Roma Prove To Be This Season's Surprise Package In The Champions League

Roma Prove To Be This Season's Surprise Package In The Champions League
11:36, 15 Mar 2018

Italian football has struggled for a long time, but Calcio fans finally have something to boast about after seeing two of their teams reach the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time since 2007. Obviously those post-Calciopoli years were difficult, the nation’s co-efficient dropping below Germany’s which resulted in the Bundesliga receiving an extra place in the group stage as Serie A’s quota was reduced to three.

It will return to four this summer as part of UEFA’s reshuffle of the qualification process, and it is no surprise that Juventus have now reached the last eight for the third consecutive season. Ever since Max Allegri replaced Antonio Conte on the bench, the Bianconeri have reestablished themselves as a force in Europe, recording memorable knockout wins over Real Madrid and Barcelona as they finished as runners-up in two of the last three years.

Yet if the sight of the Old Lady being in the draw once again was to be expected, the peninsula’s other representative on Friday is certainly much more surprising. It is not Napoli, a team who Pep Guardiola labelled “perhaps the best side I've faced in my career” as Maurizio Sarri’s entertaining style of play continues to win over admirers from across the continent. Nor is it Inter or AC Milan, two clubs whose European pedigree and global stature needs little introduction or explanation here.

Instead it is AS Roma, a team who lost their Coach, iconic captain, best defender and most dangerous attacker at the end of last season. As Luciano Spalletti moved on to Inter and Francesco Totti retired, fans of the capital club then had to look on as Antonio Rüdiger and Mohamed Salah joined Chelsea and Liverpool respectively.

After arriving from Sevilla, new sporting director Monchi insisted on numerous occasions that “Roma is not a supermarket,” but clubs from the Premier League and elsewhere were still grabbing everything in sight as the summer wore on. Promising Argentinian midfielder Leandro Paredes went when Zenit Saint Petersburg offered €23 million, while Chelsea came back in January and handed over €20 million for talented left-back Emerson Palmieri.

The squad had once again been stripped of valuable assets and lost much quality, while the man who took over from Spalletti had very little experience of such a prestigious and high-pressured role. Eusebio Di Francesco represented Roma as a player, but his coaching career had been limited to minnows such as Virtus Lanciano, Pescara and Lecce before he was appointed by Sassuolo in 2012.

Promotion to Serie A in his first season there was followed by steady progression, steering them to     17th, 12th and sixth-place finishes, the latter securing the club’s first ever berth in the Europa League. They crashed out in the group stage as Di Francesco’s high octane attacking style was quickly exposed, while their domestic form also suffered as they slumped into the bottom half of the table.

Yet on Friday he will proudly look on as the Giallorossi await their next opponents, a place in the semifinals just 180 minutes away from a side who occupy third place in Serie A just as they did last term. The 48-year-old has shown tactical intelligence and awareness, using a 4-2-3-1 formation as well as the 4-3-3 that has long been his preferred framework depending on the strengths of a given opponent.

Former Manchester City man Aleksandar Kolarov is proving to be the bargain of the season, his form a major factor in the decision to sell Emerson during the Winter Break. Behind him, goalkeeper Alisson Becker has been sensational since replacing Wojciech Szczęsny as the club’s no.1. Only four goalkeepers – all with teams involved in the relegation battle – have made more saves than his tally of 93 thus far, while Napoli’s Pepe Reina (14) is the only man with more clean sheets than the Brazilian’s 12.

That newfound defensive solidity has offset a stuttering attack, with Cengiz Under, Stephan El Shaarawy, Diego Perotti and Eden Dzeko all enjoying fine spells but none showing any kind of consistency. The latter leads the way with 13 goals while the other three have five each, while Radja Nainggolan (7), Kolarov (5) and Alessandro Florenz (4) have weighed in with crucial assists along the way.

Already 15 points behind the Serie A leaders and out of the Coppa Italia, a title challenge – or indeed a trophy of any kind – is certain to elude them this term, but Roma and Eusebio Di Francesco can be hugely proud of a fine campaign.

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