Juve. Seize the moment. Roma-Cremonese 3-0.
We'll begin by focusing on Juve, which is shaping up to be a crucial match for the most important European tournament, the Champions League. Politically, Europe is at a crossroads: whether to play dead and leave the important decisions to others, or to demonstrate its strength and independence in defense of democracy and freedom. Europe is achievable, thanks in part to the 3-0 win at the Olimpico against Cremonese.
Roma are coming off a convincing win. We're in good form. Given our current standings, we can have two out of three results. But it's time to bite the games. Juve are a ferocious beast, and they're also wounded. They exited the Champions League after a great performance. It won't be easy.
3 quick tactical observations on Juve.
Cambiaso, the left-back, and Kalulu, the right-back, are Juve's tactical key. Cambiaso is excellent at building up the attack and providing high passes. Kalulu is better at defending but shouldn't be underestimated in attack.
The attackers on the flanks are quick dribblers and inverted footed, so they tend to move towards the center. Francisco Conceicao is the right forward and is left-footed. Yildiz (a great challenge for our Mancini) is the left forward and is primarily (but not exclusively) right-footed. David is also very quick, but could be replaced by McKennie, a false 9.
The match against Juve is crucial to earning a place in next year's Champions League. We truly have a chance to qualify for the most prestigious tournament in Europe, and therefore the world.
Political Europe, too, is at a crossroads. Whether to be what its detractors, such as the sovereignists of the European far right (internal enemies) and Putin's Russia (external enemy), describe—a, slow-moving and perpetually indecisive pachyderm—or to be the new protagonist in global politics, capable of taking strong positions to defend itself and, thus, Ukraine from Putin, and also to raise its voice against Trump, an unreliable ally who, overall and particularly on tariffs, is incapable of maintaining a unified position and respecting the basic principle of Roman law and international politics over the past centuries: Pacta sunt servanda (agreements must be respected).
Europe had a trade agreement with the US, and the hysteria over new tariffs is erasing Trump's vague promise. Europe must become greater, even at the cost of suspending some of its members, like Fico's Slovakia and Orban's Hungary, whose positions are more pro-Russian than pro-European.
In the Europa League, Roma is on the strongest side of the table. But let's take it one step at a time and focus on Bologna (our opponent in the round of 16). For Europe, the match against Cremonese was a good sign that we're doing well.
The match started with us feeling a bit too calm. Calmness is good for better concentration, but you also need the grit to attack your opponent. Cremonese played, as we expected, a completely defensive game, trying to equalize. They succeeded in the first half.
| 25th Serie A | First Half | Second Half | Final Score | Scorers |
 | 59’Cristante, 77’Ndicka, 86’Pisilli | |||
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Since we had no defensive concerns, with Cremonese only playing defensively, in the second half we replaced Ghilardi with El Aynaoui, moving from a 3421 formation to a more attacking 4213 with Cristante further forward behind the strikers.
Cristante, man of the match, scored the first goal from a Pellegrini corner and provided the assist for Ndicka's second. So I was right about that too: Cristante is an excellent midfielder and we provide good crosses. Zaragoza, who wasn't great on Sunday, also provides excellent crosses. Malen did well, setting up Pisilli's goal, another of our strengths that we need to better exploit. Substitute Venturino also played very well. Now he needs to be consistent in his performances.
Roma and Europe must decide whether to be truly great—Roma by beating Juve and Europe by forcefully tackling political issues—or whether to remain mediocre.
Daje Roma!
Giordano Sepi