THE WOLF'S DEN - Tana dei Lupi II

[maro]

[maro]

Who played as part of the front three last night? Florenzi or Pjanic? forzaroma's diretta suggested they were expecting Pjanic to line up up top, but Garcia's comments after the match make it sound like he played as part of the midfield three and the replacements (DDR for Pjanic, Marquinho for Florenzi) make that seem likely. From what little I've seen, Strootman looks mobile, good both sides of the ball (better than both DDR and Pjanic in that regard, it seems) and so a good interno/mezz'ala.

Florenzi's pretty quick; I wonder if Viviani's woes are because he's just, finally, not quite quick enough, a weakness of which modern football seems particularly unforgiving. Nice to see midfield runners getting beyond the striker, something Garcia also particularly emphasised in his post-match comments. Zeman would approve. I do too.

[Lupa]

Florenzi played wide on the right and won 'most valuable player' honours at the game, for what it's worth.
http://www.mlssoccer.com/all-star/2013/ ... -honors-af

It was nice to see Roma back in action, even if it's a meaningless game. This diagram shows the first half passes on Roma.



I thought Strootman made some intelligent runs, which could be useful on a team with Totti. Not the deftest touch, but could be interesting.

[maro]

Grazie, Lupa. That looked like his starting position on his goal too. I wonder if he'll get many opportunities through the middle this season. I hope so; Garcia's set-up looks as though it should suit him in any of the front five positions, really.

[DCGweez]

Agreed Lupa, thought Lurch was quite good in the second half. As you said, his touch wasn't very good but everything else was.

He seems to me like a better version of Bradley.

[AS Collie]

[RomaShield27]

Did we win?

[maro]

Technically he's a different class from Bradley, no? Even if he had some poor touches last night he's a properly technical midfielder from all reports - much better in that regard than De Rossi, let alone Bradley. Nice these comments from Renga on Florenzi: ROBERTO RENGA (RadioRadio) - “La Roma è forte? Non ho elementi concreti per dirli, devo basarmi sulla teoria e la teoria mi dice: De Sanctis non lo so, Maicon non lo so… Se rimangono Osvaldo e Borriello la squadra non è più scarsa dell’anno scorso. A centrocampo è forte e il più forte di tutti è Florenzi. Se rimane così è più forte ma dove può arrivare non lo so." These from Gentile seem to me likely to be on the money: RICCARDO GENTILE (ReteSport) - “Strootman è veramente un grandissimo acquisto per la Roma. Ma questo si sapeva da prima. Favorirà anche il valoro di De Rossi: può essere sicuramente un vantaggio”.

[RomaShield27]

Did we win?

[AS Collie]

[DCGweez]

From what i've seen so far (which is admittedly very little) he's behind everyone but Bradley technically.

His movement is exceptional though.

Still, i'm not sure there are too many players who i'm more proud that wear the shirt than Bradley. He's about the most consistent player we have (Florenzi is up there as well) and even last night he started the movement that led to the 3rd goal. He can certainly be counted on to turn the ball over though.

[RomaShield27]

[AS Collie]

[RomaShield27]

Huh? I didn't photoshop that pic, Mr Editor, that was the post-game celebrations.

[RomaShield27]

I campioni del 2011? Si è salvato solo Florenzi


LEGGO (F. BALZANI) - Pigliacelli, Sabelli, Antei, Mladen, Frascatore, Viviani, Florenzi, Dieme, Ciciretti, Caprari e Montini. Ricordate? È la formazione che appena due anni fa scese in campo contro il Varese e divenne Campione d'Italia Primavera, alimentando le speranze e il progetto giovani sbandierato dalla Roma americana. Ebbene, di questi 11 solo uno farà parte della Roma della prossima stagione: Florenzi, peraltro ricomprato dal Crotone un anno fa per 1,5 milioni.

Spariti gli altri? Il bomber di quella serata, Montini, è finito al Cittadella dopo due annate storte al Benevento (3 gol in 2 anni e tanti infortuni) mentre Pigliacelli ha squagliato la panchina del Sassuolo (solo 1 presenza) prima di finire a fare il terzo portiere al Pescara. Forse il caso più eclatante riguarda Viviani che molti avevano (precocemente) paragonato a De Rossi. Il centrocampista stimato da Luis Enrique è finito per il secondo anno di fila in B: dal Padova (solo 9 presenze) al Pescara. Poi Sabelli (Bari), Antei (Sassuolo), Mladen (Olhanense), Frascatore (Pescara), Dieme (Red Star 93, serie C francese), il fantasista Ciciretti (L’Aquila) e Caprari a un passo dal Brescia.

La Roma non ha creduto in loro. Un destino comune anche alla Primavera 2012 che vinse la coppa Italia con la Juve: le metà di Nico Lopez e Verre sono dell’Udinese e Nego è ai margini dopo una breve esperienza a Liegi. Tallo? Tornerà al Bari.

