesce was given a three-match ban for his flying elbow that hit Gabi Mudingayi across the face. The blow didn't even earn Pesce a yellow card during the match, and there were some protestations about the fact that Mudingayi stayed down on the pitch for a while after the incident, even though he was clearly in the right and had been hit quite hard.

Also, Stefano Mauri has been suspended for one match, apparently for his yellow card offense in the match against Ascoli. He has only received three yellow cards on the year, so this was not an automatic suspension.

Lazio 3-1 Ascoli: auguri Delio Rossi!

Delio Rossi got a great 46th birthday present from his players in the form of a 3-1 home win over struggling Ascoli. But as usual, Rossi kept his critical edge even in the face of the great success the biancocelesti have had over the past three matches:

In serie A se pensi di non soffrire sei un presuntuoso. Oggi abbiamo saputo soffrire, ma abbiamo mostrato anche qualità, perchè se fai 12 gol in 3 gare vuol dire che hai qualcosa in più degli avversari. Oggi non riuscivamo a tenere bene palla davanti, soffrivamo in po' a metà campo, poi abbiamo risolto la situazione e la vittoria l'abbiamo meritata.

"In Serie A you never think that you're suffering from overconfidence. Today I think we did suffer, but we also showed quality, because if you score 12 goals in 3 matches it means that you have something more than your opponents. Today we didn't succeed at controlling the ball well at the front, we suffered a little bit at midfield, but then we resolved the situation and we deserved the victory." Grande Delio, always thinking like a coach, full of constructive criticism.

And as for the players, nearly all of them met or exceeded expectations. Goran Pandev had a solid day, including a masterful piece of ball control that allowed him to beat two defenders and score his goal; his only major miscue was failing to secure an easy tap-in for another score. Tommaso Rocchi didn't have a stand-out day, but he ran well off the ball and was instrumental in occupying defenders and generating chances. Stefano Mauri was the disappointment, but only so because he had been so incredible in his previous two performances; he did score the own-goal, but that is more due to the weakened defense and a tricky play by Ascoli than any other fault. The midfield performed as usual, weak in the center but strong up the wings, and the defense held well considering they were lacking their leader at right back. The defense also did well to help press in the offensive end, as noted on the scorecard by the fact that Belleri got credit for the first goal (even though he wasn't the author of the shot). Foggia's insertion late in the game bolstered the central midfield and his fresh legs let him score the clinching goal.

brief Champions update

Champions League group stage matchday 5 came and went this week. There are two pieces of big news. First, a few more teams clinched spots in the knockout round. Second, another world-class player sustained a major injury. After Samuel Eto'o went out earlier in the group phase, this past week Milan keeper Dida suffered an injury that forced him off the pitch. Although it did not seem major at first, it has since been determined that he injured a tendon in his quadricep and will miss three months.

As for the qualifying squads, let's see how they're standing up against my predictions:

Barca, Bremen, Bayern, Inter, Liverpool, Eindhoven, Valencia, Olimpiacos, Real Madrid, Lyon, Man U, Benfica, Arsenal, Porto, Milan, Lille

A guide to my notations:
Bold teams have clinched a spot in the round of 16
Italic teams are currently not in a qualifying postion, but are not eliminated
Striked teams are eliminated from a qualifying position

My only pick that is certainly out is Olimpiacos, and I mostly chose them so I wouldn't have to pick Roma merda to advance. The good news is that even though the Greeks are out, merda has not clinched a spot. They'll need to play poorly to be eliminated (a win or draw clinches for them), but considering their embarassment against Shaktar this week, anything could happen.

Lazio - Ascoli preview

Lazio (15 pts, 10th place)
vs.
Ascoli (5 pts, 18th place)
15:00 CET (9:00 AM EDT)
Sun, Nov 26
Stadio Olimpico, Roma

US TV: FSC (live)

Lazio returns to the Olimpico looking to continue its goal-scoring spree and win streak. Even though the biancocelesti will not be at full strength, they will be facing a struggling Ascoli side. Despite holding the 18th spot in the classifica, Ascoli has earned the fewest points of any Serie A squad this season. (The two teams below them are Fiorentina at 4 pts and Reggina at 0 pts. However, they each were penalized 15 points from the outset and have earned 19 and 15 points respectively.)

As such, Lazio should have no concern, except that they will be playing without two key performers: Massimo Oddo and Christian Ledesma. By league rule (which I was previously unfamiliar with), players earn a one-game suspension upon accumulating 4 yellow cards, regardless of when they were administered. Oddo and Ledesma both did just that in last Sunday's match against Messina and will be forced to sit out. Kataweb reports that in their places Delio Rossi will start Belleri and Baronio. As long as Belleri does not cave as he did the last time he had to play in Oddo's post, the new 4-3-1-2 look of Lazio should hold well, and Ascoli should pose no real threat. A projected lineup:

Peruzzi
Oddo-Stendardo-Cribari-Zauri
Mudingayi-Baronio-Mutarelli
Mauri
Pandev-Rocchi/Makinwa

Rocch and Makinwa each had injury troubles in practice this week, and it will be a gametime decision to see who starts and who enters the match late. Expect to see both of them playing, though.

