Restoring The Might of Rome

Roma don't know how to win away



Last updated: 3 March 2013
Once more away from home the Giallorossi struggle against lesser opposition and risk defeat
It has become a constant for Roma to give its fans depressing displays away from home, and the Cagliari trip proved no different; the home side got a deserved lead at the end of the first half, Pinilla putting the ball past Stekelenburg following Nenè's assist.

In the second half Roma tried to react and went close to equalising but also risked to concede again in a couple chances, until it was youngster Nico Lopez who proved to be Roma's savior this time round, heading into the net the ball in the 86th minute.

With this draw Roma allow Juventus a two points advantage, while from behind Milan is completing a comeback onto the leading duo, and is now two points off the Giallorossi, thus have made the title race a three-horses affair again.



Scorers: 45+1' Pinilla 86' Lopez

Booked: Moscardelli, Ariaudo (Cagliari) Pjanic (Roma)

Man of the match: Conti (Cagliari)

Roma brush Pescara aside



Last updated: 9 March 2013
The Giallorossi confirm positive home run
Roma reacted to the Cagliari bad result with a convincing win against Pescara, Mattia Destro opening the score after only 5 minutes, as he headed into the net a loose ball into Pescara's box, following a free kick from Totti; Osvaldo had a couple chances to double the lead but could not convert them, then Pescara threatened Stekelenburg's goal but the keeper was attentive; Roma kept up the pressure till half time without finding another goal, and at the beginning of the second half it seemed it might cost them as Pescara was more and more dangerous.

However, Osvaldo finally took his chance after an hour of play, volleying a deflected cross from Florenzi past Mattia Perin; to complete Roma's rout arrived Tachtisidis' goal in the 78th minute, the Greek midfielder heading home a free kick from Totti , and completing a man of the match performance which will have pleased the manager, who has been forced to make do without the injured De Rossi for three weeks already, and will miss the Roman playmaker for another two at least.

It must be mentioned that Roma's stuttering form in the last period, especially away, has to take into consideration the number of injuries the squad has been suffering lately, with a total of six players out because of physical problems of various lenghts.



Scorers: 5' Destro 60' Osvaldo 78' Tachtisidis

Booked: none

Man of the match: Tachtsidis

Seem to be playing good football at home but costly away defeats and draws could cost you the title

Definitely; we have gone unbeaten so far in the league (thanks to many games drawn in the dying minutes, it has to be said) but we draw too much and the others even losing games now and then can keep our pace or even overtake us as they win more frequently, especially away.

Pjanic gifts Roma three points



Last updated: 17 March 2013
The Giallorossi manage to finally win away from home thanks to a wondergoal from the Bosnian
It was a close match at the Artemio Franchi in Siena today, and once more Roma wasn't brilliant away from home, however the Giallorossi managed to snatch a precious win thanks to Miralem Pjanic's goal directly from free kick in the 29th minute; the match then continued to be fairly close even if Roma had two goals disallowed which might have put them on a more comfortable cushion.

At the final whistle, the relief on the manager's face for having finally got the whole post away from the Olimpico was clearly visible.



Scorers: 29' Pjanic

Booked: Paolucci (Siena) Pjanic, Romagnoli, Piris (Roma)

Man of the match: Pjanic

The Giallorossi edge tight match



Last updated: 30 March 2013
Florenzi keeps Roma two points off Juventus with a last gasp goal
Roma had some days of rest after the Siena game as their local derby with Lazio was postponed due to international duties of many players; the Giallorossi then travelled to Genova where Sampdoria battled fiercely as they met Roma at the Luigi Ferraris tonight, and were arguably the better side, but football can be cruel if you don't convert your chances and the home side were punished by Florenzi in the injury time of the second half, just when the referee was blowing for the end of the match.

Nenad Krsticic will feel the most upset as he had a number of chances to score but failed to make them count, both for his bad aim and Stekelenburg's fine form; so the score was still 0-0 when in the last thirty seconds Pjanic opened the play on the right for Nico Lopez who crossed the ball on the far post, Osvaldo rised over the Sampdoria centre backs and headed it past Romero, but the post denied him; however, Florenzi was ready to pounce and correct it into the empty goal.



Scorers: 90+2' Florenzi

Booked: De Silvestri, Poli (Sampdoria) Robinson (Roma)

Man of the match: Costa (Sampdoria)

Roma pushes Lazio toward relegation



Last updated: 2013
Second win of the season for Roma against the local rivals
This must have been one of the most tense derbies in the history of Serie A as Roma played to keep the title race tight and Lazio for survival as the Biancocelesti incredibly sit in 17th position, just out of the relegation zone.

