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Everything You Need to Know About AS Roma in 2025/26
116 Plays9 days ago
AS Roma enter the 2025–26 season with Gian Piero Gasperini stepping in from Atalanta to lead a high-press, high-endurance Giallorossi side back to the top of Serie A. In this Calcio Culture season preview, Motts, and Logs are joined by two special guests to recap Roma’s rollercoaster 2024–25 campaign — 5th place in Serie A, Europa League Round of 16 exit to Bilbao on goal difference, and a Coppa Italia quarter-final loss to Milan — before breaking down every key mercato move. We cover the €48M in departures (Tammy Abraham to Besiktas, Paredes to Argentina, Hermoso, Hummels) and €54M in arrivals, including Neil El Aynaoui from Lens, Wesley from Flamengo, and Evan Ferguson on loan from Brighton. We debate the most exciting signing, the glaring need for a left-sided attacker, and how Dovbyk, Dybala, and Soule fit into Gasperini’s system. Plus: full roster analysis, whether Dybala needs game management, defining a “successful” Roma season and MVP predictions.
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Transcript
00:00:06
Speaker
Ciao, Paisans. Welcome back to your favorite Serie A podcast. This is Coucho Culture. I am your host today, Logs. I'm here with my co-host, Mats. We are missing our other host, Vos, this week. But in his place, two of the very finest fans in all the land.
00:00:28
Speaker
Some, if you guys know the Paisons of the year last season, we do have the biggest Roma fans this side of the Atlantic.
00:00:39
Speaker
We have Sam and Nate Frasco on the pod for you today. We will be kicking to our next next team in our podcast. ah season previews for this upcoming Serie season and it made just the most sense to have these guys on the pod again probably the most loyal paisans for us and we really appreciate them and all of their commentary all of their interaction on all the socials They know where to find us.
00:01:07
Speaker
You guys know where to find us. X, Instagram, TikTok, you name it. YouTube especially, that's where we love it. At CouchoCultureFC. But Mats, how we feeling?
00:01:18
Speaker
We're feeling good. I'm excited. Great guests to have. Want to kick it to both Nate and Sam. Let them introduce themselves to you guys. How you became Roma fans. But yeah, excited for this one. 100%.
00:01:30
Speaker
Boys, thanks for coming on. Yeah, thank you guys very much for having us. We're huge fans of being podcast. Like genuinely when, when it goes like over a week within an episode, we're texting each other like, where's the next couch culture? So really love the show.
00:01:45
Speaker
You guys let us know we're slacking for sure. um
00:01:50
Speaker
Yeah, it's been awesome. So happy to be here. Love it. Tell us a little bit, where did this Roma fandom come from? Are you guys even a Italian? Are you guys real paisans? Where is this love for the game stemming from?
00:02:05
Speaker
Nate, do you want me to kind of explain the story there? Yeah. So I, um, two things kind of happened simultaneously. During COVID, I started trying to learn Italian just as something to do because there wasn't much else to do.
00:02:20
Speaker
And then I got really into the US men's national team. But then when, you know, like the summer competitions for international competitions ended, I decided I wanted more soccer to watch because I was really enjoying it and figured might as well.
00:02:35
Speaker
Ficking an Italian team, found out that Paramount Plus was going to have some broadcast in Italian. Um, so help with the language aspects and then it's just a matter of picking a team and picking a team that we had, you know, some family kind of connections to. So we have like our heritage, I guess is, is outside Rome, but, uh, Roma was kind of the closest team.
00:02:57
Speaker
Now Pisa is it another Serie A team. We have some, uh, Clueless and students, Trevor's aware of and was from. So picturoma. Yeah. Yeah, I kind of just jumped on bandwagon. Tim was like, dude, do want to watch a game? was like, yeah, absolutely. You know, the Bears suck, so I can use some new sports to watch. And soccer sounds great. So, yeah, I think it's been like this will be the fifth season that we've been like fans, but which is, I guess, not that long the time. But we've watched every single game since we became fans. So that was great. Like yeah list as the replays and stuff. So that's awesome.
00:03:35
Speaker
Yeah, i haven't missed a minute of like conference lead, Europa League, Syria, COGLA. So we're, we're really invested in you like, you know, so hasn't been a long time, but we, we just, we love it.
00:03:48
Speaker
That's awesome. Love the dedication. I think that's a lot of the stories that you'll hear from fans these days. Just coming out of COVID, coming out of soccer in general, being a lot more accessible from a a streaming perspective.
00:03:59
Speaker
Paramount Plus has done, as you may or may not have heard on the pod, an okay job. Although we ah where we continue to give our feedback and we hope that they're listening. But um it is it has been an absolute pleasure to have Paramount's coverage over the last couple of years. So certainly hear you guys on that.
00:04:14
Speaker
The accessibility at the very least is good. 100%. For sure. for Accessibility coverage, maybe not so great for the accessibility. For sure. For sure. So with that with that being said, thank you guys again for coming on today.
00:04:26
Speaker
We got a lot to cover, so we'll jump right into it. I figure I'll i'll give ah i'll give the Paisans a little later the land, and then ah and we'll we'll jump to you guys for some some commentary in between. So for those of you that are you know just joining us for our second season, a quick summary of where Roma ended up last year.
00:04:43
Speaker
Fifth place in Serie A after an absolutely turbulent start to the season. I think it was the biggest rollercoaster of a team in all of Serie A, if not all of the top five leagues last year.
00:04:55
Speaker
So they will be heading back to the Europa League with that fifth place spot. Speaking of Europa League, they Roma did lose in the round of 16 to Bilbao on aggregate there, 4-3.
00:05:07
Speaker
A tough exit. I thought they had them. But that second leg just gave it all up. And then ah fortunately for me, unfortunately for them, they lost in Milan in the quarterfinals of Copa Italia on our way to losing in the finals.
00:05:19
Speaker
But lucky you know lucky enough for you guys. a little bit of bye this year. Don't have to play those two extra games on the front end. So definitely setting up for possibly a deep run. Do you have to get by Inter on that side of the bracket.
00:05:31
Speaker
But with that being said, i've I've said it a couple times now. Biggest rollercoaster of a team last season. Going into this season, how are you guys feeling? how What were the emotions like when the season finally came to a halt last year? And how do you avoid what happened at the beginning of last season going into this one?
00:05:56
Speaker
Felt, I guess... Man, like a bunch of feelings, I think towards the end of the season, last season, which has kind of happened me consistently is like, I start to, to fade off towards the end of the season. especially when I see Roma doing like what they've done for the last four years, um, which is essentially.
00:06:15
Speaker
trick us into thinking that they're going be able to finish top four and and either because of them or because of other people, you know, mostly because of them, because they'll like drop points to teams that they shouldn't drop points to. But like then to other teams that we're hoping will drop points, not dropping points, ah they just kind of like just barely miss it.
00:06:32
Speaker
And then like once the season ends, andm like, right, cool. Where's where's my content? Who are we getting rid of? What's happening now? Exactly. But I think ah last year was weird just because of the coaching turnover. And I guess there's a bunch of stuff that sort of happened that getting into would take us a while um with all that. But...
00:06:51
Speaker
I think this year we know that it's essentially like year zero, right? Gasparini coming in completely a new style of play. i think it's exciting.
00:07:03
Speaker
And I think we have the opportunity to be good. I felt that also last year, but I think the biggest thing this year is like, just be consistent. There was so much turnover and crazy stuff but last season that if they can just like maintain some level of consistency this season, I think they'll, they'll do pretty well.
