Chiesa Di Totti - AS Roma Women 2021-2022 Season PreviewCautiously Optimistic Since 2007https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/48469/totti-fave.png2021-08-25T14:31:43+02:00http://www.chiesaditotti.com/rss/stream/223744332021-08-25T14:31:43+02:002021-08-25T14:31:43+02:00Previewing Roma Women's Forwards: Best & Worst-Case Scenarios
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<img alt="Bayern Munich Women v AS Roma Women - Pre-Season Friendly" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/mkOQHxqh-bICiN_ABUM3V7Dlr0w=/0x0:3543x2362/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69772999/1332735515.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Luciano Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>With a new manager in charge and a multiple new pieces in attack, Roma's offense is a potential powder keg. </p> <p id="hHV7ky">Despite leading lowly Empoli last season, <a href="https://www.chiesaditotti.com">Roma's</a> new manager Alessandro Spugna proved to be a miracle worker, Lacking the top-shelf talent of clubs like <a href="https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com">Juventus</a>, <a href="https://acmilan.theoffside.com">AC Milan</a>, <a href="https://www.violanation.com">Fiorentina</a>, and Roma, Spugna not only orchestrated one of Serie A Femminile's most exciting attacks, he guided Empoli to a surprising sixth-place finish. Led by young Benedetta Glionna's 10 strikes, the Azzurre bagged 47 goals last term, good enough for a three-way tie with Milan and Sassuolo for the league’s second-most prolific offense.</p>
<p id="7aBgRH">And thanks to his impressive work on the Empoli bench, Spugna was quickly tabbed as Betty Bavagnoli's successor at the Tre Fontane, becoming the second manager in club history after Bavagnoli ascended to the newly created role of Head of Women's Football after three years on the touchline. At only 48-years-old, Spugna is a relative newbie to the managerial world, but if his lone season with Empoli was any indication, we can expect an attack-first mentality to reign supreme in Roma this season. </p>
<p id="De732o">In order to understand how Spugna will translate his Empoli success to the Eternal City, let's take a look at the women charged with leading the line and scoring the goals.</p>
<h1 id="jfdvcP">The Forwards</h1>
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<img alt="AS Roma Women Training Session" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/bFGIZzhIsRhnkyVnlowUWjbaBko=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22767443/1330098234.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Fabio Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images</cite>
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<h3 id="y71Ewm">Depth Chart</h3>
<p id="vJUbxs">Annamaria Serturini (Starter: LW), Benedetta Glionna (Starter: RW), Valeria Pirone (Starter: CF), Paloma Lázaro (Backup: CF), Alice Corelli (Backup), Serena Landa (Backup, recovering from injury), Nina Kajzba (Backup, likely to shuttle between the senior and Primavera sides)</p>
<h2 id="Bvx7IB">Best-Case Scenario</h2>
<p id="NTx2C3">Of all the problems that plagued Roma during their disappointing 2020-2021 Serie A Femminile season, a lack of punch up top was perhaps the biggest culprit in the club's inability to escape their fourth/fifth place purgatory. Paloma Lázaro <a href="https://www.chiesaditotti.com/2020/10/27/21522895/thanks-to-a-breakout-season-paloma-lazaro-looks-like-the-missing-piece-in-romas-attack">started the season like a house on fire</a>, but some pretty glaring misses seemed to sap the young Spanish forward of her confidence as the season progressed. And without a consistent presence leading the line, defenses were able to key on Serturini, and Roma's offense ground to a halt, scoring six fewer goals than the prior year, which may not sound like much until you remember that the league canceled the final six matches due to the pandemic. </p>
<p id="nRrmwd">Not one to coast into her new gig on reputation alone, all Bavagnoli did was go out and acquire two of the league's top five leading goal scorers: Empoli's Benedetta Glionna (10 goals) and Sassuolo's Valeria Pirone (10 goals). And if Roma's pre-season is any indication, Glionna and Pirone figure to loom large for Spugna this season. </p>
<p id="pxHHKd">Between Glionna, Pirone, and Serturini, Roma's new trio of forwards combined for 29 league goals. Considering that, it’s no small wonder that the best-case scenario for Roma's forwards revolves <em>entirely </em>around those three Italian talents.</p>
<p id="B2EjAl">If Spugna's 4-3-3 works to perfection, with the midfield retaining possession and progressing the ball up the pitch and the full-backs getting forward, then Glionna, Pirone, and Serturini will feast on opposing defenses, using their speed, agility, and off the ball movement to confuse and overwhelm defenses.</p>
<p id="zYOtWX">But the real beauty of Roma's new additions is the manner in which they'll complement Serturini. Roma's all-time leading scorer, Serturini has used her blinding speed and agility to make mincemeat out of opposing defenses since arriving in 2018. And in Glionna, Roma now has a slightly less athletic but by no means less talented counterpart to Serturini. While Glionna would likely lose out to Serturini in a foot race, Roma's newest forward has the kind of close control, creativity, and bravado you only see in the <em>FIFA </em>series. And what's more, Glionna uses these traits all over the pitch to evade defenders, set up her teammates, and threaten the goal on her own. </p>
