AS Roma: Hungry For Glory

[orion523]

AS Roma:
Hungry For Glory
A FIFA 14 Dynasty

Game: FIFA 14
Difficulty: Legendary
Sliders: Orion's Next Gen
Board: Strict
1st Transfer Window: Closed
1st Year European Football: Enabled

[orion523]

Club Almanac

Serie A Titles(3)
1941-42, 1982-83, 2000-01

Coppa Italia Titles(9)
1963-64, 1968-69, 1979-80, 1980-81, 1983-84, 1985-86, 1990-91, 2006-07, 2007-08

Supercoppa Italiana Titles(2)
2001, 2007

Serie B Titles(1)
1951-52

UEFA Champions League Titles(0)

UEFA Europa League Titles(0)

Season By Season

2013-14
Manager: Rudi Garcia
Serie A: 22W - 11D - 5L - 77pts - 3rd place
Coppa Italia: Lost In Quarters To AC Milan 3-2
**Qualified for 2014-15 UEFA Champions League

2014-15
Manager: Rudi Garcia
Serie A:
Coppa Italia:
Champions League:

[orion523]

Before I get started here I wanted to give you guys an idea of what I want to do here. In short I want this to be an homage of sorts to a club that's become one of my favorites in all of Europe AS Roma. To accomplish this I'm going to not only report on the week to week/game to game struggle to become:
a) Champions Of Italy
and/or
b) Champions Of Europe
I'm also going to from time to time do "time capsule" articles in which I'll era by era recap the history of the club. Hopefully you find it interesting.
Next Up: Team preview, then the season opens.

[orion523]

10 August 2013


2013-14 AS Roma Season Preview
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Starting From Scratch.....Again

Overview
It's day one at Stadio Olimpico, again. Following the failures of both Luis Enrique and Zdenek Zeman, in comes former Lille gaffer Rudi Garcia, who's has the unenviable task of needing to produce results quickly after two years of frustration. James Pallotta was keen to stress that Garcia is his first permanent coaching appointment since becoming club President, but there will be little time for a honeymoon period for the Frenchman as he attempts to succeed where the Spaniard and the Czech failed.
In just a month's time comes the first Rome derby of the season, and it is past time that Roma beat Lazio. With board expectations being Scudetto or bust, the Giallorossi will have to hit the ground running.

Mercato
Once again sporting director Walter Sabatini has been busy in the transfer market to provide Roma with a competitive squad.
This year though the focus has largely been on experience and proven ability rather than potential: Kevin Strootman rather than Panagiotis Tachtsidis, Maicon instead of Ivan Piris. Roma have also(legitimately) exploited some loopholes to sign extra non-EU players, signing Amara Konate and Babu before selling them abroad in order to open up extra spots for Maicon and Gervinho.
The three major departures this summer have been sales of necessity.
Marquinhos was the revelation of last season and an approach from one of Europe's elite or nouveaux riches clubs was inevitable; the eventual €35m offer from PSG was impossible for the club to turn down.
Possibly the most difficult deal of the summer, the sale of Erik Lamela to Tottenham Hotspur for €30m was one that Mr. Sabatini admittedly did not want to make. Immensely talented, and looked at as the successor to the great Francesco Totti, Lamela was to be the club's future, but a huge offer from a rival Italian club stopped a planned contract extension cold. Rather than lose him to this unnamed Italian rival, Sabatini instead transferred him to Spurs, reuniting Lamela with former Roma General Manager Franco Baldini.
Fans were divided over the sale of Pablo Osvaldo to Southampton, as although he carries more than his share of on and off the field issues, he has been Roma's top scorer in both seasons at the club.
Others including Maarten Steklenburg, Matteo Brighi, and Tachtsidis have also left for pastures new, while Simone Perrotta retired at the end of last season. More sales look likely in January with Rodrigo Taddei linked with Livorno, and Marco Borriello being offered to anyone who will listen.
However Sabatini has spent money wisely this summer, landing Adem Ljajic from Fiorentina(€11M), Mehdi Benatia from Udinese(€13.5M), and Kevin Strootman(€16.5M rising to a potential €20M) from PSV.
Beating Manchester United to Strootman's signature was a real coup for Roma; the 23 year old who has already captained the Netherlands, is a complete midfielder capable of helping out in both defensive and attacking phases.
The most impressive deal however may be the capture of the 21 year old Ljajic from Fiorentina. Knowing that Lamela was all but gone, Sabatini was proactive in the pursuit of the highly rated Serbian playmaker, beating out both AC Milan and Liverpool for his signature. In his four seasons with the Viola, Ljajic scored 16 goals in 85 appearances.
Tin Jedvaj has arrived to attempt to plug the Marquinhos shaped gap in defense, which has also been strengthened by the signing of Maicon on a free.
Lukasz Skorupski will provide backup to Morgan De Sanctis in goal, while Gervinho will renew acquaintances with Garcia after Roma paid Arsenal €8M for the former Lille forward.




Rudi Garcia
Garcia's pedigree is batter than some would give him credit for and has long been a favorite of Sabatini, who gave him a ringing endorsement on his appointment.
"For us, Rudi represents what is good about the coaches that have preceded him. We chose him for his past, his results, his flexibility and his great desire for Roma."
His achievements at Lille, including a league and cup double in 2011, are commendable as he maintained charge over a constantly evolving team that had to cope with losing its best players each summer.
His attacking mentality is what Roma's owners have always been after and in Ljajic and Gervinho, Roma have two wide forwards with great dynamism and ability to switch roles - something Garcia is keen to utilize.
There will also be a greater attention to the defense than under Luis Enrique or Zeman, and there is a wealth of Serie A knowhow in the Giallorossi backline mixed with the promising pair of Jedvaj and Alessio Romagnoli.
In preseason, Garcia's 4-3-3 system has looked fluid and mutually supportive with fullbacks supporting attacks, the front three switching positions and the midfield trio constantly moving to provide options or close down space.
Strootman's box to box style seems ideally suited to the system and will be part of a high caliber midfield alongside Daniele DeRossi and Miralem Pjanic. Garcia will have to work on the defense though(stop me if you've heard this before); Roma failed to keep a clean sheet in seven preseason friendlies, including against a local representative XI during the ritiro at Brunico.

