The Weekly Take, Issue 97: The Final Step Was Never Taken

It is seldom easy for any team to take that final step – the step which causes them to go from being merely a potential qualifier for the Champions League to one which is a perennial contender for league titles and from time to time, perhaps even Champions League titles.

Over the last decade, we have witnessed several teams take that step even if some were not always able to maintain their level of performance. Such teams have included Tottenham, Napoli, Liverpool, and Atlético Madrid.

However, one team which has failed to step up to that level has been Roma; this fact was again evidenced by their 2-1 Serie A loss to Juventus. From a statistical standpoint, one might automatically assume that Roma were in complete control of the match. They took 22 shots to Juve's six, had more possession and completed passes, and had 13 corners to Juve's two. Despite these facts, the numbers do not tell the true story of the match. Juve raced out to an early two-goal lead within the first 10 minutes through a Merih Demiral goal and a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty. After scoring their second goal, Juve then switched tactics; they would let the Giallorossi go into all-out attack mode while they themselves soaked up the pressure from the Roman club. Roma did pull one back through a Diego Perotti penalty, but their chances of finishing the match with a draw always seemed unlikely throughout the proceedings.

Not only have Roma failed to ascend to the level of genuine contenders (which is something they had been expected to accomplish at some point), but they have actually regressed over the past two seasons. Last season, Roma finished sixth in Serie A with 66 points and missed qualification for this season's Champions League. With regard to both league position and number of points, it was their worst league campaign since 2013. Roma were also knocked out of the Champions League's round of 16 by Porto; this was particularly disappointing because most expected Roma to have had no trouble in defeating the Portuguese club. Even the firing of head coach Eusebio Di Francesco, who was replaced by Claudio Ranieri, could not put an end to their woes.

This season, Roma's struggles have continued. After 19 league matchdays, Roma currently lie fifth in the league with 35 points. They are on pace to again miss out on Champions League qualification. They even narrowly avoid a Europa League group stage exit, only qualifying for the round of 32 by one point; however, in saying that, it must also be noted that they surprisingly finished ahead of Borussia Mönchengladbach in doing so.

Roma's lack of success this season is even more notable when one considers the fact that on paper, they made many upgrades to their squad over the past off-season. Players such as Pau López, Amadou Diawara, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Leonardo Spinazzola, and Jordan Veretout had been expected to make more of an impact than they have thus far. The likes of Nicolò Zaniolo, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Alessandro Florenzi, and Justin Kluivert have also been underperforming throughout this season. Roma's only player to have lived up to expectations at this point of the season has been veteran centre-forward Edin Džeko.

The hiring of Paulo Fonseca during the off-season to replace Ranieri has not delivered the hoped results either. Ever since having arrived at the Stadio Olimpico from Shakhtar Donetsk, the Portuguese coach has had little to no impact on his new team. This is the first time that Fonseca has coached in a major league, and this lack of experience has been clearly exposed. The coaches of the four teams currently ahead of Roma in the league have over 20 complete seasons' worth of major-league coaching between them. Given this fact, the selection of Fonseca to coach a team which should be a fringe league title contender and a perennial Champions League qualifier was a strange one.

The progress of any football team is not always linear. Sometimes, a team peaks before a time when most expect such to be the case. At other times, a team unexpectedly reaches a new level beyond what most expect. Unfortunately for Roma and their fans, the events of the last two seasons seem to have shown that the club clearly belongs in the former category. Titles of any sort seem a long way off right now.