<aside id="sZXOoB"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data="{"stories":[{"title":"Ranking Roma Women's Youth, #1: Annamaria Serturini","url":"https://www.chiesaditotti.com/2021/8/22/22635586/ranking-roma-womens-youth-1-annamaria-serturini"}]}"></div></aside><p id="pTUxhM">With Serturini blazing down the left flank and Glionna dancing around and in-between defenders on the right, Roma needs a worm-like center-forward, someone who excels at finding the slightest crevice in the final third, someone with an instinctual feel for playing without the ball, someone who knows when to break for the ball and when to be patient—someone <em>exactly </em>like Valeria Pirone, who embodies all the best qualities of a classic number nine poacher. </p>
<p id="6TDuYU">Roma has struggled to find these players over the past three seasons, and if their roads to Rome are any indication, Bavagnoli finally secured Roma's missing pieces. In this best-case scenario, Spugna's 4-3-3 will evoke the most exciting and overwhelming components of <em>Zemanlandia, </em>out-running and<em> </em>outscoring opponents for fun. Sure, this approach may leak goals at the other end, but if Serturini, Glionna, and Pirone can combine for 35 goals or so, Roma may <em>finally </em>find themselves in the <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/champions-league">Champions League</a> next season.</p>
<h3 id="3nel7d">Worst-Case Scenario</h3>
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<img alt="As Roma Women’s Training" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/bBS7-ocMnC96o6Z1IbEXQnUjoy0=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22768501/1234217044.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Riccardo Fabi/NurPhoto via Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="UOokyt">Like any 4-3-3, if the squad can't hang onto the ball, and if the wide forwards are hesitant to track back, then the whole thing falls apart. Chances in the final third will be fleeting, the failure to properly trackback will leave the defense unnecessarily and overly exposed and Roma will find themselves mired in the middle of the pack once again. </p>
<p id="odeTdV">Apart from the typical tactical trappings of the 4-3-3, if either of the club's new signings struggles to adapt to their larger and more hostile surroundings, Spugna has little beyond Lázaro to turn to on the bench. Alice Corelli is a prodigious talent, as is Serena Landa, but neither are experienced enough to rely upon if Glionna, Serturini, or Pirone struggle. </p>
<p id="FW3Yz3">This brings us to our final point: the ink on some of these birth certificates has barely dried. Excluding Pirone (32), the average age of Roma's forwards is only 22.25 years. In and of itself, that's not a huge concern, especially for someone like Serturini, whose experience belies her young age, but Roma may fall prey to the perils of youth at some point this season, so it's worth noting. </p>
<h3 id="vOipGM">Breakout Candidate</h3>
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<img alt="Italy v Netherlands - Women’s International Friendly" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/XTxKcgIbHdRY1i09lYACNzhoMYw=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22768499/1233377977.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Loris Roselli/NurPhoto via Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="Hy6DSK">After scoring an impressive 13 goals in 38 appearances for Juventus as a teenager between the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 seasons, Benedetta Glionna took a slight step backward the following year, finding the back of the net only five times while on loan with Verona, but the Napoli native bounced back in a big way last season, scoring 10 goals for Spugna at Empoli.</p>
<aside id="xCTiwD"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Ranking Roma Women’s Youth, #3: Benedetta Glionna","url":"https://www.chiesaditotti.com/2021/8/20/22631223/ranking-roma-womens-youth-3-benedetta-glionna"}]}'></div></aside><p id="TXcpP5">While some may call <em>that </em>a breakout, Glionna is capable of so much more; we're talking about a <em>break-out</em>. Given her innate talent, her familiarity with Spugna's tactics, and the fact that she now gets to run with players as talented as Serturini, Andressa Alves, Manuela Giugliano, and Elisa Bartoli, among many others, it's entirely possible that Glionna makes a run at 15 to 20 goals, which would put her in some truly elite, Girelli and Giacinti-level company. </p>
<h2 id="wEg1OI">Final Thoughts on the Forwards</h2>
<p id="wmTTt0">As we mentioned in the previous sections, Roma has tried to no avail to round out their forward ranks each of the past three seasons. From Martina Piemonte during Roma's inaugural season to Lázaro, Agnese Bonfantini, and Lindsey Thomas in recent years, the club hasn't <em>quite </em>managed to master the formula. </p>
<p id="85KUTD">But with a new attack-minded manager on the touchline and three forwards who are ideal complements for one another—or put another way, are horrible complements to opposing defenses—this could be the year it all finally comes together for the Giallorosse. </p>
