ROME Looking to tomorrow is mandatory for those who do not want to make today useless. It’s true, there are still two games left but Roma are no longer masters of their destiny. For a place in the Champions League, they only have to win against Genoa and Empoli, keep Lazio behind in the standings and then hope for Atalanta to triumph in Dublin (but not go beyond fifth place in the league). Yes, that Atalanta taken as a model to (in)follow by De Rossi who had done the same with Leverkusen no later than a couple of weeks ago. It doesn’t seem like a coincidence that these are the two teams that have exposed the fragilities of the Roma that Daniele knows well. And not since Sunday. Three times the other evening at the Gewiss Stadium he let the term “revolutionize” slip out and then tried to tone it down when he was prodded to elaborate on it. The problem is understanding whether he will be supported.
ROUTE CHANGE
The change of direction desired by the owners is still nebulous. Sports director Ghisolfi will arrive from Nice and in some ways represents a leap into the dark. Not for the qualities or abilities of the 40-year-old French manager which will certainly be excellent if Roma monitored him and then chose him. But for the inevitable toll that he will have to pay with a reality that he does not know and for the delay already accumulated. We are in mid-May: Italian champions Inter have already purchased Taremi and Zielinski. In Trigoria, however, Dybala’s fate is still unknown. Tiago Pinto, his predecessor, got away with flops and incorrect assessments, taking refuge under the protective wing of Mourinho who helped him, moving personally, for several purchases (Dybala, Abraham, Matic, Lukaku). DDR, at least in the early days, will have to do the same, aware however that the period of catchy names is over. The new Roma – even more so if they don’t go to the Champions League – wants to reduce costs, respect the FPF requirements and rejuvenate the squad. For this reason the coach needs – even more than before – carte blanche. De Rossi must be followed, supported, not only with words and pats on the back but with deeds. He has already shown that he has ideas, the media strength to not make people regret Mou but he asks for specific players. We leave the definition to him: «In today’s football and in my idea, the leg and the duel cannot be missing».
PROGRAMMING AND CLARITY
From this perspective, the actions of CEO Souloukou will be decisive. It’s up to her to help the technician, facilitate him, streamline some internal dynamics that sometimes appear – at least to the outside eye – quite cumbersome and plan. Here is the magic word that has been sorely missed in these countries: programming. Which must be combined with another: clarity. So stop re-launching bets that carry with them medical records longer than a tome of War and Peace. Stop last-minute leasing that brings 5,000 people to Ciampino but which in recent years have hidden obvious limitations in setting up a team that can cross the finishing line of the Champions League. If three coaches so different from each other (Fonseca, Mou and DDR, even if for 5 months) do not go beyond sixth place, it means that the squad cannot do more than this. Daniele is an intelligent man: he will never ask for millionaire purchases like Sancho or Saka but if he were to indicate, without Champions League money, a winger like Zhegrova (Lille), Soulé or a safe used player like Kostic, he will have to be listened to, without distorting too much the nose. He depends on the Rome that will come.
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1970-01-01 00:00:00
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