Tag: as roma corner

0 weekly review

15 Ottobre 2021
Stefano Sale
· AS Roma Corner

Roma are back into the game after the Derby, also immediately after the success in the Conference League. Against Empoli the team finds itself again and the 3 points earned are essential to prepare the challenges at the top after the international break.

The trip to Turin against Juve is the first major test that Mourinho will have to face. Then immediately Napoli the league leaders at the Olimpico. In between, the trip to Norway at Bodo’s. We will think about Milan later. Apart from the Conference league match where we will certainly see a lot of changes, it is essential to come out unscathed from these two great challenges.

Juve are back on track, with Chiesa the greatest threat. Juventus at the J-Stadium is now a continuous taboo, apart from the picnic at the end of the season last year, in between Garcia’s violins, referees and so on. Winning in Turin right now would be an incredible driving force for the Mourinho gang, but also a half miracle. Allegri’s team has many internationals playing around the world, Roma gets along with only Vina in South America, and Tammy’s injury. What we know is that Juve makes a few mistakes at Allianz Arena, Roma will have to be good at making the perfect match to come out with at least a positive result.

The same goes for the next match with the Neapolitans, in the lead with full points, with the return of Spalletti who probably can’t wait to silence those whistles that will once again pour down on him from the stands of the Olimpico. If in Turin a draw would also go well, with Napoli at home it is hoped to be able to win despite Osimhen and his teammates are in great shape.

But the Napoli seen on the pitch so far is really scary, to beat them will need a masterful test, few distractions in defense, a solid and free-range midfield, ready to press to go on the break. I would like to be able to take at least 4 points from these two challenges, but I think that two draws would still be positive results for this team, right now, for technical and structural values, for the morale and to hold on to the train that leads to fourth place, the real objective of the season. In my opinion Jose ‘Mourinho thinks so too. Daje Roma.

0 Weekly review

30 Settembre 2021
Stefano Sale
· AS Roma Corner

After the disappointment of the derby, Roma returned to victory in the Conference League with three goals against Zorya in Ukraine, a panacea after the post-Lazio controversy. The defeat in the derby left a lot of bitterness in the mouth for how it arrived, condemned by the episodes but also the feeling that the team made the same mistakes as the last derby last year.

I was hoping that Mourinho had taken notes and warned the team, but instead of the Special One and Sarri, the ghosts of Inzaghi and Fonseca were seen again. Pellegrini’s absence weighed heavily, and it shows. In Ukraine Lorenzo got the team back and despite the turnover there was another attitude. Pellegrini will never be Totti but in this team he makes the difference, and in my opinion the departure of Edin Dzeko has freed him mentally also for the captain’s armband and the leadership. Smalling also met in Ukraine, scoring with Tammy Abraham, two English players, with El Shaarawy.

Well Darboe, minus those who had been excluded and replaced as Villar and Mayoral, now clearly not very motivated and on the sideline with Diawara, with Cristante instead once again on the field. A game of ordinary administration against a very modest team, but which brings three points to for head the group. So a test that is not very reliable, against Empoli it will be another match.

It will take a good test to get back in the race, as Mourinho says there will be other tumbles during the season but absolutely we must not repeat the match in Verona, much less that of the derby. You need humility and compactness but also the awareness that you can’t always line up the same ones, the team has the obligation to try to finish fourth and they all serve to hit the target. Daje Roma.

0 Weekly review

25 Settembre 2021
Stefano Sale
· AS Roma Corner

Ridiculous, as José Mourinho says. The second yellow given to Lorenzo Pellegrini is the umpteenth wickedness of the referee class to the game of football, and not only for the damage caused to Roma. Now the Giallorossi captain will not be able to play on Sunday in the derby against Lazio.

As known, Roma will not be able to appeal as it is not provided for by the regulations in force. An actually wrong regulation that must be corrected immediately otherwise one wonders what the Var is for. In this case the referee makes a huge mistake that the Var must be able to correct since it is a second yellow card and therefore red, which alters the course of the game. Having said that, however, Roma must be able to do without the presence of its captain and face the game in the best way since there is no shortage of options up front.

