Roma vs Bologna Talking Points #2108

Bologna 3 Roma 1FT

Roma’s Biggest Mistake Riccardo Calafiori

Riccardo Calafiori may have been one of Roma’s Biggest mistakes in the last couple of years. Riccardo Calafiori was one of the most highly touted youngsters that Roma was developing In the primavera. He had all the qualities and the necessary tools to develop himself into an elite player in Italian football. Someone Roma could continue to rely on. Giving Roma’s issues at the fullback position at the time of his departure What ended up transpiring is the polar opposite of the thought process of many. After he had an incredibly successful run under Paolo Fonseca. It seemed as if he would be a critical piece under Jose. It never happened. He never took a step forward after that. Many of us, myself included thought that he would become a somewhat regular starter the next season. However, it simply was not the case. This may have been more than a little mistake. This may be one of the worst transfer decisions made from a Roma standpoint in quite some time. Roma have swung and missed on some investments such as Patrick Schick, Juan Iturbe, Defrel, Shumurodov, Nzonzi and perhaps a few others. From at least a purchasing standpoint. However, from a departure standpoint, I’m not sure any stings and cuts as deep as Riccardo Calafiori He undeniably had the quality. In that season under Paolo Fonseca we all saw it especially his performances in the Europa League. He managed to get some opportunities at the time as a 19-year-old seem to be thriving under the circumstances. Now granted, Roma weren’t all that impressive and struggled that season even though they made the Europa League semifinal Roma ended up finishing in 7th before Jose came in and enhance His development even further. Riccardo Calafiori was probably the biggest mistake Jose made. In hindsight, it’s been one of the biggest mistake Roma have made in the past decade. At least it’s appearing that way as we look at it now. Riccardo Calafiori was sent off to Switzerland for a measly 4 million as he signed for Basel. The club itself had a remarkably average season finishing fifth in the league. However, the young Italian showed his worth with an exceptional season in the Swiss Super League. This eventually prompted Thiago Motta To bring him into his Bologna project as he has been one of the Marquee signings for a bologna side that seem to be headed towards the Champions League next season. He is one of the best players in the league at his position has been very strong and continues to grow into a sensational player in bologna. As Roma seemed to get a brutal reminder of what they let walk out the door. He returned to Rome for the first time since leaving the club two seasons ago. Monday night Riccardo Calafiori showed all the quality that Roma have been missing at that position. With all due respect to the fullbacks that Roma have to their disposal. Riccardo Calafiori makes them look average by comparison. The 21-year-olds is one of the biggest talents in Italy at that position. Before not too long, he will become a regular for the Italian national team He is nowhere close to hitting his ceiling. The kid seems to progress and get better through each match. His return to Rome reminded everyone of how foolish they were to let him go. He is a kid that grew up supporting the club. He matured through the youth academies a graduate of the primavera scored in Europe put together good performances for Roma and seem to be on his way. It felt as if he was going to earn more playing time. However, the departure of Fonseca led to his departure. Tell Roma have watched him over the last 2 years but primarily over this last season The idiocy behind letting go of a top homegrown Talent that is only going to continue to become an even bigger rising star in Italian football. He is also proven to be very adaptable to his new circumstances. While he is a fullback by trade he has played some time as center-back and has really thrived as a complete defender in a lot of aspects. Roma would desperately like to bring him back home. Possibly reversing the mistake. Roma hold a 40% sell on clause to future deals. Possibly making the negotiation with Bologna easier if that should come about. However, there are sharks swirling for his signature It is unclear whether he will stay in Bologna next season. However, Juventus has accelerated talks with Bologna and has referenced the former Roma product on a potential deal. There’s nothing concrete happening but Juventus are very serious about bringing him to Turin to pair him with Antonio cambiaso on the other side. Spurs have also taken an interest and before the end of the season they will certainly be more names added to that list. Roma got Lorenzo Pellegrini back to Rome but they failed with Scammaca and Davie Frattesi. I suppose the door could be open for a return but in all likelihood Juventus will become a concrete possibility for him. The mistake made is well documented. There’s no hiding from it. Roma will likely look worse as he continues to progress. This has the potential to be the biggest mistake a Roma has made in a decade and they only have themselves to blame for it. All Roma needed to do is give him an opportunity to be a regular and prove himself and as we know now he most certainly would have. But instead we’re probably going to have to watch him make the Champions, leave with Bologna and then move to Juventus.

