In his aptly titled autobiography, ‘I think therefore I play’, Juventus playmaker Andrea Pirlo reveals how Franco Baldini tried to sign him for Roma back in the summer of 2011 when his contract with AC Milan had run dry. The midfielder, however, wasn’t exactly sure of the project that was taking shape at the Stadio Olimpico under the new American regime that had just taken over and eventually opted for Turin over the Italian capital.
To be fair, the ‘Roma project’ did take time to take shape - but had Pirlo been in a similar situation today, he wouldn’t have had his doubts. That’s how much things have changed over the past three years at the Olimpico.
The Giallorossi now pose a direct threat to the Bianconeri’s quest for a fourth straight league title.
They may have missed out on Pirlo but, in terms of personnel, those responsible for revamping Roma have, for the most part, been making making all the right moves in the transfer market since 2011, building a squad that has decent depth and impressive versatility.
Current Barcelona coach Luis Enrique was hired three years ago so the capital club could play the ‘Barcelona way’. However, despite the influx of players like Pablo Osvaldo, Bojan Krkic, Miralem Pjanic, Fabio Borini and Erik Lamela to name a few, the whole idea turned out to be a disaster. Enrique dutifully resigned as Roma failed to even qualify for Europe at the end of his first - and only - season at the helm. The problem wasn’t as much with the squad or the coach; rather it was the implementation of a wrong philosophy with the wrong players.
The story continued under the ultra-attacking philosophy of Zdenek Zeman, who completely neglected the defence - and almost inevitably got the sack in the spring of 2013. That season the Giallorossi had added youngsters like Mattia Destro, Marquinhos, Leandro Castan, and Alessandro Florenzi alongside the experienced Italy full-back Federico Balzaretti and American international Michael Bradley to a roster that was improving season after season, albeit only on paper at that stage.
Once again, the so-called 'project' seemed to have gone awry, as the club failed to qualify even for the Europa League, let alone the Champions League, but then, crucially, Frenchman Rudi Garcia was handed over the keys in June, 2013.
The former Lille coach led Roma to a best ever points total (85) last season, coming second to Juventus. Under normal circumstances, the tally would have been sufficient to win the league title but that’s how high champions Juventus had set the bar under Antonio Conte, as they claimed the Scudetto by a staggering 17-point margin.
However, what Garcia had shown was the importance of having the right trainer and playing to the strength of the squad in hand. Under him, not only did Roma score more than they did in the previous seasons, they also brought down the number of goals scored against them by more than half as the Giallorossi conceded just 25 times all season.
Under Enrique, they had shipped 54 goals, while Zeman and caretaker coach Aurelio Andreazzoli were collectively were responsible for the team letting in 56 goals in the league.
Goal.com
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