Roma eternally grateful for radical Ranieri tinkering

23 games unbeaten. Five wins on the spin. One point clear of distracted Inter in the most hotly-contested scudetto race for years. The recent record of Roma’s well-travelled coach Claudio Ranieri stacks up well against the wealth of past evidence suggesting that the ‘Tinkerman’ was something short of competency at the very highest level.

Chief among the concerns of the ever-diminishing anti-Ranieri brigade has been his past propensity for oblique team selection – and a long history of strange substitutions at curious times. The fact that the Roman has thus far failed to secure a top-flight title, in an otherwise trophy-rich career, is commonly used as a stick with which to beat him. The events of the past weekend in Serie A, however, may well prove crucial in changing perceptions of the ex-Chelsea and Valencia boss forever.

In the aftermath of an execrable (and tempestuous) Derby d’Italia, played on Friday evening to assist with Inter’s Champions League preparations and illuminated only briefly by Maicon’s marvellous moment, and Sampdoria’s last-gasp win over Milan, Roma’s brief was clear – beat bitter rivals Lazio to reclaim the league lead and write Milan out of the race for good. Simple, no?

It’s rare that any Derby della Capitale proves to be a straightforward affair, though. In contrast to their title-chasing adversaries, Lazio – boasting an improved record under Edy Reja after Davide ballardini presided over their worst league run in 20 years – are battling hard for Serie A survival; lying a mere three points above the drop-zone before kick-off. It’s just three years since the biancocelesti were enjoying Champions League football, but a gradual decline in standards now threatens to totally destabilise one of Italian football’s grandest names. With so much at stake, the Roman police feared tensions between the two sets of tifosi would be exacerbated; and so peculiarly reacted by bringing kick-off forward by a couple of hours, at short notice.

Clearly, favourites Roma miserably failed to adjust to the new set of circumstances as they fumbled their way through the first half; rocked by Lazio skipper Tomasso Rocchi’s expertly-taken opening goal and continually tormented by the perceptibly passionate play of their struggling counterparts. It had become, for Roma, one of those derby occasions where the heart rules the head and brainless football is the product. Both captain fantastic Francesco Totti and his deputy Daniele De Rossi were rightly yellow-carded, as the charged atmosphere on the terraces of the Olimpico seeped onto the field of play.

It was obvious a half-time change was required – of tactics, of personnel, of anything which would shake up the slumbering giallorossi. Roma president Rosella Sensi must have been reaching for the keys to a padded dungeon and dusting off an old straightjacket long-abandoned in the Stadio Olimpico lost property box, however, when Ranieri pulled a rather spectacular make-or-break decision from the darker recesses of his unpredictable mind. Both Rome-born gladiatori – Totti and De Rossi – were substituted; in their places arrived Rodrigo Taddei and fast-improving Frenchman Jeremy Ménéz.

Recall, if you will, the press-pack and phone-in hysterics surrounding Rafa Benítez’s occasional withdrawal from action of either Steven Gerrard or Fernando Torres with some 20-or-so minutes remaining. Then, to extrapolate, picture a (wildly improbable) scenario in which Liverpool are taking on Everton with the Premier League title on the line; the Reds trail at the break, so Rafa hauls off both Gerrard and Torres in response. The sheer rabid apoplexy that would ensue hardly bears thinking about. So make no bones about it: Ranieri’s decision was risky in the extreme.

Almost immediately it appeared that it had backfired when Lazio continued their flying form into the opening seconds of the second half. Mobile wing-back Aleksandar Kolarov surged towards the Roma penalty area and obliged with a swan-dive as hero of the season’s first derby, Marco Cassetti, left his leg dangling dangerously on the fringe of the box. The game’s momentum was instantly reversed, however, when on-loan striker Sergio Floccari had his mediocre penalty kick repelled by Roma ‘keeper Júlio Sérgio.

