Totti Today #115: Move Like Monchi

Now, a lot has been said and written about this one, and it might be Roma's most important transfer of the year for all I know (well, unless we buy Hazard, Marquinhos or Lewandowski of course). With the arrival of sport director Monchi, the heir of Walter Sabatini is found. How will he fare in the uneasy and demanding environment of Rome?

To start, his former club, Sevilla, kinda looks like the Roma of Spain. No big trophy cabinet and always behind the real mastodons of the league Real and Barca, although they desperately want to hang out with them. Usually in the top 5 and when a player performs outrageously, he immediately gets poached by bigger, richer teams.

What separates Roma and Sevilla, though is the Andalusian's' amazing track record in Europe the paste ten years. Three consecutive Europa League wins, six European cups since 2006. That's no small feat and the Americans obviously want that same prestige as their Spanish counterparts. So what do you? You hijack the man with the plan. The mastermind. No, not the coach. It's the guy who gives the coach his pawns so he can checkmate all the others. That man is Monchi.

Dani Alves, Gameiro, Bacca, Aleix Vidal, Ramos, Rakitic, Negredo, Krychowiak, Navas,... Monchi bought them and sold them afterwards for huge profits. The Difference between him and Sabatini is Sevilla actually won some damn things and consistently found other gems that replaced the ones who were sold. Sabatini was too hit or miss. Monchi had a lot more successes, players with higher ceilings and transfer fees that made your head explode. A Marquinhos or Lamela sale was rather unique for Walter, Monchi did that for breakfast, sipping from a sangria and slowly reading the newspaper Marca.

But why bring in Monchi? Don't we need someone who can build a team that can dominate Serie A for ages instead of another merry-go-round of buying and selling? The current state of the team doesn't bode very well for this Summer. Let's take a look at the positions:

Keeper: Woj will leave, Alisson might stay, Skorupski might come back, Lobont is a hero but has forgotten that a ball is round.

Defence: Manolas or Rüdiger might leave, Vermaelen will leave, Castan comes back, has Rui done enough to guarantee his place, ...

Midfield: Radja or Paredes might be sold, Pellegrini might come back, will Florenzi remain injury-free or does he need a back-up,...

Attack: Milan and China are sniffing around Dzeko, Totti might call it a day, futures of Perotti and El Shaarawy up in the air,...

It's safe to say Monchi's first Summer in Rome is gonna be a very busy one. Although Roma only needs 2-3 true reinforcements to finally make a Scudetto push and threaten Juve, the club might be another revolving door for one year because of the Spaniard's arrival. Some players are not his choices and perhaps he has his eyes set on other names like Krychowiak, Navas or Lucas Torreira.

However, I do believe this is the best thing we could do after releasing Walter Sabatini. Sevilla's record under Monchi (total of 11 trophies) doesn't lie and they're financially a healthy, stable club with a good reputation in Spain and Europe. Roma has all the ingredients to follow in their footsteps and become one big mean money machine under the guidance of Team America and Monchi.

The final puzzle that he needs to unravel is the trainer. Will the combo Spalletti-Monchi work? Or will it self-destruct? We'll soon find out as the season is nearing its end. But would Spalletti really be that stubborn to ignore a man that has given his trainers players like Ramos, Alves or Bacca? Well, Zeman maybe but Luciano could give it a shot.

I like the guy already and can't wait for some typical Monchi moves. Exciting times ahead of us, ladies and gents.