ROME At 14, his friends called him Nino because of the blond bob he wore, “they said he looked like Nino D’Angelo”. Then, growing up, there was Captain Future, a nickname that never drove him crazy from the first time he heard it: «When I get the armband no one will celebrate saying “hurray From Rossi has become Captain” given that history, the strongest player ever, Totti, will have stopped playing”. Imagine then when already in Udine they risked a comparison with the Special One with the statistics showing him having obtained the same points as Mourinho (29) but with 7 games less. Daniele dribbled the question with a smile (“There is no competition between the coach and me”) but Mou or no Mou will have to deal with it. Because the path of the his Roma is something unique and incredible that allows him to leave behind, in terms of average points, all the coaches in the history of the Giallorossi. For goodness sake, the journey has only just begun but in the meantime that 2.23 average keeps him well ahead of Spalletti (at 2, even though the current Italy coach achieved it in 211 games at the helm of the Giallorossi), Garcia (1.99), Ranieri (1.93), Di Francesco (1.89) and Capello (1.88). A ranking that sees Mourinho in 14th place, with just 1.61 in the league which contrasts with a cup won and another near miss in Europe. Cristante’s goal in Udine looked a lot like a three-point shot at the siren in basketball. Now the advantage over Atalanta is 4 points and even if Gasperini’s team were to win the injury time against Fiorentina, they would remain behind the Giallorossi. However, they must not stop. Naples is another crossroads, then there will be Bayer Leverkusen, followed by Juventus, again the Germans and finally Atalanta. Two weeks of living with your foot on the accelerator, without the possibility of being able to catch your breath. But if «Nino is not afraid of taking a penalty kick», as the poet sang in the song De Gregori, imagine if Daniele will live these 14 days in fear. «One game at a time», he continues to repeat to the group. A bit of what led him to be confirmed as head of Roma. Don’t think about tomorrow but essentially live today.
Napoli-Roma: where to watch it on TV and streaming, timetable and probable lineups
RUNNING UP
In the first 100 days celebrated in Udine (where he achieved, albeit in particular circumstances, the first comeback victory of his management) De Rossi was among the top five coaches to have scored the most goals in the first 19 matches, also counting the Europa League in the Giallorossi: 36. The first coach in this particular ranking is Boskov with 40 goals in 19 games. Followed by: Mourinho (39), then Capello and Zeman (37). Stopping at the current championship, in these 13 matches only Inter have scored more (30 to 27) and achieved more victories (11 to 9). Two of which (Udine and derby) plus one at San Siro in the Europa League, arrived with the usual magic formula linked to inactive balls. Always the same movement, blocks in the area to free the header with Cristante ready to emulate Mancini. A newfound effectiveness that makes Roma even more unpredictable and lethal. While waiting for Lukaku, DDR also dusted off the double center forward formula in Friuli, used against Lazio but without Dybala. Forms, men, ideas, goals, everything revolves around this gentleman who on January 16th seemed to have been put there only to appease popular anger at the farewell of the Portuguese shaman. One hundred days later, here he is ready to play the season in 14 days. And with a renewal, not a given, in your pocket. Not a little.
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#record #performance #Spalletti #Capello
