BarrileteCosmico wrote:Congrats guys. Will definitely keep a closer look on Roma now.

sciacca wrote:You guys are so lucky !

ErPupone wrote:Lamela has announced through twitter that he'll be joining us. Sabatini's meeting with River Plate's directors has been postponed to tomorrow morning. The missing detail seems to be the method of payment. Roma want to pay in installments for the next three years, while River are asking for 10 million by the end of July. It is being said that a compromise has been made and that Roma will pay one fee, but not before the end of July (this hasn't been confirmed yet though). Meanwhile, Sabatini and Fenucci were seen having dinner with a third person this evening (actually about one hour ago) whose identity is still a mystery. And just minutes ago, Sabatini was quoted saying "Lamela saluted his fans through twitter? He must have found a club..." Still, Sabatini won't give in, but it does seem as if it's a done deal. The audio clip could be found through this link:

http://www.vocegiallorossa.it/?action=read&idnotizia=20775

The Fonz wrote:Saturday 9 July, 2011
Lamela to Roma today



River Plate talent Erik Lamela is expected to complete his €12m transfer to Roma today.

The player has already said goodbye to the River fans through his Twitter feed.


“I love you all. I thank you for the support you’ve always given, helping me grow day by day. I will never forget you.”


There were even reports the announcement would arrive late Friday night, but there were delays.


President Daniel Passarella will fly in to Rome overnight and the clubs are waiting for him to personally oversee the move.


There were also question marks over how the payment would be spread out in instalments.


It also poses a problem that Lamela does not have an EU passport, but it’s believed Ahmed Barusso will be sold to free up that space in the squad.


Lamela’s father and three River Plate directors met with Roma director of sport Walter Sabatini for dinner on Friday to finalise the last details.

ErPupone wrote:

ErPupone wrote:Lamela has announced through twitter that he'll be joining us. Sabatini's meeting with River Plate's directors has been postponed to tomorrow morning. The missing detail seems to be the method of payment. Roma want to pay in installments for the next three years, while River are asking for 10 million by the end of July. It is being said that a compromise has been made and that Roma will pay one fee, but not before the end of July (this hasn't been confirmed yet though). Meanwhile, Sabatini and Fenucci were seen having dinner with a third person this evening (actually about one hour ago) whose identity is still a mystery. And just minutes ago, Sabatini was quoted saying "Lamela saluted his fans through twitter? He must have found a club..." Still, Sabatini won't give in, but it does seem as if it's a done deal. The audio clip could be found through this link:

http://www.vocegiallorossa.it/?action=read&idnotizia=20775

The Fonz wrote:Saturday 9 July, 2011
Lamela to Roma today



River Plate talent Erik Lamela is expected to complete his €12m transfer to Roma today.

The player has already said goodbye to the River fans through his Twitter feed.


“I love you all. I thank you for the support you’ve always given, helping me grow day by day. I will never forget you.”


There were even reports the announcement would arrive late Friday night, but there were delays.


President Daniel Passarella will fly in to Rome overnight and the clubs are waiting for him to personally oversee the move.


There were also question marks over how the payment would be spread out in instalments.


It also poses a problem that Lamela does not have an EU passport, but it’s believed Ahmed Barusso will be sold to free up that space in the squad.


Lamela’s father and three River Plate directors met with Roma director of sport Walter Sabatini for dinner on Friday to finalise the last details.

Well I guess that's our mystery man, unless Sabatini was really that hungry tonight.

Erik Lamela has known he was special since he was 12-years-old.

It was at that age that Barcelona tried to sign the youngster from River Plate’s academy. Luckily for River, Erik, or more likely Erik’s people, decided he would be better off sticking around for a few more years and developing his game rather than making the big move to Europe at that stage.

With his potential highlighted at such a young age, the kid from Florida, in Buenos Aires Province, progressed through River’s junior ranks with something of an aura about him.

Fans impatiently looked forward to the day he was ready to run out for the senior team. On June 14, 2009, the wait was over as a 17-year-old ‘Coco’ made his debut in the Primera as a late substitute against Atletico Tigre.

He appeared intermittently over the next year, showing that the hype had gone to his head — in a good way. Lamela showed poise one would expect from a player ten years his senior.

Come the 2010/11 Apertura, Lamela, whose surname translates as ‘lick it’ in English, was ready to establish himself as a first team regular. This may not be a classic River Plate team, but for an 18-year-old to make the crucial enganche (playmaker) position his own says much about both his talent and self-belief, especially considering he was competing for the role with established stars Diego Buonanotte and club legend Ariel Ortega.

Now Ortega has moved to All Boys and Buonanotte will leave for Málaga in June but club director Daniel Passarella is refusing to sell his prized asset, for now at least, despite interest from the likes of Juventus and Manchester United.

Lamela’s game seems perfectly suited to European football, hence all the attention from the Old Continent. At 185cm, he is not a wriggly, zippy dribbler with a low centre of gravity like Messi or Maradona.

Rather, he cruises about in the attacking half, elegantly directing play. When pressured, he has the ability on the ball to dink past opponents but his main assets as a player are his intelligent positional sense, highly refined passing and an accurate shot from distance.

He also takes all of River’s attacking free kicks and corners and although he is naturally left-footed, he is more than adept with his right. He has been utilised in the centre of the park or out on the left, but is often given freedom to roam.

Passarella is resigned to losing Lamela to a European club within 12 months. There is little doubt the young prodigy will make the transition well, assuming he can cope with the usual ‘small fish, big pond’ scenario that befalls every up-and-coming South American star who crosses the Atlantic.

With a mature head on his shoulders and a self-assured swagger, you can expect this kid to thrive in any scenario.

ynwa wrote:Make it official already. :geek: