An Early Assessment Of AS Roma Having come into the 2007/08 season as serious contenders for the Scudetto, Adrian Del Monte asks if Roma have been successful in their quest thus far - or are they still a season or two away from taking that next step?
An Early Assessment Of AS Roma
Serie A: Inconsistent at times, but still in with a serious chance
Having played 11 out of a possible 12 matches in Serie A this season, Roma are sitting pretty in third position in the table, just three points behind leaders Inter Milan.
Although they have had a somewhat inconsistent start to the 2007/08 season, the Giallorossi appear to be breaking this trend, and are recapturing their solid form from the early parts of the season.
Poor Pre-Season
Following an extremely disappointing pre-season, many questions were asked about this Roma side, especially in defence, as the loss of Cristian Chivu to Inter Milan, seemed to be having a huge effect.
In four pre-season matches, Roma lost 4-0 to Borussia Dortmund, 2-1 to West Ham United, 5-2 to Juventus, and they managed a 2-2 draw away to Bayer Leverkusen.
Their main areas for concern at that stage was certainly conceding goals, as thirteen in four games was simply not good enough, and they also faded out towards the end of matches, especially in the game against Juventus, where they lead by two goals to nil, and went on to concede five.
Summer Transfers
However, the future was still bright for Roma, as over the summer, they secured the services of Juan, Cicinho and Giuly, three top-class players, who would bring a wealth of experience and quality to the side.
Along with these three, future up and coming talents in Esposito, Brighi, Andreolli, Antunes, Pit and Barusso were also added to the Roma squad.
The Italian Supercup final against reigning Italian champions Inter Milan was their next test, and to many people’s surprise, Spalletti’s men defeated the Nerazzurri 1-0.
This provided them with the added boost of confidence, required to get their domestic season off to the best possible start, something which they took full advantage of. With three wins from their first three league matches, Roma were off to a flying start and comfortably sat atop of the table.
Flying Start
Their first test of the season was away to Palermo, in a match that many believed to be a true test of this new look Roma squad. If there were any doubts remaining over Roma’s strength and ability to perform at that time, they were immediately quashed following a comprehensive 2-0 victory over Palermo, with goals from Mexes and Aquilani.
Roma have had their problems against the weaker sides of the Italian premier competition in recent seasons, however rounds two and three, against Siena and Reggina, proved that these problems were a thing of the past.
A 3-0 home victory against Siena was followed by a 2-0 away victory to Reggina, and Roma were on top of the table, with three wins from three, having conceded no goals in that time.
Life was brilliant in the Italian capital for fans of the Giallorossi, as not only were they in top spot in the table, but their bitter rivals Lazio were languishing in the bottom half, winless in their opening three matches.
Tough Run Of Fixtures
However, to come for Roma was an extremely difficult period, whereby they would face Juventus, Fiorentina and Inter within seven days, followed by a brief spell against Parma and Napoli, followed by a trip to the San Siro against Milan, and the Roman derby against Lazio within four days.
First up in this period was the clash against Juventus at the Olimpico. After falling behind to a Trezeguet goal after 17 minutes, Totti replied with two goals in six minutes, to give his team the lead at the break. However the Roman hearts were shattered, when Vincenzo Iaquinta got his head to a long throw in the 87th minute, which beat Doni at the near post, and resulted in Roma dropping their first points of the season.
It was a disappointing end for Roma, as their problems of fading towards the final stages of matches, as had happened in pre-season, began to re-emerge once again.
Just a few days later, they were off to Florence, for their match with Fiorentina. And after leading twice in the match, Roma suffered a late goal once again, as Adrian Mutu converted an 82nd minute penalty to earn his side a point - Roma’s second consecutive 2-2 draw.
Inter were next, and although Roma had lost some of their good form, their recent win in the Supercup provided them with the confidence that Inter could be defeated once again. However when Giuly was sent off after only 28 minutes for handling the ball in the Inter area, Roma never had a chance, and thus suffered their first defeat of the campaign 4-1. It was the darkest day of what had been a fairly bright Roma season at that stage.
Back On Track
Their next test was to see if they could bounce back from such a dreadful performance, and prove that they were still serious contenders for the Scudetto. Their travels to the Ennio Tardini in Parma have been quite successful in recent seasons, and this occasion proved to be no different. Roma comfortably defeated a struggling Parma side 3-0, with two goals by Totti (2) and Mancini. Was this the performance they required to get their season back on track?
