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Giving Young Eagles Wings – A Lazio Story




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Società Sportiva Lazio, more commonly known as Lazio, are a Italian Serie A league side established in 1900 in the Prati district of Rome. Their first cup success coming in 1958, Aquilotti have gone on to win 2 Scudetto’s, 5 Coppa Italia titles, 3 Italian Super cups, 1 Serie B Championship, The UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and The UEFA Super Cup. In more recent times, Lazio has had financial instability and one of four teams involved in the Italian match-fixing scandal, but have found more sounder footing. Lazio has one of the most passionate and emotional derbies in world football, the Derby della Capitale, or the Derby of Rome, against hated rivals AS Roma. This match has not only produced scintillating football, but also controversy, such as a death of a Lazio fan from a flare thrown by a Roma supporter in the 1979-80 season and rumours of a murdered child that caused a 2004 clash to be called off.


Edoardo Reja In Hospital

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Lazio manager has been detained in hospital tonight after he was attacked with bottles by the ultras of AS Roma. Reja was dining with his wife in the capital when he was viciously attacked by three men outside his home in the Prati district of Rome. Police have called for any witnesses to come forward to help with their investigation.


Reja Resigns As Lazio Manager

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Edoardo Reja has tonight resigned as Lazio manager after his attack outside his home last week. Reja states that he “fears for his life” after the attacks have left both his face and his faith in the roman people scarred. Reja also added “I do leave with regret, as I leave a club that has become a child of mine and an experience I will cherish for the rest of my life.”
“However, my main priority is the protection of my family and if this happens to a respected member of public then I do not wish to stay here.”
Reja also said he wishes whoever the Lazio board appoint as his successor the “greatest success, but he has to be insane.”

Lazio Appoint Staples

lotito.jpg

Lazio today announce the appointment of unproven and unknown Englishman Nathan Staples as their new manager.
The football world has looked on with puzzlement, as the Lazio board announced he was also the only applicant for the job.
Chairman Claudio Lotito said: “Nathan is charismatic, enthusisastic and can speak Italian. Hopefully he can grow with the club and lead us back to the Scudetto.”
Staples was said to be “overjoyed” to become Lazio manager, and was “utterly determined to prove the critics wrong.”

The Early Days

Well, I’ve arrived at Lazio and I’m at a club with a great history but also great potential to write a new history. I’ve been given €0 on transfers and a €900k wage budget, of which €867,583 is already used up, so if I am to buy I will need to sell. So my first job is easy, look through the team and get rid of any dead weight. But let’s look at some of the key players currently in the squad.

Mauro Zárate

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I’m sure you have heard of this 23-year-old Argentine, who will be one of the focal points of my attack. Predominantly a striker, Zárate is a very quick and technically gifted player. Basically, I will be relying on him to bring me not only good performances, but plenty of goals.

Sergio Floccari

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Currently injured until at least the start of the season, Floccari will be my go to man. A solid team player, I will be looking at the 29-year-old to be on the end of most attacks and bag as many goals as he can. I’ll be looking at him to be our top goal scoring threat.

Hernanes

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The creative Brazilian will be the beginner of most of my attacking movements. He is easily the most gifted midfielder in my squad, and this young lad should shine as one of the top stars and the club this season. He is earmarked as a potential vice captain.

Andre Dias

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The big, bold 31-year-old Brazilian is the heartbeat of the defence. Good in the air and great at keeping with a player, Dias will be key in stopping the opposition getting a sight at goal. I’m planning on giving him the captain’s armband for the season ahead.

Fernando Muslera

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The 24-year-old Uruguayan stopper is a forever improving player. With great shot stopping ability and determination, Muslera is an ideal keeper for any team within Serie A. And at just 24, has many, many years left in him.

The Squad

Having looked through the squad, this is the formation I will be using for the time being.


Muslera
Garrido Dias Radu Lichtsteiner
Ledesma
Bresciano Gonzalez
Matuzalém Hernanes
Zárate

This is mainly due to experimentation, but also due to Floccari’s injury, I thought that I’d try something different and see how it worked.

There is, however, a lot of dead wood outside of that in the squad, such as Foggia, who would be a third choice right midfielder, but is worth €5,750,000. So there will be a lot of buying and selling going on after all.

I discussed all these ideas with Giovanni Lopez, my assistant, and he agreed with the shake up within the club and we both felt that this was a great time to be with Lazio, and that this club could really start going places.

