The Fall of an Empire: Can AS Roma Save Their Season?

On Sept. 1, Luciano Spalletti, AS Roma coach of four years, announced that he had handed in his resignation to the board and would be leaving the club.

Roma had gotten off to their worst start since the 1950-51 season—as they ultimately dropped down to the second tier. After consecutive defeats in the two opening games, the prestigious club now lay at the bottom of the table.

For three seasons, the capital club from the mythical Eternal City competed with Inter Milan for the top spot. Roma and Spalletti were hailed over all of Europe for their entertaining play as they showcased some truly mind-blowing football.

Since then, the relationship between the coach and the club has grown to be infected.

Last season was spoiled by a confidence-shattered Roma that struggled against an alarming rate of injuries. Spalletti was naturally linked with an exit in the early stages of the summer, but did the contrary as he rejected a lucrative offer from the Old Lady in the North in order to remain loyal to I Lupi.

After last Sunday’s 3-1 defeat to Juventus (how ironic), the tactician hinted that he had lost the locker room.

The club and Spalletti were simply no longer heading in the same direction.

Roma has barely been active in the summer’s mercato. Although the financial situation at the club isn’t news, it’s extremely worrying that the newly-promoted trio of Parma, Livorno, and Bari has outspent the capital club on the transfer market.

Despite dragging debts which leave very scarce resources to be spent on the transfer market, president Rosella Sensi refuses to sell the club despite the fact that foreign investors would probably be the best thing for Roma at this point. The club is slowly losing their key players, as it’s trying to work with their debts.

This summer was no different as the club—much to the horror of the Giallorossi faithful—decided to sell prodigal son Alberto Aquilani to Liverpool. Although the Roman spent much of last season on the sidelines with persistent injuries, he was without a doubt cemented as part of the club’s future.

With Aquilani's obvious love for the club he’d belonged to all his life, it was more like a sacrifice than anything else—much like Ricardo Kaká’s situation with AC Milan.

There's no doubt that Roma possesses quality players in the squad, but as they continue to lose important players—with only mediocre players brought in as substitutions—they’re falling further behind the top competition. To see the storied club in mid-table at the end of the season wouldn’t actually be surprising at all. 

Considering the crisis the club is undergoing at this moment, there will be even more pressure on newly-appointed coach Claudio Ranieri to get positive results...soon.

The Romanista—who incidentally has a brief history in the club as a player back in the '70s—was quick to dismiss the idea of Spalletti’s former "champagne football", but assured the media and the fans that there would be changes taking place.

The Tinkerman then went on to compare Roma’s situation to that of Chelsea’s when he coached the club in the early 2000's, as the London-based outfit managed to qualify for the Champions League without spending a penny.

So, is Ranieri the right man for the job?

Well, he’s a cheap option at the very least, but it’s very difficult to tell considering that Spalletti and Ranieri have very different philosophies when it comes to their approach to the game. Considering the squad he has at his disposal, a mid-table position sounds like the most likely outcome—especially after being thrown into the hot air.

Ranieri is no great coach, and has his entire coaching career to vouch for that. He does have a history of building up good teams, however, without managing to take that last step.

As far as I’m concerned, the squad looks rather thin, and with the club getting ready to battle on several fronts, keeping the players away from injuries will be absolutely vital.

If the teams comes too close to struggling with the same number of injuries as last season, the horizon looks extremely dark for the Romans.

On top of that, the players can’t let the bad start of the season get to them, as we’ve seen what happens to the team when the players lack the right kind of confidence and attitude.

Players such as Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi will need to step up even further in order to lead the team by example as they try to pull the club out of this early crisis.