Roma 2017/18 season review: Part 1

Matthew Klimberg
21 mag 2018

There’s an old English saying, “red sky at night, a sailor’s delight,” which connotes the correlation between a sunset and the weather the next day. Such saying is apt to convey the closing of Roma’s extraordinarily successful 2017/18 campaign and how fans of the red and yellow should feel heading into next season.

Their unremarkable 1-0 victory in Reggio Emilia on Sunday evening was a rather anticlimactic finish to one of the most successful seasons in the Giallorossi’s 90-year history — its first without Francesco Totti in 25 seasons. Though they finished a distant third in Serie A, their Cinderella-run to the Champions League semifinals will be etched in Italian football history for generations.

It’s easy to recant the positive moments — of which Kostas Manolas’ 82nd minute header to seal Roma 3-0 Barcelona is at the top, rivaled only by the triple whistle to signal the end of it — but it’s important to reflect on the season as a whole. As a result, it’s easy to identify areas that the Giallorossi must improve.

Their Champions League triumph, apart from the prestige it brought the club, filled the clubs coffers to the tune of nearly €100 million. That figure, combined with the reported ~€30 million Qatar Airways will be giving the club as a shirt sponsor, and the €15-30 million they will receive for qualifying for Champions League next season, should go a long way towards helping James Pallotta and Umberto Gandini balance Roma’s books.

Unlike the sale of Mohamed Salah last summer, Roma should be able to retain their most prized assets this off-season (Alisson, Manolas, Nainggolan, etc.)…provided they want to stay. It wasn’t only Salah in 2017, Antonio Rudiger left for Chelsea where he promptly earned a Man of The Match performance in their victory over Manchester United in the FA Cup final.

It was as recent as January that verified reports were swirling that Monchi and Pallotta were considering the sales of Edin Dzeko and Radja Nainggolan. While the latter’s exit would undoubtedly have been influenced by his off-field antics, Roma’s consideration of both were financially motivated. However, their gamble to retain them paid off in droves with the subsequent Champions League earnings.

Now, provided the players want to remain in the Eternal City, Roma should have leverage over potential bidders. They can retain the players they want, or set ambitious prices for them. Recall that Salah was sold for €40 million, largely due to Financial Fair Play deadlines.

With world-class talents Alisson and Dzeko, grizzled veterans like Nainggolan and Aleksandar Kolarov, an emerging star in Cengiz Under, and promising neophytes in Lorenzo Pellegrini and Patrik Schick, Roma has a unique blend of players contributing to its success. However, this summer presents Monchi with the opportunity to develop a core for the Giallorossi to build around for years.

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Look for part two of this three part series tomorrow