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Hmmm similar outline and style of mine.

Inspired mate, not attempting to steal or take credit.

Genuinely, you inspired me to do a story, but if you don't like the layout I can change it? I just felt it looked the cleanest and easiest to read.
 
Nah it's fine I was joking lol. Look out for my other story just coming in a sec. Like this though, honestly not a problem.
 
Nah it's fine I was joking lol. Look out for my other story just coming in a sec. Like this though, honestly not a problem.

I'm glad, i'll hopefully establish my own style eventually. And I will do, your Palermo one is great.
 
Good start mate. I did a story with Lazio once, and I will tell ya, Zarate is awful in front on goal. He got one it took him over 18 hours to get his first goal of the season, and only finished on 3 goals at the end of the season :\ hope you have more luck with him
 
Lol thanx. I am still keeping Palermo going aswell as the new one too. I hope you enjoy them. This looks like it will be the next big thing though.
 
Lol thanx. I am still keeping Palermo going aswell as the new one too. I hope you enjoy them. This looks like it will be the next big thing though.

Good to hear, the signings at Palermo are great, and it's exquistly written, so I can't wait.

And thankyou very much, I hope it will be, looking at buying and selling players now.

Good start mate. I did a story with Lazio once, and I will tell ya, Zarate is awful in front on goal. He got one it took him over 18 hours to get his first goal of the season, and only finished on 3 goals at the end of the season :\ hope you have more luck with him

Thanks mate, I certainly hope he will be more prolific than that! If not I can always offload him.

Its a shame FM doesn't rate him better on the wings like IRL, but thats life.

---------- Post added at 05:00 PM ---------- Previous post was yesterday at 05:58 AM ----------

Sorry for no update last night, mates birthday so I went down town, should hopefully crack out 2 or 3 later today.
 
Pre Season Overview

I think there are many words to explain our pre season preparations. Great, exciting, tiresome, worrying. But I’m very glad to come out of it with a team with masses of confidence, the players I wanted and also the players I wanted to keep.

I’ll start with some quick notice over players I managed to convince to stay at the Stadio Olympico, such as Mauro Zárate. Chelsea were sniffing around our striker, but I managed to convince him to stay, showing him that I respected him but also that he should respect me and the club.

The other was much more long winded, in our right back Stephan Lichtsteiner. He’s a quality player, and he was tempted by the moneybags of Man City. I told them to hit the road after their poor offer of €5.75 million. This is where he was disappointed, but I told him the club would last much longer that City’s money will, and he agreed to stay, but in the end at a cost. He now has a release clause of €8.75 million, which I was not pleased with, but anymore and I would have had to triple his wages.

Time to move on to the in’s and out’s at Lazio during this close season.

Etinne Capoue - €5 million

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A very talented defensive midfielder, this 22 year old Frenchman did not come cheap. However, I have the greatest confidence that he is a massive capture for this club and will more than prove his worth.

Yassine El Ghanassy - €2.5 million (with clauses)

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This 20 year old Belgian left winger is a true talent. Quick, clever and an eye for goal, I personally think the fee is a steal. The clauses of €1 million initially, then another €1 million after 20 games, and €500k over 48 months was easily worth the talents of Yassine, who has plenty of time to grow with the club.

Dennis Aogo – Loan Fee €1.5 million (€4.5 million to buy outright)

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A superb left back, Aogo is definitely a good choice of player. With great crossing ability, a set piece specialist, hopefully this 23 year old can shine during his loan spell. If he does, the fee to pay to Hamburg will seem minimal.

Axel Witsel - €2 million

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A prospect for the future, Witsel is a centre midfielder with growing stature. €2 million is an absolute bargain, and he may be used sparingly in the first season, but with the ages of Matuzalém and Mauri in the 30’s, he will become a key player for the Young Eagles.

Romário - €275k

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A steal. This 16 year old Brazilian right back has immense potential, and he might not be top class at the moment, but he may become one of the top right backs in the world. Will be arriving in January.

Outs

Brocchi – loan fee 50k
Stendardo - €3 million (over 48 months)
Del Nero - €1.3 million
Foggia - €5.75 million
Berni - €625k
Barreto - €2.1 million (Co Owned, staying at Lazio)
Bonetto - €525k

Pre Season Friendlies

One man’s name runs through this pre season, and that name is Zárate. In 7 games, he scored 17 goals. It may be weaker opposition, but it’s doing wonders for his confidence and if he continues this form then Serie A will have to watch out. Overall, this was a very good pre season, winning all matches, scoring 31 and conceding just 2. We may not have played great teams, but again this can only be good for the team’s morale.

