AS Roma earned a creditable 0-0 draw away at Napoli at a sold out Stadio San Paolo.
The home side had the majority of the possession and chances but they came up against an inspired Wojciech Szczesny in the Roma goal. The result leaves Roma still in contention for the title although they moved down to fifth place in Serie A due to Juventus’ win against Fiorentina.
Super Szczesny
Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has not exactly warmed himself to many Roma fans since joining the club on loan from English side Arsenal in the summer. He has repeatedly stated that he is hoping to return to Arsenal at the end of the season, not what Roma fans want to hear, even if he is only at the club on loan.
After the 6-1 demolition at Barcelona in the Champions League last month, Szczesny claimed he really enjoyed the game and it was great to be involved in it. These incidents are two examples of how Szczesny has been failing to adapt to life in Rome. While playing, the Arsenal man has looked shaky, particularly in defeat at BATE Borisov in September where his mistakes cost the Giallorossi any chance of victory.
Yet this past week, Szczesny has endeared himself to the Roma faithful in the best possible way, on the pitch. Roma kept their first clean sheet in 28 European games in midweek as they drew 0-0 with BATE, a result which guaranteed their progression to the last 16 of the Champions League. Szczesny was the hero on that night and he was the hero against Napoli too.
The Arsenal man was in superb form as he kept Serie A’s most prolific strike force at bay. It was late on when Szczesny saved the game for the Giallorossi. A miraculous double-stop off Napoli captain Marek Hamsik earned Roma a valuable point away at their rivals. Szczesny is slowly on his way to building the bridge with the Roma faithful.
Crisis averted….. for now
Roma coach Rudi Garcia came into the game under huge pressure. Despite qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League, performances had been poor and the general atmosphere at the club has been tense. A draw away at Napoli will relive some of the pressure but only temporarily. There are still massive issues at the club that need addressing both on and off the pitch, by Garcia and the Roma board alike.
The Giallorossi are in desperate need of goals from their forward line. Much praised in the early part of the season for their free-flowing football, Roma forwards have drawn blanks in recent weeks. Just two goals in their last five games tells its own story, and of those goals one was a last-minute penalty at the Nou Camp when the side was already 6-0 down and the other was a direct free kick from Miralem Pjanic. In fact Roma have not scored from open play since Gervinho’s effort in the Rome Derby in early November or 560 minutes of football ago. For any club that is worrying, yet alone for a side hoping to challenge for the Scudetto.
Off the pitch, things are not going to plan. After the players were met with whistles following the match against BATE despite making it through to the next round of the Champions League, Roma president James Pallotta had a go at the media and some Roma fans.
“It’s frustrating when you come in here and they’re [the players] getting whistled at when they pass it back to the goalie or something like that because of the stuff that has been written or is being said on the radios all the time,” Palotta said.
“At some point, some of you guys have to grow up and start treating them with the respect that they all deserve. They’re in the round of 16 right now, they work hard at it, they all give a s*** about it, and all of us do too, but at some point you have to stop beating them up.”
Tension between the board and fans has been growing since the start of the season when some Roma fans decided to boycott home games in protest to security measures introduced at the Stadio Olimpico. With a half-empty Olimpico and a frustrated owner, things do not look as if they will sort themselves out any time soon.
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