An apparent sense of relief instantly pervaded the Roma team. Let off the hook, the probing of Menez and the indefatigable David Pizzaro pushed their teammates forward in search of an equaliser, which duly materialised within just minutes of Lazio’s penalty miss. Sub Taddei repayed Ranieri’s faith and meted out a spot of karmic justice, as he too ‘earned’ a penalty by clearly diving over the half-challenge of Kolarov in the area. Unlike Floccari, free-scoring Mirko Vučinić would make no mistake from the spot and matters were again level. The usually implacable Montenegrin’s release valve obviously exploded following the sudden release of such immense pressure, as he celebrated the goal – his 9^th in ten matches – in an atypically wild manner.

Vucinic’s reactions were a little more muted ten minutes later, when he capitalised on Cristian Brocchi’s reluctance to face up to his rocket-like free-kick from just outside the ‘D’. The veteran midfielder leapt out of the way, leaving Fernando Muslera woefully exposed, as Vucinic hammered a shot straight through the disintegrated defensive wall and into the top-centre of the Lazio net. His tenth goal in as many games was a most emphatic rebuttal of those critics that have so frequently doubted his contribution to the cause. It was also a goal to settle the derby.

Mauro Zárate (on for the revved-up Stephan Lichtsteiner, who refused to shake Reja’s hand upon his substitution, then returned to the field at the final whistle to participate prominently in one of a number of unseemly scuffles between the players) briefly threatened to provoke a Lazio revival, but Rocchi acrobatically zipped an effort from the Argentine’s pass just over the bar. To cap a miserable second half for the Aquile, influential midfielder Cristian Ledesma was shown a second yellow late on as the final moments descended predictably into bitter acrimony.

The last time Roma overcame their detested city rivals, in December last year, they stood 11 points adrift of Inter in 6^th place. They now sit atop the standings with only four rounds remaining and challengers Inter potentially preoccupied with the considerable challenge of taming the Barça beast.

In the Eternal City it’s said that fortune favours the brave, and if Roma can pull off this, one of the greatest comebacks in calcio history, Claudio Ranieri’s boldest move yet may be regarded as the pivotal moment in securing a Roman triumph.

Toni topples Inter and turns title race around

In an ever-tightening Serie A scudetto race, a quirk of the fixture list saw the two table-topping giants from Italy’s fashion capital each facing snappy underdogs from the Eternal City on the final weekend of an eventful March. Inter (1^st) and their bitter rivals Milan (2^nd) met Roma (3^rd) and Lazio (16^th) respectively, with the nerazzuri’s league form apparently suffering as a consequence of their determined focus on European matters and Milan, still suffering from their Old Trafford shellacking, counting Messrs Nesta, Pato, Abbiati, Beckham (all injured), Ronaldinho, Pirlo (both suspended) among an extensive – and expensive – list of absentees.

Coach Leonardo was still able to field a strong line-up for the Sunday night visit of Lazio; opting for a rare 4-4-2, with Pippo Inzaghi partnering mainstay Marco Borriello up front and Clarence Seedorf featuring alongside Flamini, Ambrosini and Abate in midfield. An intriguing tactical battle was in prospect, because Eddy Reja – recently in for the jettisoned Davide Ballardini – selected three centre-halves, with Stephan Lichtsteiner and Aleksandr Kolarov as wing-backs.

The mastermind of precious back-to-back wins in the biancocelesti’s relegation fight, Reja has clearly galvanised a group of players that often looked dispirite under the previous incumbent. Despite an early setback – Borriello converted a penalty won by Flamini’s 17^th minute surge into the box to put Milan one ahead – there was little to suggest that the visitors could not compete on an even footing with opposition from the other end of the league table.

As ever, stand-in ‘keeper Dida brought his own special brand of jittery incompetence to proceedings, as Milan sat on their lead, inviting Lazio to seize the initiative. All too briefly the darling of St Andrews, Mauro Zárate – palpably a victim of ‘second-season syndrome’ if ever there was one – and strike-partner Tomasso Rocchi (just two Serie A goals so far) have struggled desperately for goals all season long in a team with just 27 goals in 31 games. It was perhaps no surprise, then, that it was a wing-back who scored a deserved equaliser for the strugglers just after the half-hour mark. Swiss international Lichtsteiner was rewarded for his prodigious work-rate with a well-taken close-range goal, after a glaring miskick by rossoneri full-back Luca Antonini.

