Mora and the Gasperini Blueprint: How the Coach Can Develop Him into a Star

Roma and Lazio are setting the pace in Serie A so convincingly that Inter, the only team expected to challenge them, have become the main rivals. Both Roman sides have turned from outsiders into serious contenders in just eleven matchdays, with Gian Piero Gasperini's Roma and Gennaro Gattuso's Lazio both still unbeaten. Writing in Il Messaggero, Gianluca Lengua notes that the pair have dominated the big northern clubs and the biggest southern club without showing any sign of nerves at the top. The Capital pair's start is historic: it is the first time in Serie A that two clubs from the same city have remained unbeaten for the same number of matches. Lengua argues the two sides have reached the same destination by very different routes. Only Milan are mounting a challenge alongside Inter, sitting three points behind Roma and five behind Lazio. Como, coached by Chivu, are also an unpredictable presence in the race. Looking at the underlying numbers, Como have the biggest gap between expected goals and actual goals in Italy. Roma follow with a +12 differential, then Como, Milan and Lazio. Lazio are the real anomaly of the campaign, scoring more than their chances suggest they should. Lengua concludes that Roma and Lazio remain under constant pressure, and that being the team being chased is often harder than being the chaser, something both clubs have not been used to for years.

Roma and Lazio remain the only unbeaten sides in Serie A, and they share a rare distinction in Europe's top leagues. With the derby set for 13 December, the Capital rivals sit at the top of the table, separated by just two points with Inter in between. Gian Piero Gasperini's Roma and Gattuso's Lazio are very different sides, yet both are still undefeated in the league. Lazio have won 9 and drawn 2 this season, while Roma have won 8 and drawn 3. Those records also place the two Roman clubs alongside Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund as the only unbeaten teams across Europe's major leagues. The two German sides have recorded 6 wins and 3 draws each in the Bundesliga. No other team remains unbeaten in the other top three European leagues. Arsenal have 9 wins and 1 defeat in the Premier League, while Barcelona have 11 wins and 1 defeat in La Liga. In Ligue 1, PSG have 7 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat, while Lille have 6 wins, 3 draws and 1 defeat.

Bryan Cristante does not catch the eye, but he steals time from opponents, and that has long been the paradox of the Roma midfielder, who is often judged through an aesthetic prejudice that hides what he really brings to a match. He lacks the explosive burst of Manu Koné, does not live on dribbling and rarely produces a highlight-reel moment. But he knows the game, and he often knows it before anyone else. In this early stage of the Serie A season, Cristante is among the most consistent midfielders in the league, thanks to the rational and emotional order he conveys to the team. Under Gian Piero Gasperini he has returned to centre stage, not only in the pecking order but in the very construction of Roma's play. His quality lies above all in his timing. He knows when to speed up the build-up and when to slow the match down, finds the vertical pass with ease, and rarely forces a action without first having read the risks and rewards. The part of his game that is least visible and most important, however, is what he does without the ball. Cristante covers ground, reads the spaces, supports the press, and judges when to step forward and when to drop back to protect the defensive line. He does not simply chase the action; he tries to anticipate its development. This is also why coaches who are very different from one another have continued to consider him indispensable. Gasperini knows a version of Cristante that has almost disappeared from memory in his Roma years. At Atalanta he also used him as an attacking midfielder, exploiting his ability to make runs into the box and his quality in the area around goal. Today the player is different, more mature and probably less explosive, but that understanding of space has remained intact. Gasperini has simply given him another stretch of the pitch to interpret. Cristante remains a player who is difficult to describe through a single moment, and much easier to understand by watching an entire match. His style does not necessarily seek applause: it creates order, connects the lines and makes the game easier to read for those around him. The real misunderstanding about Cristante may lie precisely here: people keep looking for what he does not show, and forget to watch everything that makes the team work.

Roma have 13 players called up by their national teams for the November break, a total that places them level with AC Milan and Como in the chasing pack behind Inter, Torino and Frosinone, who lead on 14. The squad list was drawn from the official call-ups for the November fixtures and is subject to changes before the matches. The Roma contingent includes goalkeepers Devis Vásquez and Giorgio De Marzi; forwards Santiago Castro, Donyell Malen, Rodrigo Mora and Matías Soulé; defenders Leonardo Balerdi, Daniele Ghilardi, Konstantinos Koulierakis, Emanuele Lulli, Evan N'Dicka and Wesley; and midfielder Niccolò Pisilli. Behind the leaders, Atalanta and Udinese are on 12, Juventus have 11, and Napoli and Lazio have eight, with the two Lazio absentees excluded from that count. The total could have been higher, potentially reaching or exceeding 17, had several physical issues or technical decisions by the national coaches gone differently. Gianluca Mancini was initially called up by Italy but had to withdraw with a muscle problem that has also kept him out of the recent match against Sassuolo. Italy coach also left Bryan Cristante out of the squad, although the coach explained he had no need to test him at this stage. Manu Koné, who returned and started against Sassuolo, was left out of France's squad by coach Zidane to avoid a possible physical setback. Nahuel Molina had been called up late by Argentina, but a one-match suspension still to be served, together with opposition from Roma and Gian Piero Gasperini, blocked his departure.

