Francesco Totti - Il Gladiatore di Roma

Good idea to loan them out, hopefully they can both still develop at their respective clubs. Great updates as usual

P-KIDDY: Yes Jedvaj looks like a great talent, can't wait for him develop!

Walter: I hope they do well at their clubs so they can be more prepared for first team minutes on their return

ROMA 1-0 ATALANTA (LJAJIC)
ROMA 3-0 VERONA (CASTAN, CAPRARI, PJANIC)

AS Roma look like they’ve finally turned around their midseason struggles as they ended the month of January in stylish fashion, taking six points from six and scoring more than one goal in a match for the first time in eight attempts.

Following their dramatic penalty shootout victory over SSC Napoli in the Coppa Italia, the Giallorossi hosted Atalanta at the Stadio Olimpico. Francesco Totti opted to continue his no-striker experiment that he had started in the latter stages of the Napoli match due to Mattia Destro’s poor form, playing Miralem Pjanic in a false nine type of position in attacking midfield with Adem Ljajic and Gervinho on either wing.

The match started off worryingly when Kevin Strootman was forced off by injury, replaced by Marco Verratti. The Dutchman had badly twisted his ankle and is set to miss the next 4-5 weeks recovering until he is once again available for first team action, a bitter blow to Roma’s midfield dominance.

Just a few minutes later, however, the worry lines were erased from Totti’s face when Pjanic expertly clipped through Adem Ljajic who made no mistake rifling home his team-leading tenth goal of the season. The lack of a striker to mark had pulled the Atalanta center backs out of position, allowing Pjanic’s pass, and Totti was rightfully pleased by this.

Giulio Migliaccio was later sent off for his second yellow, easing the pressure on Roma and allowing them to coast to a solid 1-0 victory which was, though the score line was small, thoroughly impressive.

Next up on the schedule was hosting relegation threatened Hellas Verona. The newly promoted side had suffered so far this season and was sitting in 18th coming into the match, desperately needing the three points. They never had a chance.

Just seven minutes in, Leandro Castan broke the deadlock with a stunning header off of Miralem Pjanic’s free kick. Verona then managed to hold back the storm for a short time until a moment of brilliance from youngster Gianluca Caprari broke through. The Italian winger drifted past his man and smashed a turning strike into the bottom corner to double Roma’s advantage on the stroke of half time.

In the second half, Caprari turned provider, picking out Miralem Pjanic in the box with an inch-perfect cross. The Bosnian international made no mistake, clinically slotting home past the helpless goalkeeper to seal an easy victory for the Giallorossi. Totti’s men ended with 64% possession, underlining their dominance.

“I’m very, very happy with the way we’ve started playing these last few games,” said the currently injured player-manager Totti. “The attack is starting to find its rhythm again, and the defense is looking stalwart at last. Juventus is the next test, and we are ready.”

As the Roma boss mentioned, his side will next ravel to Turin to take on second placed Juventus, who trail only by the head-to-head tiebreaker. As we approach that key title match, the Serie A table looks as follows:


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oooooooo can u keep in the top spot only one way to find out

Juve so close

Decent wins! Verratti isn't a bad replacement for Strooman either! Good luck v Juve

jasonvilla4ever: I hope so, it's cery close!

Walter: Not for long, hopefully

P-KIDDY: Verratti is a top class sub haha, and yeah we'll need it!

200 REPLIES

Thank you all so much for helping me reach 200!

Pretty good wins and congrats on 200 replies

pompeyblue: Cheers bud, I'm happy to have reached this landmark!

After a rather tedious saga that stretched across the entire month of January, it seems Michael Bradley has had a change of heart and opted to stay at the Stadio Olimpico. This decision follows major interest from Manchester United, who Bradley was quoted as saying he wanted to join, and two formal bids which were rejected by the Giallorossi.

The Red Devils, who are currently trailing the pack and sit in fourth place in the EPL, first lodged a €17,500,000 bid that was rejected immediately by Francesco Totti. The American midfielder was having none of it, however, and went on to say playing in the Premier League was a dream of his.

Obviously encouraged by this, Moyes three days ago launched a second bid at signing Michael Bradley, this time meeting what appears to be the asking price decided upon by Sabatini and Totti of €25,000,000. It appears, however, that American chairman James Pallotta has decided that he wants to keep his countryman at the club, and the bid has been rejected despite Bradley’s earlier wishes.

It seems, though, that those wishes have now been reversed. It has been told that Totti and Pallotta held a meeting with Bradley and his agent and convinced Michael that he would have a key role in Roma’s future, and eventually the want-away star decided Roma was the place to be after all.

“I’m very happy he’s decided to stay on,” said Totti. “Michael’s a very important part of the setup here, and he can see that Roma is a club that is going places. We want to accomplish big things in the future, and I think Michael wants to be a part of that.”

Bradley has played in 23 matches for the Giallorossi so far this season and has racked up 4 assists, impressing fans and pundits alike with his all action performance out of central midfield.

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Surprised that you did not let him go for that amount of money but that obviously shows that he is doing very well this season and that he is an important part of your plans.

You're doing well in the league! And keeping Bradley it's a very good thing!

Good boy, Bradley

Chuck him in the reserves to teach him a lesson!

I beat you offered Bradley certain benefits to stay Good going anyway, I shall comment on this story some moooooooooooore!