Rudi Garcia wanted Roma-Juventus to be a spectacle, a celebration for Roma’s supporters to show their appreciation for the side’s achievements this season and for the team to make a statement to Juventus ahead of next season. In the end, it was neither.
Roma did have chances. Gervinho should have scored after being put through on Marco Storari in the first half, and the keeper made a fine double save from Radja Nainggolan and Alessandro Florenzi towards the end. But by and large it was a niggly, forgettable game played in an odd atmosphere, marred by anti-Neapolitan chants from the Curva Sud (which were whistled by the Distinti Sud) and Giorgio Chiellini’s elbow on Miralem Pjanic.
Carmine Russo, who is one of Serie A’s better referees, saw something had occurred as he whistled for a free kick when Pjanic went to ground after being elbowed by the Juventus defender. Chiellini walked away without punishment, and a few minutes later was clattered by a clearly riled Pjanic. “I don’t like talking about other players”, Pjanic said afterwards, “but we see some things happen too often”. Whether there will be retrospective action from Gianpaolo Tosel and Cesare Prandelli on Chiellini in the same way as there was against Mattia Destro remains to be seen.
The final blow in the fourth minute of injury time was hard to stomach; Florenzi was caught napping by Stephan Lichtsteiner who found an unmarked Pablo Osvaldo at the back post, and the former Roma striker finished clinically. Florenzi should not even have been in the left back position, but Michel Bastos had picked up an injury after Garcia had made his third substitution and was barely jogging back to provide defensive support.
As a result, Roma lost their unbeaten home league record and suffered two straight defeats for the first time since February 2013, but perhaps most galling is the fact that the gap to Juventus is now 14 points. However, the defeat should not take the gloss off what has been a fantastic season for the Giallorossi – and the news that Miralem Pjanic has signed a new four-year contract should give great optimism for next season.
The Bosnian had been out of contract next summer, and protracted talks that were seemingly not leading to a positive outcome had led to rumours that he would be sold this summer to avoid losing him for nothing. Pjanic admitted that he had received offers from other clubs, but cited Garcia as a key reason for remaining with Roma. “The coach was influential in my choice”, he said. “The club knew what I wanted, I always wanted to stay. I hope everyone stays because we’ll have a great future with this squad”.
Pjanic’s contract extension shows the club are on the right path. Had the club sold one of its most prized assets and its most creative midfielder this summer, it would have been a large step in the wrong direction. Of course the new contract isn’t to say that he won’t be sold – by tying him to the club until 2018, Roma have far more leverage over an asking price.
But his comments suggest that this is not just a manoeuvre to extract a higher transfer fee from potential suitors. In a recent interview with former Lyon team-mate Sidney Govou, Pjanic explained that he had always chosen to play for clubs where he had the most potential to improve and show his abilities rather than where he would earn the most money.
Both then and on Sunday, he also stressed how much he wanted to win titles with Roma – and this should be the soundtrack for the summer. Last year it was ‘we need to get back into Europe’, this year it should be ‘I want to win titles here’. The fact that it has been possible to move from one to the other within a year is testament to the work of Garcia and his squad, and – despite the defeat to Juventus – that is what Romanisti should be celebrating.