00:07:24
Speaker
Yeah, it was crushing to miss out on Champions League by, it was like one or two points. Juve, it was looking like Juve might even lose to Pineda on the last match day of the season. We were right there.
00:07:38
Speaker
And if it hadn't been for kind of a late loss to Adelante, I think it was like the third to last match day, we would have been there. So the guy who's coming in to coach us is the guy who made sure we didn't make Champions League, which is kind of a weird dynamic.
00:07:53
Speaker
So very happy we have gets Bernie. Yeah. I mean, the dude had our number for like ah four years, right. It was, I feel like our record against Adelanta in the past four seasons has, has, has been awful.
00:08:06
Speaker
So it was like, I, and we had been on that run of not losing and i Sam him and I had been talking about that. i was like, we're, we're absolutely gonna cough one up. You know, we have to, there's no way. And of course yeah we knew it was Adelanta. Yeah. That was, yeah.
00:08:21
Speaker
Yeah. To be fair, they've had most Gasparini has had basically everyone's number besides Nzaghi since he's been managing. So it's not like you guys are only the only one in that boat there.
00:08:34
Speaker
Feels like No, I mean, I'm certainly on the other end of it as well. Yeah, Roma's pretty much every other big team has been, have the better end of it against Roma past few years. But I feel like we've got at least one big win against everyone, but don't want to.
00:08:49
Speaker
We'll see if we can mix that up this year. do you guys bring up the man of the hour. Gasparini does come in to replace Ranieri. Ranieri takes a position in the management for Roma. Now, this was probably, i would say, the the biggest headline signing from a managerial perspective of the league this summer.
00:09:06
Speaker
What do you guys think that he brings to the table that he's just going to replicate from his years at Atalanta? Again, was that Atalanta? what, six, seven years now, maybe even longer.
00:09:17
Speaker
Very consistent, if not anything else. Never topping the league, but certainly always he always teetering in that top four spot. And I think what he's biggest known for is is taking guys in, taking young guys and developing them and bringing them to the next level.
00:09:31
Speaker
So from your perspective, what is Gasparini going to bring in from his Atalanta days? And what do you think that he changes up, just given the fact that I do think that this Roma side, and I'll talk about it in a second with the transfer window, this Roma side has ah a nicer core, I would say, a longer standing core than what he was working with ah in Bergamo. So what is he bringing, Sam? What do you think he's really bringing from Bergamo? What does he have to change up?
00:09:54
Speaker
So I know Nate wants to talk about like some of the play style stuff, but did just want to kind of comment. Like, I think one of the things that attracted him to Roma was not necessarily like the player trend that he experienced at Adelotsa. Like we're get this great young undervalued player, you know, kind of a no name player, turn him into a star and then immediately sell him for profit. I think One of Gasparini's frustrations with Adonso was the fact that he did that. And that's why he felt he reached ceiling.
00:10:25
Speaker
And I think he got a commitment from Roma as he builds some of these players out. They're not just gonna turn and sell all of them so he can keep his, his core around for once. So I'm excited for that.
00:10:39
Speaker
Sure. So Napro play style, do you think he brings it he brings back that 3-4-3? Do we have the roster here to replicate that that very interchangeable front three as well? Or is he going to change up that play style? um
00:10:54
Speaker
think might change it up a little bit, but for the most part, I think we've got it. We'll get to it, I think, and with the market. But you know but the missing piece right now, I think, is somebody on the left. But I think he's going to keep that.
00:11:08
Speaker
like high fitness, high level pressing people on the ball. I watched the friendly with Everton just on replay over the weekend. And it was like already very clear that we're as a team, probably in the best shape we've like ever seen them in, um which is awesome.
00:11:23
Speaker
People are are all over the field and it seems like the pace has increased. I think You know, in the Mourinho years, we were watching very like slow counterattacking, low block, like slow build up the ball. And Ranieri went back to that too, which was like, you provided consistency and it worked out really well. Like he was, he just simplified everything where I think for the first time since we've been watching really since like that short period of DDR, we're going to see like actually progressive fast moving flowing and tagging football, which is pretty exciting. It's like a win's a win, but sometimes it's like watching paint dry. So.
00:12:02
Speaker
I've been there. I've been there. Logan's going to be there this year with Allegri. I don't want not don't want to talk about it yet. I'm not mentally ready for that conversation yet. we'll We'll wait for the yeah Milan preview for that.
00:12:15
Speaker
Yeah. yeah That'll be next week. Paisans, keep an ear out for it. Look out for our post. That will be next week. I promise you that. Not to go too far left here, but... matter of weeks, Milan's now having a great window after a terrible window two weeks ago. But yeah, that' that that'll be next week.
00:12:33
Speaker
It's been a big change up for us. But speaking of windows, Mott, why don't you, big stats guy Mott's here, why don't you take us through the numbers here? What have they done? Who they sold? Who they brought brought in? What are the numbers looking like? Yeah, this is pretty pretty classic Roma here is spending about what they sell, right? They're never too far one way or the other.
00:12:51
Speaker
um They have $48 million out in Le Fay, Zalewski, Paredes, Shamaradov, Tammy, Hummels, retired. but And then they have $54 million in and Wesley. You guys want to take a shot at the midfielder's name? I know, Sam, I think you you commented how to pronounce it, or was it Nate?
00:13:10
Speaker
That was Nate. Yeah. It's kind down. And this is. That Nate. Yeah. i I could definitely still be wrong, but somebody like um on one of the forums were on like kind of kind of spelled it out. So I think it's A-N-A-W-E.
00:13:22
Speaker
and So like A-Y-N-A-H-W-E-E. um But yeah, L-A-N-A-W-E I think it's is pretty exciting. I was watching him also in the friendly and he's like the everywhere man. That was really fun to watch.
00:13:36
Speaker
Yep, and then you've also brought in another striker in Evan Ferguson and then a center back from Verona. So $48 million out, $54 million in the door. What are thoughts on the players in the door?
00:13:48
Speaker
um Let's go with Sam. What do you think? Yeah, so El Innaui, the fans were like, a lot of fans were really just because we were trying to get Richard Rios, who ended up going to Benfica from Palmeiras in Brazil. brazil But we ended up with this guy from ah the French League and said, I'm really excited about He had eight goals as a center mid fielder last year in League One.
00:14:14
Speaker
Yeah, I think he's, he's like a really good fit for Gaspar. think he's gonna pair up well with Tone as a center midfielder in that kind of like two man midfield. He's aggressive. He's dominant, good ball skills, good passing.
00:14:25
Speaker
He makes good runs forward. So yeah, I think, i think Wesley is, is kind of like the banner her signing, but El and Naoui is gonna be a really, really good too.
00:14:36
Speaker
So I think he's gonna spread to people.
00:14:40
Speaker
Nate, how do you feel about bringing in ah second, ah finally a viable second striker, in my opinion, to Nevin Ferguson? Super excited about it. Yeah, I mean, he's also young, which I think has a ton of upside.
00:14:52
Speaker
i think there were some injur injury concerns previously, but if he stays healthy, i think he's going to be really good and a really good like second option. i know... He and Dovbic have and somewhat similar like physical profiles, but the way they play is definitely different. And I think that's a good shakeup. I think if we're going to be one playing multiple competitions, but two, if something's not working, you can swap them, um, and kind of change your gameplay a little bit.
