Rome City » Sports

Thriving in Rome, Miroslav Klose has his sights on Brazil

musiclover — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 05:53:01 +0000

The space was tight, the atmosphere around him frenzied and partisan, the ball to his feet coming from a dipping cross between closing defenders; and yet, with everything seemingly against him, Miroslav Klose made scoring the winner in last weekend’s Rome derby look as simple as tapping into an open goal in a training match.

With the AS Roma back four desperately flinging themselves in front of him, Lazio’s German striker took two delicate touches - one to control the ball and another to tap it out from under his feet - before effortlessly side-footing his shot through a tangle of flailing bodies and beyond Roma goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg’s despairing dive as the clock ticked onto 93 minutes.

In the pressure cooker environment of the Derby della Capitale, at the end of added time, Klose once again showed the presence of mind, the instinct and cold, calculated execution of a world class striker. Any remaining concerns that the 33-year-old German wouldn’t adapt to Serie A after a career spent entirely in the Bundesliga were swept aside with the precise sweep of his trusty right foot.

“He’s done extremely well,” Davidde Corran, an Italian soccer correspondent, told Deutsche Welle. “They’ve brought him in to score goals and he’s doing that. It’s not such a great shock though. He’s the type of striker that will benefit from Lazio’s play and service from midfield.”

“A team like Lazio is a perfect fit for Klose and he seems to have found the right pace of game in Italy,” Corran said. “He may not have been as attractive to the bigger clubs in Europe but he can do a job for Lazio. He can keep up with the game despite his age and he’ll get scoring opportunities there … I think he can be one of the players to drive Lazio on to a strong campaign.”

Klose’s injury time winner was his fourth goal in six games for Lazio and it took his club career total to 125. It also confirmed to many that there is plenty of gas still left in the tank and that rather than moving to Italy for one last big payday, Klose – typically for such a model professional – has loftier targets in mind.

After leaving Bayern Munich on a free transfer in the summer, Klose has apparently set himself a challenge by moving to Italy – to embrace a new country, a new league and a new style of play in a bid to revitalize a club career which had slowly stagnated in Bavaria. He has set himself another goal that this invigorating new challenge might help him achieve – prolonging his glittering international career and surpassing Germany legend Gerd Müller’s all-time record goal tally.

Capello ‘false evidence’ case dropped

musiclover — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 23:08:58 +0000

Rome prosecutors on Friday dismissed a case brought against England manager Fabio Capello for allegedly giving false evidence in relation to the 2006 calciopoli match-fixing scandal.

Capello appeared as a witness in a case brought against the top Italian football agency at the time, GEA World, who were accused of using threats to pressure players into signing with them.

The case followed the match-fixing scandal that gripped Italy five years ago.

GEA World were caught up in the affair and were accused of having too much infuence over players.

However, the cases against both Capello and former Juventus director Antonio Giraudo have both been dropped.

Horton dissatisfied with Rome’s apology

musiclover — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 21:33:32 +0000

Despite the increasing reliance on technology and new forms of communication, some instances require a more traditional approach.

That is precisely how Boston Bruins forward Nathan Horton felt when he received an apology via text message from Vancouver Canucks defenceman Aaron Rome after he knocked him out of the Stanley Cup final with a devastating open-ice hit.

When asked about Rome’s apology by Matt Kalman of The Bruins Blog on Wednesday, Horton reiterated his disappointment with the blueliner’s informal approach.

“Just through a text message I heard [from him], but I mean, I wouldn’t be throwing a text message someone’s way, you know?” Horton said. “I’d have a little more respect to try to make a phone call.”

Besides a single text message, Rome also offered his sympathies on the Canucks’ website shortly after the incident.

“I want to express my concern for Nathan’s well being and wish him a quick and full recovery,” Rome said. “I try to play this game honestly and with integrity. As someone who has experienced this type of injury I am well aware of its serious nature and have no desire for another player to experience it.”

Horton has every right to be unsatisfied with Rome’s indifferent apology, especially after seeing how his teammate, Zdeno Chara, handled a similar situation earlier in the season after hospitalizing Montreal Canadiens winger Max Pacioretty.

“I think he regrets what he did and I forgive him because he definitely made an effort to contact me and go out of his way to tell me how he felt,” Pacioretty told CBC Sports. “I respect him for that.”

Apathetic apologies – especially one’s dealing with serious head injuries – aren’t new to the NHL, but it’s a concern in an age when respect among players is being brought into question.