Welcome to AS Roma at The Offside

By: Chris | May 17th, 2007

I’d like to welcome you to the latest installment at The Offside, all things AS Roma. My name is Chris and I’ll be the offside’s eyes and ears for the footballing life in the better half of The Eternal City. Thanks for joining me in my quasi-healthy love affair with the Giallorossi. As a warning, I’m prone to run on sentences, overuse of commas, and frequent use of stream of consciousness(to the tune of James Joyce rolling over in his grave). So if you stick around, you should be canonized. With that said, let’s talk about Totti’s boys.

The current season is coming to a close, the only meaningful game left being the second leg of the Coppa Italia, and the majority of news this summer will be the juiciest and most inane transfer rumors I can find; as well as royally botching the translation of said rumors on a regular basis. In short, I’m looking to out-google google.

Unfortunately, due to budgetary constraints in the Sensi family, I may have to make up half of Roma’s rumors myself. It looks as though the major news of the offseason will be re-signing Mexes, Chivu, Ferrari, etc. While they are imperative to the club’s success and a major need for the summer, please forgive me for not putting on my party hat. Although they are being linked to Mozart. Antonello Venditti cannot be happy about this.

Despite the lack of funds, the future looks bright in Rome and the next few years should be fairly exciting for the Giallorossi. Alberto Aquilani, Mirko Vucinic and Stefano Okaka Chuka are extremely gifted youngsters and should make their ways into the starting eleven(at least the first two) over the next 18 months. A legend in training, Daniele De Rossi falls into a whole different category. The consummate midfielder, De Rossi is one of the brightest gems in world football and will lead both the Giallorossi and Azzurri for years to come. As for the current Roman legend, Il Gladiatore is showing little signs of letting down as he begins his fourth decade. In fact, he seems to be gaining steam and is the heavy favorite to take this year’s Capocannoniere with two fixtures remaining(four goals separate Totti and second place). Should the youngsters progress as expected and Spalletti’s unique system continue to flourish, Roma should remain one of the best teams in Italy in the foreseeable future.

I’ll spare you from any more of my Giallorossi love note. I think they’re great and on the rise. I’ll leave it there. Hope you enjoy what I have to say in the future and I’m glad to be here at the The Offside.