<p id="4aSTNz">Granted, we're relying on some young pieces to continue their maturation, but Roma's forwards offer nearly everything a manager desires. And if Spugna can help Lázaro rediscover her form from early last season, then Roma's offense will be nearly unstoppable.</p>
<p id="IRtNaN"></p>
<p id="2A6u7k"></p>
https://www.chiesaditotti.com/2021/8/25/22613799/previewing-roma-womens-forwards-best-worst-case-scenariosbren2021-08-24T14:00:00+02:002021-08-24T14:00:00+02:00Previewing Roma Women's Midfield: Best and Worst-Case Scenarios
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<img alt="Paris Saint-Germain Women v AS Roma Women - Pre-Season Friendly" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/eGzn8yj6VKnL6LWC6EzDEnDu-DA=/0x206:2362x1781/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69767779/1332349791.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Luciano Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Led by the all-world talents of Manuela Giugliano, Roma's midfield will be hard to top this season. </p> <p id="pAQ9dz">Whether you call it the engine room, the transmission, or the brain-trust, success on a football pitch quite often begins and ends in the midfield. The very nature of the position places midfielders in the heart of the action, where they control the location and pace of play, very often dictating the intensity of a match through their pressing, spacing, running, and passing. </p>
<p id="82QkuF">This may sound a tad oversimplified, but just because something is elementary doesn't mean it's any less important. Fortunately for Roma, their midfield is filled to the brim with talent, tenacity, and versatility, all of which should keep the Giallorosse in the thick of the Champions League hunt as they enter their fourth season in the top flight.</p>
<p id="mJj6sR">Led by Andressa Alves and Manuela Giugliano, Roma's midfield was among the most productive and dynamic in the league, and with more veteran depth added to the squad, the unit stands to get even stronger in 2021-2022.</p>
<p id="fFeu4l">With the new season starting this weekend, let's take a look at the best and worst outcomes for Roma's midfield this season.</p>
<h1 id="UWupJD">The Midfield</h1>
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<img alt="Paris Saint-Germain Women v AS Roma Women - Pre-Season Friendly" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5Fq-lAhSdS8pvw4fRNVlej03bfA=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22779496/1332366816.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Luciano Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images</cite>
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<h3 id="8ymBWb">Depth Chart</h3>
<p id="5mGoyV">Manuela Giugliano (starter), Andressa Alves (starter/hybrid forward), Vanessa Bernauer (likely starter), Thaisa Moreno (possible starter) Giada Greggi (possible starter/utility), Claudia Ciccotti (backup/utility), Andrine Hegerberg (recovering from injury), Joyce Borini (super utility)</p>
<h2 id="giTHvo">Best-Case Scenario</h2>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="AS Roma Women v Empoli Ladies - Pre-Season Friendly" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/khqLQMPI8C9EKlSRGjE14p8NyGQ=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22788777/1333786581.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Luciano Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="rK5SPQ">With new manager Alessandro Spugna still putting his stamp on the team, it's a bit foolhardy to make sweeping claims about his intentions for Roma's midfield. However, if we use the basic tenets of the 4-3-3 formation as a guidepost, we can get an inkling of how Spugna’s midfield will operate this season—and it all begins and ends with Manuela Giugliano.</p>
<p id="2AczYQ">After a sluggish start to her Roma career, the only #10 in town showed her true colors last season. While her exact position on the pitch fluctuates, her role is clear: create chances. Using a staggered midfield with someone like Thaisa, Bernauer, Ciccotti, or even Greggi in a defensive role frees up Giugliano (and Andressa) to focus on finding passing lanes in the final third. Even if Spugna opts for a more lateral three-woman midfield, the combined possession, progression, and playmaking of Giguliano, Andressa, and any of Thaisa, Greggi, Bernauer, Borini, or Hegerberg (when healthy) should ensure that Roma has enough firepower to control the ball, retain possession and feed the forwards.</p>
<p id="mE4ihC">But the real genius of the Giallorosse midfield rests in its versatility. Even in the scenario we just described, thanks to her work rate and defensive posture, Giugliano can drop back and let Andressa operate as the de facto number 10, leaving Greggi, Bernauer, or even Hegerberg to play a more traditional number eight role. </p>
<p id="9BqR83">With so much tactical versatility and so many overlapping skills sets, Roma can run out three or four completely different midfield combinations without skipping a beat. At this point, it's tough to say what the best lineup would be, but a Giugliano-Andressa-Thaisa trio would provide an ideal balance of creativity, intelligence, and energy. </p>
