GIALLOROSSI YORKSHIRE BLOG
Roma Women will make their historic home bow when they face Juventus on Sunday.
After the postponement of the game against Tavagnacco in September, which should have been the newly formed side’s first home match, Roma finally get the opportunity to play in front of their own crowd at Stadio Tre Fontane in Serie A. The game pits them against last season’s champions Juventus, who were in the same scenario as Roma 12 months ago. The newly formed Juve team won the league at the first time of asking after setting up a women’s section in 2017, extending their recent monopoly of the Italian game. Roma will be hoping to follow their formula by also achieving success in their debut year, but things have not started in an ideal fashion with successive defeats. The campaign began with a defeat to Sassuolo, before Verona got the better of Roma last weekend. In terms of team selection for today’s game, the players to have started both matches so far have been goalkeeper Rosalia Pipitone, defenders Angelica Soffia, Emma Lipman and Elisa Bartoli, midfielders Giada Greggi and Claudia Ciccotti - who slotted into defence against Verona - and forwards Agnese Bonfantini, Martina Piemonte and Annamaria Serturini. All in all, it’s been quite consistent, with only the central midfield places really being under contention. Coach Betty Bavagnoli is looking forward to experiencing the home support. She told the club’s website: “Juventus are the strongest side in the league. “We respect our opponents but we won’t stop trying to play our way. We are looking forward to the test. “Finally, we get to play at Stadio Tre Fontane in front of our fans – and that can give us a lot of motivation. Even if we are playing a tough side we must remember that we are at our home, playing for our supporters.” The game kicks off at 11:30am UK time.
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Roma Women will look to catch up with their Serie A rivals when they take on AGSM Verona on Sunday afternoon.
Roma's debut season began with a loss against Sassuolo, and following the postponement of the game against Tavagnacco, Betty Bavagnoli's side haven't had the chance to get their first points on the board. Now, nearly a month on from that opening day defeat, they have a chance to rectify the situation. Verona lie 6th in the table, having drawn their only game of the season, versus Florentia. That means they are two places above Roma, and Elisa Bartoli and co. could leapfrog them with a victory. The game will be an emotional one for Roma's defensive linchpin Emma Lipman, who spent last season with Verona. It was the English centre-back's first experience of playing football abroad, which gave her the opportunity to make the switch to Roma in the summer. Her knowledge of the opposition could be a crucial factor in Roma's preparation for the game and execution of the gameplan. With the men's game currently on its international break, this matchup gives Roma fans the chance to still support their team while the likes of Edin Dzeko and Alessandro Florenzi are away representing their countries. Some of the women's team have also played internationally in the past week, with Bartoli completing 90 minutes for Italy against Sweden on Tuesday, and Trudi Sudan Carter playing all of Jamaica's 1-0 win over Costa Rica on Monday. This game presents Roma with an opportunity to climb the formative Serie A table, against a team who finished mid-table last year. Can they record a historic first ever competitive win? It will be a historic day as Roma Women compete in Serie A for the first time on Saturday.
The team was set up in the summer, led by coach Betty Bavagnoli and captain Elisa Bartoli. They won their summer friendlies against Union College and Florentia comfortably, without conceding a goal. Roma will look to carry that form on when they face Sassuolo in their league opener. The game gets underway at 2pm on Saturday, with Bavagnoli’s side looking to make a winning start to their life as a team. Last season, Sassuolo came 9th out of 12 teams in the division. One of the more recognisable names in the league, it was their first time competing in Serie A. Also competing in Serie A Femminile for the first time were Juventus, who Roma will be looking to emulate this season. Juventus won the league at the first time of asking, and while there is no pressure on Roma to achieve the same, they will be hoping they can finish there or thereabouts at the end of the season. Roma have assembled a squad with varying levels of experience. There are some fully fledged internationals in the team, such as Swiss midfielder Vanessa Bernauer and Italian defenders Federica De Criscio and Bartoli. Elsewhere, there are younger players such as forwards Agnese Bonfantini and Martina Piemonte, aged 19 and 20 respectively. The latter spent last season with Sevilla and has represented the Italian women’s team at youth level. Bavagnoli will be hoping her side can carry the good form they have shown in their early matches over to competitive football. Over the course of the club's history, only two British players have played for Roma. But with the introduction of a Women's team for 2018-19, that number has increased to three.
