So, already a week has been played of the Serie A season, the transfer market is over, and teams have made last minute moves to improve. That was just a trial run. Now with the upcoming second week, this is when the real season starts. So, it’s time to share what you think will happen this season. And what better way then with polls! In the following post, you’ll find a series of polls where you can vote on various topics of the Serie A season. This is better then just telling you to share in the comments, because I know there are some shy people out there that like to just read this terrible calcio coverage I write and shake their heads in disgust at the screen, refusing to comment. The polls will close on Friday at 12 PM est, and we’ll see what everyone thinks. Remember you can only vote once per poll. (And also remember that on some polls like relegation and european qualification you can choose multiple answers)

Who will win the 2010/2011 Scudetto?customer surveys

Who will qualify for the Champions League?online surveys

Who will qualify for the Europa League?online surveys

Who will be relegated?online survey

Which new top club signing will have the biggest impact? (or enter your own)customer surveys

Who will be the next manager to be sacked?customer surveys

Which team outside the big 4 will be the surprise of the season?Market Research

Which Offside Blog is the best?survey software

There are no prizes for guessing who came out on top of last week’s top goalscorer poll (apologies for the overuse of the word ‘top’).

Floccari emerged with 65% of your vote with Zarate picking up the vast majority of the remaining votes on 24%. No surprise in the result but considering the number of people who put their faith in Maurito to turn the page this season, it is surprising for me at least that he didn’t run Sergio closer. Hernanes polled 5% while Kozak and Rocchi broke the wooden spoon in half with a measly 3%. I am worried that our tifosi believe Libor has as many goals in him as Tommaso but I hope that proves to be the case. I really do.

A very simple poll this week. Delio Rossi was widely discredited towards the end of his Lazio reign and despite our solid results in the second half of last season, I have noticed a few fans (including myself to an extent) voicing their unhappiness with Edy Reja. With that in mind, who do you believe is the better coach? Vote below and as always, we will have the results collated next week. Forza Lazio!

Which Coach Is Better?survey software

Rarely are any of my primavera stories positive, but read today and smile as I follow up on a past story about a boy with Lazio in his blood who fell foul of Lotito. Read on also, as I discuss why one particular young laziale is at a crossroads, between becoming a symbol of the club or the next in a long line of talents to pack his bags.

In July, I wrote a couple of posts about the failings of our once illustrious youth system. One followed the story of a very talented, now ex-Lazio player Simone Santarelli, whose career was severely damaged by Claudio Lotito and then-youth sector director Giulio Coletta. Well, you may be pleased to learn that, last month, Simone signed a contract with Foggia. The side from Puglia are currently playing in C1 (or Lega Pro Prima Divisione, as it’s now called), and are being coached by the man who launched them onto the world scene in the 1990s: Zdenek Zeman.

Foggia are desperate for promotion to B this season, and see it as the year when their dreams may be realised and they edge closer to mixing it with the big boys once again. It remains to be seen how successful i satanelli will be, but hopefully they can have a good year. Hopefully too, Simone can be a big part of it. On Thursday, he will turn 22 years old, which makes him the oldest goalkeeper that Foggia have on their books! The pugliese side is so young, that the oldest first teamer is only 28. Currently, Santarelli is the second choice goalkeeper behind Bulgarian import Ivanov, but at his age, and with the maestro himself Zeman at the helm, anything is possible.

***

The first post I wrote on the youth system back in July was a general look at the failings of the club. The numbers of talent capable of playing at the top level coming through is declining, and that which does come through is being weeded out rather than nurtured.

We can go on for hours about those who have left us in the past couple of years, and the list is quite painful to read. The likes of De Silvestri, Macheda and Faraoni are all as talented as each other and all left under different circumstances. They are gone and have moved on with their careers, while it is obvious to me each of them would fill gaps in this current Lazio side.

This is why we have to learn from past mistakes and look after what we’ve got. When the transfer market closed the other day, we were left with several players who we couldn’t find new homes for. These players are now training separately from the main group, as they have no role to play in the team and the situation isn’t good for them, nor is it good for the club. Joining them, is one Riccardo Perpetuini.

