UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Chelsea v Roma:THERE ARE times in a coach's life when it can be an advantage to have to wait for the interpreter to translate the question before he launches himself into an answer.
So it was yesterday for AS Roma coach Luciano Spalletti, whose team meets Premier League leaders Chelsea at the Sadio Olimpico tonight.
These are not happy times for Roma. Last Saturday night, a 2-0 defeat by Juventus in Turin represented their fifth consecutive loss (including a 1-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago) in a miserable start to the season that sees them in fourth-last position in Serie A, just one point clear of the relegation zone. Six defeats in their nine Serie A games so far played represents their worst seasonal start since 1973.
Worse still, having already lost to Chelsea and Romanians CFR 1907 Cluj in the Champions League, another defeat by Chelsea tonight would just about wipe them out of the competition.
All in all, this is not a happy Roma moment. Thus, when one Roman reporter asked about reports that veteran coach Carlo Mazzone might be on standby to take over at Roma, the normally laid-back Spalletti shot upright in his chair, ready to launch a rebuttal. Fortunately for him, the interpreter got in the way before he started shooting from the hip. In the end he merely commented: "Mazzone is a great coach, but for the time being I am the Roma coach."
How long that "time being" will last remains to be seen. As Spalletti admitted yesterday, "difficulties lead to difficulties". The rot that set in with a 1-0 away loss to Siena early last month was followed by a 4-0 drubbing at home to Inter Milan and a 3-1 away loss to Udinese. Juventus rounded off the treatment with a performance where, for a key quarter hour either side of half-time, Roma were simply played off the park.
In such circumstances, surely the last side you might want to meet would be Chelsea. Curiously Spalletti and his influential midfielder Daniele De Rossi were yesterday looking back on their game at Stamford Bridge through optimistic lens. When asked by an English reporter if his side would play as negative a game as they did at Chelsea, Spalletti retorted: "I don't think it is fair to say we were so negative. Sure we didn't get many shots in on goal but neither did Chelsea, we played just the game we ought to have played. We played plenty of good football that night."
De Rossi was likewise encouraged by that 1-0 loss two weeks ago, saying: "Chelsea are one of the four or five best teams in the world but I've seen them play much better than they did against us. They've been winning games 5-0 but not against us."
As always with Roma, much depends upon the fitness of their charismatic captain Francesco Totti. The Roma number 10 may not do a lot in some big games but he still seems to be represent some sort of security blanket for his hapless companions. After training yesterday, Totti, who missed Saturday's game against Juventus because of a knee problem, indicated he would be fit to play.
If he does come on, it will probably be at the expense of Montenegrin striker Mirko Vucinic with Totti lining out as the nominal centre-forward, backed by a trio made up of Alberto Aquilani, Simone Perrotta and Brazilian Taddei. Behind these four, De Rossi and Chilean Davide Pizarro will try to anchor a defence that has hardly looked watertight.
Compared to Roma, Chelsea, fresh from that 5-0 drubbing of Sunderland on Saturday, really do not have any problems. Even if Felipe Scolari's side will be without midfielders Michael Ballack and Michael Essien, as well as defenders Ricardo Carvalho and Ashley Cole, they will still field a side that will give Roma plenty of, perhaps too many, problems.
Cole has been ruled out for up to 10 days after suffering a calf muscle injury on Saturday. He is now likely to be sidelined until the end of next week after Chelsea confirmed the extent of the problem.
In addition to the Roma fixture, Cole will also sit out Sunday's Premier League trip to Blackburn. The left-back is also expected to miss the League Cup tie with Burnley, but should be fit to return against West Brom on Saturday, November 15th.
One final thought, inevitably, concerns possible fan trouble. In the past Manchester United fans have clashed with Roma fans at Champions League games, so much so Spalletti and Chelsea captain John Terry issued appeals to their fans to behave themselves tonight. Here's hoping the appeals do not fall on deaf ears.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
AS ROMA(4-2-3-1) Doni; Cicinho, Panucci, Mexes, Riise; Pizarro, De Rossi; Taddei, Perrotta, Aquilani; Vucinic (Totti).
CHELSEA(4-4-2) Cech; Bosingwa, Terry, Alex, Bridge; Mikel, Deco, Lampard, Malouda; Drogba, Anelka.
