In 41AD the Roman Empire proclaimed a new Emperor. His name was Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, but he was known simply as Claudius.
He was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside of Italy. Due to various ailments and afflictions he was not considered to be a threat by his enemies.
His predecessor, the infamous Caligula, was assassinated, and being the sole remaining adult male of his family he was appointed Emperor by the Praetorian Guard.
Much was made of Claudius’ lack of experience and this was used as a stick with which to beat him. However, over time, he proved to be an ambitious builder and fierce conqueror.
Throughout his reign he was constantly forced to shore up his position, resulting in the deaths of many senators and other political enemies. His reputation over the years has been largely favourable, especially considering who came after him.
After his death in 54AD Claudius was replaced by the most notorious Emperor in Roman history… Nero.
What lessons then, other than historical ones, can we learn from the rise and fall of Claudius and how does it apply to the situation that Luis Enrique currently finds himself in at Roma.
There are many modern day similarities between Claudius and Enrique, both were born outside of the country, both in-experienced and both waging battles with enemies various both internal and external.
Enrique arrived at Roma in the summer full of optimism and enthusiasm that belied, or maybe because of, his lack of coaching experience.
He had coached the Barcelona B side for three years during which they return to the second division in his second season after an 11 year absence. He did well during his time there and guided them to the promotion playoff places, although they could never be promoted due to the Barcelona first team already being in La Liga. His future as a coach looked bright and he seemed to be one of the former players that could make it as a coach.
In that respect perhaps, joining Roma, a club in transition off the field as well as on it, at such an early stage of his career could be classed as a mistake. A case of too much, too young? As a player Enrique was renowned for his versatility, temperament and stamina as well as an impressive knack for getting vital goals.
He retired in 2004 at the age of 34. His only coaching role prior to Roma was Barca B so it came as a surprise that his name was linked with the vacancy at the Stadio Olimpico.
New owner, American businessman Thomas Di Benedetto, had no qualms about Enrique’s lack of management experience or even his lack of Serie A experience overall, having never played in the league.
After Barcelona’s dominance of European football in the past few years it seemed that Di Benedetto wanted the same slick passing and ball-retention style, that made Barca become the darlings of World football, to become the hallmark of the new AS Roma.
There was no chance of getting Pep Guardiola in as coach so they went with the next best thing……..the reserve team coach. It’s the same club after all.
Enter Enrique from stage right like a classic Military Triumph seen 2000 years earlier in the very same city. Dragging behind him was Bojan Krkic, the next Lionel Messi as some Spanish press would have you believe. A talented player no doubt, but one who could not force his way past the impressive Pedro to become a firm fixture in the Barca first-team.
The signings came thick and fast. If a new Empire is to built in Rome then it requires a new team. That team will consist of an Emperor (Enrique), Praetors (Ivan De La Pena & Franco Baldini), Aediles (Walter Sabatini), Quaestors (too numerous to mention) and most importantly a brand new Legion of Soldiers (Fernando Gago, Pablo Osvaldo, Miralem Pjanic, Simon Kjaer, Bojan Krkic etc).
One of the first errors that Emperor Enrique made was to somehow forget that the giallorossi side of the City already had an Emperor. His name is Francesco Totti. You may have heard of him.
Before a new order can be established it must ensure that the old order is no longer. One of the Spaniard’s first tasks, and some would say most important, was to get il Capitano on side.
No one player is bigger than the team, so the saying goes, but no one player is bigger than Francesco Totti. Revered by Romanista like no other before and a true symbol and representation of what the club is. In Di Benedetto’s homeland I believe they are called Franchise players. In Rome he is Princeps, the “first among equals”.
Placing Totti on the bench for the Europa League games was akin to an act of treason and not a good way to start. This, of course, caused anger amongst the fans and also internal frictions in the boardroom as members were forced to pick sides in true Ancient Roman style.
An indifferent pre-season lead to questions being raised as to whether Enrique was the right man for the job. Early season defeat at home to Cagliari immediately got him off on the wrong foot and it was four games in before he could celebrate his first victory, one-nil away to Parma.
One of the main problems with buying so many new players is fitting them all in. Out of all the new boys, Pablo Daniel Osvaldo and Miralem Pjanic can be said to have been the pick of the bunch. Osvaldo has previous Serie A experience and so far has netted a respectable five goals. Pjanic was something of an unknown quantity but has proved that Enrique has a keen eye for young talent and his faith in the Bosnian has been rewarded with some excellent performances.
