Juan in recovery race Thursday 21 February, 2008 Roma defender Juan is hoping to return to fitness in time to play in the Giallorossi's crunch match against Real Madrid on March 5.
The Brazilian stopper limped off after 76 minutes of Roma's 2-1 win on Wednesday evening with an injury to his right foot.
There were initially fears that the problem could be serious as Juan had a similar injury back in January, but it now seems that the damage isn't major. The former Bayer Leverkusen man will sit out training for the next week to allow the foot to heal naturally and will be absent for this weekend's big game against Fiorentina.
Matteo Ferrari, who has revealed that he will leave Rome in the summer, is ready to deputise against the Viola and Portuguese youngster Vitorino Antunes will sit on the bench.
Pizarro sees '51 per cent chance' Thursday 21 February, 2008 Roma midfielder David Pizarro believes that the Giallorossi's Champions League last 16 tie with Real Madrid is evenly poised.
The capital club secured a 2-1 win over the Merengues at the Stadio Olimpico, despite falling behind to an early goal from Raul, with Pizarro on target for the first goal.
As prestigious a result as the win was, Luciano Spalletti's side still have a big test ahead at the Bernabeu on March 5. "It was the best to score a goal like that, even if I am calm and just keep going down the same road," Pizarro recalled on the Roma Channel.
"I am doing fine and it was an important goal to put us back in the game after we had been caught cold by a side in excellent form.
"I am happy that the group showed it can deal with these situations. We have a 51 per cent chance of getting through, but we always knew that Real Madrid would be tough.
"Their possession play impressed me and they are clearly used to playing in these kind of games. They are more of a physical squad than a technical one and they are made for this kind of event. "However, we showed what we can do on Tuesday and we can get past them."
Pizarro concluded by commenting on the misfortune of Serie A rivals Inter, who fell 2-0 to Liverpool.
"I didn't think that Inter would lose, especially because they managed to keep level for most of the game with 10 men," the Chilean international admitted.
"In the last five minutes they fell apart and that shows why you need to focus to the end."
again we did juz enough for 3 points. Cicinho finally scored his 1st ever goal for us ! unfortunately he pick up a stupid 2nd yellow card for kicking the ball away after a whistle, so now he gonna suspend for the Inter match next. oh dear...
anyway the team played pretty well there, dominate the midfield n control much of the game, although we did failed to create much clear chances. we surely miss Mancini there, who was suspended.
Roma have been hit by a double injury disappointment as they prepare for Wednesday's do-or-die clash with leaders Inter.
The Giallorossi must at least draw with the stuttering Beneamata at San Siro if they are to remain in the Scudetto race.
Luciano Spalletti's side will be desperate to avenge Week 6's 4-1 thumping and could cut the deficit to six points with a win, but it has been confirmed that they will be without Brazilian stars Juan and Amantino Mancini. Juan had been out of action for over a month prior to last week's game against Real Madrid and he injured himself again playing against the Spanish champions, but there had been hopes he could return for this titanic struggle.
Despite his presence in training today, the former Bayer Leverkusen man will not travel to Milan even as a substitute.
Mancini was the star man in Roma's win over Real Madrid last Tuesday, but has since developed a muscular problem, which is almost certain to hand him a watching brief.
The capital club had hoped to take advantage of Inter's current crop of injuries with Zlatan Ibrahimovic adding to the list of absentees with a knee problem, but it now seems that both sides will be weakened for the key battle.
Roma regain Brazilian duo Tuesday 26 February, 2008
Contrary to yesterday's reports, Luciano Spalletti has named both Juan and Amantino Mancini in his Roma squad to face Inter.
The Giallorossi face a huge week with a must-win clash at San Siro and their Champions League last 16 second leg against Real Madrid looming large.
Brazilian international stopper Juan had been out of action for over a month, but returned in the first game against Madrid only to injure himself again. The former Bayer Leverkusen man is ready to travel to Milan, but he will probably be a substitute to Matteo Ferrari and Philippe Mexes.
Mancini also picked up a knock against the Merengues, but the former Venezia wizard has recovered ahead of schedule.
The only absentee for Spalletti to deal with is experienced defender Christian Panucci. Roma (probable): Doni; Cassetti, Ferrari, Mexes, Tonetto; De Rossi, Pizarro, Taddei, Perrotta; Vucinic, Totti
Spalletti: Inter is win or bust Tuesday 26 February, 2008 Roma's Luciano Spalletti admits that his men must beat Inter at the San Siro tomorrow if they are to maintain Scudetto hopes.
Inter have stumbled somewhat in recent weeks, yet the Nerazzurri still have a nine-point cushion over second-placed Roma.
Week 6's clash ended in a 4-1 win for the leaders and Spalletti knows it must be a very different story this time or Inter will be champions elect.
"We have to look to win," the Tuscan tactician said. "If Inter win it will be almost unassailable, but if we triumph we will be the team who can worry them.