In what ended as arguably the most entertaining game of the season thus far, Roma next faced Napoli at the Olimpico. Despite leading on three occasions, Napoli would not lie down, and the sides eventually drew 4-4, with Roma once again succumbing to a late goal, this time from Zalayeta in the 85th minute.
A 4-4 draw wasn’t the result that Roma had hoped for coming into their two crucial matches against Milan and Lazio sides.
A trip to Milan is never easy, however Roma proved their worth once again, by defeating their opponents 1-0 thanks to a Mirko crnogorski cigo strike after 72 minutes. Three points were secured, and the Giallorossi were set for the all important Derby della Capitale against Lazio.
Lazio took the advantage early thanks to Tommaso Rocchi, however three goals in 40 minutes from crnogorski cigo, Mancini and Perrotta, helped Roma to a 3-2 win and second in the Serie A standings.
The Giallorossi were most certainly back on track now.
Empoli And Another Late Goal
With the heavyweights out of the way, Roma faced minnows Empoli, in what was expected to be another easy three points for them. However, as they did against Milan, Empoli surprised their more illustrious opponents, by coming back from two goals down at half time, to salvage a 2-2 draw, the second goal from Sebastian Giovinco coming in the 93rd minute.
This was the most disappointing of results for Roma, as they were in full control in the first half, scoring two goals and really minimizing their opponent’s opportunities to create. However, they faded out towards the end of the match once again, and dropped another vital two points.
Although their league form has been a little inconsistent thus far, Roma still find themselves in an extremely good position to pose a serious threat for this season’s title. With all of the heavyweights out of the way for now, they have an easier run than most teams coming up, which could see them on top of the table prior to the Christmas break.
Champions League: Solid start could eventuate into better things this time around
Following last season’s humiliating 7-1 quarter-final defeat at Old Trafford to Manchester United, Roma thsi term set their sights on bettering last year’s performance.
After being in drawn in to Group F alongside Portuguese outfit Sporting Lisbon, Ukrainian side Dynamo Kiev and coincidentally Manchester United, Roma were given the best possible chance to immediately avenge their defeat.
Dynamo Kiev (h)
Match day one saw them host Dynamo Kiev, a team in which they have had history with in the past. Roma were expected to comfortably defeat their Ukrainian opponents, and that is exactly what they did, emerging victorious 2-0 with goals by Perrotta and Totti.
Manchester United (a)
Next up was the all important match against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Roma had just played three difficult matches against Juventus, Fiorentina and Inter in seven days, so a trip to Manchester made their schedule even tougher.
After seventy minutes of respectable football from both sides, Manchester United took the lead through Wayne Rooney, and his goal separated the two sides, as United won 1-0. Roma were arguably the better side on the night, and were extremely unfortunate to not come away with anything from the match.
Sporting Lisbon (h)
They then faced Sporting Lisbon at the Olimpico, in what was a must win clash for the Giallorossi, if they wished to progress from the group stage. After an intense opening 15 minutes, Roma managed to break through thanks to Juan; however their lead lasted for only three minutes as Sporting hit back.
However, luckily for Roma, crnogorski cigo secured all three points for his side, with a superb individual effort with just twenty minutes remaining in the match. These three points will prove crucial if Roma are to qualify from this group, and progress to the next stage of the competition.
Sporting Lisbon (a)
In their most recent Champions League outing, they traveled to Portugal for the return leg against Sporting, and although they led after only four minutes thanks to a wonder strike by Marco Cassetti, a brace by Liedson gave Sporting the advantage with twenty minutes to play.
Roma threw everything at Sporting in the final minutes of play, as they knew that even a point would be crucial in their quest for qualification. And fortunately for their sake, David Pizarro’s long range effort took a big deflection off a Sporting defender in the 92nd minute, and gave Roma a vital 2-2 draw in Portugal.
Outlook
After four match days, Roma are second in their group, five points behind leaders Manchester United, and three points ahead of third placed Sporting Lisbon with a better head to head. Next up they face an away trip to Dynamo Kiev, and although the Ukrainian side have already been eliminated from the competition, it will be a tough ask to attain all three points.
One thing is for sure however, and that is that their final group match at home to Manchester United will be as important as any other, as Roma are still seeking revenge for last season’s 7-1 defeat.
Wrap up
All in all Roma have had a positive season thus far, and should be pleased with their efforts. Despite a difficult early season fixture list they are well-positioned in Serie A, while they are also looking good for Champions League qualification.
With only a third of the season gone, there is still a long way to go for Roma to truly prove themselves, however they are most certainly on the right track.
ISPLATI SE PROCITAT SVE
