Santiago Cañizares - A Managerial Journey

Unhappy Strootman leaves AS Roma

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In a surprise turn of events, Dutch midfielder Kevin Strootman has left his club AS Roma to join Manchester City for a fee of 27 million euros. The Dutch international has apparently been unhappy at Cañizares’ club, and he has said this in an official statement on ASRoma.it:

“I am sad to announce that I am departing this beautiful club, that has allowed me to play at such high level. I’ve learnt a lot from my managers here, and I want to thank everybody involved in this club. Although I am sad to leave, I’m relishing this chance to play at an even hugher level, because in my opinion, the Premier League is a better league than the Serie A at this moment.”

It is reported that the 25-year-old was unhappy at his club, and that he wanted to go to a club where he could develop himself even further. Strootman was also reported to be unhappy about the lack of continental football at Roma, and that’s why he decided Manchester City, who qualified for the Champions League.

Roma will now have to get a worthy replacement of their star midfielder, and they are reported to be looking at several players: James McCarthy, but the biggest candidate is Morgan Schneiderlin, a French midfielder currently playing for Southampton.

First Summer Transfers of 2015/2016

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The first signing Roma have made for the coming season, is the signing of German goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler, who will most likely be Roma’s new first choice in goal, replacing 38-year-old Morgan De Sanctis. Zieler has joined for a small fee (375k) from Hannover, as his contract there was running out there.

Zieler, 26 years old, made a great impression at his old club Hannover last season, where he led his club to an unexpected 3rd place. He only conceded 31 goals in 30 games, this great record also earned him a call-up to the Germany squad. Zieler will earn 50k per week at AS Roma.

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French left-winger Florian Thauvin has joined Roma for 9.5 million Euros, a pretty low fee for a player of his talent. This starlet from SC Bastia’s academy joined Lille 2 years back, and quickly after, he joined Marseille for a fee of 11 million, there, Thauvin played 20 matches. Cañizares had positive thoughts about his signing at his presentation: “Florian is a great talent, and I expect that he will amaze a few people here in Serie A. Florian won’t be my absolute first choice, as Christian (Tello) still has my preference, but Florian will also get a lot of playing time, I can assure you that.”

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Roma have sold 29-year-old centre-back Leandro Castán to Udinese for a fee of 950k. The Brazilian centre-back, had a bad campaign with Roma last season. Cañizares added this: “I felt that Castán was getting a bit old, and I wanted to get a younger player into the team.”

As his replacement, Roma have signed 23-year-old Fabian Schär from German outfit Borussia Mönchengladbach. This young defender is expected to make an instant impact at his new club, as he is highly regarded around the world.

Schär said this at his presentation: “AS Roma is a club with great ambitions, certainly if you look at the signings the club have made this season. I’m very happy with the move I’ve made to this great club.”

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The big signing Roma have made this window, is the signing of French midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin from Southampton. The 25-year-old replaces Kevin Strootman, who recently joined Manchester City. Schneiderlin has cost the club exactly 20 million, and the former Strasbourg player will earn 73k per week at the Olimpico.

Cañizares was very happy with his big signing: “I’m very happy with this worthy replacement for Strootman, I hope Morgan can do wonders here, just like Kevin did.”

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AS Roma are having a very busy transfer winter, and we’ve put together this list which will show you all of the club’s transfers:

Roma Announce New Kits, with New Sponsor

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Today, AS Roma have released this season’s kits. The kits feature classic colours, but with very special details. A new head sponsor has also been revealed: Fly Emirates. This airway company from the United Arab Emirates also features on other kits, but most prominently Arsenal’s kits.

The kits were revealed at the official Roma shop in the centre of Rome, and there was a whole crowd waiting in front of the store. Once they got inside, the kits were revealed one by one by Roma chairman James Pallotta. Several players were also at the shop, including the likes of captain Francesco Totti and new signing Morgan Schneiderlin. The three kits are individually presented here:


The home kit features the iconic dark red and orange/yellow, but with a striking diagonal pattern on it. This makes for a classy, but very interesting kit.


Roma’s new away kit carries through the theme of a diagonal stripe. This stripe has the text S.P.Q.R. (Senatus Populusque Romanum) written on it, making reference to the Roman history.


