It has been quite a few days for Romanisti; after Rudi Garcia’s team picked up a 2-0 win at Chievo at the weekend before securing a late victory against Torino, James Pallotta and the management team officially unveiled the exciting plans for the club’s new stadium on Wednesday.
On top of that, Mattia Destro has continued to push his case forward for a place in the Italy World Cup squad, Rodrigo Taddei has continued his renaissance in midfield, Rafael Toloi made his debut for the club and there are rumours of contract extensions for both Rudi Garcia and Miralem Pjanic.
Starting on the pitch first, Saturday’s win against Chievo was as straightforward as the win against Torino was hard-fought. Chievo seemed intent on shooting themselves in both feet with a pump action shotgun as they made numerous defensive mistakes in the first half, and Roma punished two of them to take a 2-0 lead. Firstly Bostjan Cesar’s under-hit header back to the keeper was easily intercepted by Gervinho before a ragged defensive line played Destro onside to collect Taddei’s pass and finish past Michael Agazzi.
Roma noticeably eased off their game in the second half, conscious of a packed run of fixtures coming up. In a way, the first half against Torino ended up being similarly routine; Destro clipped a neat shot over Daniele Padelli following an incisive run from Gervinho to open the scoring, and Toro ended the half without a shot on target. After half time it was a different story when Ciro Immobile drifted off Rafael Toloi to sidefoot a brilliant volley past Morgan De Sanctis, and although Garcia threw everyone forward it seemed as though it would be another home draw. Then in injury time Alessandro Florenzi stepped up to drill a shot past Padelli – his first goal for the club under the Curva Sud.
It was no less than Garcia and Roma deserved for the way they approached the second half. The coach knew the importance of recording a win before Napoli played and made three attacking substitutions to try to change the game. Maicon was outstanding on the right hand side, always looking to dribble beyond Matteo Darmian and get to the byline, while Leandro Castan was a rock in defence. Toloi, filling in for the suspended Mehdi Benatia, could have stayed tighter to Immobile for Torino’s equaliser but largely had a decent game given that it was his first appearance in Serie A against a high quality frontline of Immobile and Alessio Cerci.
Although Taddei didn’t play against Torino, in the few games before that he has also done everything he could to persuade the club he deserves a new contract. The Brazilian has filled in creditably for Daniele De Rossi during his suspension, always giving 100% and showing glimpses of the skill of the Taddei of a few years ago. “I hope I’m not a burden if I stay”, he said after the Chievo game when asked about a new contract, “I don’t want to be a burden to the club or the group. I want to stay if everyone’s happy”.
Given that Michael Bradley has been sold and the club will presumably resume efforts to sell Marquinho in the summer after only shipping him out on loan in January, it would not be a surprise if Taddei were to be offered a short-term extension.
Another player who has been putting in some effective performances is Destro; with three goals in the last three games, he is now Roma’s joint top scorer on nine goals. Given that his season only started in December following a long injury layoff his strike rate is remarkable, currently standing at just under a goal every 90 minutes (nine goals in 861 minutes).
Cesare Prandelli should take note – Destro should be on the plane to Brazil this summer, and what’s more the striker can still get better. Whether or not this dissuades Roma from putting in a bid for a top level centre forward remains to be seen, but Alessandro Florenzi believes Roma do not need one. “I’ve heard a lot of talk about signing a centre forward”, he said after Torino. “We already have one – Mattia Destro”.
Off the pitch, president Pallotta arrived this week to unveil Roma’s new ultra-modern stadium, inspired by the Colosseum. The design seems to have met with approval from the supporters, with 95% voting that they liked the design in one poll of over 1,000 fans. There is still a long way to go before the first stone can be laid, but the ambitious and long-researched plans are exactly what both Roma and Rome needs. In total the whole complex is estimated to cost up to €1bn, and if everything goes to plan then the Giallorossi players will be taking to the pitch (via a hydraulic lift) by 2016/17.
It has been reported that while Pallotta is in the capital, the president is also hoping to secure new contracts for both Rudi Garcia and Miralem Pjanic. Garcia has stressed that his focus must remain on the team until the end of the season but is said to have given his agreement to a two-year extension, while Pjanic is also claimed to have verbally agreed to a new deal that will tie him to the club until 2018. The media claim that there will be a €35m release clause inserted into the contract, which suggests that the new contract could only be a measure for Roma to increase Pjanic’s market value if and when Paris St-Germain come calling in the summer.
Back on the pitch, there will be no let up for Roma in the coming days as they play catch-up with the fixture list. This Sunday they travel to Sassuolo, then before next weekend’s game against Cagliari there is the matter of finishing their match with Parma on Wednesday. The next week will be a test of Roma’s character and energy reserves as they look to cement second place from the challenge of Napoli.
