Why Radja Nainggolan Is the Unsung Hero for as Roma so Far in 2014/15 Season

He lacks the magic of Francesco Totti, the guile of Miralem Pjanic and the pacey explosiveness of Alessandro Florenzi and Gervinho, but so far this season, Radja Nainggolan has been Roma's most important player.

The Belgian's box-to-box contributions are at the heart of everything positive about Roma—from their solid defensive work to their ability to devastate opponents on the counter-attack.

Much is made these days of individual performances, but football is a team sport, and while the best players will make a personal impression, real success only comes through collective ability and effort.

If Kostas Manolas and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa look formidable at the back, then they—like Mehdi Benatia before them—owe a lot to the players in front of them. And whenever Pjanic or Totti muster up something breathtaking, more often than not it's because someone else has won the ball for them.

From back to front, Nainggolan is the metronome that keeps Roma in sync. For this reason, he's played more minutes than anyone else for the Giallorossi this season, carrying on the brilliant form he showed last term after arriving from Cagliari and highlighting the folly in Marc Wilmots' decision to leave him at home for this summer's World Cup.

Losing Nainggolan has played a large part in Cagliari's struggles because the Sardinians were never going to be able to replace a player of his quality. Even so, he's fondly remembered on the island and received a standing ovation from the club's fans when they played against Roma last April.

More recently, Cagliari President Tommaso Giulini told Italian paper La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Football Italia): “It’s too bad we lost him, [but] we have been enjoying him even in the Roma shirt."

It's also important to remember how easily Kevin Strootman's knee injury could have derailed Roma's season last term. The fact that the loss of a world-class midfielder has hardly been felt at the Stadio Olimpico is of huge credit to the man who replaced him.

The Dutchman had been one of the revelations of the year in Serie A, and alongside Daniele De Rossi and Pjanic, he was indispensable to Rudi Garcia.

Or so everyone thought.

Nainggolan has since made the role his own, and when Strootman returns, it will provide the manager with a selection headache, albeit a welcome one.

The ex-PSV Eindhoven star is one of Europe's most in-demand midfielders, but Nainggolan has been impeccable in the centre and deserves to keep his place.

According to James Horncastle of WhoScored.com, the 26-year-old has been Serie A's best tackler over the last five seasons, and although he deserves his reputation as an excellent defensive player, like De Rossi alongside him, Nainggolan is underrated when it comes to his passing ability and his offensive contribution.

Against Fiorentina in the season opener, he showed how effective he can be going forward, scoring the opener before setting up Gervinho for a second to kill the game. And it was his perfectly weighted through ball that set Totti free against Manchester City to equalise in that crucial Champions League fixture. He's a player Garcia can depend upon, especially in the biggest games.

Once De Rossi and Strootman are fit again, Roma will have an embarrassment of riches in the midfield. And while Nainggolan might not have the international reputation of the Italy or the Netherlands stars, to Garcia, there is no one more valuable right now.

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