Roma, St Mirren and Nancy Too

Lessons from a modern 67-year-old, and a look ahead to the League Cup Final

I will not be on the Extra Time this week due to scheduling (which is code for Christmas jollies!), so before getting into the weekend’s League Cup Final, some thoughts on the AS Roma Europa League tie.

A Harsh Lesson

Gian Piero Gasperini is in his 22^nd year of being a football manager. It has been a slow burner, but his Atalanta side built over nine seasons finally achieved silverware by becoming the only side to defeat Xabi Alonso’s Bayer 04 Leverkusen that campaign, in the 2023-24 Europa League Final.

He has been coach of the year twice in Serie A as he built a thrilling Atalanta side to challenge at the top of that demanding division. At 67 years old, he is an overnight sensation!

He is better known for the style of the football than winning trophies, however. Ten years as a junior coach and then finally a manager whose game plan was hewn from spells at Crotone, Genoa and Palermo (he lasted five matches at Internazionale in 2011!).

Gasperini has been given perhaps one final shot at “big club” management at AS Roma. With the season chaotic so far, and seven sides in the mix for the title, he may yet achieve the major prize for the first time.

The above might be an approximate summary of Wilfried Nancy in 20 years. We shall see.

That was a superbly coached and coherent game plan implemented at Celtic Park last night. A smothering man-to-man full-court press meant Celtic’s deep playmaking duties fell to Kaspar Schmeichel. It did not go well. As I mentioned early on, this style of play will test players’ techniques. Against a top Serie A side, many failed.

Whether it is the deeper players receiving the ball under pressure and executing an escape from the press, or advanced players taking longer passes at any height or weight and controlling them whilst getting the kind of attention only Italian club defenders can give, all require spot-on technique.

This is on a relative basis, a poor Celtic squad. That was highlighted most brutally last night. Basics: first touch, movement, awareness, and playing under pressure.

We know all this.