Neither of the two British men to have played for Roma made too much of an impression. Ashley Cole only spent one-and-a-half seasons at the club, but despite his illustrious past, he often found himself on the bench, with Jose Holebas and then Lucas Digne preferred at left-back. Cole wasn't even assigned a squad number ahead of his second campaign in Rome, in which he was released half way through. The other British man to have played for Roma, John Charles, was more famous for his time at Leeds United and Juventus. After he had left Juventus to briefly return to Yorkshire to play for Leeds again, Charles spent one season at Roma, scoring four goals in 10 games in 1962-63. Technically, there was a third British-born player to represent Roma. Simone Perrotta was born in Ashton-Under-Lyne in 1977, although he moved to Italy, the country of his parents' origin, in 2005. Perrotta went on to make 326 appearances for Roma, and won the World Cup in 2006 with Italy. However, despite the lack of UK players in the club's history, Roma Women will be represented by a British player right from the beginning, someone with her own major connections to Leeds and Yorkshire. Nuneaton-born Emma Louise Lipman is a member of Roma's first ever women's squad. The English defender, 28, signed up after a one-year spell with AGSM Verona. A central defender, Lipman brings great experience from the top of the women's game, although she has never been capped by England. Lipman began her youth career with Coventry City at the age of 10. It was a big breakthrough for Lipman, who had seen many footballing opportunities turned down in her early life just because she was a girl. But at Coventry, she found a place to develop, spending her formative years as a footballer there. She made her open-age debut at the age of just 14, even scoring the winning penalty. Aged 17, Lipman left Coventry as she prepared to embark on the next stage of her life. And that's where the Yorkshire connection came in. Lipman moved to Leeds to study for a degree at Leeds Metropolitan University (now known as Leeds Beckett). After completing her education, Lipman stayed in Leeds, finding her next big opportunity in sport. She signed for Leeds United Ladies, at the time in the second-tier of women's football in England. Lipman stayed with Leeds for two-and-a-half seasons before making another big step up. She joined Women's Super League side Manchester City. As well as balancing a role as an Athletic Development Coach for the club's academy, she helped the side across two WSL seasons, she was part of the City squad that qualified for the Champions League for the first time in their history in 2015. Unfortunately, Lipman would not be a part of the side who would play in Europe the next season. Instead, she was released from her contract, and returned to Yorkshire to play for Sheffield FC in the WSL 2. She helped her new club to a fifth place finish in her first season, and ninth in the WSL Spring Series, which helped align the WSL calendar with the rest of women's football. After her time at Sheffield, it was time for a new adventure. In September 2017, for the first time in her career, Lipman moved abroad to play for AGSM Verona. It was an opportunity for her to test her skillset in a new country, where she would be playing at the top level once again: Verona were in Serie A for the 2017-18 season. Lipman played 21 times in the league as her new side achieved a 7th-place finish, securing their Serie A status for another season. Meanwhile, Roma were putting the groundworks in place to set up their own official women's team to compete in the same league for the new season. It was a team that Lipman was going to be a part of. On 10th August 2018, Lipman confirmed on Instagram that she would be joining Roma. She wrote: "Focused and ready for my next Italian adventure... super excited to have signed for @officialasroma and see what lies ahead at this great club in a historic first year. #ForzaRoma" Her life at Roma got off to the perfect start. In the club's first friendly, against Union College, Lipman scored one of the goals in a massive 12-0 win. Then, a few weeks later, she was a rock at the back as Roma beat Florentia 4-0 to win the inaugural Trofeo Luisa Petrucci. Two games, two clean sheets, and even a goal. What more could a defender ask for? Lipman will likely be a key player in the season ahead for Roma Women, which begins on 22nd September with a trip to Sassuolo. One of the most experienced members of the squad, she will be pivotal to Roma's organisation at the back in their debut Serie A campaign. And all the time, she will be flying the flag for the English-speaking Giallorossi community. Roma Women won the inaugural Trofeo Luisa Petrucci with a 4-0 win over Florentia on Sunday afternoon.
Betty Bavagnoli's sided dominated throughout, scoring two goals in each half to wrap up the win, two weeks before the Serie A Femminile season gets underway. The scoring began with an early own goal, before Anna Maria Serturini slotted home for 2-0. In the second half, Flaminia Simonetti increased the advantage to three, before Serturini scored again late on to complete the win. Here's what we learnt from the match. Simonetti, Bonfantini influential Roma made great use of width throughout the game, attacking Florentia down the channels. Key to this success was number 22, Agnese Bonfantini, who started on the right before drifting to the left more often in the second half. Skilful and quick-thinking, the forward allowed Roma to play with a fluency that Florentia struggled to deal with. Also impressive was Simonetti, whose strike for 3-0 was the best goal in the game. Simonetti made a lot of ground on a mazy run before finishing from the right-hand side of the box. But it wasn't just the goal that stood out. Simonetti helped dictate the flow of the game with her passing and movement between the thirds. Defence does well to keep clean sheet Roma's backline stood firm against Florentia, who weren't without their opportunities. Particularly solid were Emma Louise Lipman - a former Leeds Metropolitan University student - and captain Elisa Bartoli. Lipman was strong aerially and on the ground, cutting out danger and making important clearances. Meanwhile, left-back Bartoli barely put a foot wrong, leading by example throughout. Roma's goalkeeper, Rosalia Pipitone, was also a positive presence at the back, pulling off a couple of fine saves and also distributing the ball well. Roma vary it up in possession In the attacking phase, the back four were equally comfortable in playing out from the back as they were in going long. Importantly, they knew the right time to play and the right time to clear the danger, meaning they used the ball wisely. Possession was very rarely wasted, meaning Roma could control the flow of the game all over the pitch. Movement in midfield also helped the case, causing problems for the opposition. Scudetto credentials still unclear As good a performance as this was from Roma, it is still unclear how the Women will do in their maiden campaign in Serie A Femminile this season. Florentia were not the strongest opponent - they gained promotion to Serie A for the first time in their history last season - and tougher tests will await Bavagnoli's women over the course of the season. Besides, we have nothing to measure this performance against. Roma too will be playing in Serie A for the first time, having founded the Women's team this summer. Expectations will be high given that Roma are one of the few recognisable names in the league, but this game was no yardstick to measure Roma's title chances by. However, what can be said is that Roma dominated, something that will undoubtedly give Bavagnoli confidence in her team. An intriguing and exciting season awaits for Roma's Women. |
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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