There’s no middle ground: Roma firing Daniele De Rossi four games into the season is either the simplest and most logical decision or the most baffling coaching change in a few years in Serie A. Every gaffer deserves time at the start of the season. Even more so after a busy transfer market window. In addition, the Giallorossi brought in two veteran center-backs after deadline day, going back to the drawing board tactically.
That’s more than enough to give the boss some leeway even if the early results were disappointing. They botched completely just the Napoli game. They did the best job out of anybody versus Juventus, and only a last-gasp goal denied them the victory versus Genoa. A call of this magnitude can’t possibly hinge simply on that.
The Ongoing Skid
It reportedly didn’t but, perhaps De Rossi would still be on the Roma bench if they prevailed in the most recent round. It’s also true that they have won just once in the last 11 Serie A matches. That is ground for a dismissal in any team with ambitions if there wasn’t the summer in the middle.
If the brass didn’t think the club icon was up for the task, they should have pulled the plug at the end of the previous campaign. It would have still been controversial, as he was thrust into a complicated situation and navigated it well. However, the blowback would have been absorbed by the break. Instead, it will be harsher and will affect the squad in the next games. More importantly, the pool of replacements would have been a lot more enticing.
The Ownership’s U-Turn
While there’s something to the criticism about foreign ownerships being detached from the fan base and not attentive to the local climate, the Roma one knew exactly what they were doing when they plucked De Rossi from relative obscurity, giving him the job after a poor stint with SPAL in Serie B and assisting Roberto Mancini on the Azzurri staff. It was an emotionally driven choice. They were well aware they needed a beloved figure to replace somebody as popular as José Mourinho. They weathered that storm pretty well. We’ll see what Milan will do with Paulo Fonseca, but there might be something there with US entrepreneurs not valuing having an elite manager as much as they should.
Ultimately, hierarchy is key and king in football. The higher-ups have the right to make decisions and use their money however they prefer. History and results will judge them. Axing a coach a few months after handing him a three-year deal appears schizophrenic. Still, the Giallorossi are no longer penny-pinching, and his salary isn’t too large. Plus, he could just be recalled later on. Either way, he’ll likely be back in the dugout next summer since he’s well-regarded in Serie A. In addition, he won’t want to sit idly for too long at the beginning of his career. In the end, it’ll be a fairly standard situation where the team eats his salary for a year and moves on.
The Collision Course with the Higher-Ups
Instead, placing any blame on the gaffer for the Paulo Dybala and Nicola Zalewski’s affairs doesn’t track at all. Those messes fully belong to the front office, which should have a better handle on their players and their intentions. Plus, they should have taken care of their contracts before they became problems. It’d be silly to think the hierarchy really believed the boss convinced them to stay, causing two big headaches.
The respective spin doctors have gotten to work but, according to multiple sources, De Rossi and Roma CEO Lina Souloukou had a strained relationship. The official ultimately convinced the Friedkin family to go in a different direction. According to La Stampa, he would have preferred hiring Raffaele Palladino and his affiliate François Modesto. Instead, the owners stuck with the former midfield and poached director Florent Ghisolfi from Nice. While the Giallorossi are a peculiar and unconventional side in this type of thing, an internal power struggle is nothing new or unusual. Execs usually emerge victorious since are closer to the top, and coaches are easier to replace after all.
The Replacement
The capital club is prone to surprises, as reporters are less plugged in than on other sides, but didn’t pull one out of the hat in this case, going with one of the most readymade solutions. Ivan Juric probably didn’t expect to get back on the horse so soon and at this level after he was spotted in the stands of seemingly every Serie A game in Northern Italy in the most recent round. It’s not an overly exciting hire, but he’s a very capable manager who brings the best out of his players. It’s pretty much the same thing Lazio have done with Marco Baroni, going with a solid gaffer with a past in the minnows hoping the better talent at his disposal will enhance his skillset and tactics.
There are no guarantees that’ll hold true. He comes in with a better resume, and he’s arguably the top Gian Piero Gasperini disciple. He was quite standoffish at the end of his Torino spell, but he’ll surely tone it down given the great opportunity he’s been given. The short-term contract isn’t exactly the biggest commitment. It opens the door to another midseason coaching change if someone better comes along.
The Formation
The switch surely removes any tactical hesitance. He has mostly used 3-4-2-1 throughout his career, tweaking it to a 3-5-2 because he had two quality strikers and not enough no.10s last season. The doubt about whether Paulo Dybala and Matias Soulé can coexist behind the center-forward will remain, though. Juric has often had two right-footed players there, while La Dea’s manager has occasionally fielded two lefties. One would have to adjust, but it should have enough fluidity for it not to be a major issue. In the end, winning is the only medicine for all sorts of ailments.
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