The home side started better and went close to scoring with a long range effort from De Rossi, and while Lazio managed to test Stekelenburg a couple times, the first 30 minutes saw Roma put their mark on the match as Destro scored twice in five minutes, first with a volley on Piris' cross, then with a close range deflection onto Balzaretti's low cross on the first post. The young striker could have completed a fantastic hat-trick in the 34th minute but his effort went close to the post.

As the half time was looming, Osvaldo further increased Roma's lead as he corrected Marchetti's save into the net. In the second half Lazio attacked with desperation while Roma controlled the game and even decided to rest some players for the upcoming fixture against Juventus; this allowed Lazio to get a firmer grip on the midfield though, and to close the gap first with Gonzalez then with Candreva, but it was too late by now for them to complete the comeback.

Roma's manager will be glad of the return of Balzaretti and De Rossi from injury in time for the title-deciding matches against Juventus and Milan which will be Roma's two next fixtures.





Scorers: 25' Destro 30' Destro 44' Osvaldo 80' Gonzalez 90+1' Candreva

Booked: Balzaretti, Dodò (Roma) Cana, Hernanes, Andre Dias (Lazio)

Man of the match: Destro

Some great wins especially that over Lazio,

can we see the table soon?

I'll post it after the Juventus and Milan games, there will be a clearer picture of how the title race stands then

Roma somehow keep Juventus at bay



Last updated: 6 April 2013
The Turin side dominated the match at the Olimpico but could not find a goal
Roma had hoped to be able to beat Juventus to grab the top of the table but the Giallorossi had rather to worry about not to lose the game as the Bianconeri were very dangerous from the off, pushing the home side on the backheel.

Somehow, though, Roma's backline managed to stop the Juventus attackers from scoring, thanks also to a man of the match performance by Brazilian defender Marquinhos; sadly for Roma's manager, the young player picked up a yellow which suspends him from next match against Milan.



Scorers: none

Booked: Marquinhos (Roma) Vucinic, Vidal (Juventus)

Man of the match: Marquinhos

Milan dominates but only gets one point



Last updated: 13 April 2013
Roma snatches a draw
Despite wanting to cancel the bad performance with Juventus, Roma played an horrendous first half at the San Siro with Milan repeatedly going close to getting the lead and being denied either by Stekelenburg or their own bad aim; in the second half things got slightly better for the Roman side, but it was still Milan deserving the win.

However, football's beauty is that not always things go as planned, and when Piris' cross found Osvaldo all free on the far post, the striker didn't have trouble converting it into a shock lead for Roma, which was then hoping to get a lucky win out of this; the manager replaced the tired Pjanic with Tachtsidis and put the Greek alongside De Rossi in front of the backline to try and stifle Milan's four men attack which pursued an equaliser. However, in injury time Boateng's cross toward Pazzini was met by Burdisso who anticipated the Milan striker but also sent the ball into the net past his goalkeeper, gifting Milan with the wanted goal and robbing his side of two points they would have gladly taken.





Scorers: 82' Osvaldo 90+1' Burdisso o.g.

Booked: Pato, Boateng, Pazzini, Antonini, De Jong (Milan) De Rossi, Castan, Balzaretti, Destro (Roma)

Man of the match: Montolivo (Milan)

Florenzi brace sends Roma past Udinese



Last updated: 21 April 2013
Roma dominated the match
Roma dominated the match against Udinese, even if perhaps the best chances were of the Friulani; the Giallorossi found a deserved lead with Florenzi in the dying minutes of the first half, as Osvaldo headed the ball from Totti toward the oncoming midfielder who volleyed it into the net; in the second half, Florenzi scored again with a shot from the edge of the box which went close to the post and out of Agazzi's reach. The last thirty minutes were quite calm as Udinese looked resigned to lose and Roma controlled the match to bring hom the three points.

With this win Roma stay four points off Juventus, which won the Turin derby by the minimum margin, and also secured qualification for the next Champions League, which was the club target at the start of the season.





Scorers: 42' Florenzi 56' Florenzi

Booked: Fabbrini, Lazzari, Benatia (Udinese)

Man of the match: Florenzi

fantastic being unbeaten but you hav drawn alot, title race is still alive!

Lazio and Udinese both in the relegationz one and Inter not far outside! Wow!

The big problem is that I've not scored as much as I' would have expected from a tactic which is, basically, very attacking; this leaves us exposed at the back and in many games we have suffered because of that; despite that, we have conceded far less than I thought, we are the best defence in the league even!! Mysteries of FM...

Roma rise to see Chievo off



Last updated: 28 April 2013
Finally a good away display from the Giallorossi
Roma started the match against Chievo with good determination and found the lead in the 12th minute with Miralem Pjanic who was found into the box by Florenzi, and cooly slotted the ball past Sorrentino; few minutes later Chievo equalised with Rigoni who was left alone on the far post and headed the corner into the net.