00:15:19
Speaker
So I'd. for You know, I love Shmordov. think a lot of the Roma fans are extremely grateful to him for last season too, but it's nice to actually have somebody who's like, yeah, this guy's a real striker and, and could actually bang in some goals and really grow with the team. So that's awesome.
00:15:36
Speaker
um Yeah, he's, I mean, for those he's good business too. He's sorry. was just gonna say like, he's like, I think it's an option to buy it at 35 million if he does well and Ramon wants him, which could be an absolute steal away. He had a hundred million dollar price tag on his head few years ago for the injury. So
00:15:57
Speaker
And again, Paisans, for those of you that don't know, Evan Ferguson had showed out about two seasons ago on Brighton in the Prem, had tremendous promise. Again, like Sam said, about $100 million dollars price tag on the way out, but then did have some injury woes last year, went out on loan to try to restart, get some momentum, and just never never got back to that form. So if there is any resemblance of but the Evan Ferguson's that we saw two years ago, then that $35 million dollars obligation is going to be a phenomenal price tag to uh to let it rip and i i totally agree i think that from a play style perspective dobik definitely back to goal is more of a target man definitely ah i would say a broader bigger presence evan ferguson is actually a lot more agile even given his size and i think that him getting out into the wider spaces will certainly be a different approach than having dobik up top but in any case with the amount of games that you guys are going to be playing having these two strikers is going to be
00:16:52
Speaker
absolutely imperative and kind of going back to what we were talking about Gasparini. This is reflective of what he tried to do with Skamaka and Riteghi, right? Unfortunately, Skamaka goes down with an injury ah day before and i yeah obviously they bring Riteghi after that, but I think that was kind of what the two were going to be playing off each other like would have been in that you do have a broader, don't big back to goal, just target guy up top and then Evan Ferguson come and bring a little bit more speed from that perspective. so Mats, I know that you had this question as well.
00:17:24
Speaker
From my perspective, and I know that there's been a couple of, I guess, battles here in the transfer window, but is Roma doing enough? Are they doing enough with bringing you in such a ah name brand and Gasparini at manager?
00:17:38
Speaker
Are they doing enough to to fill out that roster, to give him and his technical abilities the best opportunity to take advantage of three competitions, to take advantage of you you know going in into this season as another favorite to finish top four and build upon a roster that last year was promising without the managerial salinity, but now has a little bit of continuity?
00:18:03
Speaker
Are you asking me? No, I just know that you had this question. So leave and i'm I'm happy to
00:18:12
Speaker
Yeah, I think, I think, um, I think it's enough for now. I think it's enough for season one. i think there is still a lot of dead weight in the roster.
00:18:23
Speaker
Players who are really not supposed be part the projects here. We're just gonna, it's gonna take some time to offload them. Pellegrini and Costante being the main two offenders there. So I think getting rid of their wages, which are very high is gonna be significant towards bringing more of the gas-free intake players in.
00:18:44
Speaker
So if Roma don't make one and but another signing for the rest of the the window, you guys are good with it? You're good with this team rolling into ah season? think now.
00:18:55
Speaker
So we want... and so many many
00:19:03
Speaker
I'll so we, we need a, like left attacking mid left winger type player. And that would be my opinion. That's like the final piece that's missing. I, of course, there's always more work that can be done, but that's like the essential to Conan. I think we need to feel good going into the season to have like a ah starting like day in day out starter at that position.
00:19:27
Speaker
Gasper. um I saw recently, I think I saw today or yesterday, news, little bit of rumors going around. don't want to comment too, too much on the rumors, but you guys actually being linked to someone that Juventus has been linked to throughout the window who could be a solution at the left wing in Sancho.
00:19:43
Speaker
Does anyone, you guys have, the would you want him to come in? Would you do not want that profile? He does fit the left wing.
00:19:52
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know too much about him, like, in general, from a playing standpoint, from what I've seen and or heard. Like, i know his... and know it would cost a decent amount, and then I know paying him would also cost a decent amount.
00:20:06
Speaker
um And it seems like... what we've run into in the past is like signing these somewhat high profile players on big wages. And then they're like, we're kind of stuck with them. a lot of times they don't end up performing.
00:20:20
Speaker
You know, like if there was an opportunity to maybe get a loan, which I'm not sure if that, if that's possible, then sure. um but I think trying to buy him or, or anything like that, I think would just cause problems for us in the future.
00:20:33
Speaker
And I'd rather somebody who, We could bring it and develop like over somebody who's maybe a little bit more established and struggling a little bit. He's done the last year of his deal. So we wouldn't be able to get him on a loan.
00:20:45
Speaker
I don't, I think Sancho's stance is kind of like just journalists BS right now. i'm I'm not buying any of it personally. andt I don't, I don't think it's so like a remote possibility bring him in.
00:21:03
Speaker
I mean, a lot of rumors. So I feel you there. Yeah. too Yeah. it's It's just, it's just too expensive. Like, I just don't think it's real. All all those rumors for you, man.
00:21:16
Speaker
So yeah, I mean, he's, he's where that would suit that rule, but I think they're, they're looking for some like less expensive options. And then the one other thing that might happen is we like, we're supposedly like close to a deal with, uh, Leia Warsaw for, um, this like Polish young Polish center back with 20 years old. His name is, uh, Sokowski, I think.
00:21:39
Speaker
So that might get done. That would be good defensive reinforcement. Yeah. Left one, your left second base needs to happen.
00:21:49
Speaker
Yeah. like We've got players that are maybe serviceable. Like, Elshaw, potentially Paul Donzi could play up there. Piscili doesn't really belong there, but, like, he could fit there if it was, like, necessary.
00:22:02
Speaker
And then Pellegrini just... The guy's like been injured, right? And he got surgeries. like I think he's missed all preseason. I just don't think were if we see him at all, think we're going to see him until like halfway through the season at at most. So that's like ah kind of a pretty big gap. And during the Everton friendly, it seemed like Elianawi was playing up there, which is kind of weird. So I think how the midfield is going to work out is still like a, a bit of a mystery to me, like who's actually, i think Kone's kind of game in, game out starter. Right.
00:22:35
Speaker
And always seems like a Gasparini profile type midfielder as well. Um, like was really all over the place, but you know, Sam and I are, are big, silly fans would love to see him get minutes and who knows what happens with Cristante too. So that people can get kind of like stuffed into that left wing position, but nobody actually fits there.
00:22:56
Speaker
Sure. Sure. So I think that wraps up the Mercado for Roma here. Obviously, a couple of a couple of big needs, I would say, in my opinion. I still think there's a lot a lot of work to do in terms of bringing this team to to what I think is the best that what they can be. So let's jump into the core of the team, the roster, the day one, starting 11 that we think is going to be running out into the pitch here under Gasparini.
00:23:17
Speaker
And we'll see. As we always do, the goalie, defense, midfielders, forwards, and then we just build out the lineup in totality. But I will start with goalie here. i do It's very clearly one person, and one person only, but the only reason I want to bring it up is because of the...
00:23:35
Speaker
I would guess differing opinions on who's the best goalkeeper in Syria between me and Mott. But at goalie, we do have Sfilar, the official reigning ah goalie of the year for Syria.
00:23:47
Speaker
We do have ah Vasquez, who came in from my own Milan. I don't think he ever saw the pitch outside of maybe preseason game. So I'm sure he's just a body on the bench to maybe have some conversation with the other Spanish-speaking players.
