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Forza Roma Sempre!
Pisa 0:1 Roma
...Let's play a game. I'll list some facts:
The score is 1-0
0.63 xG for the game
Mile Svilar saves Roma from a draw with an incredible save
Matias Soule constantly dribbles past his opponents
Cristante confidently controls the midfield, Kone shrugs off opponents
The left flank is almost non-existent, with the entire left-sided pairing struggling; it gets better after a substitution
The winning goal comes from a combination featuring a perfectly weighted pass from the left flank, with the striker laying it off for a shot
Now, tell me, am I describing Roma's game at the end of last season under Ranieri, or Roma's game at the start of this season under Gasperini?
The correct answer is: this is a precise description of the Roma 1-0 Fiorentina match. But I know what you were thinking!
Player-by-player breakdown:
Mile Svilar. You know what separates a top-club goalkeeper from a mid-table one? A mid-table keeper might make 10 amazing saves in a game, while a top keeper will stop that one lethal, game-deciding shot. I don't know how Meister didn't score when he shot from point-blank range inside the penalty box, but I do know that Mile did everything he possibly could. And that was enough.
Mario Hermoso. Mediocre. On the play where the same Meister broke through, it was Hermoso who lost his zone, and Mancini failed to provide cover. Meister lacked the "meistery" to finish (sorry, couldn't resist the pun), but that's no excuse for Hermoso. Also, Hermoso's attacking runs are something that almost literally hurts to watch. We've seen it, but please, let's not see it again.
Gianluca Mancini. I recall two clear mistakes from him. One was catastrophic, when he purely lost the physical battle to Meister in the six-yard box. A couple of minutes later, he just as passively watched how the Pisa forward's run would end. For the rest of the game, Mancio's performance was solid. And that's his classic story. For 89 minutes of a match, Mancini is an impenetrable wall. But only 89.
Evan Ndicka. Nothing but praise for him. 8/8 duels won, zero fouls, 6 clearances. A very solid performance, unquestionably the best in our defense.
Wesley. He ran a lot again. He wasn't frustrating with clumsy technique, but he also didn't dazzle with his sprints. Both of these were consequences of Pisa's style of play: Wesley had no space to run into, but they also didn't try to put him under any serious pressure. An average match; we'll have chances to judge him later.
Bryan Cristante. This is the second match in a row that I'm ready to praise Cristante heavily. No one told him the last season ended, and he's once again dominating the midfield. He's not a pressing machine, he doesn't try to overwhelm opponents, and he even plays at a measured pace, but he is precisely the one controlling the center. In this game, Cristante had the most touches on the ball, and that's telling.
Manu Kone. A player who defines the level of play. Manu has two sets of lungs; he was involved in 18 (!) duels, winning exactly half of them, and he frequently and successfully progressed the ball. And his sprint in the final minutes was a masterpiece. Dovbyk stole one of the best assists of the season from him.
Angelino. The classic story: the Spaniard only shines when he's paired with a synergistic player. Angelino with Saelemaekers could tear up the flank; Angelino with Pellegrini could not. As the last two games showed, Angelino with El Shaarawy also cannot.
Matias Soule. His first half was debatable, and I understand why. Soule seemed to be doing everything right, padding his dribbling stats and not shying away from challenges. But he was consistently double-teamed, and most often, a great dribble was followed by a covering defender who forced Mati back to his starting position. In the second half, Dybala came on, and the opponent simply didn't have enough defenders for two attacking geniuses. Soule got a bit more freedom and took full advantage of it. He could have had a brace, but a minimal handball led to a VAR intervention. Still a very good game.
By the way, has anyone seen a proper replay of the handball? I thought I had missed that, but there is no good view of the handball in the YouTube highlights, and Paramount+ has the first half replay twice instead of the full match.Stephan El Shaarawy. For the second match in a row, he's proving that the old man is only on the team to tell the kids he saw Totti play live. He appears on the pitch purely symbolically; with him, the left flank is completely toothless. Subbing him off at halftime was the most obvious decision.
Evan Ferguson. The worst player of the match, according to Sofascore and FotMob. Sofascore gave him a 5.9 rating (which is considered a complete failure), and FotMob gave him 6.7 (the lowest of all Roma). Frankly, this is proof of why ratings are sometimes absolute bullshit. Evan played like a top-class, thoroughbred forward. Even amidst the lack of ideas in the first half, he dropped deep, looked for the ball, and used his body well. And of course, a very important and intelligent assist – he made himself available for Dybala's pass (a very good one), shielded the ball, and laid it off for Soule's shooting foot. Evan is a very impressive striker; I like him.
Paulo Dybala. Once again, his performance brings up the topic of "Dybaladependence." In the first half, Roma was truly depressing, going into the break with the score level only by the grace of fortune and Mile Svilar. With Dybala's introduction, everything changed. You can attribute it to the Argentine's genius, or you can point to the fact that Pisa's simple, albeit well-drilled, center-backs couldn't handle two creative players in the trequarti zone. But the fact remains – with Dybala, Roma begins to shine, still.
Artem Dovbyk. Don't bring him on after Ferguson, have some mercy on Artem's psyche. He's going to have to read all these comparisons later. Artem had an extremely lackluster performance and botched his golden opportunity. Very poor.
(15 and 16). Mehmet Zeki Celik, Devyne Rensch, Neil El Aynaoui. Came on late, had 14 touches on the ball between the three of them, and did nothing memorable.
