Sunday's opponent: the Napoli.

Maybe I shouldn't talk about Maradona, also because now everyone is talking about it. Many certainly speak of it better than me (like the great director of "Il Romanista", Tonino Cagnucci). Others spoke about it shamefully. And it is unfair to ask "What would Maradona have been without drugs and alcohol?". Simple, it would not have been Maradona. He wasn't going to be the out-of-the-box football, mental, political, cultural, and social character he was. Of course, there was certainly a moment when vices could have overshadowed the greatness, the legend. But Maradona was so great that he left us a positive memory, despite the harm he did himself, despite often having him as an opponent. A respected and feared opponent. It was excessive even in politics, choosing the alt-left. And anyway Fidel Castro and the Cuban doctors saved his life (this must be acknowledged). But perhaps the most characterizing aspect of Maradona (and for which he would probably prefer to be remembered) is the hand extended to the poor, the marginalized and the defeated. Mourinho recalled that Diego called him when he lost. And in the same way he went to visit Rome in a turbulent spring, like that of 2005, with the magnificent Roma of Totti and Cassano that that year risked incredibly relegation. Here. If you want to remember Maradona, forget about drugs, forget about politics, forget about football, remember that hand extended to the poorest, the marginalized and the defeated.

A challenge to be won inch by inch, second by second. Our pressing can be decisive. We will have to run more than usual. Let's stay with the mental and physical tightness.

Gattuso deploys 4231 which, depending on the phases (ball position and result) of the match, can be transformed into 433 or 442.

The attack phase. Wings with inverted foot. Politano is left so he goes towards the center to shoot and also to cross he has to put the ball on the left. In the second half, Lozano (right) could also enter as second striker in place of Zielinski (also depends on the result at that moment). The Mexican is dangerous when he comes out behind the last full-back, who must be careful. If Lozano plays as a right forward, he is also good at assisting. The media, however, give Politano as a right wing and Insigne (right, but good with both feet) as a left wing, both wings with the foot inconsistent with the wing, can go towards the center to shoot or re-enter on the preferred foot to cross. Above all, we must be careful when Insigne crosses for Politano, who should be kept an eye on in this situation. The central striker should be Mertens (right), false 9 striker, good in the maneuver, but also with a good nose for goal, dangerous when he starts from the left to go towards the center to shoot with his favorite foot. Alternatively, Petagna (left) can play, a true center-forward, very powerful and big, more useful for getting the team out with the construction against pressing (even if for me the best in this situation is always Dzeko).

The construction and the defensive phase. Ospina (if he plays) is the real builder from the defense. It is symptomatic that in the goal kicks, Manolas passes him the ball to get him build. Paradoxically, Ospina is better at construction than Manolas. If we press well, we can steal the ball and then be ruthless. The defense of Napoli (especially Koulibaly and Manolas) is better in the defensive phase than in the construction and in general is overrated. Usually, the choice of the Greek is to pass to Ruiz who then pass on to the right-back (who should be Di Lorenzo), while Koulibaly's preferred solution is the direct pass to Mario Rui.

On the corners, we pay attention to Koulibaly and Manolas. We keep marking in the zone, but let's have an eye on their position before the serve. On the corners, their tactics is zone with about 8 men in the goalkeeper area.

Roma arrive at this match in a good moment of growth, but the opponent is the most difficult due to the high technical quality of the attack and (especially) due to the conjuncture of Maradona's death. They will be charged and perhaps we should also expect biased referreing in their favor. But we must do our maximum to win, to protect our vision and to honor Diego's memory. Daje Roma!

Giordano Sepi