Perpetuini was wanted by a few Serie B clubs during the mercato. Crotone were keen to take him back, while Vicenza and Frosinone saw him as a valuable young asset in their respective promotion campaigns. Just for good measure, Modena, Pescara and third division Verona all had a good look. In the final days of August, it appeared that Triestina would provide Riccardo with a place to grow for the upcoming season. I thought that the alabardati would be a good fit. Triestina were only restored to B after Ancona went bankrupt and they are horribly underprepared for the season. They will probably be relegated for the second straight year, and while that is bad, it is likely Riccardo could’ve been a fixture in their midfield. In the end though, for whatever reason, the move collapsed and poor Riccardo was left stuck at Lazio. Worse still, he has been lumped with the likes of Quadri and Artipoli, players who genuinely do not have a future in top level football.

It seems that Perpetuini will have to content himself with playing as an overage player in the primavera competition. This will not help him develop as a player at all. After all, he has spent the past couple of seasons as one of the better midfielders in the primavera. The only thing he needs now, is senior first-team action. In the few appearances he made in the past two seasons, he impressed. Be it Serie A or the Europa League, he showed that he has the potential to become a solid midfield option for us. He even proved he can slot in at left back in a back four, without being a defensive liability. This is a very good sign.

His natural role is as a defensive midfielder. He is a workhorse and physically strong, but with a good range of passing abilities and a knack for winning the ball and keeping possession of it. Personality wise, he is very much like Fabio Firmani. Having grown up in Cisterna di Latina, young Riccardo has supported la Lazio for his entire life. As we have already established, players like that don’t come around very often. If you look across the city, you’ll see that Roma have Daniele De Rossi. He is an idol of the fans and a symbol of the club (and a very similar type of player to Riccardo!). We too have our idols, but homegrown they are not.

In pre-season, Perpetuini put in impressive performances against several opponents in friendlies. Reja confirmed that he is impressed and sees him as something for the future. Riccardo is not a fantasista, he isn’t a bomber. Unlike Kozak’s goal haul or Cavanda’s blistering runs, Riccardo won’t raise too many eyebrows, but it doesn’t mean he has any less talent. He is currently part of the Italian youth international side and has the potential to be our idol. So my suggestion to Reja is this, bring the boy back into the squad, make him the vice-Brocchi and give him a chance.

Sadly, Riccardo could well join the list of talents to walk away from Lazio in less than pleasant circumstances, and it disappoints me, as he could well be our very own bandiera.

You may or may not have noticed on The Offside main page that our blog currently features under “Most Popular Blogs.” This means that you are visiting one of The Offside’s Top 15 blogs. What makes this feat most remarkable is that every other blog that has made the cut for August is about a club side who are currently competing in Europe. In fact, if you cast Liverpool aside, they are the elite of Europe; Champions League winners and contenders. Thus, we have broken the mould and long may that continue.

Is this all a bit of a boast? Perhaps, but please don’t misconstrue our meaning. This is not a personal achievement; this is just indicative of our fanbase and how we are, collectively, the best bunch of supporters out there. So, while you all pat yourselves on the back, I’m going to dig up my favourite 15 posts and remind you of the good, the bad and the ugly. In the comments section, feel free to chip in with the blog posts you remember fondly over the years. Ok, here we go, in no particular order…

1. “Gazza’s Cry For Help”
http://lazio.theoffside.com/team-news/gazzas-cry-for-help.html
Assessing Gazza’s contribution at Lazio is like assessing his mental health; depressing, even maddening to an extent but above all, damn difficult. For me, this is as good an assessment as you will find on the internet, courtesy of our very own Salvatore.

2. “The Presentation”
http://lazio.theoffside.com/team-news/the-presentation.html
Pre-season in Auronzo di Cadore always seems like a bit of a trip. It is a video like the above that makes the whole event seem worthwhile. Only Lazio can conjure up something like this.

3. “Gabriele Uno Di Noi!”
http://lazio.theoffside.com/team-news/gabriele-uno-di-noi.html
Not in here for the right reasons but I cannot look back on the history of this blog without remembering a true laziale. Gabriele Uno Di Noi!

4. “The End Of The Mercato”
http://lazio.theoffside.com/team-news/the-end-of-the-mercato.html
I think this was easily my most frustrated post as a blogger here but in the end, I think it must go down as our best mercato to date. After this summer’s highs and lows, there is a possible pattern emerging.