"We have to cut the distance between ourselves and them if we want to have a chance of catching them. "They are stronger physically, but we need to play our football. We know the way it will be - they will try and manage the game like usual, but we have been able to disrupt them in the past."
Spalletti has received a boost with the apparent return to fitness of Brazilian stars Amantino Mancini and Juan.
"Mancini and Juan have trained but they still have small problems," he explained. "We are hoping that the pain decreases by tomorrow and they can play.
"I can see progress in Francesco Totti as he has trained well for the last three or four weeks. You can't see the benefits immediately, but they will be apparent.
"The next two games are crucial and we are ready to compete physically and mentally. Lots of players seem rested, everything is in order and we are ready to go."
so this is it, we going to San Siro, up against Inter.
the gap now is 9 points, so quite simple : if we win, its 6, n the title race suddenly seem to b much more interesting. if we draw, we stay the same. if we lose, thats it, officially bye-bye scudetto.
Juan n Mancini made it to the squad... Mancini might starts, but i doubt Juan will. it doesnt matter much to me anyway, whoever plays, we need to play to our best.
another bullshit refereeing... WTF is wrong wif those referees nowsaday ?
we were the better side throughout the match, althought there were juz a few clean cut chances. Totti finally scored after he laz scored was like forever ago. finally !
Roberto Mancini is really 'genius' lol. used up all 3 subs for some kids ? he made them hav to play wif 10 when Maxwell was injured and no sub available. if not of some moments of brilliance from Julio Cesar we would hav scored 1 or 2 more.
n then the bullshit part - Mexes was harshly sent off for 2 yellow cards in the space of, what, 5 or 6 minutes ? those yellow were juz pure shit. if there anyone on the pitch that deserve to b sent off its Burdisso.
anyway its over. our aim now is to steady our hold on the 2nd spot. Forza Roma !
Inter 1 - 1 Roma Totti 38 ®, Zanetti 88 (I) Stadio Meazza Javier Zanetti may well have handed Inter the Scudetto with a last-gasp equaliser after Francesco Totti had given Roma the lead. This keeps the nine-point gap at the top of the table intact, but Inter were playing with 10 men for 25 minutes due to Maxwell's injury before Philippe Mexes saw red.
The top two came together just as the Nerazzurri seemed to be running out of steam, losing 2-0 to Liverpool in the Champions League and held 1-1 by Sampdoria to cut the gap to nine points. Notably, Inter were undefeated in Serie A since the last time Roma visited on April 18, 2007, coming away with a 3-1 victory. That was the Giallorossi's second straight win here and they were going for the hat-trick despite missing Juan and the suspended Cicinho with Amantino Mancini not 100 per cent fit.
Inter had Ivan Cordoba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Julio Cruz, Walter Samuel, Olivier Dacourt and Cesar Aparecido sidelined, so a reshuffle in defence and attack was demanded with a 4-3-2-1 system.
Francesco Totti threaded through for Simone Perrotta and Julio Cesar was alert to smother it. The goalkeeper also blocked a dangerous Marco Cassetti cross and on the counter from that move Hernan Crespo drilled over the bar.
Crespo deserved to open the scoring with an absolutely stunning finish on 18 minutes. His extraordinary scissor-kick with his back to goal cracked against the inside of the upright and flashed all the way across to go out the other end!
Totti drilled wide from Daniele De Rossi's assist, but the deadlock was broken on 38 minutes in Roma's favour. Marco Tonetto's sweeping cross from the left found Totti for a splendid left-foot volley in at the near post, as he got in front of former teammate Cristian Chivu.
Nicolas Burdisso had the best chance to equalise before half-time, his header from a corner kick skimming the crossbar.
Mancini made a change at the break, introducing striker David Suazo for midfielder Dejan Stankovic, returning to a more typical system. Rodrigo Taddei got the better of Chivu, but couldn't keep his right-foot strike on target.
Luis Figo's volley was ballooned over, so Mancini went for broke with 17-year-old hitman Mario Balotelli making up a trident attack, replacing midfielder Esteban Cambiasso, and Pele' taking over from fellow countryman Figo. It inevitably left them open at the back and Taddei's lob from the D skimmed the upright.
Balotelli's fierce drive was deflected out for a corner, but it was Roma who were dominating now. Perrotta rolled across for the totally unmarked Alberto Aquilani to fire straight at Julio Cesar's legs.
Maxwell was stretchered off after falling awkwardly, but as Mancini had already completed all three substitutions, Inter were left with 10 men for the final 25 minutes.
» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «
Roma were dominating as Vucinic did well to pass across to Perrotta, whose angled drive was deflected out for a corner by Burdisso. Aquilani and De Rossi skimmed the woodwork, as the Giallorossi couldn't make their dominance count.
Instead, the tension got to Roma, as Philippe Mexes picked up his second yellow card for going through the back of Crespo and was livid with the referee, but his teammates were more angry at the Frenchman. This left both teams with 10 men for the final six minutes.