Sardar Azmoun: Roma’s only Positive

Roma’s performance Monday night was absolutely horrible. They let themselves down in so many ways and were picked apart. However, despite 90 minutes of absolute nonsense from Roma. There was one shining light. Perhaps one positive to be taken. Roma ended up without Lukaku last night. Tammy Abraham made his return. Wasn’t bad but didn’t necessarily impress either. However, he recently came back from injury. It’s going to take him some time to get back into form. Sardar Azmoun came off the bench in the second half and gave Roma a bit of hope. That hope didn’t necessarily last very long. However, he provided a spark that Roma needed to find themselves back in the match. Of course, Roma decided to then screw it up after the fact. However, the Iranian came in and made an immediate impact. As he came off the bench and scored almost immediately. This actually gave Roma some life. Alexis Saelemaekers then scored less than 10 minutes later to undo all the work that was done to give themselves a punchers chance. His influence and impact despite The loss shows the impact he is capable of having on a Roma size when things aren’t necessarily going well. Regardless of the status of Lukaku he certainly has earned himself the right to start against Napoli. Every time and he have been given an opportunity seems to have taken it. He is made 22 appearances this season dealing with some injuries and obviously the month at the Asian cup. However, he is certainly shown his value and importance. Once again. Roma have a buy option at the end of his loan. They should strongly consider activating it at the end of the season and bringing him on on a permanent deal. Most of his appearances have come off the batch. Very rarely has he been given an opportunity to start and in mutually every appearance he has shown his worth He brought a level of hope in the match that had none by a goal that he created mutually along had Roma not fallen asleep on defense 10 minutes later the match could have gone very differently in the end based on the impact he made off the bench. He is a must start against Napoli as once again he has a impressed now just needs more opportunities by the manager to bring his level then energy and quality.

Apprehensible Performance

Roma’s performance Monday night would leave you speechless. However, not for the right reasons. It was an erratic mess from top to bottom. It was an embarrassment to everyone involved. Roma is within points of bologna. A victory would have played a big role in potentially finishing in the top four. Looking at it now, seems unlikely that they will finish in that area. Luckily for Roma 5th place this season gets a Champions League spot. However, keeping possession of fifth at the moment will not be easy. Roma still need to play Napoli, Juventus and Atalanta two of those matches are back to back. Roma from a European standpoint have been absolutely phenomenal as they find themselves in another Europa League semi-final. However, the league form lately has been a bit hit or miss. It has not been perfect and has lacked many ingredients. De Rossi has done and absolutely terrific job. It would be insane not to reference that. Only a fool would attempt to dispute it. However, undoubtedly mistakes were made in the highest degree Monday night as the Roma boss and former Roma Captain was absolutely outclassed by Thiago Motta. There’s no two ways about it. It was an erratic display not only on the pitch but from my management perspective. Paredes got himself a yellow card in the first 10 minutes. He was on the verge of suspension and now will miss the match against Napoli. De Rossi played with fire letting him continue after halftime. He has been one of the bright spots under De Rossi, however, in the last few weeks he’s reverting back to his old ways. I hadn’t said a word of critique about him for almost 2 months. He’s actually been one of Roma’s most important players during this stretch. Nevertheless, lately he’s doing that thing again. Playing erratically and losing his head. He very easily could have been sent off and missed a second match. It was a very risky thing to do. Roma had a few chances that they should have done better on it. El Shaarawy early then Lorenzo Pellegrini and chrisante to minimize the deficit late in the match. There were a few moments that they could have possibly done something and made it into a game after they shot themselves in the foot after Sardar Azmoun. The most frustrating thing about the entire match was the way Roma behaved in the buildup to Bologna scoring a third goal. Dybala was quite clearly fouled in the buildup. However, instead of trying to prevent the goal Roma’s defense froze like a statue. There was certainly a level of fatigue, but the effort wasn’t there and Roma got exactly what they deserved by their performance. It was a completely apprehensible display. Nobody played their part effectively was to see the way it was handled. Mistakes are one thing would not putting forward. The level of effort necessary is inexcusable. I’m not going to call out names but the level of effort just was not there. Once the iceberg hit the ship it was sinking. Sardar attempted to keep it upright with a possibility at points on the table and then the defense completely betrayed him by letting Bologna score a very easy goal. Defensively they were horrendous. There’s not two ways about it. All three goals could have been avoided with better goalkeeping to a degree. Mile Svillar certainly wasn’t at his best but he has been very consistent so I’m not going to give him too much of a hard time. However, the defending was defensively of how bad it was. Bologna scored a worldy to kick it off. No one is stopping it. However, it was Roma’s failure to clear the ball that led to that moment. On the second goal they gave too much space to the attacker and we’re in bad positions off the rebound allowing them to score another. Then the 3rd they got on a counter attack. They quit Midway through the sequence and we saw a solo goal on the break from bologna. For a game at this level of this amount of importance to see what transpired was nothing short of a disaster class because that’s what it was.