The curse of the Massimino struck again for Roma as they lost 4-1 to Catania on a ground where they have not won since 1970. The Giallorossi were aptly clad in their away strip for the game as they not only went onto the pitch wearing an all white kit but went on waving the white flag as well.
Only Francesco Totti and Alessandro Florenzi can come out of the game with any sort of credit, and Rudi Garcia admitted after the game that mistakes had been made by both himself and the players in their approach to the game.
The biggest error was from Garcia himself, when after weeks of insisting that the title race was still on he admitted on Saturday that in fact it was now over. “Our result won’t change anything”, he said. “The league is over, congratulations to Juventus”.
Garcia did say that Roma would still be going to Catania to win the game, and that “a professional has to keep giving his best out of respect for the league and the opposition”. But there was no respect for either the league or the opposition on Saturday, and the most concerning thing about the defeat was the attitude of both the coach and the team.
Some say it was because the team had given up on the title, the more cynical suggest the result was decided before kick off. “Catania’s victory doesn’t surprise me”, Bologna coach Davide Ballardini said. “After all, we are in Italy”. It isn’t the first time Roma have been accused of helping Catania. in 2008, Empoli president Fabrizio Corsi accused the Giallorossi of giving up after they heard Inter had taken the lead against Parma, which put an end to their title challenge. Catania equalised and the point kept them up at Empoli’s expense.
Looking at the embarrassing defending throughout, summed up by Maicon standing and watching Pablo Barrientos as he scored Catania’s fourth instead of closing him down, it’s easy to see where Ballardini is coming from. It was patently obvious from the first few minutes that Roma were neither playing with their usual intensity nor adopting their alternative strategy of sitting back and waiting to hit the opposition on the counter.
Instead it was a languid, insipid approach that lacked the team’s usual spirit and desire to win that Garcia has previously done so well to instil in the squad this season. The coach said afterwards that this was down to having nothing to play for, but on the back of his promise before the game to ensure a competitive performance despite giving up in the title race this rings hollow.
Of course the league essentially was over and has been for some weeks, if not quite mathematically, but regardless there are no excuses not to take the game seriously and respect both the opposition and the supporters who made the trip south. There is nothing good whatsoever to say about Roma’s performance, other than that it can only be seen as a one-off.
As dire as the performance was though, it is ultimately just a blemish on what has otherwise been an exceptional season. What is essential is that there isn’t a repeat on Sunday against Juventus. Garcia wants the game to be a “celebration of football” and despite the lack of a performance in Sicily last weekend there is still plenty for the supporters to celebrate in the final home game of the season.