[DavidP]

some thoughts after watching the mls game:

-our kits looked like they were produced in georgia. 30 minutes in even de sanctis' maglia was completely soaked. not the most pleasant thing in the summer heat.

-i wasn't convinced with how garcia used pjanic. to play that role, i think he needs to have someone playing beside him rather than in front of him. the problem wasn't his speed or his giving up of possession in dangerous areas as much as his defensive movements and the timing of his tackles. i saw him go in for 4 important tackles - 3 were fouls, 1 ended up being a yellow card and the fourth was a missed lunge that started a 3v3 counter-attack. it's pretty clear that daniele is the one who should be sitting in front of the defense. right now he seems a bit confused, a little slower, both by mind and foot, but so far all the signs say that rudi is the man to get him back to where he belongs.

-benatia, while not as smooth as marcos and a little more physical, seems like a very respectable replacement for him. strootman is certainly more tachtsidis than nainggolan (rather than the other way around, as most reports at first seemed to indicate) and i'm also looking forward to a de rossi / strootman / pjanic midfield.

-torosidis, whether he's a step-up from piris or nae, never looked to me like the starting right-back of a champions league team, and especially so in this game. his technical ability is a couple of notches below where it should be.

-to echo what maro said earlier, it was nice seeing us play a style which wasn't quite hot potato and not quite watch-the-paint-dry. it was a mix of the finer elements of LE and Zeman football. i am certainly looking forward to seeing more of the same as the season unfolds.

[p_maldini_3]

Gervinho arrives for Roma
By Football Italia staff

Gervinho is already in Italy for his medical to complete his €8m transfer from Arsenal to Roma. "I'm very happy, it was my dream."

The deal has been practically done for several days now and the final details were whittled down yesterday, as confirmed by Arsene Wenger.

Gervinho flew out to Rome’s Fiumicino Airport and landed this morning with photographs confirming his arrival. "I'm very happy, it was my dream," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

The Ivory Coast international is therefore heading to the Policlinico Gemelli for several hours of medical tests.

It’s believed Roma have agreed to pay Arsenal €8m (£6.9m) plus performance-related bonuses.

Gervinho reunites with Coach Rudi Garcia, who already worked with him at Lille. The squad is currently in Boston on a US tour, so he’ll fly out to meet them over the next couple of days.

[maro]

Interesting, Davit - grazie. In the friendly against the Greeks there was a Pjanic moment which I imagine was quite of a piece with what you're describing - when he was shouldered off trying to make a covering lunge. DDR needs to play the sitting role, I'd say - or Bradley - but one of the pundits made exactly that comment a couple of weeks ago: the one thing Strootman can't do is do the defensive work of the sitting midfielder. And Pjanic even less. Alongside DDR both are likely to thrive and Strootman seems to have a different degree of mobility in front of the ball from Tachtsidis which augurs very well, I'd say.

Marquinhos is seriously quick for a CB which I think is both a massive strength but also something which might paper over other weaknesses. In a team which isn't properly defensively organised that strength will be exaggereated. Without Zeman and the way he exposed the back two I suspect he wouldn't have shone quite so conspicuously.

Torosidis is still a step, technically, up on Piris, no? Fullbacks are tricky commodities within a team's overall system. So long as he keeps running he'll contribute but, as I've said before, I think it's not a bad wager that two of Balzaretti, Dodo, and Maicon are going to have very solid seasons. The odds have to be in our favour there, no?

[DavidP]

yes, i also suspect strootman can't do the defensive work of the sitting midfielder. his movement and reading of the game is world class. he's technically pretty good, too, and seems to be a great communicator. he has everything but pace, it seems, but that alone is enough. the bright side, though, is that daniele becomes essential in this setup, and lord knows he needs that right now.

completely agree on marquinhos. i made a similar point over on the offside a couple of weeks ago: that zeman's system benefited marcos more than it may seem. constantly having counter-attacks to defend helped emphasize his speed and strength in 1v1 situations while rarely bringing attention to his (relative) weakness in the air or positioning in tight spaces. i suspect that, in a ranieri setup, the difference in quality between him and castan would not have appeared to nearly as stark. teams were willing to pay 4 or 5 times more for marcos.

yes, i suspect torosidis is a small step-up technically over piris, but i would also say that rosi is better than him in that regard. and i don't know if that's a good wager; i have my doubts over maicon and dodo's chances of significant improvement before season's end are 50/50. his problem is not unsolvable but it will take some time along with exactly the right environment. if i had to say one full-back who was going to have a solid season i would say balzaretti. the rest he has had this summer is already looking like a game changer for him.

[DCGweez]

Marquinhos won a lot of balls against bigger defenders. I didn't see anything wrong with his aerial skills.

He's not tall but he attacked the ball at it's highest point and had above average strength for his build (which will only build as he grows older). His positioning was fine and is again something that can grow experience.

I believe Maro's point was that his spacial awareness was tops while his tactical awareness lagged behind, I agree but again he was 18. Tactical acumen is something that can and often does improve.