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The president of Roma, currently in fourth place in Italy's Serie A league, Claudio Lotito has confirmed that the team has been bolstered by Chilean national team defender Luis Jimenez, whose acquisition by the capital club was agreed upon after lengthy negotiations with third division club Ternana.
"Finally, we managed to arrange the acquisition of Luis Jimenez from the Ternana club. The whole deal should cost us around 11 million euros," said C. Lotito to the Italian press.
The 22-year-old versatile attacking defender, who was loaned to Fiorentina last season and scored 3 goals in 19 Serie A matches, had a contract with Ternana until 2010, but had not played in an official match for over half a year in protest against the club's decision not to release him.
In the 2005/06 season, Ternana dropped from Serie B to Serie C1, causing interest in Jimenez from Italian and foreign clubs including Inter Milan, Juventus, Arsenal, and Atletico Madrid. Lazio ultimately won the battle to acquire Jimenez and agreed on a loan deal, but on the last day of the summer transfer window, Ternana inexplicably backed out of releasing the player.
Jimenez took Ternana to court, claiming that his contract was no longer valid due to the team's relegation. The club eventually relented and reportedly agreed to loan Jimenez to Lazio for 18 months. To acquire the player, Roma will have to pay around 11 million euros.
The Chilean player, also known as "The Magician" in his country and voted Chile's Player of the Year last year, began his career at Santiago's Deportivo Palestino before playing for Ternana from 2002 to 2006. He made his debut for the Chilean national team in 2004 and, despite only playing 10 matches for the team so far, was recently named captain.
Meanwhile, the future of the Italian national team player and Lazio defender remains uncertain. The World Cup winner is desired by the team, but C. Lotito stated his reluctance to sell the team's captain and leader, who has expressed interest in moving back to Milan where he started his career.
"I will do what I can to satisfy the player, but I must first think about our needs. Lazio is no longer a selling club like it used to be, and now we have a president who knows how to make important decisions. If Milan were to ask for the player in June, that would be another matter, but to release him now would mean strengthening our direct competitor in the race for a Champions League spot," said Lazio's president.
Captain M. Oddo reassured that he will appear in the crucial match against Milan on Sunday and, as usual, expressed the sentiment of the Lazio captain: "I will be the captain on Sunday. I am confident that the fans will understand me, others may interpret the fact differently, but I hope everyone understands my position."
