It is read Roma-Bayer Leverkusen but tomorrow’s match is much more. From a Romanist perspective, for example, it is the challenge to the invincibles. On the German side, however, it is the long-awaited revenge for last season’s elimination. On the pitch, it will be Lukaku against Boniface, Paredes against Mou’s forbidden dream, Xhaka, Dybala against rising star Wirtz. But Roma-Bayer Leverkusen is also, if not above all, the confrontation between De Rossi and Xabi Alonso. Champions with boots on their feet who have already met 7 times in their careers (mostly in the national team): 6 victories for the Spaniard, one for Daniele. The one at the Olimpico (sold out) is the first as coaches. And the starting point is all in this phrase from DDR: “They are unbeaten, not unbeatable.” Yes, because if it is true that Leverkusen have not lost for almost a year (27 May 2023, 0-3 against Bochum: then 46 matches without a knockout, 38 wins and 8 draws), they are in the running for the Treble (after the Bundesliga is in the final of the German Cup and in the semi-final of the Europa League) and never gives up (15 goals scored beyond the 90th minute), De Rossi’s Roma still travels briskly: three rounds of the round obtained in Europe (eliminating Feyenoord , Brighton and Milan) plus 30 points out of the 42 available in the league.
SEA PEOPLE
On the pitch they would have made a wonderful couple. Since the years pass for everyone, all that remains is to enjoy them on the bench. Apparently different – sanguine Daniele, thoughtful Xabi – they love the vertical game. For goodness sake, we both like having the ball between our feet but as soon as we can, make room for one-on-one or sudden verticalisation. Both born breathing sea air – De Rossi in Ostia, the Basque on La Concha beach in San Sebastian – they are capable of feats. DDR made us forget an icon like Mourinho, relaunching Roma, leading them to compete for a place in the Champions League plus a semi-final of the Europa League and above all giving themselves, as he hoped on the day of farewell to football, “another life in the Giallorossi”. Xabi instead he put an end to the longest dynasty in German football (that of Bayern Munich with 11 consecutive championships), the very man who as a footballer had contributed in the three-year period 2014-17 to cementing the status of the Bavarians. As coaches they have had different paths. Daniele – who sounded the charge yesterday: «We want to experience another unforgettable evening. The merits of Xabi? He took a team on the right side of the table and in two years, playing pleasant football, he led them to triumph in Germany” – after the unfortunate period at Spal and a few too many goals in the face, he had the chance of a lifetime, his Rome. It was supposed to be the fetish to be sacrificed on the altar of feelings to appease the anger of the square following the farewell of the Portuguese shaman and instead, after three months he convinced everyone, deservedly earning confirmation. The Spaniard, on the contrary, started from the youth team Real Madrid and passed through the second team of Real Sociedad. Now, after two years in Leverkusen, he is already considered one of the best coaches in the world, capable of saying no to the most prestigious European benches. Tomorrow two coaches who are not prisoners of numbers will face each other. In three months De Rossi showed everything: three, four or five defense, 4-3-3, 4-4-2, 3-5-2, 3-4-1-2, 3-4- 2-1, 4-2-3-1, El Shaarawy from left to right to contain the opponent’s left-handed flank. Xabi, on the other hand, started with the 4-2-3-1 (surprisingly proposed again in London with West Ham) and then changed to the 3-4-3 which then, in the match, became a fluid formation to say the least. Depending on the position of the ball, we could talk about the desire to go after the opponents high or give up pressing, of a sort of 3-2-2-3. What they have in common, however, is the desire to bring as many men into the area as possible. One thing is certain: between the outward and return journeys, there will be no room for boredom.
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1970-01-01 00:00:00
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