But Roma was on form today and didn't let it influence them, as Totti served a splendid assist to Destro with a cross from the right that the young striker headed precisely to beat the goalkeeper. At half time Roma were deservedly winning but by a close margin, which however they furthered in the second half when Pjanic found his second goal of the game to finish off a great team move from Roma, the ball travelling from one side of the pitch to the other where Totti and Piris combined and the latter served the Bosnian midfielder for the 3-1.

Soon later Pjanic had to go off injured, on came Tachtsidis who took just one minute to score as he was found on his run forward by Florenzi, then the Greek midfielder struck a hard drive which gave Sorrentino no chance, thus putting the seal on a game which saw Pellissier's following goal as little consolation for Chievo.

With this win Roma keep the pressure on Juventus, and further their gap from Milan which drew against Atalanta.



Scorers: 12' Pjanic 18' Rigoni 24' Destro 62' Pjanic 69' Tachtsidis 71' Pellissier

Booked: Hetemaj, Guana (Chievo) Pjanic, Castan, Dodò, Marquinhos (Roma)

Man of the match: Pjanic

Giallorossi's manager to stay



Last updated: 30 April 2013
The club offered a new three years deal to the manager
Roma seem to believe in stability as they offered a new deal to the manager, who will now stay at the Stadio Olimpico until 2016 on 1,7M euro per year.

"We believe we can achieve what we have in our programs with him" commented the club's director Franco Baldini as he announced the news to the press. No comment came from the manager himself, who is rumoured to have requested a smaller wage for himself, but high profile names for the squad in the transfer market.

Catania has no chance at the Olimpico



Last updated: 4 May 2013
Roma determinedly beat their rivals
The Giallorossi were very concentrated tonight against Catania and found an early lead as Totti got away on the right flank, entered the box and put a low cross for Osvaldo to push into the unguarded net; in the 19th minute then Roma scored again as Destro got back the ball from a defender on the right flank, crossed it for Osvaldo who nodded it down for the oncoming Florenzi who didn't miss the chance. To complete the rout, Destro scored the 3-0 on the 34th minute with a solo effort across Catania's final third, finishing it with a powerful strike.

In the second half, Roma controlled the match allowing a couple shots toward their goal, but also resting some players in the last fifteen minutes with the game clearly won.

Juventus will now have to win their match if they want to keep their four points cushion intact.



Scorers: 7' Osvaldo 19' Florenzi 34' Destro

Booked: Marquinhos, Totti, Castan (Roma) Almiron, Biagianti, Bellusci, Marchese (Catania)

Man of the match: Destro

keep it going! title can still be yours

We are definitely in with a shout, but it's not in our hands anymore

Roma waste huge chance



Last updated: 8 May 2013
Giallorossi put in a lacklustre display in Bologna
Roma went into the match with Bologna only one point off Juve as the Bianconeri had lost their game against Palermo, allowing the Roman side to get back three points in the gap at the top of the table; however, being back into the title race seems to have put pressure again on the squad as after two free flowing displays they reverted back to a worried, uninspired performance away from home in Bologna, with the home side even missing a penalty with Diamanti who let Stekelenburg hypnotise him in the 23rd minute.

The Dutch keeper kept Roma level in a number of occasions, deserving the man of the match award, but his teammates could not come up with a moment of brilliance to win the game, which thus ended 0-0.

It's a huge chance missed by Roma in the title pursuit as in Turin Napoli came back from 2-0 against Juventus to draw 2-2 in injury time, so if Roma had won this game they would now be top.



Scorers: none

Booked: Pjanic, Castan (Roma)

Man of the match: Stekelenburg

Giallorossi easily dispose of Parma



Last updated: 12 May 2013
Osvaldo superb as Roma demolish the Ducali
In front of their fans Roma found it easy to take care of Parma, even if the first huge chance was for the guests with Pabon hitting the woodwork after three minutes from close range; Osvaldo then put Roma ahead as he hit from close range a cross from Pjanic, and soon later he doubled the score from a corner, as he headed it home from inside the six yards box.

Roma were in fair control of the proceedings even if Stekelenburg had to make a couple important saves to keep the double advantage, but he could do nothing at the start of the second half on Belfodil's strike. However Roma were nonplussed by that and extended their lead first with Totti pouncing on a low cross from Osvaldo, then with Florenzi finishing a great solo move with a hard low strike which left the Parma goalkeeper no chance.