Lazio were unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty for a clear shove by Flamini on Kolarov (a reversal of roles from the first penalty incident) just inside the Milan area, but, curiously, not a single visiting player appealed for a spot-kick. Taking that, plus a later glaring miss from Lazio’s recently-acquired Brazilian defender André Dias, in to account – and given the general paucity of ideas offered by the hosts – it would have been unjust had Antonini been successful with a shot smashed against the crossbar early on in a second half devoid of inspiration. One-all then, and for the biancocelesti: a point well-earned. Surely they are ‘too good to go down’. But since when did that guarantee immunity from the drop? For title-chasing Milan – as attested to by the grimaces of touchline spectators Ronaldinho and Paolo Maldini – it was more an opportunity missed.

Such an opportunity – to draw within a single point of stuttering Inter – had been opened up by Roma’s exploits at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday evening. Increasingly invincible in domestic football – their only recent blip was the Europa League exit at the hands of Panathinaikos – the giallorossi entertained José Mourinho’s men with that very same incentive in mind: to reduce Inter’s once-formidable advantage to just a point.

A rare howler from Brazil’s no.1, Júlio César, presented Roma vice-captain Daniele de Rossi with a tap-in for the opening goal; which he celebrated in curious style by kissing his shin-pad. In response, efforts either side of half-time from Walter Samuel, then Diego Milito, each rattled the woodwork – proving Inter’s intent. It was the league leaders who were firmly in the ascendancy following a characteristically early substitution from Mourinho: in-form Goran Pandev replacing midfielder Dejan Stanković.

Their overdue equaliser owed a little to fortune, as heroic last-ditch blocks from first Jeremy Ménez – mounting a late, but likely fruitless, run for inclusion in the French World Cup party – then De Rossi, fell kindly to Milito. The Argentine striker further extended his fine scoring run from close range. Replays showed, however, that Pandev was clearly offside in the build-up.

Another slice of luck saw Maicon’s spiteful studs-up assault on De Rossi go totally unpunished – which was particularly fortunate given the same player’s later booking for a reckless challenge on Roma’s Man of the Match David Pizarro. The resolute Chilean playmaker displayed outstanding endeavour and peerless composure on the ball, once more outlining his vital importance to the Romans.

The wheel of fortune was to spin in the giallorossi’s favour soon after, as Luca Toni profited from sub Riccardo Taddei’s wild-shot-turned-precision-cross; slotting the ball past Julio César to net his fifth goal in nine games for his new club. The 32-year-old finished with the kind of aplomb which lit up his previous Serie A spell and made him Italy’s leading centre-forward for a brief but productive spell. Younger models – Milan’s Borriello, Samp’s Giampaolo Pazzini and Alberto Gilardino of Fiorentina have since moved ahead of the lumbering Modenese marksman in the Azzurri pecking order, however.

Before the winter break, while Roma were still toiling to regain ground lost from an awful start to the campaign, Toni was resolutely bench-bound and embroiled in a very public war of words with Louis Van Gaal and the rest of the Bayern Munich hierarchy. How things have changed. Capping his return to favour with a World Cup call-up really would put the cream on the cassata.

In search of a second equaliser, Mourinho was even desperate enough to throw on expensive flop Ricardo Quaresma for the final ten minutes – but the best his side could manage was another shot against the woodwork from Milito, deep into injury time. Roma even had the luxury of welcoming back Francesco Totti, to a rapturous reception, in the dying moments of a vital win.

Taking into account Milan’s ever-lengthening injury list, Claudio Ranieri’s charges must now be considered the greatest challengers to the hegemony of Inter – who have Javier Zanetti, Samuel Eto’o, Lucío and Maicon missing through suspension for the upcoming visit of Bologna. Cristian Chivu’s name should have been added to that list too, but the ex-Roma defender was only yellow-carded for a stamp on Toni.

In the aftermath, Mourinho – who wore a fixed wry grin on his face during the final minutes, as if silently protesting against some unseen injustice – declined to comment; so exacerbating his tortuous relationship with the baying Italian sports media.

