Claudio Ranieri’s AS Roma looked to be Internazionale’s biggest challengers for the scudetto after running the Nerazzuri very close for the title last season, but they were found severely wanting in their opening match of the season against newly promoted Cesena. Roma were the better side and dominated possession as well as chances, but couldn’t break down the Cesenati because of their lopsided attack.
Roma’s defence was mostly unchanged from 2009-10 for their first match of the new Serie A campaign. John Arne Riise and Marco Cassetti set out at fullback while Philippe Mexès partnered Juan in the centre of defence; Mexès filled in for Nicolás Burdisso as the Argentine centerback was unavailable after confirming his permanent move to the Stadio Olimpico. David Pizarro sat deepest of the three midfielders, performing a dual role as defensive cover and a deep-lying playmaker. In front of him were Daniele De Rossi and Simone Perrotta, who shuttled the ball up from the backline to the forward players.
Jérémy Menez was the rightmost of the three attackers and operated on the right, although he frequently cut inside after starting his runs closer to the touchline. Francesco Totti played off and to the right of Mirko Vucinic, who occasionally drifted into the vast open space to his left. You’ll notice that this formation cannot be easily described – it’s not a 4-4-2, as there was no left winger, and it’s not 4-3-3 because of the lack of width up front, and although La Gazzetta listed it as 4-3-1-2, Menez was not wide on the right, not dictating play in the centre. Probably the best name for it would be 4-1-2-3, but the huge hole on the left wing means that label is somewhat disingenuous.
The Giallorossi’s three-man central midfield allowed them to hold the ball very well, and their link-up play with the attacking three was decent. Unfortunately for Roma, Vucinic’s first touch was poor throughout, and the service for the two forwards lacked variety – it was almost all to their feet, apart from a few long balls up to Vucinic in the closing stages. Roma’s attacks were also very one-paced, and although the team is clearly not up to full fitness, they could certainly have used a quick striker or winger to provide a different forward option. Ranieri tried to diversify their attack when he brought Taddei on in the second half, and the Brazilian winger did stretch Cesena a bit more as he varied his runs and stayed out wide more than Menez. Matteo Brighi provided a similar type of progressive option in midfield when he came on, but Stefano Okaka did very little and Cesena held out for a draw.
Despite their lack of variation in service and speed, Roma’s biggest failing on Saturday was that they had no attacking option on the left for most of the match. Riise saw the vast amounts of space ahead of him very early on and rampaged up and down the wing for much of the first half, but he alone did not provide enough for an attacking option to balance the heavy right-side dominance. To make matters worse, he took a knock late in the first half and wasn’t nearly as attacking after the interval. Vucinic drifted into the space on the left side occasionally, but he’s not the type of player to properly exploit that space. Even the second half wore on, none of the Roma players took it upon themselves to provide a left-sided option, Ranieri didn’t alter the team’s basic shape, and the Giallorossi suffered as a result.
Clearly, this Roma side has not fully taken shape and Ranieri will not play the whole season like this, but it was shocking that a top team could be so one-dimensional in their attacking play. They failed to spread the play, lacked variation in the pace or attacks, and sorely missed a left-sided option for a quick switch of play and simple variety in their offence. In spite of these serious shortcomings, they are very strong in central midfield and if they find some balance to their attack they will challenge for the title again.
