Match Discussion: Roma v Catania

So the wait is finally over til Serie A 2012-2013 kicks off, boys! As I write this post, we have approximately 1 day, 20 hours and 9 minutes before we kick off our opener with Catania and so in view of that, here will be my first of hopefully 38 match previews that I will write this season, just as I did a couple of years back on the Vbull forums. So without further ado:



Catania are as tricky an opening day opponent for us this season as Cagliari were last season. That said, I'm thoroughly glad we're not playing them at the Massimino as our record their is quite poor. The atmosphere around the Olimpico has taken on a different air these days. This was quite palpable in the clips seen of the Aris game. I was a scrawny little 11-year old when we made our first foray into Zemanlandia so as someone who is experiencing it for the first time, I have a feeling that this season, for better or for worse, is going to quite the experience, but I digress, on to the match.

Formation & Tactics

We're expected to have everyone available with the exception of Dodo and possibly Marquinhos for this match, meaning Zeman will be free to put out his very best XI out of those who were given various run outs in our pre-season. Here's who I think we'll be seeing get the start on Sunday:





So with the exception of one midfield position and possibly the RB position, I think this XI is a lock for the match.

The transfer speculation surrounding Stekelenburg maybe have some credence, but there's been nothing concrete from any of his suitors and so he remains our number 1.

Ivan Piris has done rather well in the two friendlies he's been involved in and has thus made a case for a RB spot, but Zeman could decide to err on the side of caution and go with Taddei as the option at RB. I personally do not see this happening, but it's a possibility. Lots of eyes will be on the Castan-Burdisso partnership, but we're going to need to keep our eyes on Alessio Romagnoli. He's likely to get minutes and what I'm looking for is to see if he's worthy of them. Pre-season has told that he is, but this is the real thing now. Marquinhos will be under the same scrutiny, considering his age. At LB, Balzaretti is undisputed, but expect to see Taddei deputise for him as the game wears on. Dodo is perhaps the most worrying of all. He has not played one entire half of football all summer and still struggling with that knee. If this continues, look to see if the fans get on his back.

As for midfield, DDR and Pjanic are certainties, but that 3rd spot is going to be up for grabs and I'm backing Bradley to take it due to his good form. Tachtsidis is also in with a shout, but he's been having some fitness issues and is not 100%. Then there's a case to be made for Alessandro Florenzi, who also had an excellent pre-season, scoring several good goals. The odd man out may well be Jonaton Lucca, who has been steady, yet unspectacular with the time given. So for this position, I think it's very much up in the air. For me, Bradley has looked slightly more assured than Florenzi at times so I've given it to him. Won't at be surprised if I'm wrong though.

Forward line is the one area that I believe is an absolute certainty. Zeman appears to like what he's seen with the Totti-Destro dynamic, but with Destro suspended, this opens up a spot for Pablo Osvaldo, who will get the nod. The 3rd spot could've easily have been a 3-way between Lamela, Bojan and Lopez, who have all staked great claims to this spot. I personally believe Nico Lopez has done the most to earn it, but I also predict that Lamela will be Zeman's preferred choice. It does pain me to leave out Bojan as despite the general ostracism he's suffered, he's had a fine pre-season and deserves to have a shot at starting as much as anyone else. So while this spot for now is Lamela's, he's gonna need to deliver the goods early on to cement it or Zeman could turn to either of Lopez and Bojan, who should both be hungry for minutes.


The Opponent

As I mentioned at the beginning, Catania are tricky customers to play. They are a menacing side truly at their Sicilian home (9 wins, 5 losses last season). Their travels have made them not as much (2 wins, 7 losses). If last season is anything to go by, draws are on the books for this fixture as we drew against il Elefante both times, 2-2 at home, 1-1 at the Massimino. This was a side under a first year coach, we must remember. Quite an impressive feat to come into the Olimpico and walk out with a scoring draw when they are essentially our whipping boys traditionally in this fixture.

Here's a quick profile on what can expect from Catania:

Coach: Rolando Maran




This will be Maran's first foray into managing a top flight side as he's made his name mainly in Serie B with sides such as Cittadella, Brescia, Bari, Triestina, Vicenza and Varese. Catania is his big break and as such he's a bit of an unknown quantity. I don't have a whole of information on how he'll set up his side so as the season progresses, he'll be one I will have to keep an eye on.