Inter’s sudden loss of discipline and upcoming continental diversions give further hope for their new nearest challengers. A viewpoint acknowledged by the customarily forthright De Rossi, who was more than happy to fill the media vacuum left by Mourinho’s all-too-rare reticence.

“We hope the Champions League can distract them,” said the Rome-born midfield general.

“Inter have slowed down and now we will have to spit up blood in order to finish top.”

Serie A highlights: Cassetti records Rome derby winner and Marchisio magic puts new face on Scudetto race

He may be dreaming of a return to England, but his mind is more presently occupied with the dirty work of achieving back-to-back titles for Inter Milan. Jose Mourinho, serving a touchline suspension, watched on from afar as his side and Ciro Ferrara’s Juventus quite literally scrapped for Serie A supremacy.

It had been a no-holds barred kind of occasion in any case, as is the form for a top-of-the-table Derby d’Italia, when Inter’s controversial young striker Mario Balotelli joined the fray. The Azzurrini star replaced Sulley Muntari on the hour mark, as Inter looked to retrieve a 2-1 deficit; Sammy Eto’o’s unmarked header answered a goal from Juve’s Felipe Melo in the first half. Fit-again Claudio Marchisio snatched a brilliant second Juventus goal early in the second. Marchisio’s was quite some finish; the World Cup squad hopeful danced effortlessly through the Inter defence with exquisite precision, scooping the ball over the prostrate Júlio César with a deft flick of his left boot.

Balotelli’s arrival was greeted by loud jeering and booing from the home fans at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino, but also by the display of placards featuring the player’s picture from the travelling Inter tifosi in support of their wayward young gun. Debate rages as to the true nature of the unremitting abuse that ‘Super Mario’ receives at grounds around the peninsula. It’s sometimes suggested that the 19-year-old, born to Ghanaian parents in Palermo, is targeted due to the colour of his skin (the chant: “you’ll always be an African” is an unpalatable favourite of a certain faction of the Juventus fans), while others say that the hateful reception he receives is because of his truculent, often sullen, demeanour on the pitch.

At this stage in his nascent career, Balotelli does not yet possess the mental toughness to withstand the vilification which greets his every touch. Rather than absorbing the abuse and using it as a source of positive energy as do Cristiano Ronaldo, Craig Bellamy, etc; Balotelli’s rage visibly intensifies as the boos grow louder – most probably because of their assumed racist overtones. To his credit, Juve’s vastly experienced Fabio Grosso twice took his future Azzurri colleague aside on more than one occasion in an effort to cool the fire raging within. Sadly, it had little effect.

Balotelli, aggressively chasing the ball, careered into Melo’s back; the Brazilian swinging an elbow at his assailant which contacted only with his shoulder. The disproportionate response of Balotelli – rolling around, clutching his face in apparent agony – was the cue for Melo’s early shower and the normally sanguine Gigi Buffon to storm from his goal as a major mid-pitch scuffle broke out. The forward – whose late corner was headed just wide by Esteban Cambiasso as Inter slumped to only their second league defeat – has incurred the wrath of Mourinho for numerous training ground transgressions and is sure to divide opinion wherever his career path takes him, which, rumour has it, might soon be towards the Premier League. Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham are all supposedly suitors.

In better circumstances Balotelli might have been an outside bet for a wildcard place at the World Cup (though the acutely conservative Marcello Lippi probably doesn’t ‘do’ wildcards), yet Marchisio – just back from surgery and growing in stature under Ferrara’s tutelage – must be considered a certainty for South Africa. His midfield cohort, Diego, was once a surefire bet for Dunga’s Brazil squad, but now finds himself undergoing a season-long audition for the role of understudy to the unimpeachable Kaká. However, the little playmaker could affect little influence over this crucial game, in which he enjoyed a rare pairing with Alex Del Piero in support of Amauri. Nonethless, Juve’s vital win concertinaed the Serie A table-top; bringing them within a point of second-placed Milan and five of Inter.

