Roma's Second Season to Forget After Coppa Italia Loss: What Went Wrong?

The Coppa Italia final against rivals Lazio was the last chance for Roma to salvage a forgettable season, the last chance for both a trophy and a spot in Europe.

They went on to lose to a stronger, better organized Lazio side, and for the second year in a row since the American takeover in 2011, they will not compete among Europe’s elite.

After reiterating his promise to deliver a bright future to the Italian capital back in February, for president James Pallotta, the pressure continues to mount after another disastrous end to the season.

So, what went wrong this year?

There is no doubt that Roma boasts some of the most talented players to be found in Italy, with the likes of youngsters Marquinhos, Alessandro Florenzi and Erik Lamela playing alongside established veterans Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi.

But the squad itself was obviously not enough to either clinch the Coppa Italia or finish in the top five of Serie A. What Roma lacks is direction, which in turn has given birth to all the other problems that continue to mar the club: namely, team balance, chemistry and uninspiring signings.

The lack of direction extends to both on and off the pitch. Starting at the top, James Pallotta, General Manager Franco Baldini and Sporting Director Walter Sabatini have demonstrated they still have yet to figure out how to create a team that aspires to win at the highest level. Their selection of managers has been their biggest area of criticism.

Initially, in 2011, they made the mistake of not keeping interim coach Vincenzo Montella, who has since captured headlines with inspirational soccer at both Catania and Fiorentina, recently bringing the latter to the brink of a top-three finish. Instead, they went with unproven former Barcelona B coach Luis Enrique, who failed to win the hearts of both fans and players alike.

This season, Roma’s management opted to take the chance with Zdenek Zeman. The choice was certainly done with greater deliberation than Luis Enrique.

Zeman had already experienced the pressure of managing Roma in the past, spending two years at the capital from 1997-1999, and had recently promoted a young and talented Pescara side to Serie A. The choice, however, turned out to not be what Roma needed.

His do-or-die offensive tactics were simply ineffective in a league that excels in defensive, counterattacking soccer, where the traditional catenaccio is certainly not as archaic as it sounds.

After a five-game losing streak, he was eventually dismissed, breaking down any chance of establishing the direction and authority Roma needs most. When Aurelio Andreazzoli became the sixth manager at the capital since 2010, fortunes did not change. 

Although this season Roma beat all of the teams that finished in the top four, including Fiorentina, Milan, Napoli and champions Juventus, they struggled to find any sort of consistency or identity, losing key fixtures to smaller teams such as Bologna, Parma, Chievo, Catania, Cagliari, Sampdoria and Palermo. 

On the pitch, besides Totti demonstrating he has again defied the laws of human aging, racking up 12 goals and assists, there was little direction in Roma’s tactics.

Zeman’s haphazard attack and Andreazzoli’s more conservative, yet unidentifiable mix might both be attributed to the lack of a deep-lying playmaker or registra, typified by the likes of Andrea Pirlo, the keystone to Juventus’ recent success.

This role had been filled by David Pizarro in Roma’s best days under Spalletti and Ranieri, but after finding himself on the bench with Luis Enrique and then moving to Fiorentina, the Roma midfield has since crumbled.

Baldini and Sabatini brought in several players to take the place of Pizarro; however, none were able to demonstrate that they were capable of filling the shoes of the diminutive Chilean. Why? This comes down to both innate qualities as well as their tactical usage, made all the more complicated with two very different managers in the same year.

Michael Bradley worked well in the registra role at Chievo, but he was used more as an intermedio, or box-to-box midfielder under Zeman. Under Andreazzoli, he was instead utilized as a ball-winning holding midfielder.

Bradley is discussed in more detail in a previous article. Panagiotis Tachtsidis was brought in for his passing qualities; however, after several abysmal displays, he found himself rightfully sitting on the bench.

Miralem Pjanic has the most similar qualities to a registra, but he was used in so many different roles under both Zeman and Andreazzoli, that he failed to find any sort of consistency. De Rossi, meanwhile, simply had his worst season since first donning the Roma jersey, and was neither effective when utilized as playmaker nor as an intermedio.

Without an established registra, and thus a team to fall in orbit around him, there was simply no balance between defense and attack, and the stats attest to this. This season, although Roma scored a vast 71 goals, they conceded 56 goals in the process.

A lot of questions need to be asked in terms of signings as well. Although both Franco Baldini and Walter Sabatini can certainly be lauded for their discovery of players like Marquinhos, in conjunction with the suggestions of each of the three failed managers over the past two years, not all transfers have demonstrated their worthiness.

An almost complete lineup can be made of players who have entirely failed the test in the Italian capital, and look to be on their way out. These include fullback Ivan Piris, goalkeeper Mauro Goicoechea, and midfielders Marquinho and Panagiotis Tachtsidis.

Besides these, doubt remains over Roma icon Daniele De Rossi’s future, as well as for controversial figure Pablo Daniel Osvaldo, who was recently suspended from Italy’s squad for insulting Roma manager Andreazzoli via Twitter after the Coppa Italia, saying (Italian) "It would be best if you admitted to being incompetent. Go celebrate with Lazio."

It’s the first time in 11 years that Roma has failed to qualify for Europe two years in a row, coinciding with the American takeover in 2011. And without Europe, president Pallotta further risks losing the likes of talented youngsters Lamela, Pjanic and Marquinhos, who might be tempted to seek greener pastures in the summer.

If the club is not careful, and if another year goes by with similar disappointment, Roma risks becoming the feeder-club they would never want to be.

So where to go from here? The first step is to establish an authority to provide stability and much-needed direction. This is easier said than done.

With Andreazzoli likely to leave despite being thanked by Baldini (Italian), and with targets Walter Mazzarri signing for Inter and Max Allegri still reluctant to leave Milan, the choice for who will take the helm of Roma next season remains a mystery. There is one thing for sure, however. This time around, the choice must be the right one.

Andreazzoli stated that the Coppa Italia final was “decided by chance.” There are certainly larger, more significant elements at stake than mere chance, most of which are out of his hands. But speaking of chance, it can be safely said that the Americans have failed their second chance of winning the hearts of fans, and certainly of winning a trophy.

They have been increasingly contested since earlier in the year, when banners outside the training facility at Trigoria read anti-American slogans such as “Yankees Go Home.” More recently, many fans were made furious at the creation of a new Roma logo without having their opinions first considered (Italian), and after the Coppa Italia loss, stones were hurled at the players’ bus while more anti-American chants were sung (Italian).

Things are obviously not going as well as the Americans would have hoped when they took up the reins of the capital in 2011. Despite all of this, as Baldini said in a post-derby interview (Italian), “The project goes ahead.” Where is goes is up for anyone to predict.

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