Friday, April 15, 2011

Finally, A.S. Roma has a new owner!


It has been confirmed. Thomas DiBenedetto is the new owner of A.S Roma. In a press conference after the signing DiBenedetto said, "I'd like to take Fenway Park to Rome, (and) the Colosseum would be very nice in Boston." Personally, I hate the Red Sox as much as I hate Lazio, but I'll put my feelings aside for now.  Hopefully, this new deal will bring Roma to the top of European soccer where we belong. I would like to see that start with a new head coach. According to goal.com a deal with Ancelotti, "is already done." Only time will tell. Sleep well Roma fans, because tomorrow begins a new era. Let's start by kicking Palermo's ass.

DiBenedetto set to officially become owner of A.S. Roma this afternoon


According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Unicredit is going to sign over majority ownership of A.S. Roma to Thomas DiBenedetto. The deal should leave DiBenedetto with 60% ownership while Unicredit will retain 40%. The two parties met this morning in Boston at 9:25am and the negotiations are set to finish sometime in the late afternoon. DiBenedetto, who also has majority ownership over the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool F.C., has family of Roman decent. The fact that DiBenedetto has Italian heritage is helping to settle the masses of A.S. Roma fans, who were initially uneasy about an foreigner owning the club.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Follow on Twitter

I just signed up for a Twitter account. I will be updating it with news about the blog and other thing A.S. Roma related.  Follow me @forzaroma27

Berlusconi warns Di Benedetto about investing in soccer.

Yesterday the president of A.C. Milan/ Italy warned future the owner of A.S. Roma about the risky business that is European soccer. The Corriere dello Sport reported that Silvio Berlusconi jokingly commented on Thomas Di Benetto's decision to purchase A.S. Roma. Berlusconi said that even Di Benetto is destined to find the same difficulties of everyone else who has invested in soccer.  Berlusconi said, "In soccer you spend a lot but you make nothing."  Sounds to me like someone is shaking in his boots. Most of the responses to his comments tend to have the same theme: Berlusconi has bigger things to worry about.  Between his weekly sex scandals and annual no-confidence votes, he certainly does have other things to worry about. My advise to Berlusconi is that he should mind his own business. He is the richest man in a country that is struggling economically. He should never complain about money. If Roma becomes a consistent championship contender in the next few seasons, the money will come.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

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Lineup is out for Palermo clash

The lineup is out for Saturday's game against Palermo. Montella has chosen a 4-2-3-1 formation. Doni will remain in goal as Julio Sergio continues to play second fiddle. The back four will consist of Cassetti, N. Burdisso, Loria and Riise. I expect the side of Loria and Riise to be very vulnerable throughout this match. I would not be surprised to see Miccoli and Pastore to run all over them. One way to prevent this would be having De Rossi play back and pick up the slack. The defensive-midfielders will be Pizarro and De Rossi. The attacking midfielders will be Taddei, Perrotta and Vucinic. Totti, of course, will start up front. I cannot fathom why Montella continues to put Menez on the bench. He is a quality player and knows to get the ball in front of the net. He also has a consistent ability to draw fouls. Taddei is a good player, but Roma would be best suited with him on the bench and Menez on the field. Menez has expressed that he is unhappy with his current role at Roma and that is quite understandable. Menez is one of the most underrated players in the game and I expect him to start for the suffering French national team within the next few years. Even though Roma is still struggling with injuries and suspensions, I expect a big win on Saturday.

Ibra to Roma?

Yesterday on SportMediaset in Italy it was reported that Ibra might be headed to Roma next season. That's right, Zlatan Ibrahimovic to A.S. Roma. If you're a Roma fan, don't hold your breath. For now this is only speculation, but it is not out of the realm of possibilities. Lazio fans, begin holding breath now. Silvio Burlesconi has high hopes for Milan next season. He hopes to bring in Christiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid to the spoiled, cheating AC Milan. That would make Ibra available. We all know that Zlatan has no real loyalty to any specific squad, as his moniker seems to be Zlatan 'Money Talks' Ibrahimovic. For once Roma will have the money the club and it's fans have always dreamed of. DiBenedetto has high hopes for Roma and we all know that in the world of European soccer, money is what wins. With the possible return of GM Franco Baldini, Ibra's arrival at Roma seems very possible. Baldini was the one responsible for discovering Ibrahimovic when he was still a youngster. This off-season will be the most exciting in years for Roma fans.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Roma, time for concern.

Roma returned to the field for practice today at Trigoria after a huge win over Udinese. Totti's last second heroics had all of us fans on our feet screaming. Neither side appeared to be in top form, but it did provide for some quality entertainment. One of the most important parts of the match was the expulsion of Juan. With Mexes already out, this will prove to be a real test of Montella's managing abilities. The lineup for the match against Palermo will be the talk of the town in the Roman capital for the week. Montella will have to choose his 11 with a defense that is lacking healthy and competent players. I'm confident that Montella wont pick Guillermo Burdisso, or Burdisso 2 as I affectionately call him. The same should go for Loria. While both do have skills, neither of them should be on the field for Saturday's big match.  My defensive lineup would have Riise, Burdisso, Cassetti and Rosi. Apart from Roma's current defensive emergency, I am continually concerned with Roma's lack of goal scoring the past few matches. Let's face it, Totti has been the team's offense for the past handful of games. Vucinic has not been playing to his potential and I would have him sit out first half and let Boriello have another go. My lineup would have Totti and Boriello up front. In the midfield I would put De Rossi, Pizarro, Simplicio and Menez. Hopefully, whatever Montella decides to do will be effective. The match on Saturday should have goals-a-plenty and hopefully a few of them will come from the Romans. A win for Roma will pull them closer to a coveted Champions League spot and closer to Lazio (the root of all evil).