On Saturday evening Roma and Inter ground out a goalless draw in front of a half-deserted Stadio Olimpico, and, coupled with Juventus’ win in Milan 24 hours later, the scudetto race is now all but over. Juventus are currently 11 points clear of Roma, although Rudi Garcia’s team do have a game in hand due to the postponement of the Parma match last month.
In truth the draw was a fair result, as neither Roma nor Inter did enough to win the game. Samir Handanovic was slightly busier than Morgan De Sanctis, but for the most part there was a turgidity about the Giallorossi’s play as the midfield struggled to impose themselves on the game and create opportunities for Mattia Destro.
It was only late on that Roma started to throw caution to the wind, but by that point Destro had been replaced and there were no out and out strikers on the pitch.
What ended up overshadowing the game though was the performance of the referee. Penalties could have been given at both ends by Mauro Bergonzi, who also missed not one but two punches thrown by Daniele De Rossi (on Mauro Icardi) and Juan Jesus (on Alessio Romagnoli). De Rossi was dropped from the Italy squad by Cesare Prandelli for this week’s friendly with Spain while both players have since been suspended for three games as a result of a tv review. Roma are appealing the decision.
De Rossi’s suspension comes at a critical time in the Giallorossi’s season, and is even more of an issue as Miralem Pjanic has still not been able to shake off a knee problem and Kevin Strootman looked tired against Inter. Both have been also called up for their national sides, although Roma have sent the Bosnian FA a letter detailing Pjanic’s condition and have requested that coach Safet Susic uses him sparingly in their friendly against Egypt.
Neither will be able to be rested against Napoli next up either; Radja Nainggolan will complete the starting trio, and Garcia’s only other natural centre midfielders in the squad are the inexperienced Federico Ricci or the untested Luca Mazzitelli. Rodrigo Taddei, Michel Bastos or Alessandro Florenzi could play in midfield if needed, but ideally Florenzi would start up front instead of Adem Ljajic and neither of the others are defensively good enough to replace De Rossi against such good opponents.
Fortunately there is better news in defence, as Maicon should be available to start on Sunday while Federico Balzaretti and Dodo both returned to training on Tuesday. Garcia has a tough decision to make at left back though, as while Vasilis Torosidis is a solid, reliable performer, Romagnoli has also proven to be more than ready to stake a claim for a first team place in the last three games.
After coming on as a substitute for Maicon against Sampdoria, Romagnoli started against both Bologna and Inter at left back (not his ideal position, he is a left sided centre back) and slotted into the team perfectly. Romagnoli has a naturally calm and level-headed demeanour which he has carried onto the pitch, and has been following the advice of Mehdi Benatia and Leandro Castan who he says told him “to be calm, to be strong in aerial duels and to play simply, nothing more”.
The 19-year-old has certainly done that. Inter was a difficult game for him to be thrown into, but his performance in keeping the likes of Rodrigo Palacio and right winger Jonathan at bay was one of the brighter points of the game from a Giallorossi perspective. And to think that he was on the verge of a loan move to Spezia until Nicolas Burdisso’s transfer request put the move on hold; Romagnoli is showing that he is more than capable of challenging for a first team place in Serie A.
For some time now Roma have been battling on two fronts; against Juventus for the title and against Napoli for the automatic Champions League qualification spot. Garcia will need to emulate the tactical genius of Julius Caesar if he is to win the former, but now there comes a direct match against the Partenopei in the latter.
It is also an opportunity to avenge the recent 3-0 reverse in the Coppa Italia, and a win would put Roma nine points clear of Napoli with a game in hand. Winning in the San Paolo will not be a straightforward task but coming back with all three points would make a huge difference in the final run in.