<p id="jNOXOG">No matter what combination Spugna settles on, with an almost perfect blend of youth and experience, brains and brawn, Roma's midfield has the potential to be the best in the league. It's simply a matter of establishing and maintaining that chemistry.</p>
<h2 id="nnjlYg">Worst-Case Scenario</h2>
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<img alt="Football Serie A woman Roma-Juventus" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BtSkrioozQB21hu_O4rZi02kfSI=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22532664/1318583636.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Massimo Insabato/Archivio Massimo Insabato/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="7jLHcC">Apart from injuries besetting the squad, the biggest potential roadblock for Spugna's midfield is Spugna himself, or at least his tactical predilections. During his lone season with Empoli, Spugna proved to be a firm devotee of the 4-3-3, never wavering from that formation during the 2020-2021 season.</p>
<p id="XMDwBI">Roma's former manager, Betty Bavagnoli, started the season using the 4-3-3 and the results were...<em>underwhelming</em>. Bavagnoli utilized the 4-3-3 in all but one of Roma's first 11 matches last season, running out to a 4-4-3 (W-D-L) record. And that “all but one” match featured the 4-2-3-1, which Bavagnoli used for the remainder of the season to much greater effect. </p>
<p id="gquMvz">We don't have to dig deep to remember what happens when the 4-3-3 grinds to a halt. Just think back to the dying days of Rudi Garcia and Eusebio Di Francesco's respective tenures in Roma, when the club was plagued by pointless possession, wingers dribbling themselves into a corner and acres of space for the opposition to run roughshod on the counter-attack. </p>
<p id="V8OcDY">While the midfield isn't solely to blame for the typical failings of a 4-3-3, considering Spugna's preference for this formation, we at least have to be wary of its shortcomings. </p>
<h2 id="JtvJmL">Breakout Candidates</h2>
<p id="VvB746">We can't really pick a breakout player from Roma's midfield when the locker room is full of seasoned veterans like Andressa, Thaisa, and Vanessa Bernauer, not to mention the 2019 MVP Manuela Giugliano. Considering that, so we're going in a different direction here and selecting a bounce-back candidate: Giada Greggi.</p>
<p id="Q4HtUV">Nearly a year removed from her ACL injury, the 21-year-old Roman should be primed to reclaim her place among the most sophisticated and promising midfield talents in Italy. Given the depth in midfield, Greggi should have plenty of time to get fully back to speed and if she hits the ground running, she could press either Bernauer, Thaisa, or Claudia Ciccotti for playing time alongside Andressa and Giugliano, bringing an added layer of versatility to an already impressive positional unit. </p>
<p id="73mCRo">No matter how much she plays early in the year, the most important thing Greggi needs to accomplish this year is proving her knee is ready for full-time duty. If she can remain on the pitch and earn Spugna's trust, her confidence should continue to grow. And with Bernauer and Thaisa only signed for this season, Greggi should be free to resume a much larger role in the near future. </p>
<p id="PZWDvD">In this transition year for Greggi, she needs to worry more about getting up to speed and less about reclaiming her place in Roma's hierarchy. If, however, she can manage this transition well and carve out a role this season, Roma’s midfield can become an elite unit. </p>
https://www.chiesaditotti.com/2021/8/24/22616059/previewing-roma-womens-midfield-best-and-worst-case-scenariosbren2021-08-11T14:33:34+02:002021-08-11T14:33:34+02:00Previewing Roma Women’s Defense: Best & Worst Case Scenarios
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<img alt="AS Roma Women Training Session" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/2oDRQqqXvmSBq8LKrDVHUn2ApBY=/0x0:3543x2362/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69709164/1330098202.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Fabio Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Spugna’s biggest job is rotating a Roma backline stacked with talent, leadership and experience this season.</p> <p id="eB8k7P">I look around, I look around and I see a lot of new faces. Which means a lot of people have been hearing about <a href="https://www.chiesaditotti.com">Roma</a>’s Coppa Italia 2021 victory. Arguably the best performer in this past May’s Coppa Italia final win was Roma center-back Elena Linari, who put in the kind of intervention and passing numbers that had to be seen to be believed. </p>
<p id="EfR3GE">Linari has only had half a season to make her impression on the <em>Giallorosse</em>, but the results spoke for themselves: A Roma side conceding 1.21 goals per game before Linari’s signing improved to conceding just 0.88 GPG with Linari in the first eleven. But there’s room for yet more improvement if Roma are serious about finally clinching one of Serie A’s two European spots this coming season.</p>
