Miralem Pjanic didn’t steal too many headlines when he joined AS Roma in the summer from Olympique Lyonnais, but he has started life in the Italian capital superbly but there are still many questions left to be answered.
Pjanic has had many admirers ever since his breakthrough season in 2007-08 at his first professional club Metz. Having attracted the interest of some of the best clubs in the world, he moved to Lyon in the summer of 2008.
He was brought in to replace the Brazilian midfielder Juninho at Lyon and quickly started to make an impact most notably in the Champions league scoring key goals against the likes of Real Madrid.
However with the emergence of Yoann Gourcuff at the Stade Gerland, Pjanic saw himself benched for much of last season.
His move to the Giallorossi for £11 million is a fresh start for the Bosnia and Herzegovina star and he has made the most of it. The stats back this up, he has made nine appearances in the league so far with six assists and one goal.
His impact has been vital in Roma’s recent revival which sees them fifth in the league table, however his best position has yet to be confirmed.
He started the season as a central midfielder, as a clear replacement for David Pizarro in Luis Enrique’s team, but the Cesena game was a turning for both Roma and Pjanic.
After a dull first half, Pjanic saw himself pushed forward into an attacking midfielder role in behind two strikers. It paid off for Enrique’s men as Pjanic’s great pass forward set up Bojan to score Roma’s first goal in the 2-0 win at the Dino Manuzzi.
Since that game Pjanic has seen his role in the team change. He has had much more freedom and therefore has been able to have more of a positive effect in the final third. There is doubt that this will last though, with the imminent return of Francesco Totti will Pjanic’s role change once more?
It is not as certain as in seasons gone by that Totti will be an automatic starter in the Roma team but should il Capitano regain his trademark number ten spot Pjanic may be moved back to his original box to box position
With Daniele De Rossi playing in his new defensive role there is a spot for Pjanic to play alongside Fernando Gago in the heart of the midfield but will he be as effective?
Having been labelled as the new Zinedine Zidane while playing in France, Pjanic is better suited to playing in a role where his fine dribbling and creative skills can be fully exploited. All viewers of Roma this season have seen that Pjanic produces in the final third that killer ball that is needed to unlock Serie A defences, this will be lost if he falls back to a more defensive position.
There is an option to play both Pjanic and Totti behind one striker which would on current form have to be Pablo Osvaldo, but this is unlikely to happen as Enrique seems to be content with playing two forwards.
Whatever the case Pjanic has to start for Roma. He has been their best player alongside Osvaldo and Jose Angel this season. The promise he showed in his younger days is finally bearing fruit. However there is another question that will need to be answered is what happens when he cannot play?
There does not seem to be another player in the Roma squad who gives the team the passing and creative flair of the Bosian and his work off the ball, that unfortunately Totti no longer gives the team.
Another player who could fill Pjanic’s position would be Pizzaro. The best player of the Luciano Spalletti era, Pizzaro has found it hard going for the last two years at Roma and although he is no spring chicken what cannot be questioned is his ability to dictate a football game with his exceptional passing range. There remains doubt over his future in Rome and with the lack of game time under Enrique he may not be the long term filler for Pjanic.
Pjanic has said in the media this week that Roma’s aim for the season is to qualify for the Champions League and for this to happen he will have to keep up the form that has seen he become the key player in the Roma team.
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