Mourinho will have to be good at shuffling the cards. Motivations anddesire will not be lacking for sure. After the bad defeat in Verona we needed a reaction against Udinese, which there was, but only partially in the first half. In the second half the team struggled and suffered from a physical and athletic point of view in the end, however, conceding only a couple of chances to the bianconeri.

It seems quite evident, however, that the team is short in the changes in midfield and on the flanks. It also seems clear that Mourinho does not consider Diawara Villar and Reynolds reliable subs, and in fact he does not use them even when the regulars run out of gas. This is a very important aspect in the long run because Karsdorp, Cristante and Veretout will not be able to play every game every week. Not to mention the injury situation, finger crossed. Waiting for January with the reopening of the transfer market.

So far, Roma have always won 3 points apart from the match in Verona, alternating flashes of good aggressive play at intervals and breaks with related risks. This is Mou’s Rom in this first phase of study and adjustment, in search of amalgamation and automatisms between the various departments, so we just need time. For now the important thing is to achieve results, concreteness regardless of the beauty of the game, starting as early as next Sunday. Daje Roma!

0 Weekly review

18 Settembre 2021
Stefano Sale
· AS Roma Corner · Rubriche

Francesco Totti is right. Lorenzo Pellegrini is now a worthy captain, the undisputed leader of this team. The one seen so far this year is another Lorenzo. He has finally taken confidence in his great potential, he has taken the team in his hand, provides assists, dribbles and scores in great class. A bit like Totti, with the proper proportions.

Once again player of the match, with R. Patricio in the crazy match against Sassuolo, even with CSKA there is his hand in everything that revolves around the new Roma of Mourinho. Meanwhile Josè is busy racing around the fans, Lorenzo delights the crowd with his magic on the pitch. Six out of six. The team is hungry for victory, like its coach. If Sassuolo turned out to be a great team tamed only at the last breath, the CSKA case was easily fixed but some subs did not convince.

Villar and Diawara aren’t doing as good with Mou quickly reverting to the regulars. El Sharaawy and Perez are well in the loop, Calafiori is decent change for Viña while Mayoral is not getting much play this season with Shomurodov well ahead in the pecking order. Reynolds is a mystery and possibly Mou will sign another right back in January. A strong playmaker is badly needed in the middle. The squad is way too short and tight to carry on this way Josè keeps saying.

All good so far but wont work long term. The team has lots of confidence even though we are only at the beginning, and it will not always be like this. With Sassuolo we won but we could have also lost. The important thing is to have everyone available, build to aim high, then let’s see if something more comes along. Match by match. Next in Verona. Go on, daje Roma, keep going if you can, like this.

0 Roma-Cagliari 1-0 “Cardio-Fazio”

17 Dicembre 2017
Stefano Sale
· AS Roma Corner

Six minutes of injury time and two more of the VAR. A heart-stopping ending, Roma could not unlock the Cagliari defense, a penalty badly wasted by Perotti after the VAR intervention. Then, so much effort but Roma could not create decent chances, a sterile maneuvering, so much confusion, a game plan that did not work.

When it seemed too late here it came, the last gasp of Commander Fazio in full injury time. So muhj joy that quickly disappeared with another VAR intervention. The referee stops the stadium’s enthusiasm. Suspense, like in a movie. “Now they will find a foul, a push, an arm ..” Then the confirmation: goal validated, the stadium jubilant again for the second time, a liberating scream, stuff not really suitable for the faint-hearted..

The danger of another draw dismissed. But Roma did not look good during construction phase, from midfield upwards. Instead, well the defense that does not concede goals, almost never in gtrouble, Cagliari has never even come close to our half. Midfield and attack, not a good display. The Dzeko-Schick pair did not work, Edin is not in shape, Patrik is not ready yet tactically. So much confusion between the twos.

If the three points had not arrived there would be an open trial and a lot of criticism for yet another draw and the team that does not perform as good as up until recently. But the three points have arrived, thank goodness, no controversy then, now we need to stay cool and be patient, continue to support this group that is doing very well. Now head to Torino in the Italian Cup. We must win to go though, winning the Italian Cup must be a real objective. Then we will think about Juventus..Daje and Forza Roma!