<p id="40TiMw">Last year’s top-two defenses of <a href="https://www.blackwhitereadallover.com">Juventus</a> and Milan conceded 12 goals and 17 goals respectively, which would have effectively meant <a href="https://www.chiesaditotti.com">Roma's</a> current level of performance still only put them as the third-best defense in the league. We feel we can confidently say that only Juventus’ squad looks better defensively than the team Roma has now put together at the back, but Roma has to prove that on the pitch this season. Then, of course, the backline isn’t just about defending but restarting play and working the ball up the other end of the pitch. And, to be honest, that’s where Roma is looking like a paradox.</p>
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<img alt="Italy v Netherlands - Women International Friendly" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/IUcvHgK2poYQvTy5Z8TT_BTW2Y0=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22759156/1323681243.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="c8zZai">On the one hand, Roma’s backline is comfortably the most stacked department in the entire squad. Roma has left their new head coach Alessandro Spugna with no excuse when it comes to depth, with some ridiculously talented names ready to come off the bench at any given moment. But does that mean Roma will be relying on the backline to carry both the defensive AND attacking responsibilities this season?</p>
<p id="sDRUqW">We ask because, while the backline may be aiming to keep racking up the clean sheets, Roma’s full-backs are undeniably offensive players by nature and look like they enjoy getting forward to join in goalscoring more than they like to hang back and keep the goals out of their own defensive end. A lot of how this Roma defensive unit keeps itself together as a team relies on the midfield helping out in defense, and Roma’s frontline carrying their weight when it comes to getting the team ahead on the scoreline. But that’s football: You can have the biggest names lined up there at the back, but their fate is still very much in the hands of teammates elsewhere on the pitch. It’s a good thing they’ll all have Linari to push them to their limits at any given moment this season.</p>
<h2 id="vq17Lg">The Defense</h2>
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<img alt="AS Roma Women Training Session" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/_8G1nqh77slnLXT144r2U-GJ_qo=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22759161/1330099508.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Fabio Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images</cite>
</figure>
<h3 id="jEyYJ8">Depth Chart</h3>
<p id="G5be4E"><strong>Center-Backs</strong>: Elena Linari (starter), Allyson Swaby (starter), Tecla Pettenuzzo (backup), Eleonora Pacioni (backup).</p>
<p id="eWrHL9"><strong>Full-Backs</strong>: Elisa Bartoli (starter), Angelica Soffia (rotation), Lucia Di Guglielmo (rotation), Borini (backup).</p>
<h3 id="PDUDib">The Best-Case Scenario</h3>
<p id="Vxjois">We’ve got eight players to preview, so let’s keep it to individual scenarios:</p>
<ul>
<li id="m30Qpo">
<strong>Elena Linari:</strong> The best for Roma is Linari to keep doing exactly what she’s doing. She’s a player that sets the standard around this league, both in terms of performance and leadership. If we’re really being greedy then we hope to see Linari get more goals this season, and she has plenty of ways to do that given she’s good with both feet, able to score from direct free-kicks, and always an aerial threat at corners. </li>
<li id="pO1AWs">
<strong>Allyson Swaby: </strong>Ditto for Swaby, whose praises we perhaps don’t sign enough. It’s easy to take her for granted because she’s the only constant at centreback for the last three years, but ideally, Swaby keeps showing the confidence to hold onto and shield the ball in possession, while picking her spots in the build-up play which she did to stunning effect with goals against Juventus and <a href="https://www.serpentsofmadonnina.com">Inter Milan</a> last season. </li>
<li id="l3FW9Z">
<strong>Tecla Pettenuzzo: </strong>If the Real Nuzzo can stand up this season, and round out her game by finding intuition when running back to goal to stay calm throughout defensive recoveries, then you’ve got a hell of a player on your hands. It’d also be great to see more of her assists straight to the frontline this season, as she’s always been gifted in possession.</li>
<li id="42p9EN">
<strong>Eleonora Pacioni: </strong>The best case for Pacioni is simply to play in what’s looking the season where she makes her senior debut for the club. It’d be thoroughly deserved for the player who’s captained Roma Primavera to two consecutive league titles.</li>
</ul>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt="AS Roma Women Training Session" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/fT7IDQcjnjBKuOvlOcIbWWQ2cyE=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22759220/1331127411.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Luciano Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images</cite>
</figure>
<ul>
<li id="wDBT3p">
<strong>Elisa Bartoli:</strong> Show the same return to form that Bartoli found in the second half of last season, which was helped by having the security of knowing Linari is there to back Bartoli up when the Roma captain makes her runs forward down that left flank. In an ideal world, we hope Bartoli finally strikes up some real chemistry in the final third with her left-wing-mate Annamaria Serturini.</li>
<li id="TWDdcl">