Predictions
There are reasons to be hopeful ahead of the new season. There is a coach that fans can be united in their support for(unlike Zeman), sensible moves have been made in the mercato, the team look to be adapting to Garcia's tactics in preseason, and there is finally a real sense of team unity in the dressing room.
Osvaldo's departure should also create a better atmosphere in the stands, where the treatment of the Italian often bordered on shameful. "Some of the fans treated me really badly, it was always my fault," Osvaldo said after joining Southampton.
"I don't understand why, I gave everything for the Roma shirt. Too many people in Rome believe what is said on the radio and in certain newspapers."
However while the dressing room will also be a calmer place without the Italian international, someone must step up and fill his goalscoring boots.
Whether Mattia Destro can stay fit for long enough to do so is debatable, and any new signings will have to settle quickly. Unfortunately for Garcia he will also have to make up for the lack of progress of his predecessors; in the two years since the Americans took over the club, the marketing and commercialization of the club has moved on while there has been stasis on the pitch.
Qualification for Europe is essential this season. The Champions League appears to be a step too far with Juventus, Napoli, and Fiorentina looking strong, but a Europa League finish would at least be progress. I believe Garcia is the man for Roma, but the pressure is very much on.

Written By Anthony Wright
ForzaItalianFootball.com

2013-14 AS Roma
Squad List

[orion523]

Ha, I realize that the preview is pretty extensive, but I wanted the readers to get a good idea of the actual strengths and weaknesses of the club going into the season. Next up, the opener!

[orion523]

Got lucky as hell and scored a PS4 this morning, so this dynasty is officially Next-Gen!
BTW, I want to give a huge props to Gonira who's slider set is so fantastical that it even works Next-Gen!!!
Thanks bud, you are the man.

[orion523]

Serie A Match Day #1
27 August 2013
Stadio Armando Picchi, Livorno

Livorno 0-1 Roma

Scoring Summary
58' Maicon - ASR


Maicon Makes Garcia A Winner In Roma Debut


Roma celebrates getting off to a winning start

A 25 yard thing of beauty by newly signed right back Maicon allowed the visitors to overcome a bit of an uneven start and make new manager Rudi Garcia a winner in his Serie A debut as Roma defeated newly promoted side Livorno by the score of 1-0 here at Stadio Armando Picchi. Inept throughout most of the first half, the capital club were much more crisp in the second, testing Livorno keeper Francesco Bardi twice before finally getting the all important first goal with Maicon's exceptional effort just shy of the one hour mark. In front but far from content, Roma were brilliant in the final thirty minutes, and although another goal wasn't to come, the outcome was never in doubt.

Aug 27, 2013 - AS Roma vs Livorno
TEAM	1	2	SCORE
AS Roma (1-0-0)	0	1	1
Livorno (0-0-1)	0	0	0

Team Stats Comparison
AS Roma		Livorno
50%	Possession	50%
13	Shots	16
6	Shots on Target	8
19	Tackles	40
0	Fouls	0
0	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0
2	Corner Kicks	3
46%	Shot Accuracy	50%
68%	Passing Percentage	79%

Results From Around Serie A

25 August 2013
Fiorentina 2-1 Catania
Lazio 2-1 Udinese

27 August 2013
Internazionale 4-0 Genoa
Livorno 0-1 AS Roma
Torino 1-0 Sassuolo

28 August 2013
Cagliari 1-1 Atalanta
Napoli 5-1 Bologna
Parma 1-1 Chievo Verona
Sampdoria 1-2 Juventus

[orion523]

Italian Serie A
Match Day #2
1 September 2013
Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Roma 1-0 Hellas Verona

Scoring Summary
49' Michael Bradley - Rom

Strong Second Half Again Sees Roma Through


American Michael Bradley celebrates eventual game winner

Michael Bradley's goal early in the second half earned new manager Rudi Garcia his second straight Serie A victory as Roma once again held their opposition without a goal in a 1-0 triumph over Hellas Verona here at Stadio Olimpico.
Spurned on by a smothering defensive performance, the home side dominated the match from the thirty minute mark on, took the lead in the 49th minute and never looked back, completely blanketing the visitors at every turn, on their way to a second clean sheet in as many tries.

Sep 1, 2013 - Hellas Verona vs AS Roma
TEAM	1	2	SCORE
Hellas Verona (0-0-1)	0	0	0
AS Roma (2-0-0)	0	1	1

Team Stats Comparison
Hellas Verona		AS Roma
47%	Possession	53%
12	Shots	19
4	Shots on Target	8
19	Tackles	19
0	Fouls	1
0	Yellow Cards	0
0	Red Cards	0
4	Corner Kicks	4
33%	Shot Accuracy	42%
83%	Passing Percentage	79%

Results From Around Serie A

31 August 2013
Bologna 1-1 Sampdoria
AC Milan 2-1 Cagliari

1 September 2013
Atalanta 1-1 Torino
Catania 1-2 Internazionale
Chievo Verona 1-1 Napoli
Genoa 1-1 Fiorentina
Juventus 2-1 Lazio
AS Roma 1-0 Hellas Verona
Sassuolo 2-3 Livorno
Udinese 1-1 Parma