After scoring just 20 Premier League goals in two seasons for Manchester City, Edin Dzeko realised at the beginning of the 2015/16 campaign that it was time to move on. AS Roma was the destination but a move to Italy was no escape from the harsh scrutiny he had been subjected to in England. The Bosnian international scored just eight league goals in his opening Serie A campaign, and he later revealed how difficult that start had been.
“It wasn’t easy for me to listen to all the criticism during my first season, but I was playing badly and it was understandable,” he told Mediaset Premium. “Many thought I would leave, but I came here to do great things. I am not the type of guy who walks away after one bad season.”
At that point the truth was that he had never really had a single campaign that set the world on fire, his 22-goal tally at Wolfsburg in 2009/10 the biggest haul up to the end of his first campaign in Italy. Often a frustrating figure, the 6”4’ front man would regularly squander chances and look awkward in front of goal, drawing criticism from fans and press alike.
“I wanted to prove that I was strong,” Dzeko continued. “I learned a lot from Serie A and from Luciano Spalletti, such as the movements I had to make as a striker. I learned more about being a centre-forward in Italy than I did in Germany and England.”
The very next season he did just that, bagging 29 goals in 33 starts for the Giallorossi, a total that would take him to the very top of the scoring charts come the end of the campaign. Those things he learnt from Luciano Spalletti – alongside fantastic service from winger Mohamed Salah – had seen him become truly prolific for the first time.
Yet he somehow managed to still be the same frustrating figure that had brought vitriol from the fans during previous years. He had taken many more shots than the likes of Andrea Belotti, Dries Mertens and Gonzalo Higuain, all of whom finished close behind him in the number of goals scored. Dzeko was still missing chances, the only difference was that he was converting them as well.
As 2017/18 approached, it was clear the Bosnian would face some fresh challenges too. Gone was Salah – the man who was supplying his chances – and so too was Spalletti. New boss Eusebio Di Francesco changed the playing system from 4-2-3-1 to his standard 4-3-3 and the striker struggled to adapt.
“It’s just the beginning. I scored many goals last season, this year it’s tougher and I didn’t touch the ball many times tonight,” Dzeko told the press after a 0-0 draw with Atletico Madrid in early September. “Hopefully in the next few games I can get more touches so I can score some goals.”
“We feel the absence of Mohamed Salah and also Checco (Francesco Totti), while Radja Nainggolan played closer to me too,” he continued. Now they are all a little further away than they were before, but we’re getting used to it.”
He needn’t have worried though, as in the next two league games he fired in a brace on consecutive occasions, and a goal in the latest key clash with Milan has already taken his total to seven domestic strikes.
Dzeko is not the only former Manchester City man to be thriving in Italy’s capital either. Aleksandar Kolarov has enjoyed a flying start to life in Rome with one goal and two assists in his opening six Serie A starts. Of course it is not the first time the Serbian has played his football on the peninsula, having enjoyed a three year spell with Roma rivals Lazio from 2007 to 2010.
Famed sporting director Monchi cannot take all the credit for the astute capture of the 31-year-old left-back however, as Dzeko himself revealed it was him that put in the recommendation. “I get along great with Kolarov,” the striker told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “In fact, I was the one who told (director of sport) Monchi to sign him.”
So whilst Manchester City are getting along just fine without their former duo, Roma can be extremely grateful Dzeko and Kolarov were surplus to requirements in the Premier League.