Captain: Marco Biagianti





The 28-year old Florentine midfielder will be starting his 2nd season as the Elefanti skipper and will be expected to anchor his side from the DM position in front of the defense. With only 3 goals in his 119 appearances for Catania, Biagianti isn't one to get forward too often so expect him to do the dirty work, freeing up Francesco Lodi and Cristian Llama to do their thing further up the pitch.

Key player: Francesco Lodi





Ever present and ever crucial to Catania's cause. Empoli youth product Lodi will be the creative hub of the Catania machine. He's what keeps this ticking over and he is who thrusts them forward. A superb set-piece taker, Lodi's ability to make things happen with the ball at his feet will be a constant threat for our defense. De Rossi will be the one tasked with keeping him quiet.

Match Prediction


Gone are the days when we used to thrash Catania regularly (the 7-1 demolition job of 2006 comes to mind immediately). This team has guts and they have grit, but they no longer have Montella and that will play against them in a match against a side that is expected score a high amount of goals. These fixtures are traditionally filled with goals so we're in for a treat.

Roma 3-1 Catania.

Destro was red-carded the last match of last season, so we can't play him tomorrow so I'd say Osvaldo in the middle of the attack.
And Pjanic plays on the left!
Really great match preview, thanks

Yeah I just saw that bit of news about Destro on twitter so I'll edit my XI in a bit.

Great preview McLewis, this will truly be an intriguing fixture for two teams who enter the league with new coaches and a lot to prove about their credentials to achieve their goals under their new managements. The first hurdle for a very new defensive unit, and in many ways a crucial fixture for a side who want to achieve the highest accolades in the future. Hitting the ground running against sides like these will be crucial in what looks like a dogfight to come for a spot in the Champions League next season, however Roma look as well prepared as any side before the first week and I'm confident that the momentum from the pre-season will see Roma perform well in their first fixture.

A shame that Destro is suspended, however I believe Osvaldo will perform very well under Zeman when used, so I wouldn't be particularly concerned about his absence.

Excellent preview Neal

Here's the official lineup


--------------Stekelenburg------------
Piris --Burdiso-- Castan---Balzaretti
Bradley -----De Rossi --------Pjanic
Lamela -----Osvaldo -------- Totti


Let's hammer them !!!


DAJE ROMA

Great match preview McLewis. I think even without Montella we shouldn't underestimate Catania by any stretch, look what has happened today...Samp beat Milan.

Lodi is definitely the key man, he always causes us trouble, scored a beauty free kick against us last year and I'm sure we got scored on indirectly from his free kick another time last year.

I'm excited to see us play, as I haven't got the chance yet, only in spots to watch us during Pre-season, should be a fine game.

narbeZ wrote:Great match preview McLewis. I think even without Montella we shouldn't underestimate Catania by any stretch, look what has happened today...Samp beat Milan.

Lodi is definitely the key man, he always causes us trouble, scored a beauty free kick against us last year and I'm sure we got scored on indirectly from his free kick another time last year.

I'm excited to see us play, as I haven't got the chance yet, only in spots to watch us during Pre-season, should be a fine game.

Make sure you don't miss the kick-off

Patrick Bateman wrote:

narbeZ wrote:Great match preview McLewis. I think even without Montella we shouldn't underestimate Catania by any stretch, look what has happened today...Samp beat Milan.

Lodi is definitely the key man, he always causes us trouble, scored a beauty free kick against us last year and I'm sure we got scored on indirectly from his free kick another time last year.

I'm excited to see us play, as I haven't got the chance yet, only in spots to watch us during Pre-season, should be a fine game.

Make sure you don't miss the kick-off

Haha, good god those Udinese and Napoli games are going to give me heart attacks under Zemen.

What gives with all the great games starting at the same time today?

I'll definitly have Pescara - Inter and Palermo - Napoli windowed.

Other games arent too shabby as well, Bologna - Chievo, Torino -Siena, and Genoa Cagliari...

I'm calling it, Lazio to lose to Atalanta today 2-1.

Decided to turn this thread into the discussion thread as well so post your thoughts on today's match here, fellas.

I'll be posting my own thoughts later on this evening.