Lazio 6-0 Lazio Reserves
Aue 2-5 Lazio
Lommel United 0-5 Lazio
Murcia 0-5 Lazio
Juve Stabia 0-4 Lazio
Huesca 0-3 Lazio
Messina 0-3 Lazio


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I mentioned the formation earlier that I used, but I have mixed it with another so that I can change our style of play, and both work very well.

4-1-2-2-1

This one is something I came up with that works almost perfectly, it has the right balance of offence and defence and will be the formation I’ll most likely deploy against tricky sides.

Muslera
Aogo Radu Dias Lichtsteiner
Capoue
El Ghanassy Gonzalez
Matuzalém Hernanes
Zárate


The wingers are set to attack, so they do venture past the two attacking midfielders, but the holding player really stops the opponents building attacks, with the two further forward allowed creative freedom.

4-1-2-1-2

Obviously only a slight change, but it really makes a lot of difference. We do seem a lot more offensive in this formation, and the link up between the two strikers has been good.

Muslera
Aogo Radu Dias Lichtsteiner
Capoue
El Ghanassy Gonzalez
Hernanes
Zárate Floccari

At the moment Rocchi is playing due to Floccari only just returning to training, but this one will be used in more expectant games where we should win, or when I feel we can really get at a team at home.

Final Thought

Overall, pre season has turned out great. Some targets I had were sold to other clubs, such as Anthony Annan, and some I was priced out of the market for, such as Steven Defour, but what I did get I’m delighted with. I’ll take a special moment to mention El Ghanassy, who has been superb in the final 3 games and will be starting the first game of the season. I have a positive outlook on the season, the board want top half, and I think that 7th is a realistic target, and at least challenging those above. If we do manage Europe, I will be more than delighted.


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Another great story there. Liking all the good stories atm.
 
August & September Review

The season is finally about to get underway, we have had a great pre season and I’m pretty confident in an entertaining and fruitful season. Our first match in August is a hard start, against the other eagles of Italy, Palermo.

Serie A – 29 August 2010 – Match 1 - PALERMO

Lazio Squad

Muslera

Aogo Radu Dias Lichtsteiner
Capoue
El Ghanassy Gonzalez
Hernanes
Zárate Rocchi



A very difficult team to face in the first game of the season, and I would be expecting a draw the most likely result, 1-1.

LAZIO 3 0 PALERMO

Rocchi (5), Gonzalez (34), Radu (61)


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A very good performance against a strong team. The whole team performed well, from Muslera saving everything thrown at him, to Etienne Capoue keeping Pastore extremely quiet. Three unlikely goalscorers and 3 points on the table. Perfect start.

MOTM – Alvaro Gonzalez

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An outstanding game from the Uruguayan. Ran the right wing all game, never giving Balzaretti a rest.

Serie A – 12 September 2010 – Match 2 - SAMPDORIA

Lazio Squad

Muslera

Aogo Radu Dias Lichtsteiner
Capoue
El Ghanassy Gonzalez
Matuzalém Hernanes
Zárate

Attempting a different formation today away from home against a tricky Sampdoria side. Again I’m expecting a draw, because I don’t think they will play offensively enough. 0-0.

SAMPDORIA0 - 0 LAZIO

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An acceptable result for a mediocre game. Neither side played poorly, but neither did too well either. I was right about them not being adventurous enough, as every attacking opportunity went to waste. We didn’t create much, but Matuzalém did hit the bar late in the first half, and had that gone in we would have easily seen out this game.

MOTM – Stephan Radu

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A solid game from the Romanian, he is gaining a good reputation for being reliable and deserving his starting place ahead of Biava.

Injury Update

Two key players out after the Sampdoria game, with the same injury. Matuzalém and Floccari are both out for up to a month due to twisting their knees after sharp turns. Personally, I can only see this as a poor pitch surface and its disappointing, especially for Floccari who only just returned before the start of the season. But this is exactly why you need strength in depth.