<strong>Angelica Soffia:</strong> Whatever Soffia’s been waking up and having for breakfast since this past spring is exactly what needs to continue into the new season. Her breakout form last season was not only phenomenal but completely transformed Roma’s collective belief in their approach to games in both league and cup, against opponents big and small.</li>
<li id="ES8ETK">
<strong>Lucia Di Guglielmo: </strong>For someone who gets along so well with Soffia during their time together playing for Italy last season, LDG really has been given the task of “the bad guy” in Roma’s squad this coming year. She’s both Bartoli and Soffia’s competition, and her job is to play well enough for Roma that she forces Spugna to leave one of the other two names out of the first eleven. </li>
<li id="4k0Cnl">
<strong>Borini:</strong> We can’t say we know enough about Roma’s plans for their new signing this season. The Brazilian has proven to be an all-around utility player, but Borini could feature in midfield or attack instead of out wide in defense. Time will tell.</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="DtBEWj">The Worst-Case Scenario</h3>
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<img alt="AS Roma Women Training Session" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/d3yA5v0OsKEgTvHnUKSb9Ccx27Y=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22759224/1330425005.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Luciano Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images</cite>
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<ul>
<li id="kJgEf9">
<strong>Elena Linari:</strong> The only scenario we can dream up here is Linari finding out she misses her childhood club <a href="https://www.violanation.com">Fiorentina</a> far too much, and hands in a transfer request in January.</li>
<li id="kfgVQS">
<strong>Allyson Swaby: </strong>Similar to Linari once again, in that we’ve sometimes wondered if Swaby will seek a challenge in a more competitive league. She’s another player Roma have to work hard to keep at the club by moving up the league table.</li>
<li id="eH9DPn">
<strong>Tecla Pettenuzzo:</strong> The worst thing is if Pettenuzzo limits herself to just being a great ball-player, but an unreliable one-on-one defender. In that case, we’ve sometimes asked if Nuzzo would make for a better defensive midfielder but, for that to happen, a player still needs to enjoy running out wide, covering the flanks, and putting in the tough recovery tackles to cover for teammates. Tecla has also been positive about getting benched for Linari last season, but that could easily turn into frustration if Pettenuzzo doesn’t get enough game time.</li>
<li id="9ZwbLv">
<strong>Eleonora Pacioni: </strong>She has nothing to lose, there isn’t really a bad scenario for Pacioni this season.</li>
<li id="8LzXwY">
<strong>Elisa Bartoli: </strong>Unlike the first half of last season, Bartoli can’t afford to start off this campaign as badly as she did back in 2020; otherwise it’ll be an awkward situation for everyone around the club facing the possibility of benching their captain for some deserving names coming off the bench.</li>
</ul>
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<img alt="AS Roma Women Training Session" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/u1Kg2mVQzDBUC7kJjFcVV4WRweA=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22759265/1330425218.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Luciano Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images</cite>
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<ul>
<li id="DVhdhr">
<strong>Angelica Soffia: </strong>Could last season’s form during the run-in turn out to be just a flash in the pan? Can Soffia get more disciplined on defense and start stopping those dangerous crosses floated into Roma’s box from her flank? </li>
<li id="br9BNj">
<strong>Lucia Di Guglielmo: </strong>There’s a risk the competition between LDG and Soffia (and even Bartoli) leaves both players questioning whether the coach believes in either player enough to stick it out in Rome. LDG took a big chance by signing for Roma when all of Serie A’s top clubs were calling for her services. I don’t know how Spugna is going to manage the game time between all three of Roma’s star full-backs AND convince them all that their long-term future lies with the club.</li>
<li id="1mKhhd">
<strong>Borini: </strong>Too much of an unknown for us to say anything. We can’t be sure she’ll even feature in defense.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="Trp4af">Possible Break-Out Player: Eleonora Pacioni</h2>
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<img alt="AS Roma U19 v FC Internaionale U19 - Women Primavera Final Four Semifinal" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0RPNNDTmtEseZW7lw959qM3nP-M=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22628625/1320352384.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Emilio Andreoli - Inter/Inter via Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="AmLIUO">We could mention names like Angelica Soffia, Lucia Di Guglielmo, or Tecla Pettenuzzo as our pick for break-out player from the Roma backline this season, given that all three are in their early twenties with a long career path ahead of them. But it feels like all three names have reached so many milestones in their respective careers already that only <a href="https://www.sbnation.com/champions-league">Champions League</a> football would take those names to unchartered territory in a Roma jersey. For that reason, we’re going with Eleonora Pacioni as our breakout candidate for the 2021/22 season.</p>
