Roma CL return bad for Italy
Ross Highfield for Football Italia
Roma have tightened their grip on third place but their probable presence in the Champions League next season is bad news for Serie A, writes Ross Highfield.
After Inter’s impressive win over Napoli at the weekend and Roma’s second consecutive draw against Atalanta, it briefly looked like the race for the third and final Champions League qualification place in Serie A had been re-opened. After the mid-week round of matches, though, Roma’s grip on third looks as strong as ever.
Roma were fortunate to win 3-2 against Torino with a debatable late penalty providing the winner, and the capital club had trailed 2-1 going into the last five minutes. With Inter losing at Genoa, though, the numbers look pretty convincing for the Giallorossi; they now have a seven-point cushion over fourth place with just four games remaining.
Even if Roma were not convincing against Torino, there were positives to be taken from the match; not merely grinding out an important victory, but also Francesco Totti’s impact as a substitute. Totti struck both goals in the last few minutes to turn the game on its head, after a tough period where he has clashed with his coach and seen very little game time.
The Giallorossi do have some tough remaining fixtures, but the feeling remains that third place is now theirs to lose, which should make this a time of celebration in Rome. But the persistent issues surrounding Luciano Spalletti and Francesco Totti, plus growing rumours that Spalletti is wanted by Italy when Antonio Conte leaves, mean that there is too much uncertainty around the club for them to really enjoy this period.
Besides, the Champions League, whilst being a target for all big European clubs, does not hold too many happy memories for Roma. They did qualify from the group stage this season, but only won one game in six and crashed out at the first knockout round, losing both home and away legs. This was not the first time Roma have looked ill-suited to the competition, with memorable heavy defeats against Manchester United and Barcelona, but also huge numbers of goals conceded against much weaker opposition.
If Roma finish third, they will deserve their chance to compete at this level again, but it can only be viewed as bad news for Italy and Serie A’s European coefficient. Roma are much more enterprising and entertaining than Roberto Mancini’s Inter, and their Zdenek Zeman-like approach in Serie A has seen them register several high-scoring wins. But the “score one more than the opposition” approach will not work so easily in Europe, where better teams will embarrass Roma once again.
Inter’s style under Mancini has been much discussed, and many are unhappy with such a big club playing in such a reactive way, soaking up pressure and ceding possession before counter-attacking their opponents. But whatever one’s opinion, and indeed allegiance, it is difficult to argue against the suggestion that Inter would be much better prepared to do well in the Champions’ League than Roma next season.
As it stands, Roma look to be entering the competition, assuming they are able to negotiate a potentially difficult preliminary match – see Lazio’s struggles against Bayer Leverkusen back in August. They may entertain, win hearts and display football that is easy on the eye. But their tactical naivety is likely to see them struggle to make any real impact on the competition again, with Italy’s coefficient set to fall even lower as a result.
Napoli celebrating the "honesty scudetto".
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