The game itself was still quite raw. There were moments when we had almost 80% of the ball possession, but were absolutely clueless in attack. The left wing situation is depressing, and the international break is very timely (even though I hate these breaks with all my heart). I hope Dybala will be ready to play a full match, Baldanzi will get his shot, and Bailey fully recovers. Otherwise, we will have to keep playing ElSha as a starter again, which will likely make things easier for the opposition, as they will need to worry only about the right flank of our attack. I would rather not watch another game of the toothless left side of Roma’s attack.
Who Framed Robert Rabbit Federico Coletta?
In the next issue, I will be analyzing Roma's transfer campaign, but before that, I want to dedicate a separate post to a topic that may seem insignificant but has personally affected me. This is a continuation of the Federico Coletta story.
Who is Federico Coletta? Last October, The Guardian released their annual “Next Generation” list, with Italy represented by 3 players, and Coletta was one of them. He was born on May 29, 2007, plays as a box-to-box midfielder, and possesses outstanding attacking statistics. In 27 matches for the U-17s last season, he scored 17 goals. Last season, he was promoted to the Primavera (U-20), where he also had 4 goals in 5 games. Coletta is very good at supporting attacks and often drifts to the flank; he isn't tied to a specific position, most often starting on the left side of midfield but capable of shifting to the right depending on the situation.
Among his strengths, his excellent feel for the game and great technique are immediately apparent. Coletta knows how to be in the right place at the right time, unbalance an opponent with a couple of movements, and get a shot off. His finishing particularly stands out; his shots aren't powerful, but they are incredibly precise. A typical Coletta goal looks like this: he arrives in the second wave of attack at the edge of the box, shakes off a defender with a couple of moves, and calmly slots the ball into the far corner. Another variation is him popping up behind the defenders at the far post for a tap-in.
Federico's story is very appealing – he was born and raised in Rome, has been with the Roma academy since he was 9 years old, and names Francesco Totti and Paulo Dybala as his idols. Journalist Nicky Bandini, who helped compile the list where he was featured, compared the player to Davide Frattesi, and I can see where that comparison comes from: both are mobile, attack-minded box-to-box midfielders who can decide a game with their forward runs. However, in terms of his overall contribution to the game and his shooting ability, Coletta reminds me of Teun Koopmeiners – he is also a creative central midfielder who can appear on either flank, reads the game magnificently, and is a master of striking the ball.
Last night, rumors were floated that Coletta himself was pushing to leave Roma, flatly refusing to extend his contract and effectively forcing Massara to sell him for a modest €1 million + a 30% sell-on clause. If this were true, one could say that Massara bears little blame; the player himself turned out to be a scoundrel and decided to twist the arm of the club that raised and nurtured him. The only problem is, I don't believe this information, and I'll explain why.
The original source of the information about Coletta's hardline stance was Lorenzo Pez. I would categorize him as a "Turbo-Romanista," someone who is always ready to justify any action the club takes. He is one of the main authors for SiamoLaRoma and collaborates with TeleradioStereo and Il Tempo. Il Tempo is a good resource, and notably, this information did not appear there. However, SiamoLaRoma published a piece stating that Coletta's contract was expiring in "a few months," that the player refused to renew it, and therefore, the situation was nearly hopeless. Pez then went on TeleradioStereo and repeated this information there.
I don't believe what Lorenzo Pez is saying. First, ChiesaDiTotti has stated in plain text back in early August that Federico Coletta signed a three-year professional contract with Roma in December 2024. Even if you count a "year" as a football season, Coletta's contract should have been valid until 2027. But those are fan resources, and they don't carry much more weight than the fan site SiamoLaRoma.
What I will rely on, however, is an interview with Federico Coletta himself, filmed just one month ago for Roma's official YouTube channel. Here is a transcript from Il Romanista, in case it's hard to understand the spoken Italian (especially with a rich Roman accent). In this interview, Coletta says that it was a dream for him to receive the number 10 shirt in the youth team before the season because "he grows in Roma and is a Romanista.“ He states that his plan for the 2025-26 season is to win the youth Scudetto with Roma. And at the very end of the interview, he explicitly says several times that he has one final step to take to realize his dream of playing in Serie A and stepping onto the pitch at the Olimpico. He is asked: "With Roma?" He answers directly: "Yes, I hope so."
This could have settled the matter, but I'll add a bit more information. Lorenzo Canicchio, another local Roman journalist and a Roma supporter, claims that the Primavera coach knew nothing about the plans to sell Coletta until the very last moment. By all accounts, Coletta was truly a key element of the Roma Primavera – he is the only player who played every minute of the first three youth championship matches without being subbed, and the act of giving him the symbolic number 10 this summer underscores his role. I do not believe you do all of this for a kid who already has one foot out the door and is rejecting all contract extension offers.
For me, this story is very personal because I see how they are now trying, after the fact, to justify the frankly stupid and damaging decisions of club representative Massara by shifting the blame onto an 18-year-old kid who simply can't respond due to his low media profile. Coletta publicly calls himself a Roman and a Romanista, yet the media outlets most loyal to the club are trying to portray him as a villain. I am convinced that Roma does not belong to the Friedkins and their associates, and the "club is always right" paradigm will lead to nothing good. I wish Coletta the best in his future career; perhaps he will return to the team one day when the architects of such decisions have left the club. I would like to believe that.
Forza Roma!
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