<p id="6sZopB">Pacioni can play either center-back or right-back and has already done both for Roma Primavera in the crunch games. As a center-half, Pacioni finished as one of the top scorers in the Viareggio Cup of 2020 (where Roma lost the final to Juventus but Pacioni scored in that very same cup final) to prove that she knows how to use her height advantage to make a real difference at both ends of the pitch.</p>
<p id="t3JNs4">Last season, Pacioni finished off her year by starring at right-back in Roma’s Scudetto playoff final victory over Inter Milan. She not only aerially dominated her flank on defense, but Pacioni showed the kind of vertical, direct passing to the frontline that we normally see from Allyson Swaby on a weekly basis with the senior team. </p>
<p id="2l2C0o">Pacioni has plenty of tools to break into the senior team this coming season, and t<a href="https://www.asroma.com/en/news/2021/7/training-days-eleonora-pacioni-s-diary-from-terminillo">he club trusted her with the responsibility of publishing her daily journal during the senior squad’s pre-season<em> ritiro</em> this summer</a>. Roma has serious plans ahead for Pacioni, and the 19-year old Roman is ready to answer the call.</p>
<p id="sNxrc4"></p>
https://www.chiesaditotti.com/2021/8/11/22608098/previewing-roma-womens-defense-best-worst-case-scenariosdallagente2021-08-05T14:00:00+02:002021-08-05T14:00:00+02:00Previewing Roma Women’s Goalkeepers: Best & Worst Case Scenarios
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<img alt="As Roma Women’s Training" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/b5fsgywlDcXLgFbXuVwmioxckSs=/4x0:4924x3280/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69682092/1234217473.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Riccardo Fabi/NurPhoto via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Camelia Ceasar has the Coppa glory, but Rachele Baldi has reinforcements from her old club. Who will be number 1?</p> <p id="V21CnY">Goalkeeping is one of the last remaining contentious areas of debate on the women’s side of Italian football. After three seasons as a <a href="https://www.chiesaditotti.com">Roma</a> fan in this league, I feel there’s no use skirting around the issue; especially when you’ve got a top keeper like Camelia Ceasar in Roma’s goal, whose presence is emblematic of a topic that still gives some <em>Femminile</em> football fans cause to walk around with a big chip on shoulders. The simple question is: How long does it take for goalkeepers—in any category of any league—to get taller, faster, stronger?</p>
<p id="9Ycfer">Historically, men’s football holds its own answers. But, today, the simple answer is we’ll never find out unless <em>Serie A Femminile</em> continues to get the long-term support, training, and opportunity to keep beating its own competitive levels, day in day out. Ceasar is proof of that much in her two seasons spent playing for Roma thus far.</p>
<p id="UUjf5G">Still in her early twenties and standing at 5 foot 6 inches tall, Ceasar has displaced former Italian international keepers such as Chiara Marchitelli (back in their Brescia days) and Rosalia Pipitone in Rome. Last season, Ceasar was pitted against Italy’s international reserve keeper Rachele Baldi, who arrived as a new signing to Roma in the summer of 2020. Pretty much all of those names have been bigger and taller than Ceasar, but what gains they have over the Romanian-Italian keeper in stature are matched by Ceasar’s agility and character.</p>
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<img alt="As Roma Women’s Training" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/z2urD19wVrF8ouESw_iGSt9Wupg=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22755988/1234217225.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Riccardo Fabi/NurPhoto via Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="utPVef">Ceasar’s ability to unite her backline, and maybe even an entire dressing room, was evident when her charisma spread through the atmosphere of Roma’s pre-season training back in 2019. After helping Roma to win last season’s Coppa Italia on penalties, the post-season footage of that victorious campaign included on-pitch training segments where Ceasar was unequivocal about her mindset and strategy when it came to penalty saves (of which she’s come up with some big ones in league games for Roma, too). In Ceasar, you’ve got a character who knows what she wants, recognises her limits, and yet has a clear plan to keep breaking those limits and reach new levels.</p>
<p id="rOPGzG">Despite her continued progress in Rome, and a glittering CV that now holds league titles and cup successes with different clubs, Ceasar has never been trusted with more than 13 league games for Roma in the past two seasons. Could this be the year Roma’s #12 makes the number 1 spot her own?</p>
<h2 id="Gni0xD">The Goalkeepers</h2>
<h3 id="zVAUv8">Depth Chart</h3>
<p id="74rfn2"><strong>Goalkeepers:</strong> Camelia Ceasar (Starter), Rachele Baldi (Number 2), Katia Ghioc (Primavera Star - Reserve), Aurora Gilardi (Reserve).</p>