After some subs to rest players, Roma loosened their grip on the game allowing Pabon to reduce the gap, but immediately Osvaldo put things right again as he converted Marquinho's low cross to complete his hat-trick and put Roma back on a three goal lead which lasted till the end of the game.

Juventus won their game as well so heading into the last game of the league things remain unchanged, the Bianconeri having a point advantage on Roma.



Scorers: 10' Osvaldo, 14' Osvaldo, 48' Belfodil, 64' Totti, 65' Florenzi, 84' Pabon, 85' Osvaldo

Booked: Pjanic, Totti (Roma), Zaccardo (Parma)

Man of the match: Osvaldo

Roma keeps its part of the bargain but it's not enough



Last updated: 19 May 2013
The Giallorossi edge the final encounter against Atalanta but Juventus win the title
There was no hope of title wins for Roma this afternoon as they faced Atalanta in the final match of the league, away in Bergamo but with part of their attention in Turin where Juventus faced Pescara at home.

Three minutes into the game, Juventus were already in the lead in their game and they soon doubled it, despite that Roma never lost its concentration and battled with Atalanta for the win in the game. A balanced first half ended 0-0, Roma subbed the uninspired Osvaldo with Nico Lopez and their forward play improved but not enough to score. When Totti got a knock and was subbed with the returning Lamela, Roma were even more dangerous up front, but it was a splendid solo move from Mattia Destro which finally gave the lead and eventually the three points to the Roman side.

Roma can still be proud of their season as they went really close to the title and will try to have another go next season, hopefully with a better end result.



Scorers: 68' Destro

Booked: Schelotto, Pisano (Atalanta) Balzaretti, Osvaldo, Tachtisidis, Castan (Roma)

Man of the match: Destro

Roma triumph in Tim Cup final



Last updated: 26 May 2013
Giallorossi demolish Juventus to get the trophy
It was a match which had the sweet taste of revenge for Roma as they faced Juventus in the final of the Tim Cup, and the Roman side showed how much they wanted to get one over the rivals who had snatched the Serie A title just one week earlier; it took Pjanic three minutes to find a way past Buffon as he got onto Osvaldo's low cross, then it was Osvaldo himself who doubled the lead in the 11th minute, Lamela found him inside the box and the striker didn't need another chance to send Roma's fans into raptures.

But it was not enough as Florenzi scored the third goal few minutes later, the midfielder accompanied the Balzaretti-Osvaldo combination on the left and was ready into the box when the striker went for the pass, then he coolly slotted it past the Juventus keeper.

It was not even 20 minutes inside the game and Roma were already cruising to victory, although it must be said that Juventus had its chances, especially with Vucinic, and Roma were a bit lucky to not have conceded one goal at this point. The rest of the first half was balanced with chances at both ends of the pitch, but the score remained 3-0 when the referee sent the players into the locker rooms for the break.

In the second half, Destro found a wonder goal from 30 meters out to complete Roma's triumph, Juventus desperately searching a way back into the game but to no avail, as both Stekelenburg's saves and their striker's bad aim didn't allow them that.





Scorers: 3' Pjanic 11' Osvaldo 18' Florenzi 58' Destro

Booked: Vidal (Juventus) De Rossi (Roma)

Man of the match: Osvaldo

Unlucky not winning the league mate but a fantastic cup win nonetheless!

Well done on the cup, nice to have some silverware

Thanks, it's better than nothing but I'm sure you'll agree if I say I would have preferred it the other way round

@Dan: Yeah it felt good to thump them so clearly after that I've spent all the league chasing after them

I forgot the end of the season table:



Lazio and Udinese relegated, Inter safe.

Roma have good budget for the transfers



Last updated: 10 June 2013
The manager will be able to spend to strenghten the squad

According to Roma's director Franco Baldini, this transfer market will see the manager with a 30 million euro fund at his disposal to build next term's squad. It is understood that the manager's priorities are a right back and one or two wide forwards.

"I have spoken with the manager and he has some names in mind already, we will see if we can reach the transfer targets he has indicated" the director continued in front of a crowd of reporters as he left the training ground earlier today. "At this moment I can only say that we are looking for top young talents in the positions we want to strenghten"

Man City's offer for Pjanic rejected



Last updated: 27 June 2013
English champions can't get their hands on the Bosnian just yet
Roma rejected today's offer for Miralem Pjanic coming from English champions Manchester City; the English club was ready to pay 9,5 million euros up front and another 35 in 24 months to secure the player, for a total of 46 million euro, but Roma held firm and sent the offer back.

However, it is believed that a 50 million euro offer paid all up front will be enough to see the deal happen; it remains to be seen if the Citizens are ready to meet such a request.

Very nice transfer budget for you mate, can't believe Lazio and Udinese got relegated though! Thats huge!