The year is 2001, the date is June 17. One year after their hated rivals won their second Scudetto, Roma are winning their third. Totti, Montella and Batistuta round off a convincing 3-1 win against Parma. Juventus’ 2-1 win against Atalanta is rendered irrelevant. The eternal city is in ecstacy, well one side of it, anyway. Thirty-two year old Gabriel Batistuta has finally captured that elusive Scudetto, a 24 year old Francesco Totti has proven he can be an integral part of a Scudetto winning side and is about to entire his prime.
The year is 2015, the date is December 14th. Roma currently reside in fifth place, seven points behind leaders Inter Milan. Not totally out of place, right? I mean it’s December. Anything can happen! But given the context, we could be in for yet another Giallorossi collapse. On match day 10, Roma defeated Udinese 3-1, while Juventus fell to Sassuolo 1-0. This meant the points gap between the two pseudo rivals was 11 points. Given Juventus had won the four previous Scudetti by an average points margin of 11.75. So 11 points wasn’t insurmountable.
With 16 games now played, Juventus have leapfrogged Roma into fourth place and currently sit on 30 points. Usually the Giallorossi wait for April and May to be disappointed, but it seems to have come early this year.
This all feels a bit similar doesn’t it? That funny deja vu when you’re in a bar and you suddenly felt like you’ve done this whole situation before. Ah well, that would be the 2013/14 season, when Roma led the title race unexpectedly from match day four until 12. On match day fourteen Juventus resumed normal service and never released their stranglehold on first place. This was by no means a choke job. Rudi Garcia had finally injected some steel and belief into an otherwise stale Roma regime. The future would be better. Fast forward two years and the fans’ relationship with Garcia has gone from footballing profit to footballing clown.
But what now? Something is evidently wrong. Roma haven’t won a game since early November, losing two and drawing four. But this season was meant to be different. Everyone was licking their lips as Juventus continually tripped over their laces in the opening stages of the season, and no more than Garcia and his Roma team. Tormented by Juventini as the Bianconeri have given them false hope for the past two seasons. In 2013/14 Roma looked to be a steel curtain, impenetrable and the title could’ve been a possibility. But Juventus pulled away.
But wait! Antonio Conte, arguably the catalyst for Juventus’ success and three peat. In came Allegri, whose last job was with Milan before getting sacked. Juventini were sceptical while fans of the Giallorossi rubbed their hands with glee. The end result? Juventus winning a fourth Scudetto in a row by a margin of 17 points, winning the Coppa Italia and reached the Champions League final.
James Pallotta does have departments he can be criticised in, such as his rocky relationship with ultras, but his commitment to turning into Roma into regular Scudetto contenders is admirable.
With Roma lacking behind Juventus last January, it was clear reinforcements were needed. Sabatini responded by bringing in Seydou Doumbia, Victor Ibarbo and Nicolas Spolli. Okay, so they all pretty much failed and are no longer with the club. But the intention and dedication to win was obviously still there. Roma can stretch their financial muscle harder than most clubs in Serie A nowadays.
But this season we’ve seen enough evidence that this Roma squad is good enough to win Serie A. Perhaps Roma could add some depth in January but it’s unlikely they will have a chance to drastically improve their first team. Sadly there’s going to be only one real way for Roma to save their season and it’s to sack Rudi Garcia.
I think Garcia has done a fantastic job of stabilizing Roma as a staple in the Champions League and providing a base in terms of a Scudetto winning XI. But it seems as though it’s becoming apparent Roma simply cannot win a Scudetto with Garcia at the helm.
But who replaces Garcia mid-season? Well Carlo Ancelotti is still available after getting sacked by the ruthless Florentino Perez. But the former Roma midfielder has expressed his desire to manage in the Premier League once again, with Manchester United’s already rocky relationship with Louis Van Gaal turning sour. I think it’s unlikely considering his ties to Milan.
Other candidates include Luciano Spalletti, who managed the club from 2005 – 2009, winning two Coppa Italia, boasting a 54% win ratio. But is he the right man? Spalletti was sacked in 2014 due to three trophyless years at Zenit St. Petersburg. Scudetto winner? Probably not.
Another candidate that would be an absolutely horrific idea would be Fabio Capello. A man that hasn’t had relevancy since winning La Liga with Real Madrid in 2007. Two thousand and seven. Football has evolved a hell of a lot since then, and his failure with the English and Russian national teams leaves me with doubt that Capello could adapt to the modern club game. However, Capello has one variable working in his favour. He was the man who delivered Roma’s last Scudetto in 2001, so if Pallotta feels as though he’s losing the fanbase, Capello would be a people pleasure but would probably not come May.
There’s two men I believe would be sound options to replace Garcia. Cesare Prandelli and Sassuolo’s Eusebio di Francesco.
The Sassuolo manager played for Roma during their title winning campaign and also made 168 appearances over four years. But it’s not his past contributions to Roma that make him a contender, it’s his work with Sassuolo. The man who hails from Pescara took i Neroverdi from Serie B to now sitting three points off the European places. He has successfully progressed youngsters while installing belief in a team that was facing relegation, Sassuolo won thirteen points from seven games and survived the dreaded drop by two points. It is a risk installing a manager from a club of Sassuolo’s stature? Yes. But every manager had to start somewhere. It’s a risk Roma might have to make.
Roma are in a tough situation. Do you fire Garcia and bank on the fact a manager like di Francesco will still get Champions League at worst and maybe win the title? Or do you write this year off again and say “Oh. Maybe next year.” The latter doesn’t sound very enticing, does it?
Follow me on Twitter for Calcio ramblings – @BilbertoSilva
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