Reminder: Roma's #1 Is Actually #2

Remember way back in the summer when Carlos Idriss Kameni was so briefly swatting at air in the Roman net while the stadium emptied in the fourth minute? Because that happened, was going to happen in our minds, according the always gospel internets.

And then it didn't happen. For which we had parades.

Something else never happened as well: Emiliano Viviano. It seems now as though Maarten Stekelenburg was Roma's chosen one from the off, but that was never really the case, was it? Viviano was good to go as Roma's #1 for years and years, a deal brokered with Bologna to buy his full share after they beat Inter in the envelopes. Which means he could've done in his ACL at Trigoria rather than whatever they call the patch in oh-fer-nine land, if you believe in fate and all that mumbo gumbo.

Back then, in order to beat Inter one actually had to show up, and Bologna didn't. Yet another reason for that entire club to fluff off into eternity, really, among others being Mudingayi, Di Vaio and offering Simone Loria full-time employment in professional football. (And throw Gaston this way on the way out. Merci.)

By pure statistical analysis, Viviano's played nine and shipped two Titanics. It's not been pretty. Having mostly waited for Ibra to get the ball again this past weekend, I can say little else. He's got knees held together by dental floss. What more do you want?

And meanwhile, the significant purchase that was Maarten Stekelenburg is here as if he was prompting Saba to light an extra cigarette as he shirked beneath the sheets nightly - clearly not true, as Stek's not Argentine and he's legal. The Maarten's been very good, really, nothing short of what was expected, plus he keeps my 'a' key active (underrated quality), but clearly short of the top shelf, as we saw yesterday why a club like ManU shelled out for a @#$%ing specimen like De Gea instead of going Dutch.

What he skills he may lack in the top drawer, and there aren't many, his sheer size makes up for by warping the opposition's mindframe when they go to actually pull the trigger against a mass of man. (I believe Siena to be the best example of this?) In the analogy that is AS Roma as the town bicycle, he's the rubber, a solid prophylactic, but let's be honest - it's only effective 99.9% of the time. He can't fight those numbers. (The odds being Roma's working woman back line. Mostly Cicinho, because he looks like that might be a legit consideration in his post-playing career.)

Roma's lucky to have him. Luis will be lucky if Maarten doesn't beat him to death with his bike pump by April as the ghosts of Marco Borriello and David Pizarro look on in glee. The club will also be lucky if he doesn't toss in a transfer request late on summer deadline day unless there's some serious outlay on the defense.

And yet, it's a marriage that never should have been. Much like Bogdan Lobont and Roma's starting shirt.

Funny how things come full circle, ain't it?

This post has no actual point. I simply want to remind everyone that Palermo's starting keeper tomorrow is supposed to be Roma's starting keeper tomorrow. Because it's going to sting real bad when he completely shuts down Roma, as that's just how this club works: always laughing through the tears.

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