Injuries have hampered other newcomers from making their mark early. Simon Kjaer seemed to be an able replacement for the departed Phillipe Mexes but injury has now stalled his progress. Jose Angel and Erik Lamela have played in fits and bursts but both have undoubted ability and time on their side. The focus of the Roma revolution seems to be on Youth.
2011/12 is being seen as very much a transitional season as Enrique attempts to bring his Barcelona bred style into Serie A for the first time in it’s history as he attempts to recreate something similar to the AC Milan dominated days of the late 80’s and early 90’s.
Everyone is in agreement then that results, whilst important, are not the be all and end all for this season. Building for the future is the motto and there is no doubt that by bringing the average age of the squad down by five years or so should secure a bright future for Roma.
The big question is, will Luis Enrique be around to see it.
The most important members of any football team in Italy is the supporters, or in Ancient Roman terms Plebs. A term used very differently in it’s meaning back then than today’s rather insulting term. They will decide, one way or another, if Enrique is the man to lead this revolution or whether he be cast aside and replaced with a more experienced and noble figure such as Carlo Ancelotti, for he is casting a dark shadow over the Spaniard and his claims that one day he will manage the club he served so honourably as player. This unleashes a whole new wave of antagonism towards Enrique knowing that someone of the calibre of their former captain is ready to step in.
At the end of the day, Enrique needs to realise that despite promises that he will not be judged this season………he will be. If not by the board then by the supporters.
He will not have all the time he needs to see this project through. Ninth position, as Roma currently sit, will not be acceptable. A top four or five position may well buy him some more time but anything less than that and I fear he will be searching elsewhere to advance his career.
It’s unlikely that he will get until the end of the season and may well get the Ranieri treatment should Roma not look like making a decent attempt at European football next season.
Going before their time is a trait that many Roman Emperors shared and if Enrique wants to avoid a fate similar to that of Claudius then he needs to get all of his team working together and achieving results now or the Plebs will be staging a revolution of their own.
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To use another analogy, experiments are normally conducted on lab rats, not best of breed canines. For Roma to hand over apparatus to their expensive and high tech laboratory to a ‘witch doctor’ with little in the way of previous experience or successful trials, is complete madness. Current scientific results suggests that his theories are at best inconclusive and at worst detrimental to the development of the patient.
In all seriousness, the only medicine that can cure this roman illness is Carlo Ancelotti.
Good article Mr Kemp.
Grazie Il Mister.
To my knowledge Ancelotti is holding for a return to the Premier League first. However, the only top club he is likely to coach any time soon will be Tottenham Hotspur and he’ll have to wait until the summer when Harry Redknapp is given the England job.
The way things are at the moment it’s possible that Enrique will go in January and Ancelotti will not turn down the chance to return to Roma.
I believe in giving Enrique a chance but it’s not looking good and he has no experience to fall back on. I like what the new owners are trying to do and maybe in five or six years Enrique would be a more mature coach and more confident in his management style, but at the minute he’s all over the place and doesn’t seem like a man in control.
The question is how long do you give him?
Regardless of results, if we had seen a marked improvement in performance or some kind of really effective football philosophy emerging over the last months then by all means give the man time.
But i see none of this, i still cant work out what his philosophy is and I just find the team a complete muddle tactically. Yes there have been injuries but he has still made crazy decisions when more logical alternatives have been available (Taddei and Perotta at full back when both Cassetti and Jose Angel have been available, for example).
He has had the team since the summer and i can see no meaningful improvements, for that reason i see no worth in continuing with this startegy.
It’s hard to argue with common sense and logic.
Will Di Benedetto admit he’s made a mistake in appointing a rookie boss after only six months at the helm?
Will he admit to falling at the first hurdle? What pressure is Enrique under from the board? What targets was Enrique set for the season?
He’s given Enrique carte-blanche to get pretty much whoever he wants and that’s what Enrique has done. Trouble is he doesn’t seem to have an idea in his head about a) what his best team is and b) how he wants them to play.
As you say, more from the performances than the results, it seems as if he doesn’t really know how he wants to play and is making it up as he goes along.
It’s not an easy club to manage and no coach lasts for very long. 14 coaches, including Montella’s caretaker stint, in the last 15 seasons proves that.
If Ancelotti is available then he should be snapped up as soon as possible and perhaps something can be salvaged for this season.
I don’t wish ill on Enrique but even his staunchest supporters will be having doubts.