WOPS - WITHOUT OUR PLAYERS

Guest Blog

By Alex Bartolomeo

There seems to be a trend developing in the Serie A if we look at recent transfer windows, but it is nothing new for calcio fans. The young talents of Italy have been shipped off or sold to the highest bidder. It seems that young Italians are finding it hard to make there way into a starting XI in the Serie A, and if they do owners seem reluctant to sell their rising stars within the Serie A for fear of that competition. What is most troubling about all of this is that players get sold away to other countries and are forgotten. Taken out of the National Pool before even getting a chance in most cases.

In recent weeks we have seen Fabio Borini and Marco Verratti both leave the Serie A for England and Italy respectively. This is not the first time we have seen this happen, and most certainly will not be the last. I think we would all like to see these players reach their potential before being shipped elsewhere.

Here are some examples of what could have been:

Alessandro Rosina (right) shakes hands with Alessandro Del Piero prior to a Torino derby match.

Rosina was captain of Torino at the time. (2008)

Known as Rosinaldo in Torino for resembling the great 'Phenomeno' Ronaldo. Rosina started his career with Parma at just 20-years-old. Hopes were high for this young man however, he never did truly break out with the Gialloblu. He moved on in the summer of 2006 to Torino where he finally began fulfilling his potential. During his three seasons with Torino he ammased 22 goals and 10 assists. Despite interest from clubs all over the Serie A, it was Zenit St. Petersburg who won the race for his signature. Rosina was 25 and just entering the prime of his career, however since moving to the Russian side he has never cemented his place in the first team. He earned his first cap for the Azzurri during the 2007-08 season, but has yet to earn a second cap since moving to Zenit.

Enzo Maresca after winning the UEFA Cup with Sevilla

An Italian bull that started his career at the age of eleven with AC Milan. A box-to-box central midfielder that made his first senior appearance at the age of 18 with West Bromwich Albion of the English Premiere League. He quickly became a highly touted young player from there. Juventus purchased him in 2000 to bring him back to Italy however, he was never given a proper opportunity. Lack of first team football at Juventus to a loan spell at Bologna and co-ownership deals to Piacenza and Fiorentina respectively. In that 2004-2005 season Enzo played well, finding the back of the net five times in just 25 appearances. As a midfielder, that is a very good scoring record. Despite showing promise Juventus bought his full rights back from Fiorentina in 2005 and sent him to Sevilla, where he would go on to win the UEFA cup. Enzo netted twice in the final and was awarded man of the match honours. However, Enzo was never given an opportunity with the national team.

Alberto Aquilani

Being born in Rome, he began his training as a 15-year-old with the Giallorossi and became known as 'The Prince'. Roma fans believe he would be the one to replace Francesco Totti. This put a lot of pressure on the young midfielder, and he was not able to live up to the immense hype. Alberto was only given a short stin at the senior level with Roma, and was plagued by injuries. However, a team abroad still believed in his talent. He was sold to Anfield where he would play with Liverpool in the English Premiere League. Injuries have never allowed him a chance at the first team. He has only been called to one major tournament (Euro08) and since has not made it to the World Cup in 2010 or the recent Euro 2012. Alberto has spent his last two seasons in Italy, but only on a loan basis. He is still looking for a permanent move back to his home country.

Federico Macheda

At 14 Federico was already set to become a star. He got noticed by Sir Alex and was taken to the Premiere League. Never having really gotten an opportunity with the first team, Macheda's growth seems to have stunted. He is no longer one of the top Italian talents, and although he is still 21-years-old has fallen behind as guys like Fabio Borini and Mattia Destro are much further ahead in their development.

Marco Verratti

Touted as the second coming of Andrea Pirlo despite having never played a minute of Serie A football, Marco Verratti is Italy's most promising young talent at the moment. He led Pescara to promotion from Serie B this past season and made the big money move to PSG. Juventus was set to close a deal on the youngster until Pescara got a more than generous offer from the Parisian giants. The ceiling is high for Marco, but he needs to play in order to reach his immense potential. I don't think he will get that chance at PSG, it will be unfortunate if he does not continue to grow as a man and as a player because of this move.

It is not always what it is cracked up to be, leaving for the big money contracts in Russia or wherever a young star may find it. This is not a problem subject to Italians alone, but a problem that seems to be more prevalent in recent years. The blame should not just go on the players, although the allure of high reputation teams coupled with a big contract is hard to refuse, the owners in Italy need to nurture this talent better than they have in recent years. There is a bigger picture here, growing the game in Italy should benefit every team financially, not just the bigger clubs. Rising stars need to be given opportunities, and real opportunities at that, not just a few appearances here and there.

The problem is not as large as I might make it out to be, I know that but Italy should be a league that competes with the English and Spanish and at this rate it is starting to feel like it has become a feeder league for them. Mario Balotelli, Marco Verratti, and Fabio Borini should be the stars of football playing with Italian teams, not teams from around the globe. These are the types of players that can restore the great reputation the Serie A once had. Yes we may not be losing all of our best young talent, but in recent years the few that are leaving are the really special ones, and that is what scares me the most.

Van Persie Agrees Terms with Juventus

More of a story than a blog here today, but Sky Italia's Gianluca Di Marzio is claiming that Juventus have agreed to personal terms with Robin Van Persie.

Twitter has been sent abuzz with news that Van Persie has agreed to personal terms with Juventus. Sky Sport Italia is reporting that it is in the 5-6m Euro per season range, which isn't bad for a player of his quality, but the real sticking point is the transfer fee.

Arsenal are being very stubborn on the fee for Robin Van Persie which is at the very least 20m pounds. So far Juve have not gone anywhere near that. Juventus has always been known for setting their price on a player and how much they would like to pay for his services. If the fee is to high they'll go find someone else, perfect example is Marco Verratti.

