GIALLOROSSI YORKSHIRE BLOG
With just over a month of the season left, Roma still have plenty to play for.
There's the Champions League semi final showdown with Liverpool on the horizon, the race to qualify for the same competition next season by finishing in the league's top four, and a big game against Serie A leaders Juventus still to play. With many big games in such a short space of time, Eusebio Di Francesco will need all his top players firing at full strength. He is a coach who has favoured rotation this season, and although he has sometimes made too many changes for games, he may be forced to do the same in order to remain competitive on both fronts. As key players are rested for the most important matches, opportunities may open up for some of Roma's most talented young players. Di Francesco has long carried a reputation for helping to develop youngsters, and with Roma, he may be able to do the same. We may see some changes implemented very soon; the next two games, against Genoa and SPAL, appear very winnable on paper, and no doubt he will have one eye on the following game, the first leg against Liverpool. It wouldn't be too surprising to see him utilise these games to give minutes to some of his squad players. Neither of Roma's two January additions have yet played for the club. Jonathan Silva was brought in on loan from Sporting CP, as a replacement for Chelsea-bound Emerson. However, the left back, 23, arrived in Rome with an injury, delaying his debut for his new club. He has since been able to make squads, but hasn't yet set foot on the pitch for Roma. Instead, EDF has tended to prefer using Juan Jesus as a left back when resting Aleksandar Kolarov. However, his recent switch to a back three may rule out this option. Roma don't have a lot of depth at centre back, and besides, Jesus is much more comfortable there than as a wing back. Hence, if Kolarov was to be rested, Silva may get his chance to impress as a left wing back. Alternatively, the role could be filled by Luca Pellegrini, a Primavera graduate whose transition into the first team has been disrupted by injury. Roma's number three, now fully fit again and having just signed a new contract, will want to state his case to Di Francesco as he looks to progress his career further. The other 'new' arrival in January was Elio Capradossi, the 22-year-old centre back who was recalled from his loan spell at Bari. Like Silva, Capradossi is yet to feature for Roma, but his time may be approaching. He only has three natural centre backs ahead of him in the pecking order, so it should only take one of them to be rested for the former Primavera captain to get his chance. Even if that is as a late sub, he could still be of great value in helping the team remain as competitive as possible. If either of these players makes the most of their chance when brought into the side, it will mean Roma's more senior players can remain fresh for the biggest games. Di Francesco will have more options he can call on and trust, enabling him to make lineup alterations to protect his most important players. Further upfield, could Mirko Antonucci be given more chances? The 19-year-old winger made a couple of substitute appearances earlier in the season, impressing with an inch-perfect assist for Edin Dzeko against Sampdoria which secured a late draw. Roma fans - always eager to see homegrown talent come through the ranks, having seen the likes of Francesco Totti, Giuseppe Giannini and Daniele De Rossi graduate from the academy to become club legends - liked what they saw from the youngster. However, Antonucci's opportunities have since been limited, with him making no first team appearances since January. He was in the squad for the weekend's Derby Della Capitale, showing that EDF is still keen to keep him aroud the first team. Perhaps he has more cameos in store for him before the end of the season, to help take some of the workload off Diego Perotti, Cengiz Under and co. If he can produce more assists like that cross for Dzeko, then he'll certainly be a useful option. These are just three names that Di Francesco may wish to consider when affording rest to his most-used players. The energy of the young players could be a real benefit to the team as they chase results in two competitions. All EDF has to do is get the balance right when making changes to his lineup.
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samuel bannister
Founder and editor of Giallorossi Yorkshire, who is also a columnist for Roma's official website about the women's team. Categories
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October 2019
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