There has been a new wind blowing through the Peninsula since the start of this new season with the arrival of Luis Enrique in the Italian capital. Indeed the Roma project bankrolled by new American owner Thomas DiBenedetto is one of great interest.
Without getting too much into semantics, I think it would be fairer to say that Luis Enrique is trying to adapt his own version of the Barcelona way as opposed to the Barcelona philosophy itself. Consequently I will avoid using the phrase “like Barcelona” throughout this article.
The tactical evolution of Roma is what has been most interesting to observe. Luis Enrique was able to get most of the pieces for the Giallorossi puzzle he is trying to complete. Despite the whole picture being far from finished however, we can see where it is all heading and that perspective is a very encouraging one indeed. In that tactical setup, Daniele De Rossi’s positioning is the real key behind Luis Enrique’s system.
For a long time now Calcio fans have never been too sure about De Rossi’s best position/role. He has played as a mediano (defensive midfielder), but then his ability to contribute offensively is diminished. He has played as a mezzala (box-to-box midfielder) but then his ability to control midfield with metronome-like passing is lost. Finally he has also been afforded more freedom to go forward on occasion as a mezzapunta (attacking midfielder) but then the protection he offers at the back his jeopardized. However it is Luis Enrique who seems to have gotten the best out of the Roma midfielder and De Rossi’s recent performances highlight this.
De Rossi is the player with the most freedom, and yet the most responsibilities as well. De Rossi operates as the deepest-lying midfielder and often slots back as a third center-back during the defensive phases of the game. However he is the first launching pad for all of Roma’s attacks. Although this explanation sounds very familiar to the role of a regista (deep-lying playmaker), it is not. The fact is that a regista playmakes from deep into the midfield, while De Rossi playmakes practically from right outside his penalty area. He also has license to run forward during the counter-attacking phases of the game or simply bit higher up in midfield to allow the team to recycle possession and maintain fluidity.
In fact, whenever the other midfielders pass back to De Rossi, it is often to change the focus of the attack by hitting the ball to the opposite flank or play immediately in the verticality for one of the forwards. What is important to remember is that De Rossi is also the reference point onto which how high up or deep the team plays is decided. When De Rossi slots back as the third center-back, he is never the deepest one as he needs to stay relatively within distance of the midfield to continue linking play. As the Roma team plays and moves as a block in unison, then De Rossi is the axis onto which everything revolves around. In effect Luis Enrique has found De Rossi’s best position/role by playing him as an old-school libero.
The libero system is very much outdated in the context of the modern game, with the Germans being the last football nation to have employed the system well into the late 90s. Matthias Sammer and Lothar Matthaus were the latest and most recent exponents of the libero in terms of high profile players who played in Serie A. However in the context of a three-man backline & Luis Enrique’s setup, the libero not only makes a lot of sense but indeed has a lot of merits as well. De Rossi’s role is not there simply to facilitate playing from the back but in fact in order to play by building from the back. He is always coming deep to get the ball off of the defenders and then relays it further up the pitch to the rest of the team.
The role of the fullbacks is also key in making the whole system work. Luis Enrique does not employ wingbacks; in fact we have to go as far as saying that the fullbacks position themselves [whenever Roma are in possession] in midfield practically as wingers. Now, as most people might think, there is nothing Barcelona-like about that setup. It dates much further back than that and is a typically Belgian tactic that had been put forth by the great Anderlecht sides of the 60s and 70s, with the likes of Eric Gerets having been one of this style of play’s greater exponents.
The fullbacks even play differently to Barcelona’s in their roles. Barcelona’s fullbacks push higher up [in the same aforementioned fashion] to use the width of the pitch in order to stretch the opposition defense and create openings. Luis Enrique’s fullbacks however utilize the width of the pitch in order to verticalize the play. Finally, with the fullbacks pushing up and De Rossi slotting back, the formation transforms into a 3-4-3 in the transitional phase and thus adds more bodies in midfield to facilitate ball retention and always have an out-ball.
All these elements are very important and in fact make it unfair to say that Roma are simply an embryonic form of Barcelona. The Spanish coach is basing his philosophy on older styles of play and re-inventing them in the context of the modern game. Luis Enrique’s Roma tactic is also more direct than Barcelona’s style. The emphasis on retaining possession is there but unlike with Barcelona, profundidad (profundity/penetration) takes precedent over tiki-taka play.
The Giallorossi are still learning the Luis Enrique way of course and it is a style that will require some time to adapt. Statistics show that Roma score 75% of their goals in either the first half hour or the last 10 minutes. This means that there is a big gap of about 50 minutes when Roma score very little. Rather than blame this on the team dropping off physically, I would contend that the team is learning to play under a different rhythm.
Roma, in recent games, have been at their apex in the opening moments of their matches when they have dominated in possession and have created the most of their chances. The athletically taxing nature [especially for the fullbacks] of Luis Enrique’s system demands a period where the team can catch its breath again. These moments, despite being those when Roma is least dangerous, have also coincided with moments when they’re achieved 10-15% more possession than their opponents.
Detractors will say it is sterile possession but it is one that is necessary for the team in terms of their physical levels and stamina, a well as a way to defend a lead by keeping the ball. Indeed just like a boxer who has to learn to condition his body and stamina levels for 3-minute rounds, Roma is also learning to develop a new rhythm for going about their matches. There have definitely been growing pains however, where the results haven’t necessarily followed for Roma, but the early fruits of Luis Enrique’s philosophy are appearing and that should be reason enough to be positive for the future.
Follow Ogo Sylla on Twitter: @RossonerOgo_3
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Top work Ogo – using a midfielder to become the third centre back is a standard italian tactic (see ‘Soccer Modern Tactics’ by Alessandro Zauli) but you have done a great job of pointing it out to fans. The beauty with De Rossi is that he has the lungs to play this role and include the attacking part of his game to the Roma strategy. I do think his mosr effective role is in his defensive duties, to win back possession and make the transition from defence to attack as quick as possible. Great analysis, keep up the good work!
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. You’re def. correct to point out the intrinsically ITA nature of De Rossi’s role though.