Roma have had yet another disappointing season. They launched the 2012/2013 campaign full of hope and ambition under the wing of 65-year-old tactician Zdenek Zeman, who was making his second attempt at guiding the Giallorossi to the scudetto after more than a decade away from the club.
With Roma’s most recent signings under American ownership starting to settle in better in their second year with the club, and the arrival of new defensive talent to patch up the holes from last season, it seemed that the club was finally going to make a push for the title this season.
Instead, Roma concluded the campaign four points out of European qualification, behind Udinese, and risk losing all of what they built when the enormously talented squad they’ve assembled begins to become disgruntled and starts to tire of waiting to play in the European spotlight.
Next season, if Roma are to be successful, they will no doubt need to undergo more changes.
1. Coaching and Tactics
Luis Enrique’s Barcelona “tiki-taka” program of last season proved to be too complicated and not “Italian” enough for the Roman faithful to endure. The Spanish model of play requires years of training throughout the youth academies and a kind of patience that the capital city has long since run out of.
Zdenek Zeman’s completely opposite approach of a highly physical team that attacks relentlessly exposed a vulnerable defence that lost too many games they should have won. Although Zeman was able to defeat great teams, he also lost to poor squads and his inconsistent results handed him an early exit once the supporters and management grew tired of waiting.
Current caretaker boss, Aurelio Andreazzoli, is a seasoned professional who has worked with Roma in the past. His approach is somewhere in between the two extremes of aggressive Zeman and possessive Enrique. His downfall is that his style lacks any particular flare or character and seems bland compared to his predecessors. What is worse is that he clearly has enduring relationships with the old guard from his previous tenure with the club and favours aging players like Rodrigo Taddei and Simone Perrotta, who should probably be on the chopping block by now.
If Andreazzoli were to remain in charge for the coming season, he would be able to train his squad from day one, and perhaps bring in some new recruits that fit his style more appropriately than some of the players on his current roster do. He would undoubtedly do better going forward, but is his tame method of play enough to challenge for the scudetto against emerging powerhouses like Juventus and Milan?
Roma need to bring in a tactician who has won in the past and who is motivated enough to win again. The last time they did this, Fabio Capello brought the city its third title.
2. Reinforcements – Concede Fewer Goals
Totti – Roma
Every season the answer always seems to lie primarily in signing new players. Two seasons ago, Roma signed too much new talent all at once in a complete overhaul when the new American bosses took over. The team lacked chemistry and by the time they began to gel, the season was already lost.
At the beginning of this season, Roma attempted to fix the defence by signing young South American players that had never played in Italy before. This paid off somewhat in their discovery of the excellent Marquinhos. The addition of Italian International, Federico Balzaretti, was somewhat positive as well. But the changes in tactics every few months have left the players lost and confused at times and exposed the general lack of experience and ability to adapt in the back.
Next season, Roma would do well to form a solid centre-back duo to replace what was once there in Juan and Phillippe Mexes. Fewer goals conceded almost always means more wins. Champions Juventus conceded 24 this season, while 6th-place Roma conceded 56, for example.
3. Reduce Dependency on Francesco Totti
This past season, Francesco Totti was instrumental. His symbolic presence on the field will be almost impossible to replace and his enduring talent is unrivalled by his peers. To become serious title contenders, the club should begin to cultivate a credible replacement for Totti. His aging and fragile body is more prone to injury and the reality is that he will probably be missing more and more games this coming season. Roma need to have a reliable player that can play Totti’s position and learn from him so that when he is unfit to play or when he finally does retire, Roma will not suffer too much. At the moment, the young talent Miralem Pjanic seems well-poised to be this player, however Roma’s failure to qualify for European competition could be the x-factor in Roma’s inability to hold on to such a player.
4. Win the Coppa Italia and Qualify for Europe
In order to mount a serious title challenge next year, Roma must win the Coppa Italia against city rivals Lazio on May 26th. This will guarantee Roma’s participation in next year’s UEFA Europa league, which is a modest European tournament that will ensure international exposure for the eager young talents on the squad who want to make a name for themselves. It is not quite the UEFA Champion’s league, but European play will help convince some of the unsettled players to stick around for another season while it provides more bargaining chips for importing great players to help improve the squad.
More than just guaranteeing European play, a win against Lazio in a tournament final will do much for the morale of the squad and its supporters. A derby victory is enough to lift spirits on any given match day, but having it be for a trophy will lighten spirits
Andreazzoli currently leads Roma
for months to come and re-launch the feelings of optimism that are necessary for a team to be successful.
5. Find and maintain consistency
Ever since Luciano Spalletti left the club, Roma have struggled to find continuity and consistency. They have gone through no less than five coaches in the last four seasons and not seen qualification for the UEFA Champion’s League in just as long. To be successful, the organization must find a manager they can trust for more than one season. One season is not long enough to build a team worthy of consistent title contention. There are many young talents on the squad that will need time to mature and come together cohesively as a strong team. Changing coaches and tactics every few months because wins are not coming will not contribute to the kind of consistency necessary to win enough matches to compete for the title.
The most important ingredient for Roma to become title contenders within the next two seasons is patience and faith – something the supporters have not shown much of in the last little while.
Follow Riccardo Lo Monaco on Twitter: @kicknut