0 Roma-Qarabag 1-0 “Double winners”

6 Dicembre 2017
Stefano Sale
· AS Roma Corner

Miracle. Not only do we go to the knockout stages of the Champions League but we win the group surprisingly, at the expense of Chelsea and Atletico, the group of death, at the beginning prohibitive, we were all pessimistic and instead the strength of this group has made the difference, thanks to Eusebio Di Francesco who managed to get into the players’ heads and turn this team into a solid reality.

With the celebrations going into the next round here comes another news at the same time that changes the fate of AS Roma. The new stadium project has been approved and will be built in Tor di Valle racecourse area. In short, a historic double for all the Roma fans. There are all the conditions to grow as a club and finally become a big team in European football.

Last night Roma struggled a lot to beat Qarabag, the team seemed a bit tired, and lacked brilliance and Qarabag defended tighly, so we were all a bit apprehensive, especially after Atletico taking the lead in London against Chelsea, then Perotti eventually scoring the winner with Chelsea drawing consolidated Roma as group winner.

Eusebio Di Francesco deserves all the credit here, brushed away all the initial skepticism, the debates over Szcezsny-Allison, Kolarov, Perotti, El Sharaawy, Fazio, Gerson and so on. Now, head and mind on the league, all united, ready for the next adventure in the Champions League, and look forward to the new Stadio Della Roma! #DublinRomanista

Stefano @ASROMA.IE

0 Fiorentina-Roma 2-4 “War Machine”

6 Novembre 2017
Stefano Sale
· AS Roma Corner

Power of heavy pressing, compact and crush. Roma is a war machine, all fighters at the service for one common goal. All equal. One worth one. The players might change but not the result: yesterday El Shaarawy, today Gerson. It is not so much about the the type of formation, but the work of EDF on the head of the players. All working for a common cause, ready to run, ready to sweat and get the results.

Contrary to his predecessor, Eusebio has brought these values into the team and made all the players feel equally important. El Sharaawy was not just thrown onto the pitch to save the shack when things did not work. Gerson this time has not been sent into an unknown ground, they believed and waited until he was ready phisically and mentally to deliver. But not just these two players. Let’s take Diego Perotti, another emblem of this cultural revolution labelled EDF. Sublime technique, one of the few to go past players like skittles, when he finds the goal he becomes a phenomenal player.

Roma beat Fiorentina because it has never give up, despite Fiorentina creating some problems in some stretches of the match, we have always felt that this team would bring the three points home in some ways. And so it was. After the home defeat agaist Napoli something happened. The team got up and started to believe again. This is another big maturity test. Meanwhile, we gnawed two points right at Napoli and Inter. The championship is long, and will see in January what’s on the table. The important thing is to stay right behind the train.

Now it’s International duties break, then we will re-start with fireworks: the Derby della Capitale. To crash Lazio we need this team, exactly as it is now. ALL UNITED TO REACH OUR GOAL. DAJE ROMA!

Stefano @ASROMA.IE

0 Match Review: Benevento-Roma 0-4 “Good Wind”

21 Settembre 2017
Stefano Sale
· AS Roma Corner

Roma buried minnow Benevento without much effort. A predictable storyline, given the fact Napoli put 6 past them only 3 days ago. From the wings came most of the chances for Dzeko who easily put the ball in the back of the net, also with some help from the opposition. Benevento literally means “good wind”. Barely a football club that can survive at this kind of level. In four matches they scored one goal while conceding 14, two of which they scored themselves tonight. The good outcome is to bag andother 3 points and build that confidence to keep chase the pack.

Nothing much to say about the match, ordinary stuff. No much effort from a Roma side who featured from the satrt Gonalons, Pellegrini, Cengiz and gave some more minutes to Florenzi. What is more worrying from Serie A match 4 is that Napoli continues to score goals and win games emphatically. On-form Lazio the latest victim on their own ground. Juve beat Fiorentina narrowly and Milan still don’t convince fully, but still grabbing 3 points. Inter are struggling on the pitch, they don’t convince but they are there, until one day the luck might run out.