The whole momentum of the match changed and Crespo's fantastic looping header was fingertipped out from under the crossbar by an equally stunning Alexandre Doni save.
With two minutes left on the clock, captain Javier Zanetti picked up a poor clearance to the edge of the box and unleashed a right-foot rocket on the bounce that slotted in at the near bottom corner. It was a rare goal for the veteran and San Siro exploded, as this result could effectively secure the Scudetto.
The game turned nasty in stoppages with a series of scuffles and tough tackles. There were also extra injury minutes added on as Cassetti fell badly on to his left shoulder.
oh my roma draw too...looks like its a bad day for me....d"mn you stupid referee.....
roma still in 2nd while milan gonna be bayern munich episode 2 soon...
GTG
only 2 pts separate u guys with Viola, so its still game on.
Totti's goal laz nite was wif his left foot, nice shot there il Capitano ! n to make things better, it was over the marking of none other than our favorite Inter player - Cristian Chivu ! in ur face Cristian !
Totti: Ref ruined everything Friday 29 February, 2008 Roma captain Francesco Totti remains convinced that the referee prevented the Giallorossi from picking up a crucial win over Inter.
Totti put the capital club ahead at San Siro, but the leaders equalised at the death just minutes after Philippe Mexes had been sent off for a second bookable offence.
Video replays suggest that the second yellow card for a tackle on Hernan Crespo was a harsh decision from Roberto Rosetti and Totti is still outraged. "The ref had been having a good game until 15-20 minutes from the end and he ruined it all by sending off Mexes wrongly," the 31-year-old bewailed to Romanews.eu.
"Philippe had a great night and was dismissed without having committed any fouls. He didn't touch Crespo and what happened was incredible.
"To tell the truth I wouldn't like to say whether the first yellow was right, but I have seen so many worse fouls not punished.
"Rosetti lost sight of the game late on. Nicolas Burdisso deserved a red for his two or three big fouls on Rodrigo Taddei.
"My Roma side deserved eight out of 10 for their efforts at San Siro and we didn't lose ground," Er Pupone continued. "We played the better football and I was right to talk about refereeing help at the end.
"It will be hard now but it isn't over and we will have to see how Inter do against Napoli and Reggina - March will be a decisive month for us.
"The next five or six games will be crucial and we can't afford to slip-up."
Roma's thoughts now turn to March 5's Champions League last 16 trip to the Bernabeu to face Real Madrid with a slender 2-1 lead to protect.
"I am hoping that the game in Milan will act as a stimulus for us to go to the Bernabeu with the right mentality," Totti said.
"My fitness? I am much, much better but I am still recovering. The back is fine, but now the problem is just the foot that has been bothering me for months."
Spalletti: Let's look forward Friday 29 February, 2008 Roma tactician Luciano Spalletti has archived Wednesday's draw with Inter, but the Nerazzurri's Marco Branca thinks it could stalk the capital club.
Spalletti's side felt hard done by when they lost a 1-0 lead at San Siro in the dying minutes after Philippe Mexes had been controversially sent off.
While captain Francesco Totti has hit out at referee Roberto Rosetti, his boss is keen to look to the future rather than dwell on the past.
"To go looking for excuses is for losers and I don't want to do it anymore," the Tuscan Coach boomed. "We mustn't look for alibis because they make for a presumptuous team. Even if the Mexes sending off was important we could have avoided conceding. In my opinion, Italian referees are still the best."
Spalletti immediately moved on to discuss this weekend's opponents Parma, who are struggling at the foot of the table.
"Parma are a good unit with talented players," he claimed. "They deserved more against Torino and now Cristiano Lucarelli has started scoring again.
"We have to carry the anger from midweek into our next games and use it to spur us on."
Next week sees Roma travel to the Bernabeu where they will look to protect a 2-1 lead over Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16.
"We know that Real is the game that means everything to us," Spalletti admitted. "The lads are aware of that and so am I - it is the decisive match in our season."
Meanwhile, Inter technical director Branca, who played for Roma, has suggested that Wednesday's controversy may distract Spalletti and his side.
"People who know the atmosphere in Rome know well that the dissension will grow with time," he said on Radio R101.
"It's not easy for the Roma players or Coach to work in that climate. Roma wanted to win, but they shouldn't blame Rosetti.
"It's not worth marring a good game between two sides at the top of the table like that.
"The Inter players stayed strong at a tough time in the match and showed grit, which is the true beauty of football.
"The League rewards the most consistent side - nothing else is taken into consideration. If we add up the number of games Inter have won and their points over the last year and a half then there is no room for debate."
Feb 21 2008, 07:17 PM
Quote
unfortunately he pick up a stupid 2nd yellow card for kicking the ball away after a whistle, so now he gonna suspend for the Inter match next. oh dear...
0.0307sec
0.33
6 queries
GZIP Disabled