00:23:58
Speaker
And then we do have Golini, who I think came in in the... Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he came in during the winter window from Empoli. ah In any case, yeah we we all know sitting here who the day one guy is, who the guy throughout the season is going to be, and that is Filar. And, you know, I i know Mott personally feels this way, but really sell me on him. How many games last season did this guy really win for you on his own? Because I know that there's another goal in league that may or may not have won a couple more games by himself.
00:24:30
Speaker
All of them? if that the games? Yeah. all game Yeah, I think, I think I remember like, I mean, that's what it felt was. Yeah. Like two times where he actually, i would, i wouldn't even call them errors, right? Like he he had to make a call and like the call he made just, you know, he he wasn't able to to get the job done, but I don't remember any like significant errors that he actually made that like directly went into a goal right and I think for the most part I mean he was man of the match like 90% of the of the games last season so definitely yeah that if not all of them the vast majority of them and ah to be fair Sam and I are both like Vanya quite a bit I think he's like a really good goalkeeper but he's just not Spilar man that guy's a hero
00:25:18
Speaker
we we are We are big fans Svilar, whether i whether i i show it or not, I am a big fan. Mats, obviously, as well. yeah didn So I know that there was a contract talk with Svilar this summer. Did you guys wrap that up? Where's that at? Oh, yeah.
00:25:32
Speaker
Yeah, 20 30. thirty Yeah, extended to Yeah. Yeah. So everything's good. Sealer's happy. He even like it was quoted saying that just a week ago, it's been like three weeks since he res resigned, but he's quoted a week ago saying, Yeah, I actually wanted to extend for a longer time.
00:25:50
Speaker
So he wanted to wait to contract until 31 32. Gotta love that. gotta love that Gotta love that. And i that goes to, I believe, Nate or but you know Sam's point of being able to keep your core at Roma, right? He's happy at Roma, wants to stay at Roma.
00:26:07
Speaker
And one of the reasons why Gasperini was attracted to the job. Yeah, and I do just want to make note that that is a cultural culture exclusive from Sam today. Svilar is happy at Roma. You heard it here first.
00:26:20
Speaker
Svilar happy at Roma as we go forward. mine yeah Mott, run us through the defense really quick. big One big name that shined through last season, and I think a couple of things I want to highlight, and I want to hear Nate and Sam's take on it to see what the going to look like.
00:26:38
Speaker
Yeah, so it's going to a three-back, we think, right, boys?
00:26:43
Speaker
Yeah. And so we have Indica, Mancini, Angelino, Celik, Wesley, Divine Wrench, and Salah... Adin, yeah.
00:26:58
Speaker
A Dean. There we go. Thank you for that assist there. You have. yeah had yeah But yeah, so we have pretty deep on the wingback position. Just reading through the names. There's some, I think, a tad light on the center back position.
00:27:11
Speaker
But who do we think is going to be day one starters? And let's start with the three center back positions. Yeah, I think you have to start Mancini. Well, you definitely have to start Indica, right? Like that's just a kind of no-brainer.
00:27:24
Speaker
Like I played like every game last season and I think he can keep that up aside from the African Cup this year. But I think you play Mancini in the center. I think he's better in the center than he is on the right. It kind of contains him a little bit.
00:27:38
Speaker
And then I'm hoping, so we just signed Ghilardi from Verona and I'm hoping he takes starting spot on the right. I'm not a huge Hermoso fan and not a huge Celic fan either. Although I do think Celic is like serviceable at, you know, on the right as a center back, but as a wing back, I think he's useless. So.
00:28:04
Speaker
Yeah, Ron Uri kind of converted him into, uh, into the right center back spot and he was much better fit. There was serviceable for sure. So I think he'll be starting the season as the starting right center back, but the, the hope is eventually Hilari will take over for most of them might be on the outs from what we're hearing. He, he'd kind of be like, he goes back up on the left, but he's, uh, his salary is pretty high. It's like 5 million annually.
00:28:32
Speaker
I'm hearing we're hearing that Gaspar. not really showing it we'll see you here's out so just based on the names like I said i think a little thin here you guys said where you would like to see a position be brought in was left wing is center back like the next one up would that have been the next answer if you didn't have a clear cut starting left wing
00:28:56
Speaker
Yeah, so we, uh, with, with Hermoso and Kanbula, we have, so yeah, like that group, you already, like Mancini and Dickon, Hermoso Kanbula, we have six center backs, which I think is plenty of depth. It's just that Kanbula and Hermoso might kind of be like on the outs of the project, in which case we would need replace at least one, which could potentially be this, uh, this Polish kid.
00:29:21
Speaker
So we're, we're kind of waiting to see what happens there in the last couple weeks the market. That's true. You guys are heavily linked with him. Okay, so then moving moving forward to the wingback position, I think we have kind of a clear-cut starter on the left in Jolino.
00:29:36
Speaker
He had a great season last year, arguably team of the season. Obviously, a lot of good left wingbacks in the Serie A, so I think he could he got slightly snubbed. But then moving to the right side, you brought in a player from...
00:29:50
Speaker
the Brazilian league who could potentially be the starter in Wesley. um But I believe who started there last season? Was it more of divine wrench or was it shellic more off the right in the right wing back spot?
00:30:02
Speaker
It just kind of rotated. It was, i think it was shellic a decent amount. um And then, yeah, either generally wrench would be, would be behind him.
00:30:15
Speaker
So you guys turned into Sule for a little bit yeah too. It was, it was weird under Ron Jerry and and then like Salma mattress, but occasionally play there. So it, it really hasn't been fixed position for a while.
00:30:27
Speaker
We're expecting it's Wesley, I think this year, right? Nate like over wrench. Yeah. I mean, I, I, I hope so. You know, I would, I would even like to see, and I keep, can't remember if he's gone or not, but the Saud Abdul Hamid, if he came back and played, he's gone. oh man, that's too bad. That guy was so fast.
00:30:46
Speaker
Yeah. He got, he got wound. It's good. Yeah. Not, not surprising. Like he's got, he's got stuff to work on. So he needs playing time, but just from like a pure speed perspective, it'd be awesome to have him on the field. So yeah, but I, I definitely think Wesley takes the starting spot.
00:31:00
Speaker
So we think clear-cut starting to Angelino Wesley at the wingback position. And Nate, just want to get your take on Angelino, like what he does well, why you're yeah why you guys are such big fans of him, um and what the type of season he had last year.
00:31:16
Speaker
And I would say also why he works so well with Indica, just being the fact that they do hold down that left side, and I think it's the most clear-cut spot and on the field aside from Kone as to who's goingnna be there. Yeah, no, I mean, the guy can cross, which, you know, I think he's been, from what I've seen, has been struggling a little bit in preseason, but I'm sure that gets locked down as we move into the and the regular season. But, like, for a very long time, i think Romo wanted to play a certain way and then just didn't have anybody who could put it a good cross into the box. um
00:31:47
Speaker
And then last year, especially, i think he and Solomachers, when Solomachers came back, like linked up really well, just like across the field. I think, I think they kind of helped each other out just progressively, but I know For as small as he is, he is really good in the air.
00:32:06
Speaker
Um, like wins a lot of duels in the air, which is awesome. And then is also very progressive and like great defensively and, you know, kind of moves. And I think partly because he is smaller, he can move around a little bit more and has good technical skills.
