Roma are Back: Can the Lupi Howl in Europe Once Again?

Date: 17th September 2014 at 8:30am
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Bruce GrobelaarIf you are old enough, cast your mind back to 1984 and the swaying legs of Bruce Grobbelaar.

It remains an iconic image in the history of the Champions League, the Zimbabwean goalkeeper indulging in some spaghetti leg circus antics in an attempt to distract Roma’s Francesco Graziani during a penalty shootout in the 1984 European Cup Final. His mind games worked. Graziani’s penalty cannoned off the crossbar and the Giallorossi’s one and only Champions League final appearance ended in heartbreak.

The image of Grobbelaar continues to haunt Romanisti and since that fateful night, the Capital club have failed to progress past the Champions League Quarter-finals. However after a three-year hiatus, the Lupi are back but it won’t be easy for Rudi Garcia’s men.

Drawn with Bayern Munich, Manchester City and CSKA Moscow, the Giallorossi find themselves in the company of three domestic champions and in Bayern, one of the bookmaker’s favourites to lift the trophy. Roma’s last appearance in the competition ended in an ignominious 6-2 aggregate defeat at the hands of Shakhtar Donetsk in the round of 16. Their consequent three-year exile has seen them plummet to 55th in the UEFA club rankings and this meant they were placed in pot 4 with the lowest ranked sides. Indeed, Group E is undoubtedly this year’s group of death and while it will be an uphill task to qualify, Roma fans have plenty of reasons for optimism.

First and foremost, the Lupi are a club with substantial European pedigree. Notwithstanding their appearance in the 1984 final, the Romanisti have enjoyed some fantastic memories. These include a run to the UEFA Cup final back in 1991 and a couple of Champions League quarter-final outings in the last decade or so. It was during the Champions League campaign of 2007/08 that the Romani produced what is arguably the clubs most glorious European display in recent history.

Mancini RomaIt was the round of 16 and after finishing second in their group behind Manchester United, the Giallorossi had been drawn against Real Madrid of Fabio Cannavaro, Arjen Robben, Raul, and Ruud Van Nistelrooy amongst others. Los Blancos were overwhelming favorites but Roma’s coach — it was Luciano Spalletti at the time — had made the Stadio Olimpico a fortress, employing today’s trendy False no.9 tactic.

It was Mancini who would make the difference on the night. Trailing to an early Raul strike, the Brazilian winger assisted David Pizzaro’s equalizer, and later rounded Iker Casillas to score Roma’s winner.

Despite their 2-1 victory in Rome, the tie was far from over and the Italian side remained outsiders against the then Spanish champions. However Spaletti’s men defied the odds once again. A resolute performance at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu yielded another famous 2-1 victory thanks to second-half headers from Rodrigo Taddei and Mirko Vucinic. The Giallorossi were later eliminated at the Quarter-final stage by their European nemesis Manchester United, although at the very least the 3-0 aggregate score was a substantial improvement on the 8-3 drubbing they had received at the hands of the Red Devils a year earlier.

The point is, although Roma’s recent travails have made them something of an afterthought, the club have a strong European heritage. In fact they have much more than group opponents Manchester City, and they must look to draw upon this when they embark on their latest Champions League chapter. Furthermore, it’s worth remembering that during their last Champions’ League appearance; the Lupi also met Bayern Munich in the group phase and actually beat the Bavarians 3-2 after another colossal performance at the Olimpico.

Of course kudos and past glories alone will do little to help Roma make a prosperous return to Europe’s most prodigious competition. But hope springs in the city they call eternal. Roma have a good blend of experience and youth in their squad and the summer additions of Ashley Cole and Seydou Keita add some vital Champions League nous. The veteran Malian midfielder recently reserved special praise for his new coach, Rudi Garcia, comparing him to Josep Guardiola, his old boss at Barcelona.

“I have come into a great squad and a united locker room,” Keita told Gazzetta dello Sport

“Pep [Guardiola] spoke highly of me at Barcelona because he always recognised my work for the team. [Rudi] Garcia is similar and reminds me of Pep, as he too likes to see his team play good football via possession and control.”

garcia rudiThe 34-year-old may well have identified the man who could be the most important factor in Roma’s Champions League campaign. Garcia has galvanised his players and more importantly moulded a new identity for the Giallorossi. Miralem Pjanic — one of Garcia’s star performers last term — reiterated this sentiment and admitted that the former Lille coach was a key motivation in staying at the club. Speaking to Fifa.com, the Bosnian international said:

“I got a lot of very big offers but I decided to stay at Roma, not just to win the Scudetto but also because I have an excellent relationship with Garcia and share the same vision of how to play the game.”

Roma will kick off their Champions League adventure against CSKA Moscow at the Stadio Olimpico. The Giallorossi only need to look at Juventus’s poor start in their previous campaign to heed the importance of this opener.

However, if the Lupi can make the Stadio Olimpico a fortress once again, retain belief in Garcia’s philosophy and perhaps earn a little bit of ‘in Bocca al lupo’ (colloquial Italian for good luck), the wolves of Rome may once again howl amongst Europe’s elite.

Follow Luca Hodges-Ramon on Twitter at: @LH_Ramon25

 

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