To this point Juve have not offered more than 15m Euro which is way off the asking price Arsenal is looking for, and reports have circulated that Manchester United has put down an offer of 30m Pounds for RVP. Naturally, Arsenal has taken this offer into consideration and is trying to use it against Juventus to try and squeeze more money out of the Bianconeri. However, I seriously believe that Juventus will not go much higher than what they are at right now.

Yes it would be nice to get Van Persie but they will only buy him if he costs considerably less money than what Fiorentina is asking for Jovetic. Look at it this way, get a player who is in his prime, and about to fall on the wrong side of thirty(Van Persie), or pay the same price for a young star who has yet is just entering his prime, and whose value is almost certain to grow(Jovetic). The latter is the decision Juventus has a history of making.

Unless Arsenal lower their asking price from Juventus considerably, then this news means nothing. Fans of Juventus or the Serie A can only hope that Arsenal decide to sell RVP at a discount to the Bianconeri just to get him out of the English Premiership.

Welcome to Zemanlandia!

Roma players have had a rude awakening to the 2012-13 season. The words of new coach Zdenek Zeman tell us just that.

"We are halfway through pre-season and the lads aren't completely accustomed to my methods yet. They have suffered a bit, but you have to learn to suffer in football. I'm pleased with the progress we've made so far."

Zdenek Zeman - New Roma Coach

If the Giallorossi players thought they were going to have an easy time through the preseason they were wrong. So much so that captain Francesco Totti has joked that he 'can't keep up.' The veteran has had a bit of an attitude change it seems after a long season of arguing with former boss Luis Enrique.

“My role? We will see and I will adapt. The important thing is to play. Football is fun, I enjoy the sport and try to give the fans entertainment too. As long as I am physically able, I will try to give my contribution.”

Francesco Totti - Roma Captain

Totti is referring to speculation that he may be moved to the flank under Zeman rather than playing a pure centre forward position. It remains to be seen if his tune will change as time goes by, but as always for Roma Totti is a key to their season. However there is much more in the capital city these days than just Francesco Totti.

The Giallorossi have been making headlines day in and day out, most recently with the Mattia Destro transfer saga. It finally looks as though he will finally sign for Roma barring any last minute moves by Juventus again. There was also Fabio Borini whom Destro is slated to replace. I've stated in previous posts how much I disliked the sale of Fabio. Not only did they sell one of their better performers from last season, but they did not recieve bagfulls of money either. But I digress.

There is much to be said about the new crop of players that they have brought in. Brazil was a main destination the Romans went looking for signatures, and they got a couple. Bolstering the back lines with the likes of Leandro Castan and Dodo. Castan will play in a central role in hopes of replacing the departed Juan. While Dodo figures to play as a left fullback. Both come with good resumes but no track record in the top leagues so they may take time to adapt. Although Dodo is only twenty and could be something special.

Dodo

In the midfield, David Pizarro is back following his loan to Manchester City but it remains to be seen whether he will be in Zeman's plans for the first team. Jonathan Lucca is an 18-year-old they brought in from Brazil that figures to be loaned out at some point before the transfer window closes. Panagiotis Tachtsidis, who was brought in from Genoa, is a relatively unknown player to me, but what I do know is that he played for Verona in Serie B last term and impressed Zeman very much. American Michael Bradley arrives from Chievo; he is a player who is known more for his work ethic than his skill, so he should fit in nicely with Zeman. Lastly, Marquinho was brought over on a loan deal in January from Fluminense, scored 3 goals in 15 matches and impressed enough to have that loan made permanent.

Bradley, Tachtsidis, Lucca, and Castan

If they are able to sign Mattia Destro to this already impressive attack which includes Pablo Osvaldo and Francesco Totti then Mr. Zeman might actually be telling the truth. Roma can compete for the Scudetto. However, the strong attack somewhat depends on Erik Lamela. The young Argentine who came into the Serie A last season with much hype and while he showed flashes of greatness he did not put it together with consistency. Zdenek Zeman has a reputation for bringing the best out of his young players, and after a season at Pescara where all of Italy was talking about Lorenzo Insigne, Ciro Immobile, and of course the now departed Marco Verratti, it sounds to me that the old man knows what he's doing.

Erik Lamela

Now the real kicker came this morning. Reports out of Italy suggest that Manchester City, who has been surprisingly quiet in the transfer window to this point, are preparing a 25 million pound bid for the main reason Roma can be talked about in any Scudetto conversation right now; Daniele De Rossi. One of the best box to box midfielders on the planet who has bled Giallorossi for so many years could be on the way out. It would be a hard bid to reject, but he is one player that would be damn-near impossible to replace.

Daniele De Rossi

The thing is Roma and Zeman need things to fall perfectly into place to mount a serious title challenge. There are plenty of ifs on this team, but that also means plenty of potential. Aside from the sale of Borini I like what they've done so far. However, they may need one more year of developing the youngsters before they can mount a serious title challenge. Champions League qualification is a more realistic goal for the Giallorossi.

Zeman will surely be sending his tried and true 4-3-3 formation and I'm going to take a stab at potential starting XI while I'm at this.

Stekelenburg

Rosi           Burdisso        Heinze      Dodo

Marquinho        De Rossi             Pjanic

Lamela         Osvaldo       Totti/Destro

If Destro does arrive on Monday like the reports say he will, then Totti may have trouble finding space in the starting eleven in which case we'll see how well he's adapted.

And I almost forgot about Bojan Krkic.. he scored twice today. This team has a lot of talent up front with or without Mattia Destro.

Let me know what you think!!