This was supposed to be the season of The Roma Revolution. New American owners. A stylish manager in Luis Enrique and a footballing philosophy inherited from his days at Barcelona.
Many of the transfers made during the summer were geared towards creating this new "Barca-Roma" hybrid. Bojan Krkic, signed directly from the Catalan club, ball playing midfielders like Fernando Gago and Miralem Pjanic. Exciting youngsters like Erik Lamela, Fabio Borini, Pablo Osvaldo and Jose Angel. Also to make up for the losses of key stars such as Mirko Vucinic and Philippe Mexes, experienced heads Gabriel Heinze and goalkeeper, Marteen Stekelenburg were acquired.
Enrique put his stamp on the team immediately by switching to a Barca-esque 4-3-3 formation, demanding a similar possession based, high pressing game. The table looked set for Roma to be a a real force but the meal served didn't always taste good. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but its doubtful that Pep Guardiola's men would've been flattered at being compared to Roma at times this season. The campaign got off to the worst possible start, an exit at the qualifying round of the Europa League was followed by a home defeat to Cagliari on the opening day where Roma ended with ten men.
Ill discipline was a problem throughout the season. An injury to their talismanic captain Francesco Totti meant the youngsters were given free reign and they often buckled under the pressure. This was no more evident than in the disastrous 3-0 defeat by Fiorentina in early December when The Giallorossi had three men dismissed amid speculation of discontent in the dressing room, confirmed by Osvaldo's suspension for punching Lamela.
Daniele De Rossi was the one calming influence, who tried to keep things together whether it be marshalling in midfield or even playing as a centre-back, he remained the constant. However, he needed another parent to control the misbehaving kids and Totti's return seemed to spark a revival either side of the new year. They were finally displaying the type of football their coach demanded. Borini and Lamela look like stars for the future. Enrique must be applauded for his intent but the execution was not consistent enough. Roma's away form let them down towards the run-in and 4-0 thumping by Juventus emphasised just how far they were away from the top teams. They missed out on Europe altogether. Enrique's experiment had failed and he quit his post.
