Roma head into their second game of the domestic season on the back of a very disappointing defeat and performance against Cagliari last Sunday.
The promise of a bright new future for the Giallorossi has yet to be put into practice but this weekends fixture against Internazionale could provide Luis Enrique will the vital boost he needs.
However, if Enrique feels under pressure then he will find good company in his opposite number at Inter, Gian Piero Gasperini, as his side have made an equally poor start to the season. Three defeats in the first three competitive game of the season is not what Nerrazzurri tifosi were expecting.
Defeat at home in the Champions League against Trabzonspor was preceeded by defeats against Palermo in the first Serie A game of the season and also a defeat by local rivals AC Milan in the Super Cup mean that the pressure is firmly on new coach Gasperini.
Inter still have a very good team but they are starting to show signs of age, particularly with the ever-reliable Javier Zanetti and also top man Maicon seems to have begun the season in reverse.
The loss of Samuel Eto’o was tempered somewhat by the arrival of Urguayan hotshot Diego Forlan but the Serie A newcomer may take time to adjust to his new surrounding despite getting a goal on his Serie A debut against Palermo.
Zanetti has come out in the press this week to defend his under-fire boss , advising reporters that Gasperini has the backing of the whole squad.
Heartning words for Gasperini from his captain, however, it won’t stop the vultures from circling over the Guiseppe Meazza should Inter fail to beat Roma on Sunday evening. Rumours are abound in Milan that Inter owner Massimo Moratti has issued his coach with a ultimatum that he must get three points against Roma to avoid the sack.
It seems unlikely that the panic button would be pressed so soon into the start of the season but the far from shy & retiring owner and president is nothing if not unpredictable.
Serbian midfielder Dejan Stankovic could be a doubt for the game as he has a muscle strain but Dutch playmaker Wesley Sneijder is poised to make his return from a ankle injury. A 4-4-2 formation seems like the most likely tactic that Gasperini will employ as he sets about recording his first competitive victory as Inter boss.
Delio Rossi has dismissed rumours linking him with the club should they get rid of Gasperini but he is clearly pleased to be mentioned as a possible successor as he recently praised Moratti’s influence at the San Siro, so would be unlikely to turn the offer should it come his way.
If laughs and smiles and general merriment are in short supply in the Nerrazzurri half of Milan then they are also thin on the ground in the Giallorossi half of the Eternal City.
As for our glorious team, Roma find themselves in a similar position to their opponents having suffered an equally arduous start to the season. European competition has gone for another year and they suffered a depressing defeat in the first domestic game of the season, a 2-1 reverse at home to Cagliari.
New owner Thomas Di Benedetto (when is it ok to stop calling him the new owner and just call him the owner?) has invested heavily by bringing in a whole team’s worth of players and has chosen his ‘Che’ Guevara in Spaniard, and former Barca-B coach, Luis Enrique as the man to spearhead the Roma revolution.
There was no busier team in the summer transfer market than Roma and Enrique, aided by sporting director Walter Sabatini, set about securing the players that he believes will turn Roma from Scudetto also-rans into Barca-Roma. The Italian equivalent of the new coach’s former employers.
To help Enrqiue achieve this he bought potential world-beater, but so far under achiever, Bojan Krkic with him and has included some top names such as Fernando Gago, Gabriel Heinze, Simon Kjaer, Jose Angel and Ajax keeper Maarten Stekelenburg to play alongside the established stars like Francesco Totti, Daniele De Rossi & Simone Perrotta.
Youth also featured in the summer dealings and big things are expected in the future for players like Erik Lamela, a teenage sensation in his native Argentina.
All of this activity means that Roma have a lot of work to do to get the players to gel as a team. Not for them the odd tinkering of the squad. Make no bones about it, this is a major overhaul.
Arrivederci to Phillipe Mexes, Mirko Vucinic, Jeremy Menez, John Arne Riise & Doni amongst others. Despite varying degrees of performance from the above mentioned these are tough boots to fill for the new boys.
You can expect changes from the side that performed so poorly against Cagliarion Sunday and there is no doubting the importance of this fixture. A good result will give Enrique the breathing time he needs to get his players to play the way he wants them to and they way that the Roma tifosi and board are now expecting.
Francesco Totti invited his team-mates out for a slap-up meal during the week in an attempt to build team spirit and bonding before the game.
A possible triumvirate of attackers with Francesco Totti, Fabio Borini and Marco Borriello has been mentioned as a possibility as the new coach has perhaps come to the conclusion that attack is the best form of defence.
Darren’s Completely Biased Prediction: Inter 1-2 Roma
Check out Darren’s Roma Blog as well.
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