Roma – Building Barca in Rome
By David, BettingExpert.com | Published
Beautiful to think about, but merely a dream nonetheless. Luis Enrique as a manager reflects his mannerisms as a player – instinctive, unpredictable and stubborn. Will these qualities reconcile with a city that is demanding and wary of and defensive when it comes to the kind of changes the Spanish coach has in mind?
Manager: Luis Enrique
Tactics: 4-3-3
Players In: Pjanic, Osvaldo, Krkic, Kjaer, Lamela, Gago, Borini, Stekelenburg, Heinze, Jose Angel, Mendy
Players Out: Mexes, Vucinic, Menez, Brighi, Julio Sergio, Bertolacci, Loria
Current Probable Formation: Stekelenburg, Cicinho, Burdisso, Heinze, Jose Angel, Pizarro, De Rossi, Pjanic, Krkic, Totti, Osvaldo
The plans are big for the American owners who insist, via their new president Di Benedetto, that they have bought the club solely for reasons related to affection rather than business. They have been counseled well in making that statement clear just as they have made all the right moves in bringing on people with both knowledge and connections like Sabatini and Ballardini. These will guarantee a rosy future for the club and will be the people leading the front line and making the big decisions in this American-owned enterprise.
How about the more immediate future and tasks which do not directly fall under their control? Luis Enrique will be carrying around the big question mark on his head in these initial months. He is ambitious and he has plans. He wants to prove that Barcelona is an idea which can be recreated anywhere in the World as long as the right people are in charge, and he is all out to prove he is one of those chosen few who can build as mean a machine as present day Barcelona. First there was Guardiola. Then came Luis Enrique.
Immersing oneself in Italian football is not as easy though. It takes tactical knowledge and shrewdness. Strategy must be carefully thought out and every game prepared with the opposition in mind. Luis Enrique may have all the right intentions and new methods of working with the team, focusing on ball possession and pressing but he needs a lot of work to come to terms with something quite unfamiliar to Spanish football. Tactics and whatever concerns defensive layout.
I expect the ex-Barcelona man to find it hard to assimilate the very concept and be prepared for it, let alone setting up his team. He will have Italian staff on board as well but ultimately it is himself and his closest of collaborators who will have the final say on how to field the team and set it out on the pitch.
When it comes down to possession the Giallorossi already have a good basis which goes back to the days of Luciano Spalletti, now the Zenith St. Petersburgh manager. His Roma was one of the most beautiful to watch with their neat passing and concrete, efficient attacking. The new players he asked for come mostly from the Spanish Liga – Bojan Krkic, Osvaldo, Jose Angel and Gago. They know all about the importance and the ability to hold on to the ball during a match just like Pjanic, Lamela and Borini will be all to familiar with that concept and capable of delivering what will be asked of them on that level.
It is the ability to be concrete, like Spalletti’s Roma was, that raises eyebrows. Barcelona’s is an excellent game but the part which concerns possession is the easiest part. What makes all the difference is their capacity to be quick in those one-touch passes in the final metres that complement the sudden runs into the box from the likes of Messi, David Villa, Iniesta, Pedro, Xavi and the rest.
At Roma the players are far from that level of thunderbolt football and, considering the fact that Italian football gives you that two seconds less to think your next move due to an increased level of concentration and tactical positioning that is demanded of defenders, Luis Enrique will be coming face to face with an uphill struggle which his inexperience as a manager will not help him out anytime soon.
Of all places Rome is one of the more difficult cities to work in. The fans concern themselves a lot with the fortunes of the club and trouble will be brewing if Luis Enrique’s strong personality clashes with Totti. The captain is loved by the city and has never lost to any manager with whom it boiled down to an “its either you or me” situation.
Dangers lie at every corner in this eternal city for Luis Enrique. He has to play Totti no matter what but that may be a good thing given the high level of football which the captain can still boast and considering that many of the forwards will fall victims to inexperience when it comes to finding the net with any form of regularity. The biggest peril of all, however, is getting his backline to become as tight as possible with the likes of Jose Angel, Rosi, Heinze, Cassetti and a disoriented Juan very likely to feature often. With no solidity in defence it is very difficult to achieve anything noteworthy in Serie A.
Predicted finishing position: 8th
The question is whether Roma will be patient enough to allow Luis Enrique to work towards his dream. On paper the project is enticing but when people do not deliver the Serie A is often less generous than other major European football leagues. There is quality all over the pitch after the summer transfer market but the new manager needs to adapt his strategy to Italian football unless he is to see his adventure in Rome cut short.
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