00:32:19
Speaker
So Ian and Dicca, I think we're just like, could balance each other out because If Indica, you know, was progressing ball forward, Angelina would kind of back up and make sure that it was covered from a defensive perspective. So I think that's all been really good. And I mean, he scored a few goals last season that were pretty awesome also. So he's definitely got like the the foot for it, which has been great.
00:32:44
Speaker
And I've also never seen him tired. Yeah. Yeah. he's in ah And Angelina is great and like and picked him up for five million. Yeah. Yeah. No, you love big signings like that. I mean, he kind of fell under the radar after a couple of years in in the Bundesliga.
00:32:59
Speaker
And I think that's a perfect spot to be looking at guys that can fill out a roster and maybe just have a ah career revamping. But I do, I love, i will just say, I just, I love the signing of Wesley.
00:33:10
Speaker
Of course, right now, kind of the marquee signing of the summer. um So you would like to see him start, but I do think that Divine Wrench was more than serviceable when he came in last year. And given the fact of how Gasparini used his wingbacks at Atalanta,
00:33:23
Speaker
you need to have two serviceable wingbacks on both sides. You know, even Zappacosta in Atalanta was getting a ton of burn and and rightfully so, was performing incredibly well, but older on the legs and that's why Ruggieri was getting time. and That's why I think that they, the Roma specifically, had to go out here and bolster a spot that I think was already filled.
00:33:43
Speaker
um But ah that I think from a a strategy perspective, it's very clear that the wingbacks are going to be incredibly important going forward for the season. for this Roma side. So with that being said, that covers the defense for the most part.
00:33:56
Speaker
I'd love to move to the midfield here. A couple of big names, couple legacy names, like you said, guys, maybe some dead weight that may be moving on, maybe not. And then a couple of of really good rising stars that we're incredibly excited about. So would love to hear your thoughts there. So we'll start with Brian.
00:34:13
Speaker
We are not fans of Brian, but Brian Costante starting out the midfield here. Lorenzo Pellegrini, we will also call a midfielder for these purposes. Although I do think that if he was at form, he could be playing that left wing spot that you guys are saying is a massive hole.
00:34:27
Speaker
But that does bring us to the new signing. I'll give it a go. Neil L. I'm just going to pass on that one. Manu Kone, star of last season, arguably another team of the season player.
00:34:39
Speaker
Absolute, stupendous signing last year. For Roma going out and getting him. I mean, he showed he showed his worth from day zero. So great signing there.
00:34:49
Speaker
And then two young guys that we've covered a bunch last season and that we are incredibly excited about to see what their progression is like. And that's in Pizzili and Baldanzi.
00:35:00
Speaker
So guys, assuming we go to a two-man midfield like we did at Atlanta with Gasparini, who's starting? What kind of attributes are they going to bring the table, especially considering the backdrop of, okay, when Gasparini and his time at Atlanta, for the most part, you had a guy like Ederson who was a box, was end line to end line, obviously box to box, end line to end line, covering the entire pitch, engine, engine, engine.
00:35:26
Speaker
And then next to a guy like for a little bit was Toon Coop Miners. Martin Giroux played there as well. pass Lich when needed would drop in there from time to time, but more so a ball handler, more creative from an offensive perspective. So where do you guys see in shakeout?
00:35:44
Speaker
I mean, it's, I think it should be Kone and El Einaoi as like this starters, day in, day out. And then because getting get burned out, think that's where Celia and Cristante come in.
00:35:58
Speaker
And, uh, there's another kid, Alessandro Romano, who's like coming up from the premium era that seems to be like a gas breeding profile. We'll see if he gets any time. And yeah, maybe Baldanzi as well.
00:36:11
Speaker
Um, Baldanzi could also kind of fit into that. more like attacking role um but uh mods why are you seeing many of the uh christante mckinney swap rumors on your house how do you feel about that listen i i yeah i've i've been seeing that i was gonna bring that up i'm okay to see mckinney leave not for brian like but it will be juventus will fight by still probably make that happen you yeah if you guys can get mckinney i think that'd be a great ad especially if you're getting rid of chrisante I hope that doesn't happen, but with the people running Juventus, that's probably gonna happen tomorrow.
00:36:47
Speaker
We, yeah yeah, I mean, we'd love to see if we'd love to have a US player and we, we love McKinney on like USMNC be cool. And especially getting rid of Brian, but come on, mats he's, he's an Italian knight.
00:36:59
Speaker
Signore Brian Christante won the Euros, dude. Yeah. so I mean, what's up Nate? Well, the worst part about Christante is that like you, He's fine.
00:37:12
Speaker
Like he was, he was bad and very frustrating to watch for, for a while under Mourinho, but I think he did pretty well under Ranieri. And from what I've seen, like he's, he's again, yeah hasn't been hateable preseason under Gasparini.
00:37:29
Speaker
I just, I think that his biggest issue is that he's slow. And it seems like he only thinks about passing backwards. So like, and then the occasional time that he gets his foot on the ball.
00:37:41
Speaker
Yeah. Like, you know, occasionally he'll put a split through it and like, and rocket one into somebody's legs or somehow managed to find the net. But um yeah, it's, it's every time you really start to get mad at him, he like goes and does something that totally redeems himself for, you know, at least 45 minutes.
00:37:59
Speaker
Classic. Classic. He does definitely have that. Yeah, you could make a good drinking game out of Cristante's back passes, though. For sure. ah him and Him and Lloyd Kelly.
00:38:12
Speaker
Perfect for Juve. Perfect. But I think ah we glanced over it, um and I know that you guys mentioned that you have six... Decently usable guys at center back here, but what are your thoughts on Cristante playing at the center back in a pinch, especially if you do let Hermoso go and you don't bring in another guy? i mean, I know that he's played there in the past decently well. I think that his player profile fits that position well.
00:38:35
Speaker
For me, that's a nightmare rotation, having Mancini and Cristante in the same back line, but I'll leave it to you guys.
00:38:44
Speaker
I think that's where Cristante is really underappreciated. He is a soldier. so yeah Yeah, exactly. like I think and he can do it. I think he plays that defensive role pretty well, especially if he's kind of locked in there to a certain extent.
00:39:00
Speaker
If he doesn't that have responsibilities other than that, where he's like going to be somewhere on the pitch where he just loses his man, then I think... Like, yeah, I'm i'm um for it because he he did do well under Mourinho when he was playing back there.
00:39:12
Speaker
He definitely fit. Like, he's tall. He can win a lot in the air, which I think is like an underrated stat of his maybe because you're concentrating on all the other annoying shit that he does. But yeah, I think ah serviceable if needed.
00:39:26
Speaker
Not preferable, but... Emergencies only, yeah. Sure. And sometimes you sometimes you do need that. Sometimes you do. Before we move to the forwards, I would love for you guys to tell the Paisans again and for some of these some of these newcomers coming to season two may not know these names. So um again, like I said, very exciting. to Two people out of the midfield here that I'd love to highlight really quick. And maybe if you guys can just highlight the really big differences between the two and where they should be looking for them on the field, no matter where they are in the lineup. But I'm talking about Pizzili and I'm talking about Baldanzi. Maybe a quick highlight there.
00:40:01
Speaker
We love Facili. I think he's, he's just, he's behind Conan and Elinaoi on the depth chart, but he's ho great. He will be great. And as long as he's utilized properly in the center midfield, I think he'll be great. I think we'll get chance to stop there. Gasparini is good.