You’ll need to glance much further down the standings to find deadly Rome rivals, Lazio and Roma. The two clubs came into the season’s opening derby in contrasting form – Claudio Ranieri overseeing a recent upturn in league form and Europa League wins over Fulham and Basle; Lazio’s Davide Ballardini under mounting pressure with a midweek European exit coming on the back of a domestic winless streak stretching back some three long months – their worst Serie A run in two decades.

As against Red Bull Salzburg on Wednesday, Ballardini fielded an ultra-cautious 5-3-1-1 formation – Mauro Zárate as lone forward, with full-backs Stephan Lichtsteiner and Aleksandr Kolarov given a brief to supply some width. Roma were more or less at full strength up until just before half-time, when Phillipe Mexès limped from the field to be replaced by Marco Cassetti.

It was a first half interrupted by an unplanned ten-minute interval as disturbances among the febrile Roman crowd caused the referee to call a temporary halt to play. With the thunderous sound of smoke bombs still resounding around the Olimpico, play resumed and Lazio surprisingly had the best of the play, but with very little to show for it in terms of shots on goal. Roma’s relatively flat display prompted Ranieri to make a second substitution early in the second period, as Jérémy Menez made way for Matteo Brighi; Mirko Vučinić switching from the left to partner free-scoring Francesco Totti up front.

At Lazio’s apex stood little Zárate, largely starved of service aside from Lichtsteiner’s forward surges and some assistance from Stefano Mauri. It is the Argentinean who is suffering most from club president Claudio Lotito’s decision to banish his partner Goran Pandev to the reserves for submitting a summer transfer request. Yet the former Birmingham striker was ready to pounce on a careless Nicolás Burdisso slip-up; wriggling clear to strike the foot of Roma’s post. Mauri’s attempt from the rebound should surely have rippled the net, but the giallorossi’s stand-in ‘keeper Júlio Sérgio affected a miraculous, acrobatic reflex save to deflect the ball over his bar.

Totti; like a fine wine, Ryan Giggs, or Helena Christensen, just gets better with age. Now 33, the Roma captain is in peak goalscoring form and his immense creative input has yet to wane. It was his sweeping cross-field ball that put Roma quickly on the front foot – at a time when Lazio were beginning to dictate play – a quick switch to the right flank then found Vučinić unmarked; the Montenegrin’s sharp, accurate cross was steered into the net by a side-footed volley from one of the most unlikely candidates on the pitch – Roma’s no.77; first-half sub Cassetti.

There was still time for Fernando Muslera – recently capped for the first time by Uruguay – to make a smart save from a trademark fierce volley from the left boot of John Arne Riise, and for whistle-happy referee Nicola Rizzoli to send David Pizarro to the showers for a second bookable offence. The biancocelesti, however, were a beaten side and now languish just outside the trapdoor to Serie B – the dark depths from which they last emerged in 1988. Without a sharp change in fortunes, Coach Ballardini might be spending Christmas on the dole queue, as Lazio legend Siniša Mihajlović – a flop in charge of Bologna last year – has been lined up as his potential successor.

Roma are up to sixth, yet are an intimidating eleven points adrift of leaders Inter. It’s far too late now for Ranieri’s men to mount a concerted scudetto challenge, but at least Marchisio’s magic in Turin has given Italian fans hope of at least a three-horse title race approaching the new year. So it was not only a valuable win for Juventus, but also a small victory for diversity in an Inter-dominated league.

Under-fire Ranieri halts Mourinho’s winning run

The run-in to Roma’s Sunday night visit to San Siro was dominated by the supposed thawing of frosty relations between opposing coaches Claudio Ranieri and Inter’s José Mourinho. The two former Chelsea managers have been at each other’s throats in recent years – the Special One once responding to the Tinkerman’s frequent criticisms of Inter by claiming his Stamford Bridge predecessor lacked a winning mentality, because “he’s nearly 70-years-old and has only won a Super Cup and other small tournaments.” Adding further insult to his characteristically waspish rebuke, Mourinho opined: “He is too old to change.”

A year or so later, with Inter now standing clear above all others in Serie A as Ranieri’s Roma struggle inconsequentially in the bottom half of the standings, Mourinho can afford to change his tune.“I respect Ranieri,” he said. “It’s true we have had a few run-ins and who knows there could be more in future, but I respect him as a person and as a coach.”