This navy and gold third kit is something unusual, as Roma’s third kit is usually black, but people love this kit. One fan said this about it: “This kit is very classy. The navy and gold compliments each other very well.”

In general, people are very pleased with the modern, but classy new kits that Nike has produced for last season’s number 7.

Summer Transfer Round-Up of 2015/2016

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Roma made three more signings before the transfer window closed, and these were mainly back-ups to other players.

The first player they signed, was Brice Dja Djédjé, who will play in the first team. This Ivorian right-back has joined from French outfit Olympique Marseille for a fee of 6.25 million Euros. Dja Djédjé has been Marseille’s starting right-back since joining from Évian in the summer of 2013.

Dja Djédjé is expected to replace Mikael Lustig to a place in the first team, as last season the Swede didn’t play well at all. Since joining, the Swedish right-back has never managed to impress fans.

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Another signing Roma have made is Riccardo Saponara, who has come over from rivals AC Milan for a fee of 3.4 million Euros. This talented attacking mid is joining as a back-up to Miralem Pjanic, but it’s expected he will play quite a lot, as he’s a very talented player. Saponara came thorugh the youth ranks of Ravenna, and joined Empoli for a fee of 1.4 million Euros when he was 19. After playing very well in the Serie B, Milan picked him up in 2011 for a fee of 4 million, but there, he has only played 6 games in two seasons.

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Also joining for 3.4 million Euros, is Arsenal right winger Joel Campbell, who was unhappy at the lack of playing time he got from Arsène Wenger. This 3.4 million fee is seen as one of the biggest steals of the season, as Campbell is a great talent. It is expected that Gervinho – also a former Arsenal player – will have a hard time keeping his place in the team, as Campbell is tipped to be a very good player, with the potential to become even better.

The Costa Rican international joined Arsenal back in 2011 from his home country club Saprissa. He never played an official game for Arsenal, as he got loaned out four times. Last season, at Ligue 1 club FC Lorient, he made a great impression, scoring 4 goals and assisting 9 in 29 games. Campbell has first noticed by several big clubs on the World Cup of 2014, where he played very well, and helped his team reach the quarter finals.

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AS Roma had a busy transfer winter, and we’ve put together this list which will show you all of the club’s transfers (excluding loans and free transfers):

Predicted Team

With Roma’s new signings, we predict that their first team will look like this:

Shock News: Robben signs for AS Roma

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In what can definitely be described as a surprise turn of events, AS Roma have signed former Dutch international Arjen Robben on a 3-year-deal. Robben was a free transfer after his contract ran out at Bayern Munich. The club decided not to extend it, as Robben was costing the club much wage, and he wasn’t playing enough to justify those high wages – his place was taken over by the younger Thomas Müller.

Arjen Robben is very pleased with his move, as he said at his presentation: “Roma is a club that didn’t do very well, but with the signings they’ve made, they can really challenge this season, and I want to help the club reach new heights. I’m very pleased with my move to this great club.” and as soon as @ASRomaOfficial tweeted the signing of Robben, he replied the following:


Cañizares was also very pleased with his deadline day signing: “I’m very happy that we’ve managed to pick up such a great player on a free. Robben is one of the best Dutch players of the last years, and it’ll be great to have him on board: he really has loads of experience.”

Two seasons ago, Robben started to lose his place in the first team of the current German vice-champions: he only played 8 matches that season under current Spain manager Pep Guardiola. When Italian manager Fabio Capello took over from the former Barcelona manager, he played only one game for Bayern’s first team.

Despite these last two seasons, Robben is still regarded as a great player – one of Holland’s best players of this century, due to his great career at some of the best clubs of the world: Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Bayern. In Holland, he played for FC Groningen and PSV. At PSV he managed to attract interest from all international top clubs, and eventually he joined Chelsea for a fee of 17.25 million Euros. He hit his best form during the World Cup of 2010, where he guided his team to the final. Also during the World Cup of 2014, he was of great value to Oranje.

Robben will compete with two players for a place on the right wing of Roma’s attack: Ivorian Gervinho and Costa Rican Joel Campbell, both came over from Arsenal, but Campbell only came over this summer. All 3 of these wingers have great pace, and a great dribble to beat their oppenents.