5. “At The Crossroads”
http://lazio.theoffside.com/team-news/at-the-crossroads.html
Check the date; exactly a year to the day. How things have changed but arguably, similar discontent surrounds Lazio and I. Possibly my most subjective publication.

6. “Open Letter To Claudio Lotito”
http://lazio.theoffside.com/team-news/open-letter-to-claudio-lotito.html
I think we had all had enough but few could express it quite as eloquently as Cristiano.

7. “The Downfall Of Mr. Davide Ballardini”
http://lazio.theoffside.com/team-news/the-downfall-of-mr-davide-ballardini.html
I think we had all had enough of this fellow too. I remember thinking I had presented a decent defense of the guy with this post but ultimately, it was you who decided whether it was sympathetic, empathetic or just pathetic.

8. “Liveblog: Lazio – Sampdoria (Coppa Italia Finale)”
http://lazio.theoffside.com/team-news/liveblog-lazio-sampdoria-coppa-italia-finale.html
There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else, there is an impassioned liveblog.

9. “The 4-2 Derby”
http://lazio.theoffside.com/reviews/the-4-2-derby.html
Reviews often bring us pain. This one…well…pleasure was an understatement.

10. “Latin Americans And La Lazio”
http://lazio.theoffside.com/team-news/latin-americans-and-la-lazio.html
The latin quarter in a wonderfully summarised post.

11. “The Lazio Offside Team Of The Decade: Revealed”
http://lazio.theoffside.com/team-news/the-lazio-offside-team-of-the-decade-revealed.html
Hours and hours of thought in one post. Who can forget our glory days, eh? In the Top 15 for obvious reasons.

12. “Disillusioned”
http://lazio.theoffside.com/team-news/disillusioned.html
Tessera Del Tifoso in a nutshell. The insight of Cristiano combined with the foresight of Laziofever’s renowned member, Lucky Strike.

13. “The Friday Feature: An Interview With Paolo Peroso Of Lazioland.com”
http://lazio.theoffside.com/team-news/the-friday-feature-an-interview-with-paolo-peroso-lazioland-com.html
As far as international outlets go, Paolo is the boss. For that reason, it makes the Top 15.

14. “The Friday Feature: Lazio Offside Meets Lazio Indonesia”
http://lazio.theoffside.com/team-news/the-friday-feature-lazio-offside-meets-lazio-indonesia.html
I think this one is self-explanatory.

15. “Market Reseach: A Lotito Mercato”
http://lazio.theoffside.com/team-news/market-research-a-lotito-mercato.html
If for no other reason, the effort deserves a place in the Top 15. I would like to think the content does also.

Sadly, last week’s poll was made redundant pretty quickly as neither of the protagonists found their way to Rome prior to the close of the mercato. However, the matter still managed to generate an overwhelming response from you all. For those of you who are curious, Santa Cruz emerged as the preferable choice with 74% while the wily David Trezeguet was found languishing on 26%. I can’t say I’m surprised but the margin must be put down to a difference in age because in terms of class, the Frenchman must surely get the nod.

Staying with the goal theme or lack of goals theme, this week’s poll is a simple question; who is going to bag us the most goals this season? Will it be the obvious choice in Floccari or do you think Zarate will step back up to the plate like many of you predicted a few weeks ago? Did Hernanes look like he could contribute on the goalscoring front? Do you envisage a Rocchi resurgence? Can Kozak shock? Let me know below. Forza Lazio!

Who Will Be Lazio’s Top Goalscorer This Season?customer surveys

The mercato closed tonight with little fanfare. Roque Santa Cruz remains with Manchester City, leaving our fourth striker job in the hands of the inexperienced and probably under-prepared Libor Kozak.

Emilson Cribari has joined Napoli on a permanent basis. In the end, we got 500.000 euro for him, which is about a third of what Lotito wanted. He has signed a one-year deal with an option for a second. I’d like to thank Cribari for his service to the blue and white shirt. He was once a relatively reliable defender, who famously put his well-being on the line when he played Champions league qualifiers with a broken cheekbone. In the end, it all went wrong for him, but he served the club well in his time.

Riccardo Perpetuini’s loan move to Triestina didn’t go through, meaning he won’t get the experience and regular football all young talents need.