Roma must believe they can compete. Once the squad will be at full potential with Schick and Karsdorp then we will see the potentials. In the meantime, let’s grab points, it’s our chance to capitalise, but they at home against Udinese first then away to Qarabag in the Champions League. October will a tough month with tough fixtures. Be ready for that. So that’s it for now, always Forza Roma!

0 Champions League: Roma-Atletico 0-0 “Square Point”

13 Settembre 2017
Stefano Sale
· AS Roma Corner

Good point or bad point? Roma and Atletico start their CL campaign with a nil-nil draw. We are at the beginning of the season, Roma are still at a development stage, Atletico are already massive team in Europe, so we really did not know what to expect. Roma started well in thew first half challenging the spaniards, a couple of chances wasted, then a couple of dubious penalties not given by the referee. Atletico came back stronger especially in the second half, expressing a clear superiority in team play. Roma still lacks fitness, quite evident by the way the spanish side led the game in the last half-hour, missing some incredible chances. We can argue that with more stamina Roma could have done better, even to win the game, but instead decided to settle for a point. And rightly so. Atletico could have put game beyon doubt, even in the dying seconds. keeper Alisson was just superb to deny them victory.

Clearly, there is work to be done. It will take time to be at 100% for 90 minutes. Dzeko and Strootman did not impress. The defense looked a bit better. Some positives from Nainggolan and Perotti. At least, Roma showed resilience. Di Francesco understood was important to start the campaign with no defeat. And yes, one could argue that like the Inter game, denied penalties could have swing the game in our favour. But here, let’s face it, it’s not really applicable. Atletico are just a superior side, and Roma need to catch up, maybe the return of Schick, Florenzi and Karsdorp will bring that extra stamina and class we need to compete at this level. So, we take the point. Now let’s catch up in Serie A. Daje Roma!

0 Match Review: Roma-Inter 1-3 ” The Great Robbery”

27 Agosto 2017
Stefano Sale
· AS Roma Corner

Good morning Roma and rest of the world. We have woken up thinking about what happened last night. Was it just a bad dream? The reality this morning is that we just cannot comprehend how Roma lost a match dominated for at least 70 minutes, hitting the internal side of the post 3 times, so unlucky not to be able to put a second goal against an Inter side that did not exist up to that point. We cannot comprehend why a clear penalty was denied, and why the new VAR technology was not applied for a circumstance like that. Why didn’t the referee asks for the VAR assistance , instead asking the officials “Who do I do now?” when he should be the one asking for the VAR replay. Why did the officials deny the VAR reply and why the referee decides for a corner kick instead, if the Inter defender did not touch Perotti or the ball. This is an absolute sham, a series of mistakes that cost Roma possibly 3 points, because if Roma had doubled the advantage it would have been a different game altogether. Let’s face it: Roma were robbed last night.

Inter were lucky enough to manage 4 shots in the Roma goal in 90 minutes and scoring 3. Thanks to Mauro Icardi’s impeccable skills in the penalty area. Of course, Roma lost a bit of touch after missing out doubling the advantage, Inter raised themselves somehow and turned the game around. But what hurt the most is listening to the Inter coach Luciano Spalletti, claiming Inter deserved to win, and that the penalty was not a penalty. Not to talk about Totti, and the Roma fans that whistled him before the game. Just in complete denial. Much better Eusebio Di Francesco, his analyisis was impeccable instead. His team was unlucky this time but we have seen a very good display by Roma, pity for the last 20 minutes, especially with the defense. Jesus was good on the right for a good part of the game, but then suffered Perisic badly. Fazio and especially Manolas were responsible for Icardi’s free range shots. Our best players on the pitch, Perotti, Kolarov and Dzeko. Perhaps, the only mistake made by EDF was making changes too late. Maybe Gonalons should have replaced De Rossi, and Cengiz Under for Defrel, since the young turk impressed when he came on. But there is no point talking about that now. We need to move on. Now, two weeks break for International duties, good time to regain confidence and injured players like Peres, Karsdorp and Florenzi. Hopefully, Patrik Schick will be a new Roma player by tomorrow. New ammunition for Roma. Head on! Forza Roma!

Stefano Sale, Roma Club Dublin @ASROMA.IE

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