Lazio Appoint Ballardini

Lazio have appointed Davide Ballardini as their new manager as the club look to build upon their Coppa Italia win and Europa League qualification. 10th in the League last season was regarded as a dissapointment for a club that took the Scudetto in 2000 and was consistently in the top 6 of Italian football during the 90s and up to 2004. After that financial ruin gripped the club and the star players departed left right and centre. But, depsite 10th being regarded as a dissapointment there were promising displays to be seen in the capital over the last three years under the rein of Delio Rossi. Champions League qualification from the 2006/2007 season, a third place Serie A finish and a Coppa Italia win, not to mention three home derby wins, make Rossi a hard act to follow. However, with more money appearing to be in the club now Ballardini will have the opportunity to surpass this, and hopefully he will do so by winning the Europa League next season.

Elsewhere in Serie A, Benzema again appears to be on the Inter Milan radar whilst Alberto Gilardino looks set to start up front for Italy tonight against the USA where anything but a win will be regarded as a total disaster. Gilardino has been in great form all year long and will need a strong tournament to establish himself amongst the best strikers in the world. 19 goals in Serie A is a very good return but he is still an unknown quantity for many. His time at Milan was not great for him, despite 17, 12 and 7 goals in his three seasons there. At last though, he looks like he is recapturing his form that he last showed at Parma.