Fabio Firmani is also staying meaning that, with he and Perpetuini, there will actually be two die-hard Lazio supporting gladiators in the squad this season. I like this. I like it a lot.

Albano Bizzarri is still around. The Argentine has gone from being one of the best ‘keepers in Serie A, to playing third fiddle to Nando Muslera and Tommaso Berni.

Riccardo Bonetto’s move to Livorno fell through, thanks to a difference of 40.000 euro in wages. There was no interest at all for Christian Manfredini. Alberto Quadri, Lucas Correa and Ivan Artipoli are still in Rome as well. In reality, none of these five will have any part to play at all this season, so the real losers of the mercato are the players (with the exception of Manfredini, who earns ridiculous wages for a player of his calibre which he wouldn’t get anywhere else.)

So, all that leaves us with a squad of 33.

Portieri: 86 Fernando Muslera, 12 Tommaso Berni, 1 Albano Bizzarri

Difensori: 26 Stefan Radu, 3 Andre Dias, 20 Giuseppe Biava, 21 Mobido Diakitè, 13 Guglielmo Stendardo, Ivan Artipoli

Esterni: 2 Stephan Lichtsteiner, 14 Javier Garrido, 81 Simone Del Nero, 5 Lionel Scaloni, 39 Luis Pedro Cavanda, 79 Riccardo Bonetto, 68 Christian Manfredini

Centrocampisti: 24 Cristian Ledesma, 11 Matuzalem, 8 Hernanes, 6 Stefano Mauri, 80 Mark Bresciano, 32 Cristian Brocchi, 15 Alvaro Gonzalez, 4 Fabio Firmani, 16 Riccardo Perpetuini, 23 Mourad Meghni, 55 Lucas Correa, Alberto Quadri

Attaccanti: 22 Sergio Floccari, 9 Tommaso Rocchi, 10 Mauro Zarate, 17 Pasquale Foggia, 18 Libor Kozak

If your new to the Italy Offside, usually the Monday after the Serie A weekend I’ll put up a post called “The Weekend that was in Serie A” where I’ll try to mention the weekend’s best stories, including some bad attempts at humor and very simple analysis. So, Serie A finally arrived. After the terrible World Cup for Italy and the summer months of anticipation, the league we love most finally began this past weekend. It’s a good thing, because the last two weekends for me have consisted of turning on EPL games, and then turning them off after 5 minutes because I got bored. No league excites me like Serie A does. Give me a dull, defensive, tactical 0-0 between two small Italian sides than Chelsea or Manchester United hammering some newly-promoted team 6-0 any day. I just hope there are people out there that feel the same way, or else I just look like a nut. Also if your new to the Italy Offside, and this is like the first day of school for you, my name if Francesco. I’ve been in charge of the Italy blog here since the spring of 2008 and I enjoy writing incoherent drivel about Serie A that people like to read. At least I think people like to read it. It helps me sleep at night. Welcome to the Italy Offside, and if you learn at least one new thing about the calcio world every day here, my job is done. Anyway, here’s the weekend that was in Serie A’s opening kickoff:

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

Milan pulled off arguably the greatest transfer in Serie A this summer. Back in May some articles reported that Milan might have been interested in the big Swede (they had tried to get him in 2006, but Inter were faster and beat them to the deal), but it finally became reality the past week. Galliani and super agent Mino Raiola (there will be an article on him sometime this week) managed to talk Barcelona down to a loan deal with forced option to buy in the summer of 2011 for only 24 million. That is some deal. The move made Milan fans instantly optimistic about the upcoming season, but nobody should get their hopes up just yet, despite the 4-0 rout of a scared, newly promoted Lecce side. Ibrahimovic was presented at half-time (pictured above) and said in his funny sounding Italian, “Remember this: I want to win everything and I’m here to win everything.” Milan fans everywhere hope he’s right. In the meantime, I have happily added this song to my ipod.

Juventus starting where they left off: losing…

Yes, Juventus have tried to enter a new era this summer by creating a whole team from nothing, and yes, 6 of the 11 starters yesterday were new signings, but very poor first outing by la Vecchia Signora. Gigi Delneri’s side never really threatened Bari all game, and the new signings didn’t really shine all that much. Juve fans that thought the team’s problems would be fixed immediately with all the new changes are wrong. This team needs time to gel, and much more work has to be done by Delneri to get the squad to play the football he wants. They might bring a few more signings in before tomorrow’s deadline to improve the situation. But hey, look at the bright side Juve fans, last season Juve started brilliantly and look what happened. Maybe the reverse has to happen this season.