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<img alt="AS Roma Women Training Session" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ZjAPCJqP-BIpeq_-QqjjJiMCpmI=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22756032/1330098115.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Fabio Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images</cite>
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<h3 id="f4SWdZ">Best Case Scenario</h3>
<p id="YtJuOE">Roma’s goalkeeping lineup has no clear favourites, which could either work for the squad or against it. But, if it’s to work in Roma’s favour, then we’re counting on senior keepers Ceasar and Baldi to push each other to new personal bests in both the league and cup.</p>
<p id="gzLbcq">You can’t get much better than winning the cup itself, so maybe Ceasar’s status as the club’s penalty-save specialist has her penciled in for the latter rounds of the Coppa Italia once again. That means Rachele Baldi’s best chance at making the goalkeeping spot her own lies firmly in the Serie A calendar. And though we’ve spent all this time writing about Ceasar, let’s make no mistake: Rachele Baldi is a very accomplished keeper. We’ll get to more on her later.</p>
<p id="hU8vPd">For now, it’s enough to say that Baldi needs to use her sophomore season to do exactly what Ceasar did in her own second season with Roma last year: Cut out the mistakes from her debut year. Meanwhile, Ceasar simply needs another season like the last one, and count on that being enough to finally earn a full league campaign’s worth of action in Rome.</p>
<h3 id="xvYKrx">Worst Case Scenario</h3>
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<img alt="As Roma Women’s Training" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/uCsI62lZAJQ08iUdx0f0MExUb_Q=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22755996/1234217215.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Riccardo Fabi/NurPhoto via Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="sX2jkC">As we mentioned earlier, there’s no clear hierarchy between Roma’s four goalkeepers other than the greater experience of names like Ceasar and Baldi, compared to the relative youth of reserve keepers Katia Ghioc and Aurora Gilardi (pictured above).</p>
<p id="ivOhTQ">New Roma manager Alessandro Spugna has no loyalties to any one of these names, except arguably new signing Aurora Gilardi who’s been brought in from Brescia this summer. That leaves Spugna with complete freedom to play or bench any keeper as he likes. The worst case is that Roma still feels the need to keep rotating keepers, undermine their confidence and fail to bring the consistent best out of either Ceasar or Baldi. That would leave a door slightly ajar for an unlikely start for either Ghioc or Gilardi in the league. </p>
<p id="lq2DzV">Ghioc has the conviction of two consecutive league titles won at Primavera level with Roma under her belt, while Gilardi is held in high esteem within Italy’s youth ranks at the international level. But, in an ideal world where Roma’s season goes to plan, we won’t be seeing much of Ghioc or Gilardi this campaign.</p>
<h3 id="hpkfQQ">Breakout Candidate: Rachele Baldi</h3>
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<img alt="As Roma Women’s Training" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/GpiliKHfTidr1-KTmr8WS5Dqejk=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22756047/1234217336.jpg">
<cite>Photo by Riccardo Fabi/NurPhoto via Getty Images</cite>
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<p id="q1bt3t">As much as we love Ceasar, it’s Rachele Baldi who’s got more to prove this season. So we couldn’t name anyone else as our breakout star candidate, as you’d have to say Ceasar proved done more than enough in a Roma jersey to consider herself to favourite at the club. The onus is on Baldi to make the unexpected happen.</p>
<p id="oEEpjP">Baldi wasn’t in the running for the Italy goalkeeper spot this time last year for no reason. But it’s up to her to re-find the kind of form that earned her call-ups to the Italy squad in the first place. Her Roman adventure is Baldi’s first career move outside of her home region of Tuscany, and it seems like she lost some self-assuredness in her new surroundings last season. But she now has a trump card up her sleeve.</p>
<p id="J9OwKT">This season, Baldi has been joined in Rome by the familiar face of new Roma full-back (and former Empoli captain) Lucia Di Guglielmo. The two player’s shared history in Tuscany runs back so far that they’d both been playing together a decade ago, back when Empoli’s club was still known as Castelfranco. And though Baldi moved away from Empoli before Roma coach Alessandro Spugna and Roma winger Benedetta Glionna plied their trade in Tuscany last season, all four names will share the experience of what it’s like to move from Empoli to trying to prove yourself in the Italian capital, </p>
<p id="CzHl36">That now gives Baldi plenty of cause to feel settled in the Eternal City. And who knows if she will use that as fuel to dominate in goal this year? Baldi certainly has all the tools to do so.</p>
https://www.chiesaditotti.com/2021/8/5/22605789/previewing-roma-womens-goalkeepers-best-worst-case-scenariosdallagente