After watching the once-again Francesco Totti-inspired Roma swarm over Inter at the San Siro to win 3-0 in classy display of precision and flair, I'm happy to announce I've finally bought a ticket and I'm currently sitting on the Roma 2013/14 bandwagon. It's pretty comfortable.
There have been a few Roma bandwagons over the years that I've tentatively avoided and then sighed with relief as they've later derailed and drove over a cliff.
There was the Claudio Ranieri 2009/10 bandwagon, that won 15 of the last 19 matches in Serie A but a loss to Sampdoria in late April gave Inter a 2 point window that they took advantage of and won the league in the last game of the season.
There was the (very brief) Luis Enrique bandwagon that put four past Inter at the Stadio Olimpico in February and filled social networks with Romanisti saying "See? He just needed time to get his ideas across to his team!" A 1-0 loss to Siena, a 4-1 shock loss to newly-promoted Atalanta and a derby defeat to Lazio pretty much killed those hopes stone dead and Luis Enrique left the wagon totaled at the side of the road.
There was the 2012/13 return of Zdnek Zeman bandwagon that drove really fast at the start of the of the season before derailing in late February. After winning all their pre-season games, fans flocked to the usually empty Stadio Olimpico to see the return of "Zemanlandia"(not to be confused with Disneyland), the ultra-attacking, high-intense 4-3-3 that lit up Serie B last year when Zeman coached a Pescara side with Marco Verratti, Lorenzo Insigne and Ciro Immobile. For American readers, think about Zeman's offence in the same way that folks talk about Chip Kelly's famous Oregon Duck's team and his now high octane Philadelphia Eagles.
Anyway, Zeman's side went and out-played Inter at the San Siro, winning 3-1 thanks a superlative performance from (guess who) Totti and now-Southampton forward Pablo Osvaldo, leading many to crown the new-but-not-so-new Zeman Roma as a really fun outside bet to back for the Scudetto. After the Inter game Roma won just 4 of their next 12 in Serie A and Zeman was ousted after a 4-2 loss to Cagliari.
Notice a pattern? Roma tend to look good at the start of seasons, pile up the bandwagon after beating Inter or overtaking them in the table and then implode sometime around spring, taking a few thousand casual Serie A fans with them into a 3 month crevice of disappointment.
So why is this year different? Well, while Roma have surrounded themselves in hype before, there's always been more than reasonable doubt - because when you look closer, they were patchy to begin with.
Apart from Ranieri's wagon, which did look genuinely great until Jose Mourinho's "Zeru Tituli" jibe proved ultimately true, the Roma's of 2011/12 and 2012/13 don't quite look as sleek and shiny as this one.
Luis Enrique's win against Inter was only their 9th win in 22 games, and the next weeks loss against Siena seemed to confirm that this was a bi-polar team, rather than the beginning of something to look forward to. Zeman's Roma opened their campaign by having to come back from 2-0 down to draw with Catania, and after the visit to the San Siro they lost 3-2 to Bologna, a forefeited and therefore gifted 3-0 win over Cagliari due to the Sardinians stadium issues, a draw with Sampdoria and a 4-1 loss to Juventus in Week 6. In all honesty, they never really got started.
This time however, they've won their first 7. 100 %. 21 from 21. 20 goals scored, 1 conceded. I'm sitting in the Roma bandwagon, and it's comfier than it's ever been. Coach Rudi Garcia has got Roma playing fluid, clinical football once again led by the ageless wonder Francesco Totti, who has three goals, six assists and a chance at an Azzurri call-up for next summer's World Cup. He's 37. New additions Mehdi Benatia, Kevin Strootman and Adem Ljajic have slotted in perfectly and the losses of Marquinhos and Erik Lamela haven't been felt at all. 'Who needs Lamela, we have Gervinho' is a legitimate comment right now. It's almost as entertaining as it is gratifying.
Without Europe to worry about, Roma are in the perfect storm that Juventus were in in 2011/12. They can prepare for one game a week, rotate because of will rather than necessity and forget all other distractions. Juventus went unbeaten, Roma are 7 from 7. Why can't it happen again? The talent is there.
Come join me on the Roma bandwagon. It's really warm and cosy in here.