Prediction: Lazio 3-1 Ascoli. The offense will continue to produce, perhaps not at the previous rate, and the absence of Oddo will let one through.

Messina 1-4 Lazio: the surge continues

Apologies for the long break between posts. I've had an extremely busy week, but now it is the Thanksgiving holiday in the US and I have some free time. So, on to last week's match!

Lazio kept the newly retooled offensive machine rolling on the road against Messina, despite some pregame concerns. It was revealed on Sunday that Tommaso Rocchi would not be starting due to continuing troubles with his knee. Stephen Makinwa, now back from his own injury, got the start in his place alongside Goran Pandev, with Mauri at the back point behind the strikers. I was unable to watch the game, because there were no TV feeds, but from what I could discern from the radio broadcast, the 4-3-1-2 is still working very well, letting Lazio defend consistently and also create offensive chances. Makinwa proved to play well for all 90 minutes, ultimately earning his goal in the 84th minute. I hope we will see more goals from him, for the celebrations if nothing else. Also, Messina keeper Marco Storari is my new favorite keeper to score goals on...he goes nuts, angry either at himself or at his defenders after every score! Naturally, the video tells the tale on these better than I can:



While the highlights are fun, the most important thing to consider coming off of another huge win is this: in the past two games Lazio scored 9 goals, compared to 10 goals in the entire rest of the season. Will the biancocelesti's norm be what we've seen in the past two weeks, or the lackluster offense of the first ten matchdays? Sunday's return home to face Ascoli will tell, for the time being.

Thanks Bo

All week I've been poo-pooing the hype about tomorrow's football game between #2 Michigan and #1 Ohio State and how the media has in earnest portrayed it as the coming of the apocalypse. Today all the hype has been put in a bit more somber perspective, with the passing of Bo Schembechler, the winningest coach in Michigan football history.

This doubly serves as notice that I will be totally engrossed in what is (probably accurately) being billed as the biggest game in college football history, and for that reason I doubt I'll have much of a Messina - Lazio preview unless I do one later this evening.

GO BLUE!!! on Saturday
FORZA LAZIO!!! on Sunday

Lazio 5-0 Udinese: when it rains it pours

Lazio had scored just two goals in its previous five games when they stepped onto the pitch at the Olimpico on Sunday. The tide was about to turn. Delio Rossi was giving the 4-3-1-2 another try, after it found only moderate success at Empoli the week before. 90 minutes later, that looked like the best idea possible, and could be the future of Lazio's formation.

From the outset Lazio pressed well. It is obvious that the weakness still lies at central midfield, because the biancocelesti rarely if ever are able to possess and control the ball there, but they moved the ball well along both wings. Usually Lazio can only push up the right side, with Oddo trying to both drive the offense and hold the defense steady. Not only did Oddo get excellent assistance on the right side from Mauri but they were also able to move smoothly up the left wing with Zauri. Once the ball was in the attacking zone, the 1-2 attacking force was extremely effective. The extra man running up the middle drew the defense off of Pandev and Rocchi and allowed penetration into the box.

The attack paid off in the 33rd minute when Rocchi was able to run free up the middle. One on one with Udinese's keeper De Sanctis, he chipped the ball over him. A defender had a chance at a goal-line save and even got a foot on the ball, but it bounced off the inside of the post and over the line to put Lazio on the scoreboard. Just 8 minutes later, Oddo took a free kick from outside the box and a defensive lapse let Stefano Mauri go unmarked and head the ball to the back of the net.


2-0 seemed a satisfactory lead (equal to the past five matches' goals, after all!) but the onslaught continued. In another 8-minute span Lazio scored three more incredible goals: Mauri on the volley from the top of the box after a scoring chance was kept alive, Oddo direct from a free kick just outside the box, and another chipshot from Rocchi after he embarrased the Udinese defense and wove through three men. By the 90th minute, Udinese wanted nothing more than to hit the showers.

So was this a fluke? Is the whole season going to be like this, with four- or five-game-long droughts and then sudden offensive bursts like the 4-0 victory over Torino? If Delio Rossi goes back to the 4-4-2, probably yes. There is no reason for him not to stay with the new system, because it appears to be working well. It has allowed some of our bench players to come off of the bench in the trequartista position, but when the entire midfield is healthy it will still work with the first-team personnel. It is a new look for Lazio, but if it works and can move Lazio towards a UEFA cup spot (only four points away as the classifica stands now) Rossi should have no choice but to utilize it. It finally allows our strong scorers (sorry Goran, you haven't earned that distinction yet this season) to put the ball in the net. It is no coincidence that Rocchi, Mauri, and Oddo are all called up to the national team friendly match this Wednesday against Turkey. They are the heart of the current Lazio squad, and are world-class.