Nonetheless, Ranieri (who, for the record, is aged a mere 58, while both the Coppa Italia and the Copa del Rey are among the ‘small tournaments’ he’s won) would truly savour any victory over his larger-than-life adversary, particularly with pressure already mounting on his position after a mixed start in charge of his hometown club. A barely-deserved home victory over Fulham in the Europa League midweek gave something of a boost to his side as they travelled north to take on Mourinho’s all-conquering juggernaut, themselves fresh from a much-needed Champions League win in Kiev.

Inter’s slovenly start allowed Roma to grab the early initiative, with lone foward Mirko Vučinić springing the offside trap to latch onto a delightful pass from stand-in-skipper Daniele De Rossi, only to fluff a glorious chance to score the opener. Minutes later though, the Romans took the lead courtesy of Vučinić’s looping header into the top corner from a precise diagonal ball by full-back Marco Motta. It took a prodigious leap for the talented Montenegrin to out-jump Inter’s defensive colossus Lucío, scoring only his second goal of campaign during which he has been habitually abused by a section of the Roma support.

Wesley Sneijder was mysteriously confined to the Inter bench (along with another influential midfield mainstay, Esteban Cambiasso) as one-paced Patrick Vieira and ill-disciplined Sulley Muntari toiled to cope with De Rossi’s considerable influence. Top-scorer Francesco Totti’s unavailability through injury ensured that both teams were without their key creators during a first half throughout which Inter slumbered and their visitors battled gainfully. Roma’s reserve ‘keeper Julio Sergio made sharp saves from both Diego Milito and Muntari – who should’ve had his marching orders for a couple of petulant stamps and kicks when already on a yellow card – but Roma were otherwise comfortable leaders, even in spite of their captain’s 34^th minute withdrawal due to head injury.

As anyone who has followed his career closely will testify, it is, in fact, Mourinho who is the true ‘tinkerman’, though when the Champions League-winner makes a change (or two, or three) it generally has the desired effect. And – with predictable consequences – the Portugese threw on Cambiasso and Mario Balotelli for the dreadful Vieira and Muntari, at the start of the second half. Within three minutes Inter were level.

A trademark penalty-box swivel and finish by Samuel Eto’o sunk the shoulders of Ranieri and inspired thoughts of a swift Inter comeback among the nerazzurri faithful. Yet, even without their on-field generals – De Rossi and Totti – the resolute Roma rearguard quickly negated a brief spell of Inter pressure. Despite Sneijder’s best efforts, the league leaders failed to impose their superiority; entirely bereft of any sense of urgency or rhythm during a fractious second period which finally petered out into a 1-1 draw.

The permanently scowling features of wonder-kid Balotelli were screwed up in frustration when the rangy 19-year-old spurned the home team’s best opportunity late on, not long after substitute Ricardo Faty blew Roma’s clearest chance of a winner at the other end. Clearly, a typically forthright Mourinho thought his young striker could have “done a whole lot more” to influence the game: “Balotelli?” he said, post-match, “His performance tonight was close to a zero. He had little movement and did little work for the team.”

In a “bad” game, Mourinho believed that “one team did everything to win; another did not want to win”, echoing his often-quoted ‘parking-the-bus’ comments for at least the hundredth time. Ranieri will hardly care though. A point at San Siro might not take the giallorossi into the top half of the table, but the undoubted fighting spirit with which it was achieved may help to galvanise an unsteady ship.

With a significant chunk of the Roma tifosi calling for the head of Ranieri and his deeply unpopular boss, club president Rosella Sensi, it was crucial for his side to halt their slide down the standings. Nonetheless, they still have much ground to regain upon their return from the upcoming international break. Inter, meanwhile, will resume proceedings five points clear of their only genuine title rivals, Juventus (5-2 winners over Atalanta this weekend).

Mourinho, it’s apparent, remains capable of some curious selection choices, but few can argue with a manager now unbeaten in 140 consecutive home league games and with a second scudetto in his sights. So it’s a moral win for Claudio, but only José will win the war.