Reja’s first step will be to bring Ledesma back from purgatory for his first appearance of the season after a contract dispute.

“You all know what an important player Ledesma is. If I am to get him back, it’s better that he plays from the start. He’s in good shape, obviously it will take a little time for him to find match fitness.”

Instead the Coach hints that Mauro Zarate could be left on the bench after stuttering performances.

“He has extraordinary potential, just as Sergio Floccari, Tommaso Rocchi, Stephen Makinwa and Simone Inzaghi are perfectly valid strikers.

“I must take into consideration all the players at my disposal and the balance of the squad. I cannot give any favouritism to particular players.

“The squad as a whole needs to rediscover its self-confidence and belief in its abilities. During a game they can’t seem to find that motivation, so my job is to get inside their heads.”





Perfectly valid? Oh no 

OMG not this soon.

Reja Vattene 

Nice nickname. I have chortles.


But wouldn't you rather the likes of Barretto warming \\LAZIO'S bench then Makinwa? Course you would. Who knows, we could have (like has been reported) some SERIOUS talent on our hands with Gonzalo.. but who are we to know when Stephen "I've had more lives then all the cats in Persia" Makinwa gets more minutes 

^

Current project: Keeping us up.

Next project: Major and significant Mercarto work. I would like Reja to be as ruthless as he appears to be and clear out roster of 10-15 players. I agree, it sounds like he's not someone to be messed with - although I did read today that Reja said he didn't specifically request Ledesma after all, and that the players chose the formation rather then him. Whatever.

So you wanna party?

^^^ Lotito is part of it, but I think that sometimes it's a matter of personal dynamics. Reja seems to have a much stronger character, Balla (and this is not a criticism) just had a more docile personality. I think Lotito mistakes this for weakness and his personality takes over - Reja sems to be the right man to work with Lotito. Speriamo.

I was just talking about Reja's headstrong attitude to a comrade last night and referred to the same idea imper talked about. Not only does he appear to be a person Lotito cannot put in the leash but he also has the mentality of a winner. The first thing he said to Lotito in Rome was that this team deserves 5th or 6th place. We all know he did not expect us to win against Parma but first wanted to see a high-spirited squad eager and willing to play for a win in the face of despair. He understood the team was in severe crisis and boosted the confidence of the squad by not only commanding but also listening to them. Before he implemented his own system he took tactical advice from the players who promptly told him they were fed up with Ballerina's defensive tactic. That just adds to his qualities as a coach. Also the way he has been handling individual players is commendable (checking Ledesma's condition during the game, benching Zarate etc.) and I hope he can bring Hitzlsperger back from the void too.

Surely, the goal of the season is hardly to get into top 6, but the thing is, it seems as if Ballerina was coaching a team that was bound to relegation and tried to be careful instead of being bold and fighting the windmills whereas Reja is coaching a team that has potential for greatness in the future and wants to build a solid foundation for that to happen. I cannot repeat it enough, his efforts have been tremendous already. I readily admit I feel like a kid in the candy store these days and it is still early to cast predictions but I would like to hope for a mid-table position when the season ends.