It started well but ended badly. Liberation day. Thursday 6 August will be remembered for the euphoria in the morning, given the news of the change of ownership of the club. And anger in the evening, for the sad surrender of the team, badly overwhelmed by Sevilla.
A day with two faces. The awakening of a supporter, a sense of liberation for the announcement of the sale made official by Pallotta. AS Roma goes to The Friedkin Group, finally, after months of waiting. The local media in Rome went beserk, then the prelude to the most important match of the season. We know that it is a difficult match but on the wave of enthusiasm it was legitimate to think of a different ending. That is, bring them on!
Instead, here we are talking about the huge disappointment, Roma practically do not even take the field, easy prey of a stronger but not invincible team. In the end, a result that could have been even more humiliating. Fonseca got it all wrong this time. The players are not there with their heads or legs. Sevilla goes at another pace. No fighting spirit ether, bad attitude. Needless to talk about the goalkeeper. Then the blame game. The coach finds trivial excuses to justify himself while the captain Dzeko shoots bullets at the technician. A crumbling situation.
It is the end of an era, we are truly at the end of it. A new era begins, many will leave, players and managers, amybe a neew coach, who knows. I hope that Dan and Ryan Friedkin will get to know the local environment, someone to explain to them how things have been like like inside and outside Trigoria. But above all they need to get proper advice from the right people. Ryan Friedkin will be there to follow closely. That’s the way. Must not make certain mistakes again, or they risk of being sucked in. From euphoria to protest, the step is very short in this city.
I know that things will not settle down immediately with the magic wand, it will take some time, the important thing now is to restore trust and unity between all components, the club, the media and the fans. Serious cash injection, serious investments, serious executives, no easy capital gains, but start building a competitive team to return to high levels and above all to stay there over time. Understand that these are the investments that act as a driving force to increase the revenues that are so needed by Roma to stay within accounts and FFP.
A Roma team fighting to win the Scudetto, settling into Champions League football every year, perhaps try to lift a trophy like Coppa Italia. That is the only sustainable model, for an ambitious football club. Selling the best players every year to stay afloat with capital gains does not pay off. And we have seen it, since that semifinal with Liverpool. The same Liverpool who then benefitted from our best players. Real long term ambition. I expect a strong start, to show they are a higher level, what they came in here for. We’ll see. There is a lot of curiosity. We hope for the better. So, good luck to the new ownership. Again here in September. Forza Roma.
SS