Il Danielista 7

By: Michele | December 1st, 2008

Roma 1 – Fiorentina 0

A very good day for Roma fans.
lazio lost, Napoli lost, Udinese lost and Roma beat Fiorentina (who may well end up being Roma’s nemesis for the rest of the season as both battle for fourth).
So we are 7 points off fourth place with a game in hand.
Given ASR’s start to the season things are looking very good.

The game itself was spectacular, one of the best this season.
Roma and Fiorentina are both known for playing ‘champagne football’ (well Roma is, the Viola are perhaps more like spumante) and watching two attacking teams go up against each other is always a pleasure.
The game was very much a showdown: Gila and the Romanian coke-head (no hard feelings) on one side and his Tottiness and Mirko on the other.
They never stood a chance.

So how did Daniele do?

DDR Rating – 6.5

With Brighi looking more ordinary then against Cluj, DDR could only look good.
He threw himself in front of every dangerous ball and went forwards a couple of times. He even blasted a canonball at Frey round the 20 minute mark.
‘Riise caught out of position, De Rossi heading back’ is a sentance I think I’ve heard far too many times this season which goes to show just how important Daniele is for this team.
His defensive cover remains vital for Roma.

Daniele did not have a perfect game though.
He picked up yet another yellow card for an arguable foul on the junkie and sent quite a few very optimistic balls over the Fiorentina defence.

The foul doesn’t bother me, Daniele’s reaction to being carded does.
Furious shouting at an official does not solve problems and DDR should know this.
He will calm down with time.

Daniele lobs the opposition’s defence quite often in the hope someone like Mirko will break and score but it seldom happens. This may seem like knit picking but I expect more from DDR.
Again something likely to improve with experiance.

Daniele is slowly starting to return to the levels of last season.
A confident Roma = a world-class De Rossi.

Less Reputable Ratings:

goal.com

De Rossi: 7.0- Did a valiant job protecting the back four and neutralized Montolivo and Kuzmanovic today.

La Gazzetta

Daniele – 6

Two important defensive tackles but got several passes wrong.

romanews.eu

DDR – 7

Se Juan e Mexes fanno la parte di Jack Lemmon e Walter Matthau lo devono anche a lui, che gioca calcio piovresco moltiplicando i garretti e piombando in tackle come nembo di tempesta. Piazzato là davanti col fido Brighi al fianco, custodisce la muraglia franco-brasiliana come meglio non si potrebbe e interpretando al meglio la nuova sceneggiatura dell’uomo di Montespertoli.

Basically Daniele is the reason Juan and Philou had a relatively easy day at the office.
De Rossi, and to a lesser extent his right hand man Brighi, rained tackles on any opposition that stepped into Roma’s half thus keeping the Franco- Brazillian alliance at the back well covered.

The Rest of the Team:
(per La Gazzetta)

MOTM – Totti – 7.5

His powerful goal is a sign that his knee is healed. He also casualy hit the postand turned on the ball to bring a good save out of Frey. Still not fully mobile but the team revolves around him.

The usual plus.
Not only did his vision create numerous chances for the team but he scored.
He also showed real grit on the pitch; chasing balls, putting preasure on the defence and going in for tackles. It’s been awhile since Er Pupone was last seen looking this hungry.

Doni – 7
Great save from Mutu in the opening minutes and again from Melo in injury time.

Great game from Doni. Made one world class save on bloody nose in the opening minutes of the game and another round the 93rd. A consistant Doni is a great boon for this squad.

Cassetti – 5.5
Mutu and Montolivo both made him suffer.

Despite his best efforts Marco did not manage to give party boy an early Christmas present.
He made a couple of good stops on Vargas before being taken off for a knee injury (then again the way Vargas has played this season Loria would have had no trouble).
Cici came on and…………………..looked decent.

Mexes – 7
Sweeps the box clean of any dangerous balls without commiting any fouls. Picked up an injury towards the end.

Philou looked calm and confident. Great to have him back. Made some vital challenges at the back before coming off in the 75th with a neck injury.

Loria – 6
15 minutes on the pitch without making a mistake.

So basically he didn’t screw up.
I reached for the valium when Loria came on but calmed down when I saw Daniele telling him exactly what to do.

Juan – 6
Nearly scored and struggled with Mutu and Gila. Arguably fouled the later in the box.

Looked OK, not his best performance. Looking atthe highlights it may just have been a penalty albeit a very soft one.

Riise – 6.5
Very visible improvement from the former Liverpool man. Clearly in a better physical condition.
He was however afforded space by the Fiorentina players.

Did Prandelli think Riise was too shit to warrant any attention?
That said he looked better then usual, course thats not saying much but he’s getting there.
Caught out of postion a couple of times but was saved by Daniele and Brighi.
Pulled off a great tackle to save Pazinni the embarrasment of skying the ball in the last 10 minutes.

Brighi – 6
Less brilliant than usual (bit soon…) , duels with Kuzmanovic and later Montolivo. He did however play the initiator in Totti’s goal.

Brighi is not at his best against the more technical sides but made up for his lack of technique with his impressive workrate. New Perrotta?

DDR – above

Taddei – 5.5
Lots of mistakes in the first half but he kept fighting and his cross resulted in the match winning goal.

Fought hard and helped out Cassetti on the right. Found himself with a heavier workload when Cici came on.

Baptista – 6.5
Looks more and more comfortable behind Totti (…), involved in the goal (beautiful backheel), hit the bar and forced a save from Frey with a ‘dirty’, diagonal shot.

Hit the bar in the 80th minute. Good showing from the hulk who is starting to make himself useful.
I am beggining to see why he chose football over wrestling.

Vucinic – 5.5
Forces two great saves out of Frey. However in one occasion should perhaps have done better.
Looked distracted.

It would be rude to say he is our Pippo but he really does seem impervious to the offside rule.
He did however show some great flashes of brilliance to leave the Viola defence in pieces.

Spalletti – 7
Did what he had to with the players available.

Interviews:

Daniele preaches.

Spal warns ASR not to get complacent.

Other Info:

The banal one thinks Roma are still in with a chance…

With nearly the whole squad back it had to happen: injuries.

Jokes.

Chievo next.

Sempre Forza Roma