Correspondent of the magazine "Football" and a permanent author of Football. ua Sergey Shevchenko - about rival Gorniakov in the 1/8 finals of the Champions League.
Shakhtar again hit Roma. Two of the four outs of the Miners in the playoffs of the Champions League turn into a date with Jallorossi in the 1/8 finals. Not a bad tradition. Such a lot can be called successful for Donetsk, because the alternative to Rome were including Manchester United, PSG and Barcelona.
Briefly introduce an opponent. Of course, before the matches a few more months, and the layouts may change, but much is clear now. So, what is the current Roma?.
Players Roma - one of the best teams in Italy, but on a European scale this is not a super club, there is no set of players at the level of Manchester City. The Romans, rather, pick up the unnecessary City of players and bring them to the peak of the form: for example, Edin Dzeko and Aleksandar Kolarov, having felt the confidence, feel great here. The team has their own stars. In addition to Dzeko, to such can be attributed to veteran Daniele De Rossi, after the departure of Totti who became the full captain of Roma, as well as Raju Nainggolan - a player that any European grandee dreams of. It will also be interesting to see the main goalkeeper of the Brazilian team Alisson, the powerful centerback of Fasio and the once super-promising El Shaarawi.
Strategy The peculiarity of the current Roma in an active and thoughtful transfer policy. Since this season transitions are run by the legendary Monci, known for his work in Seville. Recognizable handwriting: Jallorossi, for a lot of money, was sold by several major players led by Salah, and in exchange they bought either inexpensive but sensible performers (Kolarov went for only 5 million euros), or promising young people like Patrick Schick. Roma becomes a long-playing project: next year the club will start erecting its own arena, so the market needs to provide both regular profits and enough to get into the Champions League level of composition.
Coach In the summer, the Romans changed their coach: instead of Luciano Spalletti came Eusebio Di Francesco - quite young (48 years old, Fonseca, however, four years younger) a specialist who announced himself in Sassuolo. The appointment of Di Francesco initially caused a certain skepticism, but so far it is generally obtained, especially in the Champions League, where the Romans surprisingly easily sorted out with Chelsea Antonio Conte. In the course of the season the team added: in September Roma was frankly raw, but now she gained a move. In the matches of the 1/8 finals we are waiting for a curious confrontation between the two tactics.
Style of play Matches with Chelsea (3: 3, 3: 0) were not typical for this Roma. The team plays completely differently than in the spring at Spalletti. Roma has become more reliable in defense, and ahead expects not so much to control the ball as to vertical transfers. The team became more pragmatic, wins 1: 0 - not uncommon. This approach also has disadvantages - so, much less scores Dzeko, last season became the best scorer of Serie A. If we talk in the context of the game with the Miner, then this style of play can be inconvenient for Gornyakov. The Brazilian "attack group" of Shakhtar needs space, but Roma does not give him. A priori, the left flank of Roma's attack, where Perotti or El-Shaaravi is playing, will be dangerous, and from the depth of any of them, Kolarov actively supports - the matter in the personnel problems of Donetsk's on the position of the right-back.
Differences from Napoli It's hard not to compare Roma with Napoli, the recent rival of the Miner. Roma as a whole is slightly weaker: she lags behind in the table by 4 points (having a match in reserve), and lost in the personal meeting with a score of 0: 1. This, however, is not an excuse to throw the opponent caps. Of course, the Romans do not have a game in the level of Maurizio Sarri. On the other hand, Napoli did not tear the veins in the Champions League, betting on the championship, Roma is also laid out in both tournaments. Napoli has no sensible reserve, because of which the leaders quickly got tired, and the injured did not find an adequate replacement. Roma is the opposite: here the basis is so impressive, but the reserve is much stronger than the Neapolitan. Irreplaceable in Dzhallorossi almost no, with a rare exception (Dzheko, Nainggolan, to some extent Kolarov). Di Francesco will boldly use the rotation before matches with Shakhtar, the benefit of Monchy great staff roster.
Conclusion Shakhtar is not the favorite of the pair, as the bookmakers quotes unequivocally, but the Miners were not favorites in 2011, when the confrontation ended with two victories of Ukrainians (3-2 and 3-0). In general, you can fight. The chances for passage are 35-40%, that is quite working.
The traditional complexity of our team will be a winter break: a year ago Shakhtar Fonsecki, confidently playing in the group stage of the LEF, did not cope with Celta in the 1/16 finals. Confused and the defense of Donetsk, skipping in each match, Champions League, and in the championship playing only a little better. Roma calmly satisfied with the victory 1: 0. Hence it follows that confrontation may not be the most spectacular.
To pass on to Shakhtar it is necessary to play extremely accurately. Roma really does not like to break through tight defense, especially if there are physically strong players there.
Ideally, the Romans should have a lot of possession of the ball in the center of the field and barrenly ramming the defense Gornyakov casts on Dzeko. Another strategic task - to keep Nainggolan, who has an amazing long-range strike. Plus, of course, counter-attacks using the strong qualities of the Donetsk brazilians. Total: tactics, concentration, dedication and understanding of the style of the opponent's game - a gentleman's set for playing in the playoffs.
Author: Sergey Shevchenko.