Lazio drawing closer to Super Cup final

Lazio are approaching fastly their first official match of the new season amidst the Chinese supporters enthusiasm. This will be a good fuel for the team although Inter Milan can boast far more fans in China (it seems like they are 20 millions). Their official sponsor, Pirelli, is not by chance also the official sponsor of the Chinese Super League. Nonetheless, Lotito highlighted how Lazio is not in Beijing to be considered as “Inter’s sacrificial lamb”. The president also promised two more signings in a day when Rasmus Bengtsson seems to be joining Dutch Champions AZ Alkmaar with the chance to play some Champions League football. The Swede said he would love to play in Italy but it looks like AZ are hot favourites now to land the central defender. AC Milan, in the meanwhile, are reportedly trying to buy Ledesma and De Silvestri. As we already said, it all depends on Andrea Pirlo reuniting with former coach Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea.
Yesterday Stefano Mauri and Simone Inzaghi acted as male models for new Lazio official suits designed by Gianfranco Ferré, the famous Italian fashion designer. The presentation took place in the Ferré official store in Beijing. The suit is very smart: a dark blue suit jacket, a cotton white shirt, a sky blue tie and in winter a single breasted coat will provide the right style to Lazio athletes. Of course the GF brooch will embellish the whole suit. A stylish Lazio!

Here’s Lazio’s programme for the coming days (hours are in Beijing time so consider Rome’s time +6 hours):
Wednesday
7 pm: training

Thursday
Morning: press conference in order to introduce the Regione Lazio sponsor to Chinese media
7 pm: training

Friday
6 pm: Ballardini’s press conference
7 pm: last training at Bird’s Nest stadium

Saturday
8 pm: Inter v Lazio

Sunday
12:50 pm: Lazio fly back to Italy via Frankfurt

About the line-up Ballardini should keep a 4-4-2 or switch to 4-3-1-2 formation and definitely not fielding his “favourite” 4-2-3-1. Lazio showed they need more time to absorb it.
Muslera between the posts, Lichtsteiner as right full-back and Kolarov as left full-back seem to be the main options in defence. The central defenders could be Radu or Siviglia and Diakité. Considering that Cribari may join Palermo and Eto’o’s speed the Frenchman could be awarded with a start on Saturday. Up front Zarate-Rocchi should provide the goals (with Cruz ready to enter the pitch as a substitute), but the real problem is the middle of the park. Ballardini has tested two different options there. In the first one Foggia and Eliseu were the attacking midfielders while Dabo and Mauri were the central ones. In the second option Baronio was playing in front of the back four, while Brocchi and Meghni would perform as holding midfielders and Matuzalem would inspire the attacking duo (a scheme more similar to a 4-1-2-1-2).

On the Inter’s side of things, the team certainly looks stronger but landed in Beijing just two days later than Lazio. Mourinho, as usual, feels confident about his teams’ chances. He claims he isn’t worried about Inter flying to three different continents in the space of a week time, even though he reckons that was the only possible option to keep the team at their best.
1,000 Inter Chinese fans have watched the first nerazzurri training in Beijing displaying cardboards (one of them bearing a prediction: 4-0 to Inter Milan...) and flags. Also they tried their voices singing the Inter anthem and some more songs taken straight from the San Siro’s Curva Nord (amongst them the famous “those who don’t jump are AC Milan fans”).