00:40:19
Speaker
So look for him to be the starter, like maybe in Europa League games. Yeah. and Number 61, kind of small looking guy, but got some, at least thin, right. Not super like physically imposing, but he's, he's relatively tall and dark hair. So if you're looking for him, that's what he looks like, but progressive.
00:40:36
Speaker
And also I think reads the game really well. I think where and when we saw him like do really well. And I think where we would like to see him, at least me and Sam is in that central midfield role, like actually controlling the pace of the game.
00:40:49
Speaker
I think he does that really well. and like better than Kone and also kind of sees those passes. I think Kone is great at holding the ball, right? But Kacilio, I think he's better at game management and like progressing the ball.
00:41:04
Speaker
And then Valdon, the, just a tiny little guy, like Dybala kind of profile, extremely technical and just kind of Naruto runs around the pitch a little bit, which is awesome. Like he's, he's quick and he's mobile and he's got great technical skills. I think people have issues with some of his finishing, um which is I think fair, but I, I would also point out that, um, pretty much everybody at Roma seems to love to kick it directly into people's legs and or directly at the keeper.
00:41:34
Speaker
um when to have an open shot and goal. So, um but otherwise, like i he's, when he's in, I think he gets involved really well and is able to open up the game in ways that other people we've seen that are more progressive or or supposed to be more progressive haven't been able to so do. 100%.
00:41:52
Speaker
hundred percent ahent 100%. that covers the midfield here. a lot to have been talked about and a lot to watch this season. But with that being said, without further ado, let's talk about the front line.
00:42:05
Speaker
Let's talk about how Gasparini is going to manage the attackers up front. And I would be remiss to not let Mots and our in-house Juve fan talk about the forwards as Juve has funded this entire front line.
00:42:19
Speaker
I don't know about the entire front line, but two very key pieces for sure. Yeah, this is a good line. this is and every Every player son is a good player. You got El Shirarway, Mateus Sule, who you've absolutely robbed from Juventus.
00:42:33
Speaker
And we overpaid for Conce Sao, and we had a better version of him in-house. Oh, well. Paulo Dybala, another absolute just Rob, just for free, who's just an absolute. When he's healthy, he's probably one of, if not the best players in the Serie You have Dobrik, who started slow, but started to figure out the league and scored, I believe, 18 goals last season. So I'm expecting to see him hit the floor running, especially under the Gasparini system.
00:43:01
Speaker
Then you have Evan Ferguson, who you guys just brought in in the summer. We covered him a little bit in the transfer market section. Obviously, as a very high ceiling of a player.
00:43:13
Speaker
So very excited to see this line. What do you guys think? And I'll go to Nate here will be the starting three. And also your guys take on the forever puzzle of Dybala Sule on that right hand side.
00:43:28
Speaker
And just to say, if you guys think it might be a front two, we're definitely here for it but just assumably going with that 3-4-3 setup that we've been running with. But I think Mots' question is 100% what we need to cover at some point here is that forever puzzle.
00:43:43
Speaker
Yeah, I was going to bring that up because i I don't know what the answer is. i think you can play Dybala more central. So if you wanted to play something like maybe a 3-4-1-2, right?
00:43:55
Speaker
You can put him in that central role and have Sule push farther up. um which, yeah, Sam and I were going to talk about this, a little salt in the wound, but he's just so good, man. It's unbelievable. Like, he got off to a slow start last season, but you would see him do some things where you're just like, oh holy crap, right? Like, he's he's just awesome. So thank you, you, on behalf of Juve.
00:44:18
Speaker
Well, we got Dusan Vlaovic. That's why we let him go, so, you know. Yeah, real steal there. Yeah, I think...
00:44:29
Speaker
stop stop buying you know players sneak i know i know wowvich yeah giving them and then for jolly too yeah it's a tough time in to in turin but we're battling through we're battling through but back to roma and uh enough about you face more about roma no i think i do three I think you have to start Sule.
00:44:54
Speaker
And I also think that you kind of have to start Dybala when he's healthy. um i just think what he brings from like an experience perspective, like you just have to have that there and also just pure magic.
00:45:07
Speaker
But i don't see like Sule can't play on the left. They tried that last year and it just did not work. Uh, and I think Diwala really only makes sense if he's in the middle.
00:45:19
Speaker
So i think that left spot is still kind of open. And then I think you have to start Dovic. I preferably like, I would like to see him start. I think Sam and I have been talking about this recently because you know, in our, you know, I'm like an internet troll looking for content all the time. So all I'm just doing is reading people's contents or comments in there.
00:45:40
Speaker
There's a lot of like, I personally think somewhat unjustified dope pick hate going on from Roma fans where people don't think he's that good. And I think there's like kind of two camps where it's, it's people think he sucks.
00:45:52
Speaker
um And then nobody's actually necessarily arguing that he's good. People are just arguing that he doesn't suck um because we haven't seen enough of him quite yet. And like enough of him with consistency to really make that call on like whether he's actually good or not.
00:46:06
Speaker
um But i I think with Gasparini, he's banging in goals, especially if they figure out the crossing thing. There's just no way he isn't scoring. And I think you have to give him that confidence like as a starter um right at the beginning of the season. Because if you don't do that, then yeah, he's probably going to drop out.
00:46:24
Speaker
So yeah, the left-wing thing, and I think, is still some of the mystery. You can put Elshaw there. i don't think he's game-in, game-out starter and generally better as a sub. Maybe Ferguson, right? You can kind of play around with that. but I do see Sule, Dybala and, and Dothbik all starting, just how it works out. not totally sure.
00:46:44
Speaker
And then Sam, what are you, what are you are you in a similar boat or do you think it's different?
00:46:52
Speaker
Yeah, I think, I i think they, I, it seems like Gasparini's like preference is going to be more of like a three, four, two, one situation. But, and that's why it's like Sule would be on the right, or maybe Dybala would be on the right, player X, I guess, would be on the left as a starter. But I think it's like...
00:47:12
Speaker
Nate and I kind of think it's better set up right now for a 3-4-1-2. And just kind of the the that triangle gives you more flexibility. Dybala can play as a 10. Sule can play where he wants to play on the right. And then you have Dovbek as the traditional striker.
00:47:27
Speaker
But then, you know, you could also like... move. You could try Suwe out as a 10. You could try Baldongi out as a 10. And then that frees up like Dybala can play on the right as the forward with Dovvic or Ferguson or like Ferguson and Dovvic can play together. i think that gives you a lot more variety, especially if we don't get this left winger left attacking base situation figured out.
00:47:49
Speaker
so I'm curious. exist like I just want goals, I think. And I think Sule is the key. Yeah, I mean, i will say to your point, Nate, about Dybala and his magic and how good he is.
00:48:03
Speaker
This is a similar situation that we had with Juventus. And where do you play him? if it's not going to be off the right, he's so unique in that.
00:48:15
Speaker
And he's also, we obviously know he has his inconsistency with his health. So building a team around him or a system around around him when he's not there can be obviously pretty bad, but,
00:48:27
Speaker
You guys having Sule, who kind of is a very similar profile as Dybala, has that magic, just doesn't have the experience. I think that would be, you got to let Sule grow fully into the the future Dybala and play him in his spot where he needs in the right or off the second striker and let him float in the right-hand spot.
00:48:48
Speaker
But I do really like the shout of the switching it to the one-two. Once again, just tying it back to Juventus, I really want them to do that as well. So I really like that shout. The inverted triangle definitely solves that left wing problem 100%, right?
