[aquila]

At the end of this morning’s training and before leaving for Florence by train, Delio Rossi has met media in Formello.

On the derby: “We played a very strong team, against whom we showed to be stronger. It’s not Roma who lost derby, Lazio won it. How? By preparing the the match well, but especially by our players, who have given a perfect interpretation of what we tried during the trainings. The credit for the wins has to go to the players, the blame for the defeats has to go to the coach. Comparing this 3-2 to last season’s 3-0, this was a game with waves of plays from both sides and it was more spectacular because their team was stronger than last season’s one.

On Behrami not called up for the Fiorentina game: “Behrami has the usual inflametion (right word?) problem. Against Fiorentina will not be a do-or-die match, so it’s better to preserve him. As for the line-up, I have not decided yet. I often have doubts on the decisions I have to take about the starting 11 on the match’s eve.

On Fiorentina: “A very strong team who is hard to beat at Franchi. I am curious to see our players’ reaction three days after such an important game as the derby is. That will be a good test of our maturity. We are a young team who this season paid the price of inexperience. But by now we have grown up and tomorrow we have to reset ourselves, putting aside what has happened and face with all our energies what is before us.

FORZA LAZIO

 

[Biancoceleste]

It's not like I expected anything out of the ordinary from a press conference like this, but this part is at least a bit curious:

We are a young team who this season paid the price of inexperience.

This is the team that won the Derby:

Ballotta - 43 years old
Kolarov - 22
Siviglia - 34
Cribari - 28
De Silvestri - 19
Ledesma - 25
Dabo - 31
Behrami - 22
Pandev - 24
Bianchi - 25
Rocchi - 30

Mundingayi - 26
Mutarelli - 30
Mauri - 28

That doesn't look like a very young team at all and I don't think inexperience has anything to do with this season's trouble and I think it's pretty stupid that Rossi says something like this when it is obviously wrong. In fact we have a very experienced squad if you look at it.

Besides, this season's squad isn't all that much different than last season's. It's not like Rossi had to start all over again when the season started.

The trouble we've had has much more to do with injuries and not getting the squad ready (a goalkeeper!) for the beginning of the season.

 

[aquila]

This is the version in Italian of the interview:
http://www.sslazio.it/cms/view/home..._rossi_a_firenze_esame_di_maturita/s152/c1443

Indeed what screwed up our season was taking part in the Champions Cup. It was a pleasure to watch our boys in the Big Event, but that meant earlier and harder trainings in the summer for the preliminary round against Dinamo, whereas other teams where facing friendly games against Serie C2 sides.
Than the lack of depth of our team (in other words, an effective rotation system was not possible), so many players had to play on Sunday and midweek, which ultimately arose the probabilities of injuries. It's not by chance that in the first 19 games of Serie A Lazio did 19 points, and in the following 10 games, when the team could properly train and injured players had time to recover, Lazio collected 18 points. I think that without the European commitment our place in the table could have been between Fiorentina (50 points) and Udinese (44).
Having said that, Champions Cup all my life!

 

[MarieL]

It's not like I expected anything out of the ordinary from a press conference like this, but this part is at least a bit curious:



This is the team that won the Derby:

Ballotta - 43 years old
Kolarov - 22
Siviglia - 34
Cribari - 28
De Silvestri - 19
Ledesma - 25
Dabo - 31
Behrami - 22
Pandev - 24
Bianchi - 25
Rocchi - 30

Mundingayi - 26
Mutarelli - 30
Mauri - 28

That doesn't look like a very young team at all and I don't think inexperience has anything to do with this season's trouble and I think it's pretty stupid that Rossi says something like this when it is obviously wrong. In fact we have a very experienced squad if you look at it.

Besides, this season's squad isn't all that much different than last season's. It's not like Rossi had to start all over again when the season started.

The trouble we've had has much more to do with injuries and not getting the squad ready (a goalkeeper!) for the beginning of the season.

I think how he meant it was that these players haven't been playing together as a team for that long. Not their actual ages. I don't know what sort of an excuse that is though, since there are only a few new faces. :undecide:

 

[Anomander Rake]

We have been playing with a different line-up in pretty much every game this season due to injuries and suspensions, so if he meant that, he certainly has a point.