Nobody expected the resurgence shown by Roma last season under new coach Rudi Garcia. After having suffered somewhat with a succession of coaches since losing Luciano Spalletti, the likes of Claudio Ranieri, Luis Enrique and Zdenek Zeman had all failed to awaken the sleeping giant from the Capital.
But enter ex-Lille coach Garcia and the Giallorossi became a whole different beast. They started the season with 10 victories on the bounce, playing entertaining football and sending a message out to all of Serie A that the league was no longer going to be all about Juventus.
Though they somewhat spluttered at certain points throughout the campaign and eventually surrendered their lead at the top of Serie A, the club easily finished second to the Turin giants and laid down the foundations for a new dynasty in Italian football.
This season, with Champions League football and a clutch of new signings, Roma will once again be in the global spotlight with the opportunity to show that Italian football still has something new and fresh to offer.
Transfers
The lure of the Champions League as well as their impressive performance last year has shaped Garcia’s transfer strategy. Signings have come in the form of expensive promising youngsters as well as well-travelled individuals, to bolster a squad that will have aspirations of success both home and abroad.
Ex-Chelsea fullback Ashley Cole and former Barcelona midfielder Seydou Keita may have increased the average age at the club but they bring a level of experience that has no price. Cagliari and Italy centre back Davide Astori has arrived and much is also expected of young Turkish player Salih Ucan, who will add options to the centre of the park.
Their biggest deal however, is bringing in Juan Iturbe from under the nose of rivals Juventus. The tricky attacker had an excellent year for Hellas Verona and was highly coveted by much of Serie A. Fortunately for Garcia, 21-year-old Argentine chose to wear the red and yellow and will be hoping he has made the right decision by rejecting a move to Turin in favour of the Giallorossi.
Other than a handful of youth players leaving on loan, Roma have yet to lose one of their high profile players though it is possible that Mehdi Benatia may still leave before the transfer window slams shut.
Given the huge interest from the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United but more likely Bayern Munich, the Roman club may struggle to hang on to one of last season’s stand out players.
The coach – Rudi Garcia
Frenchman Garcia was a somewhat surprise choice being announced the new Roma coach at the start of the last campaign. However, his success in France with Lille, who he had lead to a league and cup double, showed that the man has the pedigree to win. His Lille side was often dubbed the ‘Barca of the North’ as his style mirrored that of the Catalan giants, with an emphasis on scoring lots of goals and playing a fluid style of football.
Any doubts Roma fans may have had would have been soon extinguished as their side steam rolled their way to ten victories from ten games, not only scoring goals, not only playing attacking football but also bringing a degree of solidity and organisation to the defence that Roma had failed to achieve in previous years.
He revived a fallen Gervinho who had stumbled in then out of Arsenal, but who would go on to be one of the stars of the season.
Veteran Francesco Totti revelled in Garcia’s 4-3-3 which could switch to a 4-3-1-2 at a moments notice and he immediately integrated new faces such as Kevin Strootman, Radja Nainggolan and the aforementioned Benatia as if they had been at the club for years.
But crucially, Garcia banished the memories of their Coppa Italia defeat to rivals Lazio just a few months previous, as his side took the title of being the best club in Rome.
Season Expectations
Fans will undoubtedly be expecting their side to capture the biggest prize in Italy. After finishing second last time out and overtaking both Milan clubs and Napoli as the next best thing after Juventus, this season will be all about winning the Scudetto.
There will also be high hopes for their Champions League campaign, especially as their transfer strategy has been based around being very competitive in the competition.
How far the Giallorossi can go in amongst the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Paris St. Germain and Manchester City is still very much a guessing game, but supporters will be intensely looking forward to finding out.
Prediction
Although it is always easier to envisage “expected and logical progression” when it comes to football, executing and working towards those trajectories is always the trickier situation. However, after having finished second last season and Garcia in the second year of his tenure with a consolidated group with more players, there is only one more step up for Roma to realistically aim for.
Where will they finish? 1st place [Scudetto winners]
