Almost three months and thirteen games into the new campaign and Roma capitulated to the Viola in dramatic fashion. Three goals against and three red cards gave credence to ‘unlucky thirteeen’. As the Giollarosso await the visit of the so far unbeaten leaders Juventus, the storm clouds continue to gather. So if you like your Roma roundup sugar-coated, maybe your gaze should be averted. Despite the fact that anyone with the temerity to criticize ‘new’ Roma risks being labelled a [...]
Udinese represented a challenge that, as Serie A Weekly suggested last week, would prove pivotal for new Roma - and so it came to pass in an evening from which few positives could be taken. The ‘Zebrette’, in many ways, are Roma’s antithesis. Franceso Guidolin started his managerial career in 1988, the same year in which Luis Enrique made his senior playing debut in La Liga. Udinese’s wily campaigner presides of a modestly constructed side, a team renown for carefully [...]
So Roma won one of those ‘should win’ games - hardly news to send ripples pulsating throughout Serie A. But slowly and surely, Luis Enrique’s new Roma are coalescing into a more fluid unit with the signs of promise emerging. But while edging past Novara and Lecce is a positive, it remains a fundamental necessity and a journey to Udinese represents something far more meaningful - and although it is relatively early in this campaign, the Udinese game could represent [...]
On Novara’s synthetic surface, Roma had to dig deep, and dig they did, unearthing three much needed points thanks to a blend of persistence and vision. Against dogged and at times enterprising resistance, Roma looked to their new acquisitions as architects of an away day three points, rekindling the capital club’s assault on Serie A - but then came an unfortunately timed break for international football. For passionate, club-centric tifosi, the brief hiatus for international friendlies can prove an unwelcome [...]
A few words from the editor - It is with great pleasure I welcome back Stuart Harper after a recent absence to the pages of Serie A Weekly. Stuart has been one of our best received writers during the last year and his coverage of AS Roma has surely been missed, welcome back Stu! Whether other tifosi feel the same it is hard to say, but for this particular Romanista, watching Roma this year has been a surreal experience, like [...]
Failure to beat Cagliari on the season’s opening game served to make Roma’s trip to Inter a considerably more daunting prospect. Normally, both a clean sheet and an accompanying San Siro point would have been considered a profitable raid to the north, but in retrospect, Enrique was left to rue his team’s bewildering inability to score. Since Luis Enrique replaced Vincenzo Montella talk has almost exclusively revolved around Roma’s quest to become a quasi-Barcelona. And subsequently, the summer mercato did [...]
Thinking about it, events in the Giallorosso half of Rome make for a startling read. An American acquires the club and thus becomes the first non Italian owner in Serie A history. Despite an unfamiliarity with the game of football he dispenses with orthodox thinking, instead embarking upon a brave new course that sees Roma’s identity change beyond recognition. A hefty raft of new signings are made, enough to field an almost unrecognisable starting XI for Roma’s first game of [...]
Last year’s campaign saw Roma possess the second worst defensive record of Serie A’s top twelve teams - and worryingly, an inferior concession rate to all but one of the three sides demoted to Serie B. Therefore and understandably, Luis Enrique made buying a keeper his priority and finally secured the services of Dutch giant Maarten Stekelenburg. So will a little Dutch courage help shore up Roma’s porous backline? It is fair comment to suggest that the Giallorossi have struggled [...]
Fittingly, for the first Serie A club to fall under foreign ownership, AS Roma’s willingness to embrace change continues with gusto. An influx of youth and experience from various corners of the globe is creating real fervour amongst tifosi, singling Roma out as one of world football’s teams to watch this season. But amongst the excitement and anticipation, does the existing blend of old and new make for a harmonious camp or is there discord for which further fine tuning [...]
Pre-season games often be no more than glorified fitness sessions, and with due respect, the ‘Supercoppa de Italia’ could be that type of encounter, struggling to elevate itself beyond ‘kick about level’ - certainly for players accustomed to scudetti and Champions League endeavours. But while the cachet of a Supercoppa triumph is debatable, an early opportunity for Milan to lay down a psychological marker against bitterest rivals Inter, made this year’s contest palpably meaningful. After the game, Massimiliano Allegri hinted [...]
Youthful exuberance is sweeping through Trigoria. Gone is the wizen Ranieri, replaced by the comparatively fresh-faced Luis Enrique – and accompanying the Spaniard is an armada of talent barely free from adolescence. But while fan’s fervour is reserved for the nineteen year old Erik Lamela, along with Bojan Krcic and Loic Nego at just one year Lamela’s senior, an investment in experience may possibly be Luis Enrique’s shrewdest move of all. The recruitment of Gabriel Heinze at the ripe old [...]
As Roma welcome new recruits into Giallorosso, fresh speculation about Daniele De Rossi’s future has arisen. So what will this mercato have in store for Roma’s ‘capitano futuro’? Recent press speculation suggests that Manchester City’s Roberto Mancini has designs on Daniele De Rossi, with a sensational salary apparently on the table – a deal which practically doubles the package already being offered by Roma. Much is being made of De Rossi’s contractual position, with just one year of his current [...]
