Could Zeman Force De Rossi Out Of Roma?

Date: 19th December 2012 at 7:10pm
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A World Cup winner, an icon among the Roma faithful and widely regarded as one of the most complete centre midfielders in the world, yet it seems ever more likely that Daniele De Rossi is going to part company with AS Roma.

This kind of saga is nothing new however, as a year ago there were rumours that De Rossi was going to leave the capital. With only six months left on his contract it was feared that the Italian international would end his love affair with the Giallorossi but in February these reports were ended when De Rossi signed a new five year contract making him one of the highest paid players in Italian football. Yet less than year into this contract and his future seems to be unknown even to the player himself.

After an impressive showing in the European Championships this summer, De Rossi looked set to play a key role in the 2012/13 season for Roma. Under the management of new boss Zdenek Zeman, De Rossi made an average start to the season. This culminated in his punch on Lazio captain Stefano Mauri, just before half time, during the recent Derby meeting in November. With his team trailing 1-2 at the time, the violent outburst from the Roma man cost his side any realistic chance of earning anything from the Derby and greatly changed his relationship with the club and more importantly the manager.

Since then De Rossi has struggled to gain a place in the starting eleven thanks to his suspension and more recently Zeman’s willingness to use others in the centre midfielder positions in the Roma team. Both Zeman and the player himself have stated that De Rossi has not adjusted well to the high tempo 4-3-3 formation in operation at the Stadio Olimpico this campaign.

Another curious event happened this weekend when Roma travelled to play Chievo at the Stadio Bentegodi on Sunday afternoon. De Rossi having started the game on the bench came on mid-way through the second half. A few minutes later captain Francesco Totti was replaced by Mattia Destro. However although being vice-captain of the squad, De Rossi did not received the armband, instead it was handed to striker Pablo Osvaldo. This snub added to the fact that De Rossi did not start the game further increased speculation that De Rossi would leave the club next month.

Only yesterday though, President of Roma James Pallotta stated that the rumours of any departure were “all speculation”. This was added to by Director general Franco Baldini that the club had no “intention of selling him.” This is the boldest statement made by the club in the whole saga and it has, at least for now, made any move less likely. One important point in this narrative is the silence from the De Rossi camp. Unlike during other episodes where it was rumoured that De Rossi was leaving the club, the man and his people have remained away from the public spot light only increasing the speculation. But all this does not answer the major question in all this, why would Roma be willing to sell De Rossi?

Baldini had said on a couple of occasion during the season that the club would be prepared to listen to offers for the player. It could be argued that this is the best time to sell De Rossi, with his undoubted ability the interest in the Roman is high and given the financial state of the two main clubs interested in his services- Paris Saint Germain and Manchester City, Roma would expected a big fee which they would not get in the years to come due to the age of the player.

Also for the first time in his Roma career, De Rossi has serious competition for his starting position. Michael Bradley, Alessandro Florenzi, Panagiotis Tachtsidis and Miralem Pjani? have all shown that they are quality players who can take this Roma team forward. This was seen in Roma’s best performance of the season at home to Fiorentina where they won 4-2 and De Rossi only made a cameo appearance off the bench in the final stages.

De Rossi however still has the support of the Roma faithful. A Roman boy who encompasses the Gladiator spirit of the city and the club, it would seem strange to see him wear any other kit than the Giallorossi. The fans still want him to stay and it would be fascinating to see their reaction should Roma’s number 16 leave.

De Rossi still has much to give to his boyhood team, yet this seems like as good a time as any for the Roma hierarchy to send him on his way. However how much of an impact would the departure of De Rossi have not only on the fans but also on the prestige of the club itself?

 

One response to “Could Zeman Force De Rossi Out Of Roma?”

  1. Neal says:

    I’ll just point out that match rules say that each club has to name a captain and a vice-captain. Since De Rossi was on the bench, Osvaldo was chosen as the senior most player after Totti, which is why De Rossi himself handed Osvaldo the armband after Totti went off.

    So there was no snub.