Serie A – 19 September 2010 – Match 3 – INTER MILAN

Lazio Squad

Muslera

Aogo Radu Dias Lichtsteiner
Ledesma
El Ghanassy Gonzalez
Hernanes
Zárate Rocchi

It’s a difficult game, but I thought at home we might as well go for this. I’m not surprised if we lose this, but we will battle, a 1-0 loss.

LAZIO 1 – 2 INTER MILAN


Lichtsteiner (PEN 50) - Sneijder (6), Milito (77)

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The overall performance was decent, it’s just a shame they can pull something out of nothing. A ridiculous goal by Sneijder early on gave them the lead, but we held well till half time. A deserved penalty was tucked away by vice-captain Lichtsteiner, but Muslera was beaten at the near post by Milito. I think we deserved a draw, but I can live with a loss.

MOTM – Wesley Sneijder

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He scored an absolute wonder goal, and he ran their team all match. We simply couldn’t stop him, but we shouldn’t be too disheartened. In this kind of form, not many can stop the Dutch maestro.

Serie A – 22 September 2010 – Match 4 – CESENA

Lazio Squad

Muslera

Aogo Radu Dias Lichtsteiner
Capoue
Bresciano Gonzalez
Witsel
Zárate Rocchi

A couple of changes for a midweek game, but I’m confident of a good result. 2-0.

CESENA 2 – 2 LAZIO


Parolo (49), Gabionetta (87) – Dias (37), Aogo (PEN 55)

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Really disappointed. A poor performance by us, and they were not much better, but silly mistakes let them back in the game. A game we should be winning, and I will expect a win next time out.

MOTM – Gabionetta




Netted the equaliser but in my opinion only just the best of a really poor match.

Injury Update

Alvaro Gonzalez is injured for a month with a pulled hamstring. The Cesena match just gets worse really.

Serie A – 27 September 2010 – Match 5 – CAGLIARI

Lazio Sqaud

Muslera

Garrido Radu Dias Lichtsteiner
Ledesma
El Ghanassy Hernanes
Bresciano
Zárate Rocchi

I will want a win. We have a few players out, but we are good enough to beat Cagliari. 2-0.

LAZIO 1 0 CAGLIARI

Zárate (90+3) Nainggolan (S.O 90+1)

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A deserved win in the end. Battered them from the first to last minute and should have really been 3 or 4. Glad we did win in the end, and also very good for Zarate to get off the mark.

MOTM – Andre Dias

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He played very well. Commanded my back line and allowed no one past him all game. An absolute brick wall.

Final Thought

A half decent start. We sit currently in 7th, which is not bad after 5 games, and 8 points is not too bad. I would have probably expected that, with three tough matches at the start, but the surprises against Palermo and Cesena worked themselves out. A slightly easier month next, but an away game against Juventus will be difficult to navigate.


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This story looks pretty good. I'll be looking out for how you get on TheBeardOfZeus
 
Nooo. You beat Palermo. Lol Great read mate and keep it up this is good stuff.
 
This story looks pretty good. I'll be looking out for how you get on TheBeardOfZeus

Cheers dude, thanks for the positive feedback.

Nooo. You beat Palermo. Lol Great read mate and keep it up this is good stuff.

Only just, the scoreline gives me much more justice. All we did was finish our chances when they came along, Hernandez had a howler and Muslera was pretty much unstoppable. Cassini didnt have a good game either, and Pastore was surprisingly quiet.
 
Pastore is quiet in mine aswell. Apparently yakes him a while to develop.
 
Thought i'd try a new stlye because the copying/pasting from word keeps leaving hug gaps between text and is ******* me off. It's pretty similar, but does it look decent?

Lazio sign former German International


Today Lazio announced the signing of former AC Milan and German International striker Oliver Bierhoff as a scout.
He has signed a 3 year contract with the club, and has been put in the post of Head Scout by the Aquille manager Nathan Staples. Mr Staples said: "It's a great capture for the club. Oliver is a recognised name in Italy and has an eye for a good young talent. Hopefully Oliver will help this club become stronger and regain it's status as a European powerhouse."
Mr Bierhoff said: "I'm grateful for this opportunity given to me by Mr Staples and will grasp it with both hands. I will be looking for talent both in and out of Italy to help Mr Staples on bringing in only the best talent to Lazio from around the globe."
Mr Staples went on to add that he may ask Bierhoff's advice on assisting his strikers, but feels that Zarate may have just come on form at the right time, ahead of their game against Juventus.
 
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