Roma coach Rudi Garcia has struggled to find a winning formula for the Giallorossi in recent weeks, Liam Stewart gives his views on the Frenchman.
All the best football teams have a clear identity. The majority of this season’s Scudetto contenders have an identity. Leaders Inter have a rigid structure and are a team who actively seek to win games based on their defensive nous.
Contrary to the Nerazzurri, Fiorentina and Napoli are the complete opposite. Speaking generally, both sides seek not only to attack the opposition, but also keep the ball and attempt to strike fear into the hearts of their adversaries.
Juventus, at their best, blend the two. It’s why for the last four seasons, the Bianconeri have pretty much dominated Serie A without facing any consistent threat to unyielding control.
However, of all this season’s title challengers, Roma are deprived of a true identity. Looking at the Giallorossi’s 4-3-3 formation, one may predict Garcia’s side seek to dominate possession.
Certainly with their average possession at 58.5%, the Giallorossi do usually suffocate opposition teams of the ball. Yet, for all their possession, Roma often play like a stale piece of bread.
Their build-up is slow, laboured and over the last two months or so, watching them try to attack has turned into a sleep-inducing chore.
What makes their inability to pound teams into submission worse, is the fact that their ability to defend reeks of something foul for a team which has ambitions of winning the Scudetto. Their 18 goals conceded is the worst out off all the Scudetto challengers.
The Giallorossi can be dynamic if they have the likes of Mohamed Salah and Gervinho in their team, but over the last two months the selection of those two has been limited due to injury and as a result, they’ve won just two of their last six games.
Often when the future of Garcia is brought up I feel sorry for the Frenchman simply because he isn’t all to blame for his team’s troubles. For one, there are huge issues with the squad due to the failings of director of football and head of recruitment Walter Sabatini.
Sabatini has failed to provide Garcia with a squad full of depth and quality. Though the purchase of Mohamed Salah has proved to be as smart as it was controversial, the rest of his signings, such as Antonio Rudiger, Norbert Gyomber and Iago Falque have been as successful as a heater salesman in the middle of the desert. Even star signing Edin Dzeko has become a liability up-front.
Yet, at the same time Garcia must take blame for failing to adjust his tactics to the players at his disposal over recent months. The former Lille coach has a tactical stubbornness or else a real lack of tactical creativity, which is a mammoth blemish on his viability as a top level coach.
A change of identity is needed to help revitalise the zombie like performances that Roma have produced for parts of the season.
The Giallorossi need to abandon their tendency to try and dominate the ball and play a more direct style of football. This doesn’t mean pumping balls forward for Dzeko to hold-up, but their fear of losing the ball needs to be forgotten in an effort to burst the net more often.
I Lupi don’t lack in gifted creators, certainly Miralem Pjanic is one of the finest passers in Serie A, so why not take the risk? Furthermore, pushing their defensive line deeper would help them deal with the opposition having more of the ball and would help create space in-behind the defences of the opposition for the likes of Gervinho and Salah to exploit.
This change of direction could also bring Roma’s ferocious and passionate Ultras back to the Stadio Olimpico, possibly lifting the players morale considerably.
Added to that quality reinforcements in the shape of Genoa’s languid winger and playmaker Diego Perotti, would set-up Garcia and the Giallorossi for a proper tilt at the Scudetto.
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com