Zeman: 'Pointless possession'
By Football Italia staff

Zdenek Zeman criticised Roma’s performance for “pointless horizontal passes” and blamed the referee for Catania’s goals.

“Altogether it wasn’t a great performance, especially in the first half when we were too slow, not aggressive and never went forward on the counter-attack. We were content with possession, which was a great shame,” he said of the 2-2 draw.

“We started well in the second half, though it was a struggle until the end, as we were unable to secure the result.

“Francesco Totti played too wide, where it’s difficult to create something, and he didn’t go where I asked him to. We’ve got to work on the movements in attack and have been doing so all summer.

“Passing the ball horizontally is pointless and it allows our opponents to get settled in. If we don’t speed it up and shake off our markers in midfield, then we’ll go nowhere.

“We had five debutants tonight and seeing the packed Stadio Olimpico does affect young players, but in the past six weeks we have worked on something very different to what was seen tonight.

“It went better in the second half and we created more opportunities. We conceded two goals, both of them affected by offside positions.

“If I am to match my team’s attacking approach to that of our opponents, then I always prefer mine.”

Zeman had been warned that it was a Roma club policy not to criticise referees, but he is not sticking to it.

“It’s a habit – I criticise my players when they get it wrong and I do the same with the referees. That seems normal enough to me. I don’t think we should not be allowed to say what happened on the field with regards to the referees.”

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I somewhat agree with the pointless possession. We let them sit back most of the game and defend with 10 men. It's always going to be tough to break down a team like that. Osvaldos goal was spectacular however his movement upfront was very stale and I feel it affected our ability to attack effectively. Lamela was almost non existent. No running at defenders or anything to note. I really want to see Totti--Destro--Lopez next match...this might be our best option thus year though it's way to early to know. Destros movement will bring something extra.

Castan looked pretty promising most of the match. Burdisso not so much.

We have to play like we did for those 25-30 minutes of the second half for a whole game.. I think as soon as they start working together longer, with more time under Zeman, then that will happen!
I agree, I'd really like to see Lopez start a game. That sombrero was incredible!
It might have been his first game, etc etc, but I really don't like Piris, defensively. He needs to grow and get used to Serie A and not playing in brazil, but he can't leave his man on the flank like that :O
And I also kind of agree with Zeman, if you concede two goals that are both offsides, why shouldn't you be able to say it if it's true?

Frantic. That's about as best as I can describe this match. We were well and truly a mixed bag: Fantastic at times with possession and opening Catania up at the back, but then our defensive shape looked incredibly lop-sided. It was very noticeable that Zeman has barely worked on such things with them so they were essentially left on their own to figure things out and we saw how that turned out. I can't really blame anyone for the first goal. It was offside and it took a very kind deflection off Osvaldo. That 2nd goal though: Suspicious offside as well, but even if that's to count for anything, our defensive positioning was awful. Catania had free reign down their left flank as Ivan Piris allowed himself to be sucked too far into the middle by Lodi and Bergessio. It was all too easy for Gomez to stroke that across Stekelenburg. If we're going to call for a goal being offside, I think we need to help ourselves by actually defending better, if that had been the case, I think the ref may have disallowed the goal.

As for our goals. Spectacular. That about sums it up. Osvaldo got another crack at the goal that was wrongfully disallowed against Parma last season and this time there was no doubt about it. The ball from DDR was sumptuous and it just begged to be hit with style and brilliant technique. Osvaldo duly obliged. As for our second, well I'd been saying in chat that Nico Lopez has to be a dark horse contender for Young Player of the Season and to pop up with a fantastically worked strike to not only score, but equalize in crucial and dramatic circumstances like he did last night well hot damn! I think this just about confirms that we have a real gem on our hands here, boys.

I absolutely do agree with Zeman that our possession passing was of little use when we didn't provide enough thrust forward to make it look dangerous. That was the difference between what Luis Enrique tried last season and what Barca and Spain succeed at essentially every game. We can pass the ball laterally 500 times in a game, but if we don't actually open up the opponent at the back, they're eventually going to get chances and they're not going to mince them as we saw with Catania. So while I don't mind us dominating possession, we need to do more with it or we'll risk ending up like last season, suffering death by a thousand sucker punches.