The newly-promoted sides

Lecce and Brescia had poor outings overall, being dominated by Milan and Parma. Cesena was the surprise of the weekend, holding Roma to a scoreless draw at the Olimpico, with ex-Roma goalkeeper Francesco Antonioli the hero. Cesena looked like a good side, but their attack lacks severe quality besides Giaccherini and despite the presence of Serie A’s footballing god Erjon Bogdani. Their defense looked shaky at times too. We can’t really judge Lecce from yesterday because Milan was better in every aspect, while Brescia seemed like the same Brescia you see every season in Serie B, no improvement.

Sebastian Giovinco

The pint sized fantasista was one of the best performers of the weekend. Giovinco was the man of the match against Brescia this weekend, providing a splendid assist on the first goal and had a hand in the second. Late in the game he was taken off to a standing ovation. Can this be the season Giovinco finally explodes? Throughout the years number 10 type players have always flourished with a Gialloblu jersey on, and this season could be yet another example. Are Juve completely sure they made the right decision in letting him go, especially since it was so evident yesterday they had nobody on the pitch that could provide a spark?

Sampdoria taking out their anger on Lazio

Sampdoria were heartbroken after they narrowly missed out on qualifying for the Champions League group stage, and manager Mimmo Di Carlo wanted them to transmit their anger into an excellent performance against Lazio. He got them from his squad, who after an even first half went on to score two in the second half and get their first 3 points in front of their home crowd. The first was scored by Cassano on a penalty won by Daniele Dessena and the second was a nice volley from Guberti. Di Carlo is hoping they can take that momentum into the next game, which is a big one against Juventus.

First sacking of the season

Surprisingly (or not so surprisingly because it happens all the time in Serie A) we had our first manager sacking of the season in this first weekend. Bologna manager Franco Colomba was let go by new Bologna owner Sergio Porcedda. Why? He said that Colomba was not agreeing to the project put forth by the club. It took you all summer to realize that Mr. Porcedda? So, Bologna’s youth team manager was in charge of today’s game with Inter and Porcedda said a new manager will be announced on Wednesday. According to reports it will be Alberto Malesani, the man who knows how to use the word cazzo</em efficiently.

Speaking of Bologna-Inter…

The Rafa Benitez era in Serie A started with a goalless draw today. Great point for Bologna considering their coaching problems. Inter shouldn’t be that worried, they’ve started the past 3 seasons with a draw (and who has won the scudetto in the past 3 seasons?) and still players are working hard to get back into form. At least we’ve seen over the past few days that the players on Inter are in fact human.

Mesto’s Goal

The Genoa winger’s match-winning, improvised bicycle kick goal was definitely the best goal of the weekend. Watch it here.

Fiorentina-Napoli

For me this was the most exciting game of the weekend. It was a very open game and both sides looked to attack. In the end, a draw was the best result because of the even play. However, on replay, Edinson Cavani’s goal did not cross the line, further pushing the debate of goal line technology. Fiorentina’s new signing Gaetano D’Agostino did well pushed up to his old trequartista position, and scored a great volley. Good game from two teams who may be direct competitors for European places this season.

Serie A goes on break

Even though it just started, it’s already taken away from us for a week! Prandelli’s national team start Euro 2012 qualifying this weekend and have games on Friday and Tuesday against world powerhouses Estonia and the Faroe Islands (what’s with UEFA’s weird new scheduling? It always used to be Saturday and Wednesday). So Serie A will return the weekend of September 12th.

Live game updates on twitter

If you didn’t know already, the Italy Offside is on twitter (link below). This weekend I experimented with tweeting live updates of games from the weekend. I did Udinese-Genoa and Bari-Juve this weekend. I don’t know if anyone noticed or even liked it, but I’ll continue to do it. So if you can’t watch a Serie A game on the weekend for whatever weekend, visit my twitter and read live updates as the action is happening. Also on my twitter I tweet other calcio news and updates daily like transfers or random thoughts. So if your interested in that, follow me.

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