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Roma 0-2 ManUtd: A victory for Socialism?

April 4, 2008

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Roma 0-2 ManUtd: A victory for Socialism?Paul James

It is dangerous when commentators describe our draw as easy; first because of the English Sporting Press’ penchant for underestimating foreigners and second because players who read the papers might start believing it. Roma have not faltered in any home fixture since we took a point off them before Christmas; their only defeat in the champions League was 0-1 to us. The first target for United was to score, and the second to avoid an irredeemable defeat.

With Van der Sar thankfully fit again Ferguson started with the full defence. He played with three central midfielders, the Scholes Carrick combination which many (including me) used to say could not play together well, backed by Anderson and, it seemed, with Park and Ronaldo on the flanks and Rooney as a lone striker. In fact, Rooney played wide left with Ronaldo much more central.

Roma are unlike other Italian sides; they operate a fluid attack of the kind which McLaren thinks we have copied and improved upon, and they can be exciting in the English style. I have admiration for their football but it is difficult to like their fans much. It was a relief that the scenes which accompanied the last two United visits were not repeated; there was, apparently, some missile-throwing, but there were no baton charges in the ground or in the streets, and as far as I know no further cases of potential miscarriage of justice.

The full build-up in the stadium (which was not covered on ITV but was on MUTV, who took the ITV pictures and avoided advertisements) looked impressive. Romans do not, it seems, do group stage matches since the crowd was over 50,000 bigger than for the December game. When they turn up, they can be impressive, and though it is stereotypical and un-PC to suggest that the Roman anthem with the smoke and the flags had overtones of a fascist rally, it did (though no more than your average visit to Elland Road).

The match began at fever pitch off the field but on it, after an initial flurry, it became the usual cagey test between two sides eager not to concede a crucial advantage. The curmudgeonly report on the BBC news, that it was a bore, was quite ridiculous though it was certainly not the helter-skelter of the Premier League.

Roma had the slight edge for half an hour before their baying Coliseum crowd, partly because their main striker, Vucinic, looked dangerous and ours, Ronaldo, was constantly fouled (official statistics showed that literally half of Roma’s fouls were on him, one of them an early “accidental” stray elbow, just as they dealt him at Old Trafford). I was particularly pleased with the persistent raucous booing aimed at him, since experience suggests that this elicits a lethal response.

On 29 minutes the first blow was struck, when Vidic fell awkwardly and twisted a knee. United chose to play a dodgy several minutes with ten men before deciding that he could not continue. The back-up was Wes Brown moving to the centre and replaced by John O’Shea.

As Vidic was carried off the memories came back of last season’s semi-final with eight players including most of our defence unavailable; I wondered if I was watching United’s season being carried down the tunnel. Vitally, Rio Ferdinand, who had been good before this moment, turned in the most inspirational captain’s performance; even if the news on Vidic turns out to be disastrous, all may not be lost.

Just as I was fretting that we were playing too far back, that the supply to the front was insufficient and that we were not getting bodies forward, came a moment to savour for years. It was a minute or so before half time, and when Rooney got the ball centrally he turned and attacked the back line. Scholes made the run on his right but had to work hard for the overhit pass.

When he got there he floated a lovely ball to a point ten yards out from the far post and out of nothing there came Ronaldo powering through the air; there was determination and concentration in every ounce of his countenance and nothing, but nothing was going to stop him; what a goal!

This was not the grace and athleticism that Ronaldo’s detractors concede, though the thirty five yard sprint and the long jump leap were athletic enough; it was that this allegedly effete, preening, brylcreemed superstar went into that area with no thought for anything except meeting that ball and with the force and unstoppability of a runaway train just like Roy Keane in Turin eight years ago; Italian defenders are no cissies and he just sent them flying like skittles, their elbows and all. 44 minutes 1-0, and we had our away goal; staggering, that’ll teach them to boo.

Almost immediately Vucinic broke through and put the ball across the face of our goal; fortunately no-one on their side was up to getting there and sticking it in, but it was a portent of things to come because in the second half Roma were a different side and came at us. They tried most things; De Rossi did a swallow dive, Tonetto shot fiercely but wide, then nearly scored with a cross which Van der Sar did well to palm over.

We were being forced backwards and their fullbacks were encamped in our half; when the chip from the right went over Wes Brown’s head and dropped to Penucci in exactly the spot where Ronaldo had lain clutching his ribs after his goal, the Italian missed the brief glimpse he was given of a completely open goal. It seemed evident that we could not hold out for ever and that if they scored there would be a danger we might be overcome, as in Milan last year.

It was not for want of United, and Ronaldo in particular, trying. The linesman wrongly flagged him offside on a really promising break and he later got a free kick from which Carrick should have at least got his header on target.

Ferguson took off the disappointing Anderson for Hargreaves; something needed to be done. The next corner was, I believe, Roma’s eighth while we had had none and from it Giully’s flicked header was kept out only by a brilliant, strong, outstretched left hand from Van der Sar, and Rio put himself on the line to ensure he beat the incoming flying boot to the loose ball.

Almost immediately from the clearance the ball was worked up the right and Wes Brown put in a huge, deep, lofted cross to at the far post. One man, Ji Sung Park, who had worked like a terrier all match, did not give it up. He not only got to it but made a prodigious leap for such a small man and nodded it down back into the danger zone.

Goalkeeper Doni went for it with both hands as Rooney challenged but just got his fingertips to it and then, as the ball ran free it was Rooney, surrounded by defenders who kept his nerve. He had a half second to look round and see where the ball had gone, looked quite surprised to find it at his feet, and poked it in; 66 minutes 2-0 and an immense psychological blow for a home team who had sixty seconds beforehand been rampant.

That, really, was that; much of the fight drained from Roma and the Romans were silenced; all you could hear now in the background were the Rooney and Ronaldo songs of the travelling fans, and it was United who looked more likely to score. A brilliant Rooney run ended with him spoonfeeding Carrick, who missed. Tevez came on for Rooney and fed Ronaldo, who dribbled inside and then all but scored with a low drive which Doni just tipped onto his post.

There was a late flurry from the home side, but by now any resemblance to the Coliseum or a right wing political rally was a faded memory, it was to the defiant strains of the Internationale from the Manchester Brigade that the referee blew his final whistle. Barring disaster or overconfidence a place in the last four beckons tantalisingly.

Copyright © Paul James

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