Rome, too many blackouts, Mourinho runs for cover
This is not about having a big one or a small one in front of you. The concentration, the personality, Rome has shown that it can be lost or not, democratically, with anyone. Whether the opponent is called Juventus, as happened last Sunday, or is called Verona, Venice or Bodo, the blackout is always upon us and the points lost on the road are now too many, so much so as to almost give up any dream of glory. For this reason, the Portuguese coach asked for players with personality, immediately, who can raise the level. Because this type of problem goes beyond the technical aspect, the quality of the players, which for Mou is not up to par anyway. Sergio Oliveira, in this regard, should dare a hand to this troop a little light in the head, as well as in the physical. The seven minutes of blackout against Juventus risk becoming as famous as the six granted by Ferruccio Valcareggi to Gianni Rivera in the 1970 world final. Seven minutes, those, in which Roma lost their heads, allowing the Bianconeri to overturn easily a result that seemed to have been achieved by now: 25 ‘st (Locatelli), 27’ st (Kulusevski) and 32 ‘st (De Sciglio). When Rome falls, it falls male, in short. For 1-0 he loses few times: twice, with Juve (in Turin) and Bologna. And the one with Juve at the Olimpico, albeit sensational, is not the only episode that tells the true nature of Rome and therefore its enormous character frailties. Mou has long identified the problem, now he intervenes with new players and with changes of modules.
PORTUGUESE PERSONALITY
The first defeat of the Giallorossi in the league has more or less the same matrix and does not depend only on the men, gradually the culprits, if we want to remain within the defensive department, they are all, with their mistakes, from Kumbulla to Smalling, up to to Ibanez and Cristante, who at times immolated himself as a central defensive. The problem, as mentioned, is not only technical, but one of psychological strength, of personality. Mou’s team shows frailties that are compatible with great successes. At the Bentegodi, after Pellegrini’s goal, the collapse arrives: at 4 ‘of the second half Barak scores and at 9’ Caprari. In five minutes the inertia of the match changes and always five are the minutes that pass from Ilic’s own goal (2-2) to the definitive 3-2 of Faraoni. That time we appealed to chance, but it wasn’t like that. Other than chance. Nine minutes have passed, however, from Milinkovic’s goal and Pedro’s doubling. A one-two that in the derby knocks down Roma, then forced to chase, without being able to take the opponent, who had given themselves a good advantage. The nine is recurring, even in Venice, which was perhaps the most thunderous fall, also taking into account the opponent. The overtaking of Zanetti’s team, down 1-2, is realized with the goals of Aramu in the 20 ‘of the second half and Okereke in the 29’. Leaving aside Roma-Inter (and there too, everything was closed in a time, from minute 15 to 39) and already mentioned about the match against Juve last week, here’s how at San Siro against Milan, on the evening of the Befana, Mourinho’s team falls into the same problem, always delivering to the Rossoneri in nine minutes: Giroud converts the penalty and just eight minutes have passed since the kick-off, Messias beats Rui Patricio to double and we are in seventeenth. Cause zero and uphill road. Emblematic, in this football horror story, is Bodo’s challenge to the cold, Conference League. Roma are already two goals down after twenty minutes, in reality only twelve have passed between the first and the second. And the last three, Bodo marks them from the twenty-first to the thirty-fifth of the second half. In short, will Oliveira be enough? Maybe not, but it is already something and tomorrow we will know more against Cagliari.
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