Under the radar Roma made their biggest signing of the summer recently, but Morgan De Sanctis will have to buck the trend if he is to succeed in Rome.
Roma and goalkeepers have not gone well together over recent years. A number of players have tried to hold down a regular spot in the Roma side, but none have impressed in doing so.
Goalkeepers like Juilo Sergio, Alexander Doni and Gianluca Curci have all fallen by the wayside, but the biggest flop in the No. 1 jersey was Maarten Stekelenburg.
The Dutch goalkeeper joined Roma in 2011 under Luis Enrique, but high profile mistakes, notably a sending off in a derby against Lazio just nine minutes into proceedings, ensured that the ex-Ajax stopper was never embraced by the Roma faithful. All this helped usher in an unsurprising move to Fulham this summer.
Last season, Stekelenburg was dropped at various points and others tried to fill the void.
However, neither Bogdan Lobont nor Mauro Goicoechea could fare any better.
Most frustrating for Roma fans, was the fact that Stekelenburg had the quality, with over 50 caps for the Dutch national team and a World Cup final under his belt.
Roma’s defensive weaknesses certainly played their part in the failures of recent Roma goalkeepers, although unforced and basic mistakes by the men in between the sticks have become all too familiar.
With the departure of Stekelenburg, Roma were in need of a new No. 1, but it came as a surprise to many that the replacement chosen was the 36-year-old De Sanctis.
De Sanctis came to prominence during his time at Udinese. After joining in 1999, he established himself with the Friuli side in the 2002/03 season and he became a regular fixture in the team. De Sanctis impressive form earned him a call up tothe Italian national side and earned him a move to Uefa Cup Winners Sevilla in 2007. He failed to hold down a starting berth, however, and was loaned out to Galatasaray.
De Sanctis returned to the Italian peninsula in 2009 when he moved to Napoli for €1.5 million. During his time at the club he was a regular in the side, not missing a single league game in his first two seasons at the club.
Often as a squad member rather the number one for Italy, De Sanctis was part of the Italy setup while at Napoli. However, towards the end of last season, De Sanctis announced his retirement from international football although the reasons for his decision are still not known.
It would seem that Roma have done well in the deal for De Sanctis. At a low price of €500,000, Roma are getting an experienced, ex-Italian international goalkeeper who was part of the team that had the second best record in terms of goals conceded in Serie A. Meanwhile, he kept 14 clean sheets for Napoli.
But that is only half of the story. De Sanctis is famed for being a loose cannon. Recently, he went on a tirade against the city of Napoli claiming, “I am bitter that there is always someone who seeks to undermine this environment. I have realised that Naples is a city that is in some ways self-destructive and unfortunately there is always someone who seeks to take away the good things in Naples.”
These strange decisions by De Sanctis are not solely restricted to off the pitch. Mental lapses were a common theme of his final season at the Sao Paolo.
Embarrassing moments for the shot-stopper became familiar and cost his side vital points in their pursuit of the Scudetto.
It is true that De Sanctis pulled off world class saves, but all too often they would be followed by a mistake.
Napoli and their new manager Rafael Benitez did not place their faith in De Sanctis, instead signing Pepe Reina from Liverpool and Rafael from Santos. Therefore, it seems strange that Roma have placed their trust in the same player Napoli have discarded; given the fact that Roma aim to be where Napoli are, in the Champions League.
De Sanctis recently stated, “I chose to join Roma, because they have been chasing me since last January.”
Roma have been keen on De Sanctis for months and plumped for the 36-year-old on a two year contract despite his career seemingly coming towards its end. With this in mind it appears that De Sanctis does not fit the mould of the new Roma under their American owners.
The club are trying to build towards the future with young dynamic players, meaning De Sanctis could well serve, at best, as a stop-gap . Roma have also signed Lukasz Skorupski to add to the other goalkeepers in the squad, but the 22-year-old Polish international is unlikely to compete for a starting berth straight away.
There is not a lack of alternatives that Roma could have selected as their No. 1. Italy have a surplus of young goalkeepers who have the talent to step up and play for the Giallorossi. The likes of Mattia Perin, Andrea Consigli and Stefano Sorrentino have all impressed in recent campaigns and could have been the answer to Roma’s goalkeeper shortcomings.
Morgan De Sanctis will have all the pressure of the Roma fans on him when the season kicks off in late August. In goal there is nowhere to hide and the ex-Italian international can ill afford to reproduce the countless mistakes that he made last season if he is to be a success in the capital.
Given the clear faults that De Sanctis has, it would not be surprising if during next summer’s transfer window Roma are yet again looking for a goalkeeper.
Follow Richard Hinman on Twitter: @RichardHinman
Great article. Sums up my worst fears… I hope we’re both wrong, I’ve forgotten what european football tastes like as a giallorossi fan. 🙂
10 games in makes this article into complete rubbish.