Commentator: Oh! It’s a mistake there by De Sanctis.
How many times in the past number of years have you heard a commentator say them very words? If you’re a Roma supporter the answer is far too often. It is not to say that De Sanctis is not a good keeper, anyone who has played for 22 years at the highest level obviously has something about them. It is just that come the end of the 2015/16 season De Sanctis will have turned 39 years of age and for a man whose abilities have been on the wane now for the past number of years to still be the number one choice at a club with title ambitions such as Roma is simply not up to scratch.
Ask any manager about the keys to success and they will pinpoint a solid base on which to build and in particular the base built around your man in between the sticks. Look at Juventus, does anyone believe that they would be as successful without Buffon at number one. Even Napoli have copped onto the fact that they need a reliable net minder bringing back Pepe Reina after last year’s debacle with Gabriel.
Looking around the other so called heavyweights in Serie A it is clear that they also value the position. Inter have Handanovic, Milan and Diego Lopez and Fiorentina and their new arrival Luigi Sepe. Each a talented keeper that can be relied upon to come up big in key situations. Roma however despite the sizeable sums of money they have spent in recent seasons continue to wilfully ignore the position and it is for this very reason that they will never bridge the gap to Juve and will be the eternal bridesmaid.
Sadly though this is not a new phenomenon for the Giallorossi as the position of Portiere has been a problem area for over a decade with numerous men having tried their hand at it only to fail spectacularly, but why? Why has such a club like the Lupi struggled to fill such a key position sufficiently in so many years?
It may be harsh to blame one man for the failure of Roman goalkeepers over the past 14 years, but the genesis of the problem that continues to blight the capital club came about with the arrival of Ivan Pelizzoli in the summer of 2001. Ever since then any who have donned the gloves have flattered to deceive.
Having initially made his name in Bergamo with Atalanta, Pelizzoli earned his move to Roma at the end of the 2001/2002 campaign. Tipped as the future of Italian goalkeeping the Giallorossi were forced to open the purse strings considerably to acquire him, paying a fee in excess of 33 million lire.
Handed a five year contract he was expected to be the clubs long term future between the posts. At the beginning however he played second fiddle to Francesco Antonioli before ousting him near the mid-way point of his debut campaign. For the next year and a half or so it looked as if the move had been a success for all parties involved. Yet come the 2004/2005 season Pelizzoli’s performances began to falter leaving the likes of Gianluca Curci and Carlo Zotti to steal in and take his place.
In fact Pelizzoli’s stock fell so far that come the end of the season he was sold on to Reggina in a co-ownership deal that some say was only worth €500. Never mind though Roma had found his replacement already and it came from their youth system in the shape of Gianluca Curci the next great hope of Italian keeping. For all Curci’s positives however there was always the worry of his ability to deal with efforts from distance.
While maybe not key it would most certainly prove a contributing factor in the clubs decision to drop him and replace him with Brazilian Doni. Like Pelizzoli before him it has been pretty much been all downhill career wise since for the so highly rated Curci.
With the arrival of Doni saw a period where the Giallorossi went distinctively Brazilian in their goalkeeping outlook (Doni, Artur and Julio Sergio). Sadly for the Giallorossi each proved less competent then the one that they replaced. Another who was given a crack of the whip around this time was Bogdan Lobont. A Romanian international, Lobont was nicknamed Pisica (The Cat) due to his quick reflexes.
Typical of Roma’s luck however they got a cat that seemed more than happy to sit on the bench and play second fiddle to whoever had been handed the jersey that week. Even with the evidence of poor choices stacked behind them Roma thought they were onto a winner in the summer of 2011 when they paid Ajax €6million for Maarten Stekelenburg.
The giant Dutchman came with a reputable track record having been his nation’s number one at the 2010 World Cup. For a Myriad of reasons however Stekelenburg just became another in a long line of Roman keepers who failed to get the job done and only two years after arriving he was on his way out the door with Morgan De Sanctis coming in to replace him.
It really is a puzzle how the Roma hierarchy have got it wrong so consistently over such a long period of time. Yet if rumours are correct they are set to make the same mistakes all over again with the potential arrival of Argentine Sergio Romero. A man who Sampdoria deemed surplus to requirements.
Going in for Romero baffles the mind even more when you realise that the likes of Antonio Mirante and Luigi Sepe where available this summer and Salvatore Sirigu supposedly on the market for around €8 million from PSG. As each day brings us closer and closer to the new season the likely hood of them getting a top notch number one dwindle ever more.
Maybe Roma aren’t destined to have a top class number one, maybe Pelizzoli cursed the club forever more on his departure. My money however is on the board just showing complete ignorance for a position that will make or break their title challenge.
The post Roma – In need of a Goalkeeper appeared first on Italian Football Daily.
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