First of all I need to apologise for my lengthy drought of posting, I've found myself rather busy lately but hopefully will be back on track now. During my absence a lot has happened in the world of Lazio. I'll briefly summarise:
Roma 2-1 Lazio (Coppa Italia): Incredibly frustrating game in which we dominated possession but could find no killer finish, Roma relying on luck alone to bring them through.
Bologna 3-1 Lazio: The less said the better; a result that underlined the holes in our squad and the dip in our form.
Lazio 2-0 Fiorentina: A much more pleasing performance. Still not great, with Ledesma playing worryingly badly, but a good result and a great brace from that man Kozak. Bear in mind, however, that this is a Viola side with a lot of problems, and in the midst of a minor crisis.
AC Milan 0-0 Lazio: A backs to the wall job that saw us rather fortunately escape from the San Siro with a point. Ibrahimovic hitting both posts with one shot says it all. A promising defensive performance though.
Lazio 1-1 Chievo: The first of a string of fixtures in which we must rediscover our form. Frustratingly, we dictated play but struggled to find a goal. A fine strike from Hernanes set us up well before a lapse of concentration let the Flying Donkeys back into the game. There was a worrying lack of invention up front as we struggled to cope with Chievo's impressive pressing game, often resorting to long ball tactics. This needs to be remedied, as although we are currently without Floccari or Rocchi, I doubt their return will suddenly spark a barrage of goals. If we have aspirations of a top four finish this season, this is the kind of game we need to be taking three points from. Don't get me wrong, Chievo aren't a bad side as they proved by beating Napoli last Wednesday, but Serie A is extremely competitive this season and we must get maximum points from our next two fixtures against Brescia and Bari.
The transfer window also shut, with our only major signing being Giuseppe Sculli. I have liked what I've seen so far; he always looks dangerous from the left flank and is an extra creative force in a side lacking flair. However, he isn't a striker, and going into this transfer window it can't be denied that our one objective was to get a new striker. Thankfully, Kozak has stepped up rather well and although still very raw, he is a talent and uses his height and strength well. Perhaps a little too well for Milan's defensive line who had a torrid time on Wednesday, Kozak smashing Bonera's cheekbone before clashing with Nicola Legrottaglie so badly that he said after he had feared for his life. Perhaps a little too physical, Libor...
It seemed to be the January of extortionate spending, as Juve dished out a casual 18 million Euro for Cagliari's Alessandro Matri and Inter signed Ranocchia, Kharja, and Pazzini. Luca Toni also moved to the black and white side of Turin, and AC Milan boosted their already stellar attack with the signing of Antonio Cassano, before strengthening their squad with the additions of Urby Emanuelson, Nicola Legrottaglie, and Mark Van Bommel. The latter, predictably, was sent off on his debut. Ronaldinho waved goodbye to Serie A to return home with Flamengo, and to balance their squad Juventus shipped out Amauri to Parma. Sampdoria attempted to recover the loss of their Cassano-Pazzini strike force by bringing in Manchester United's ex-Lazio man Federico Macheda and Palermo's experienced Massimo Maccarone. Not quite the same though...
How Matri is worth 18 million is beyond me, but this is before I have even looked at the goings on in the English Premiership. It began with Man City's signing of Edin Dzeko for £27 million. Fair enough, he is a sought-after striker who was successful in the Bundesliga but relatively unproven otherwise, making this seem like a bit of a gamble. However, it's not like they can't afford it... Deadline day was eventful to say the least. After Fernando Torres had his initial transfer request rejected, Liverpool decided they had better cash in with Chelsea bidding. Cue a £50 million transfer to London for a player who was certainly worth that a couple of years ago, but surely not on recent form.
What ensued is the most ridiculous bit of transfer business I've ever witnessed. Liverpool, desperate for a replacement and with only a few hours to find one, seemingly gave a blank cheque to Newcastle United as they agreed a fee of £35 million for Andy Carroll. Yes, Andy Carroll. Carroll is now the most expensive British footballer ever and comes eighth in the list of all-time record transfers, above players like David Villa, Gigi Buffon, and Andriy Shevchenko. I'm not saying he is a bad player but this is absolutely crazy money, he has minimal experience in the Premiership and has been good, but by no means exceptional, for Newcastle. It is truly sickening that football has got to this stage, and if I were a Liverpool fan I doubt I would be very happy to have sold Torres to make a £15 million profit and replace him with Carroll. Anyway, enough ranting, I'm sure this has been talked to death already by most football fans!
So what have we got to look forward to? Well I certainly know what I'm excited about, Scotland vs. Northern Ireland tomorrow in the first game of the Home Nations Cup. After witnessing games like Newcastle's incredible comeback to 4-4 against Arsenal and Inter's 5-3 demolishing of Roma this weekend, I'm expecting this to be no less entertaining. Ok, that may be fairly ambitious but it is good to have the Home Nations running again, as it will prove useful match practice for the Tartan Army before we continue our march on Euro 2012. Other interesting international matches tomorrow include Denmark vs. England, Germany vs. Italy, Argentina vs. Portugal, and France vs. Brazil. I'll forgive you for not watching the Scotland game just this once.
That is all for now, so until next time...
FORZA LAZIO!
And..... FORZA SCOZIA!
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