00:49:01
Speaker
And I think that when you look at Gaspari coming in the one the last thing you want to do is force a formation that's just not going to fit the roster. But and we've told mean we can talk about this for for hours on end, but...
00:49:14
Speaker
The step forward that Dobrik and that Sule need to take this season is cannot be understated. But I don't think that there's a ah better person in the league to have them take that step than Gasparini.
00:49:30
Speaker
um But if... if Sule can get going and can really turn into Dybala 2.0 fully and Dobik. ah So Sule into Dybala, Dobik into what we saw in that La Liga, you know, flash in the pan, 31 goals on the season.
00:49:45
Speaker
I think that's going to be such a deadly, exciting team to watch. And I think that we, know, Mats Vos and I were kind of calling for it last year with a three-headed dragon. There was no dragging out of that ah offense, but maybe they can bring that back this season.
00:50:01
Speaker
But i think, Nate, you nailed it too. If the crossing from the wingbacks can really get going, Dolby being the big guy that he is and with an inverted triangle, you can get Evan and Ferguson in the game at the same time as well.
00:50:14
Speaker
There's not too many center back pairings in the league that are going to be able to deal with that on a 90-minute basis if that's the case. So I think it's an incredibly exciting opportunity for this team and for Gasparini to get really creative up top.
00:50:26
Speaker
So with that being said, we've got a lot of players. We covered a lot of players, but only 11 can play on the pitch at the same time. So Nate, day one, given a lot of the preseason that you've watched, what's your starting 11? Who's the best 11 out there? What formation?
00:50:44
Speaker
And then, you know, we'll kick it to Sam, but one more past that. Who's really the shining star? Who's the MVP from that starting 11 for the season? Yeah, I think for right now, just because I think it'd be more interesting and and because we have that gap, I'll go with the three, four, one, two, even if it doesn't necessarily look like that originally, I think it might just morph into that naturally during, during the matches, but.
00:51:06
Speaker
Best goalkeeper in the league. Got to start. So he's going to be out there. Then I think... ashan hu still feel are Yeah, Yeah. Yeah. But... Oh, okay. Yeah. And then in the in the back of three, I think you have... I think you have Indica, Mancini, and probably Celic, but I'm hoping very shortly, Gilardi.
00:51:29
Speaker
And then... midfield two, it's gotta be Kona and l LA Naui just makes the most sense right now on your wingbacks, Angelino and Wesley. And then I think in that one role, probably Dybala and then Dovic and Sule up top, what would make most sense. And then think MVP, uh, for the season, i I kind of want to say Elinawi just because he's, I think he's going to surprise a lot of people, but okay um more realistically, it's probably going to be Sule.
00:52:04
Speaker
um but yeah maybe spieler again but uh but yeah i think ellie and i we actually seeing him play i was really excited about especially after reading you know bunch of people being disappointed about it it's like oh like this guy actually looks like he plays in the midfield um he was all over the place so that was awesome to see because we haven't had that for years I will say if Svilar is the MVP of this season, i do not think Roma is going to have the result that we want them to have. So let's hope not. Sam, any big differences from that?
00:52:37
Speaker
Any big takes?
00:52:41
Speaker
No, I have the exact same lineup. I guess I'll just add that I want to see Vasili like giving Kone or Elinaoui rest and starting alongside either one kind of throughout the season.
00:52:55
Speaker
But no, otherwise exact same lineup, exact same formation. We're in total agreement. and And then I, the other thing I'll mention is I expect to see Ferguson getting some starts as well, rotating for Dovvic, probably like a 70 minute sub situation for each of them. Like if Ferguson starts, Dovvic will sub at 70 and vice versa.
00:53:15
Speaker
So MVP of the season, I was expecting Nate to say Sule or Spilar and i was just going to take the other one. So there we go. And they're brothers for a reason. Matz, any thoughts there? Any differences from them? No, I like it. I'm i'm all for the 3-4-1-2. I hope multiple teams run that formation this season.
00:53:33
Speaker
i really, as much as I hate saying this, I think Sule is going to take off this season and Juventus is going to regret selling him. ah You guys have, i you really do have...
00:53:47
Speaker
El Shirawi is a great substitute to have, but I think you have four starters that can start at any game and beat any team in the league or in the Europa League in Sule, Dybala, Dobik, and Ferguson.
00:53:58
Speaker
So I really think you can't go wrong. and And what's beautiful about it is you can they can all play with each other. bike You can do Dybala as a 10 and then a Ferguson and Dobrik, two out-and-out strikers at the two.
00:54:10
Speaker
You can do a Sule at the 10. You can do a Sule off Dobrik or Ferguson. You can even put Dybala up top. Gasparini can really do whatever he wants, and that that always leads to what the best style of soccer, which is extreme fluidity players play playing in different positions off of each other so very excited for the up top of what roma is going to do this season also being the fact that it's gasparini and they're just going to attack attack attack so i expect to see a lot of goals from this forward class Three-headed dragon, round two. We'll see if it happens.
00:54:43
Speaker
I definitely agree with you guys. I think that ah you know the day one lineup is pretty much set in stone aside from any transfer news that we've seen in the last month here. But the thing I'm most excited about, and you guys talked about it a bunch, is is really to be that rotation and seeing who gets playing time where.
00:54:59
Speaker
Gasparini knows how to manage through three competitions. Dybala needs a little bit of game management these days with his injury woes. And so I do think that there's going to be some rotation. There's going to be some significant playing time from some guys who definitely needed to take that next step in their career.
00:55:13
Speaker
So with that being said, i just said it, three competitions, Gasparini coming in, couple of new transfers, core still intact, young guys abound. What do you guys think is a successful season from this Roma side?
00:55:26
Speaker
I think there's incredibly high expectations from the pod, but definitely want to hear from you guys. Is it a Scudetto? Is it just top four? do you How many trophies are we looking at? How much hardware is coming back to the capital city?
00:55:39
Speaker
Sam, I'll start with you.
00:55:43
Speaker
Yeah, so I, um for me, it's just top four. It's been a very long time. I think it's been seven years since Romo was in the Champions League. So that is the objective. That's success.
00:55:56
Speaker
I don't care if it's fourth place and fifth place tied with us on points, but has one less than goal differential. I do not care. Just give me top four.
00:56:07
Speaker
And i I think that is achievable this season just because i think like of ah only me I only see Napoli as like, you know, like you could argue like Inter and Milan might be better teams than Roma still. But I think everyone outside of Napoli and kind of the traditional contenders for top four is a huge question mark.
00:56:26
Speaker
It's going to be really interesting season, really competitive for those three and four spots. you notice you didn't mention Juve as a better team than Roma? I... No, no, no. No, no, no. I'm full of greens with him. Full of greens with him.
00:56:40
Speaker
We're in shambles. We can't even sign the best player on the team last year. um But so then what about a successful season in the Europa League, Latin Sam? Where do you think that will be? Yeah, are you just quitting on the Europa League? Are we throwing out the B team? What's going on there?
00:56:59
Speaker
I mean, ah well, that's not up to me. I yeah love i won like the Europa League. I mean, I love watching the European competition. So I want Roma to stay in the competition as long as possible. Obviously, I want them to do as well there as possible. But if we were to crash out and that resulted in top four, yeah I wouldn't be upset about it. I'm, for one...