Empoli 1-1 Lazio: return of the unlucky draw

I'm back from a week of stewing about Lazio's draw with Empoli and otherwise being generally busy. I figure I have to lay this one to rest before moving on to this weekend's match against Udinese at the Olimpico. So, just a quick summary:

The Good
1. Pandev scored! Goran finally got his first goal of the season in the 10th match. Maybe he's finally breaking out of his slump.
2. Lazio scored in the first half! Believe it or not, this was the first time the biancocelesti scored before the 46th minute this year. If it seems like Lazio has always been fighting from behind, this is why.

The Bad
1. MORE RED CARDS. Honestly, this has to stop. It's obvious that there is lots of frustration running through the team, and it needs to be dealt with. This is the responsibility of Delio Rossi as coach and Massimo Oddo as captain. Their men need to be in line.
2. The miraculous tying goal. It's hard to fault anyone for this. A lot of credit has to be given to Empoli's Ighli Vannucchi for making a brilliant strike.


It's just that it reminds me far, far too much of the scene after last spring's unlucky draw with Empoli.

The Interesting/Mostly Indifferent
Holy crap, the 4-3-1-2 actually worked. It was very surprising to hear that Delio Rossi would depart from his beloved 4-4-2, but the fact that he made the decision early in the week and devoted the club to it paid off. The formation was effective on both ends of the field and has given Lazio an additional weapon in its tactical arsenal. Not that I don't expect the 4-4-2 to come back as soon as the whole squad is healthy.

Empoli - Lazio preview

Empoli (11 pts, 9th place)
vs.
Lazio (8 pts, 13th place)
15:00 CET (9:00 AM EST) Sun, Nov 5
Stadio Carlo Castellani, Empoli

US TV: none

Lazio looks to end its slump by avoiding a repeat of the disaster that occurred the last time they faced Empoli. (Last spring at the Olimpico a 3-2 victory turned into a 3-3 draw after a Massimo Oddo own goal in the waning seconds of injury time.)

However, last spring Lazio's offense was working effectively, with di Canio, Rocchi, and Pandev all scoring regularly. Today, Lazio has only scored a single goal in its past four games. It will be even more difficult to generate scoring chances with the biancocelesti's most offensive midfielder, Christian Ledesma, sitting out a match for a red card. Nonetheless, Delio Rossi maintains his famous confidence in the club:

Per me è solo mancanza di risultati, non siamo allo sbando perché ho già visto segnali di miglioramento. Abbiamo bisogno solo dei riusltati e mi auguro che arrivi domenica a Empoli

"For me only the results are missing, we are not lost because I have already seen signs of improvement. We just need the results and I predict that they will arrive Sunday at Empoli." Bravo Rossi (and I do not question his coaching style), but only goals will gain points to move Lazio up the table and contend for spots in Europe.

There are some issues due to injuries (Mauri will not play and Foggia may not be able to start) but there is no way Rossi will start this crazy thing that Gazzetta.it has come up with. Update: Never mind! Kataweb has indipendently confirmed that Rossi will in fact start this 4-3-1-2 formation and that the squad has been using in practice all week.

Peruzzi
Oddo-Siviglia-Cribari-Zauri
Mudingayi-Mutarelli-Mauri
Quadri
Pandev-Rocchi

How about this for a more realistic approach:

Peruzzi
Oddo-Siviglia-Stendardo-Zauri
Foggia-Mudingayi-Baronio-Mutarelli
Pandev-Rocchi

Look for Makinwa to get some time in the second half if he's feeling up to it.

Prediction: Empoli 0-1 Lazio.

First few clinch in Champions

The longer I leave this post unfinished, the older the news gets. But here it is.

Champions League matchday 4 has come and passed, with some boring games and some thrillers, and the results are that 6 of the 16 spots for the knockout stage have been filled. Here are the advancing teams:

Group B: Bayern
Group C: Liverpool, PSV Eindhoven
Group D: Valencia
Group E: Lyon, Real Madrid
Group H: Milan*

*As Gazzetta rightly described the situation, "Qualificazione agli ottavi: manca solo l'aritmetica." Milan will clinch as long as they don't lose their next match by more than three goals, so consider them in.

Let's see how my predictions for those advancing are holding up:

Barca, Bremen, Bayern, Inter, Liverpool, Eindhoven, Valencia, Olimpiacos, Real Madrid, Lyon, Man U, Benfica, Arsenal, Porto, Milan, Lille

Wow! Seven for seven so far. It remains to see how accurate the rest are (especially my wishful thinking that Olimpiacos will beat out Roma merda).

One final matter regarding this past week in Champions League. It appeared that the Milan derby was the match of the week on Saturday. Then Fiorentina - Palermo surpassed that in excitement. But Chelsea's heroics against Barca to salvage a 2-2 draw on Tuesday were incredible. If you haven't had a chance to see the match, at least check out Frank Lampard's physics-defying goal. This is one of those shots that had no right to even be attempted, but got the result. There's also some quality footage of Samuel Eto'o doing commentary. Check it out. Champions returns in two and a half weeks.