00:57:18
Speaker
I have been on record saying I would love to just forget certain trophies. So I totally agree with you. it's there's There is not a wrong answer in saying forget about a certain competition because you got to focus on the one goal.
00:57:31
Speaker
And that if that's top four, then you got to get top four. Everything else is is gravy on top. Nate, what's your take? i Yeah, for the most part, I agree with Sam. I think I'm a little bit more cautious.
00:57:41
Speaker
Like, I think it is reasonable to expect top four with consistency and with the roster that we have. Like, that's where we should be. i also thought that last year, and the Knicks just kind of exploded four games into the season. So, um but then, you know, we had that consistency with Ranieri, and I think, like, we did so well, right? And we we still missed out, but it wasn't by much.
00:58:07
Speaker
um And it was really only because we didn't have that consistency. So um I think that really puts us in ah in a lot better a position this season. Yeah, top four, I think is more important.
00:58:17
Speaker
I also like the Europa League. I mean, it's more matches to watch, which is great. I think it's fun to play internationally. i don't love UEFA, but I do like the idea of the competition.
00:58:28
Speaker
And then the Copa Italia is fun, but i don't know. Personally, I kind of in In a weird way, I like to see underdogs go far in the Copa. i just don't care as much about that.
00:58:40
Speaker
Yeah. Loneer winning last year was cool. It was fine. It was whatever. Sorry. flow yeah ah Sorry. I believe beating Juventus was cool as well. That was awesome.
00:58:50
Speaker
That was a hate. but but Well, I think yeah ah we like almost lost to Cremonese in the Copa Italia couple years ago. So I think it's it's just a cup that's there to make sure that the teams get embarrassed. But the yeah, to clarify, I don't think Roma is like...
00:59:09
Speaker
superior to everyone but Napoli. That's, that's not what I'm saying. I just think it's like, I think everyone outside of Napoli is going to struggle. Like all those traditional teams, like Atalanta, Lazio, Fiorentina, like Bologna is really the only team that has like kind of stayed on the right track.
00:59:26
Speaker
Everyone else has had manager turnover, like pretty significant player turnover or something. Yeah, which is which is amazing, which I think also happened last season, right? like Like you said, the three, four, five, six spots went down to the last match day.
00:59:41
Speaker
um I don't think it's going to change at all this season, um just because, like you said, all the turmoil and turnover between each team, besides Napoli, really, they didn't they've kept everybody and then they just added their players.
00:59:55
Speaker
Everyone else, I would agree, is in a similar boat where it's, we got to kind of learn how to play under a new manager with new players. So it's going to be a great season. Most competitive league out there, man. That's it. That's it. Let's go. That's why we love the Serie That's why we love the Serie Even though we don't spend money.
01:00:15
Speaker
like The craziest stuff. like The Italian culture around soccer and like around Serie You guys have talked about it a few times on the podcast. What are you guys doing?
01:00:26
Speaker
Get it figured out. Okay. Yeah. yes Let's not forget about the Flacio Falconer who, you know, is got it got a new dick. Hey, I mean, if you're going to get the upgrade, you got to show something. But that's just my take. But expectations aside, boys, where you're calling it today, where is Roma ending up at the table?
01:00:49
Speaker
Is it four? Are ending at four? Calling my shot. I'm going go with three. Great. Yeah.
01:00:58
Speaker
Certainly a little more. up and A little discrepancy. Yeah. Yeah. And that was funny because I was like, oh, I'm a little bit more cautious, but I think I tend to be more cautious and then things kind of go and in a better direction. so I don't know. I think if we Um, I like, I'm expecting some growing pains, right? First couple matches, which I feel like is always was Atlanta's issue too, right? Like first couple of matches, they, they kind of dropped some points just getting into the season, especially after Gasparino's preseason. But i think once, thing once things really start to like flow, I, I think it's gonna be hard to beat.
01:01:33
Speaker
So you don't think some of that consistency that Roma found from December to June last year carries over because it's under new manager? Yeah.
01:01:47
Speaker
I think the, yeah, I think the pressing style of play is just totally different than what Ranieri was doing. So I think, yeah, that consistency like goes away, even though you have like Svilar's kind of the only consistent part of that because his job hasn't changed.
01:02:01
Speaker
Everyone else has to do, play a different role. You can see it. I think in the, the preseason, like the Everton match. Uh, like said, they're in better shape than we've ever seen them, which is awesome.
01:02:13
Speaker
Uh, all for that, but you could tell the, the pace and the tempo didn't necessarily match up. Like they're playing off one touch passes a lot more, um which is great. But as a result, like they are missing more passes and turning the ball over more and they're getting it back right away, which is awesome because they're pressing. But, um, I think they need to figure out now that they're like moving faster, right in general and and trying to attack more.
01:02:37
Speaker
Like that tempo that they need of like, don't just like send it out immediately, but also don't slow down too much. They've got to figure that out. And I think they're still getting there.
01:02:49
Speaker
Sure. If Gasparini is known for anything, especially from last season, it's e you're going to get the best of the best on one day, and it's just not going to work on a different day. So I think that roller coaster is still gonna be a little bit intact, and it's going to lot of growing pains for sure.
01:03:03
Speaker
I think that Mats and I are going to hold back on our predictions until we do a full table review, table prediction coming up in a couple of weeks. But Paisans... That's a wrap on Roma.
01:03:15
Speaker
Sam, Nate, Frasco, boys, thank you for joining. Appreciate It was awesome, awesome time having you. i don't know if I can put real claps in there. We'll have to have our special effects expert votes have to look at that. But guys, it was an absolute pleasure. You were stupendous tonight.
01:03:31
Speaker
And I think that the Paisans will certainly agree. We're incredibly excited to see what this Roma side has to offer this season. and And we certainly will have to ah check back in with you guys midseason. How about that?
01:03:42
Speaker
Sounds great. Yeah. Appreciate you guys having us. We've been fans since you guys got started. and This has been great. um And, you know, good luck to you guys also through the season. Thank you.
01:03:54
Speaker
Yeah. Love the pod looking for the, uh, like table predictions and all that. Looking forward to the, the, uh, specific squad break. and 100%. Thanks for having us. Well, Paizans again, like I said, that's a wrap.
01:04:04
Speaker
Roma big season of heritage. We will be back either later this week or next week. Hopefully with AC Milan review from your one and only fan on the pod. Cause Vos doesn't have a favorite team.
01:04:17
Speaker
speak What do you guys think about that? What do you guys think about that? yeah ah Is his favorite team at Atlanta now or is he just like his favorite team is Serie A? Because that's kind of what it's like. He was saying Torino the other day, so I don't know.
01:04:31
Speaker
Who knows? um right so uh yeah if you i think uh if you guys maybe you like feature your own fandom stories as you go through like uve milan and i guess you can do it for every team in the league now yeah we we'd love for for sure i think i've i think i've mentioned mine a little bit but i can when we do a event just went i'll break it down mine makes no sense you guys are going to think i'm a fraud but that's okay what i will say though is paisanos if you want to come on please comment we're looking to do this more um we want to get you guys involved so please comment on the youtube videos what team you like what you want to see talk about reach out to us instagram twitter tiktok at caldwell culture fc right loggs
01:05:15
Speaker
That's right. And you can ah you can find us on all your favorite streaming sites, Apple Pods and Spotify. So with that being said, Mats, take us away. Paisanos, do not be a gaguz.
01:05:27
Speaker
Forza, Calcio, cultural.
01:05:44
Speaker
Bye.