Roma head into the international break with a near-perfect run to protect, and Gian Piero Gasperini has used a demanding stretch of nine matches in 27 days to rotate his squad. Gasperini admitted the schedule had been tough but said it had allowed him to use the whole squad: "We had tough clashes like Como, Napoli, Manchester and Real Madrid. The management was not a problem, and this allowed us to rotate the whole squad." During that intense spell, players who had been on the fringes stepped forward. Rodrigo Mora took advantage of Paulo Dybala's extended absence to win a key role, scoring in three consecutive matches. De Roon showed why Gasperini wanted him in the capital, while Ghilardi, Gollini and Vásquez also got their chances. Gasperini gave everyone a run-out, partly out of necessity. Both the coach and D'Amico have acknowledged that the squad is thin, and with a few injuries it risks becoming very thin indeed. The debate over whether the break is a blessing may therefore be answered by the players Roma get back when the league resumes. Roma are among the clubs that could benefit most from the pause. Their injuries have required fairly long recovery periods, but few players have been affected. The problem is that nearly all of them are key figures in the Giallorossi set-up. Chief among them is Mile Svilar, who has been out since 10 October and has kept training both at Trigoria and in individual sessions with a fitness coach, without managing to speed up his recovery. Tests carried out about ten days ago led the club and the goalkeeper to choose caution. The aim is for him to return against Parma, and then reach peak condition for the highly delicate trip to Paris. Dybala is on the same timetable. The calf injury he suffered against Real Madrid kept him out longer than expected, but the Argentine is now ready to return and make a difference, perhaps also finding a goal he has not scored since 18 January. Manu Koné has already returned, playing 66 excellent minutes against Sassuolo. The Frenchman was not called up by his national team and will use these days to regain his best condition. He will have an extra incentive compared with his team-mates: to impress at the Parc des Princes, a stadium a few kilometres from the home where he grew up. Gasperini hopes to get back the Roma of the "first lines", because he refuses to talk about starters. The coach remains torn about the break: "It interrupts the league again, although this time only for a week. I like international matches when they play for something important. For friendlies or matches of little consequence, it is a pity to lose so many players." Roma face another demanding run: seven matches in 29 days, during which the Giallorossi will play a major part of their season. The fixtures include the already mentioned trip to Paris Saint-Germain, the home match against Sporting, the game against Juventus and, above all, the derby against Lazio on 13 December. The next month will be crucial in measuring Roma's real ambitions, with the January transfer window expected to bring fresh impetus.

Roman radio pundits have been debating the Serie A title race, with several arguing Roma can genuinely challenge for the scudetto and that Lazio's surge should not be dismissed as a miracle. Rete Sport's David Rossi said the negative reaction after the Manchester defeat was undeserved by the club and by Gasperini. He said: "The negativity after Manchester was not deserved, neither by us nor by Gasp. Roma on Saturday offer another performance; they have become a team that always wins these matches. If you lose against the top 5 and win against the others, with a few draws here and there, you win the scudetto with ninety points… We not only win these games, we win them well." He added that against Sassuolo, Malen did not want to score and missed a couple of important chances, and that the first half could have been closed out 5 or 6 nil. Gianluca Piacentini, also on Rete Sport, discussed Kvernadze, who has a €4 million release clause in July, saying a January deal could cost between €10 and €12 million. On the Champions League race, he said Roma are in the mix, having reached the 11th matchday, alongside Lazio and Milan, which he said he did not expect. He noted that Napoli and Juventus are well behind. Piacentini argued that finishing second rather than fourth matters for the club's growth: "If you finish fourth you feel you have taken a step back; finish second and you have taken one forward. It is a matter of growth, so second is better than fourth." Checcо Oddo Casano, also on Rete Sport, praised the club's fitness record compared with other sides. He said: "Roma have held up well compared with other teams in terms of injuries. The work done by Gasperini and his staff is aimed at minimising injuries. Up to now, people who are always injured have stopped, such as Pellegrini and Dybala. Svilar has been unlucky with a broken foot, as has Koné… This squad runs, recovers, and we see a much more productive team than in previous years. This is down to better training. The intensity of the match is the result of the intensity of the weekly work. Competition for places has also raised the level of training, because no one is certain of his place." Mario Corsi of Tele Radio Stereo said this league is Inter and Roma, as it was at the start, and that Como can come back. He warned about Milan: "Be wary of Milan. Not so much this year, although anything can happen. Voices from Milan are talking about the January market, and beyond, they are also talking about next year. The madman (Cardinale, ed.) could build a team… I would not want Inter to win the scudetto this year and Milan next year." He added that Roma will do something in January, as the sporting director has said, and that Mora always scores, knowing where to place himself with an educated foot. Francesca Ferrazza, also of Tele Radio Stereo, praised Koné for turning down France, saying those matches do not count for much, and said Hermoso has become one of Gasperini's fixed points. She added that Gasperini had made his position clear, saying he will not sign for second place. Lorenzo Pes, also of Tele Radio Stereo, said the club now has a technical guide with clear ideas from the first day, and that Gasperini has accelerated the project. He said: "Now Roma have a technical guide with clear ideas from day one. For years we have heard about projects and building; now all of this has been accelerated by Gasperini from the first season. He has never hidden the real objective, which is to shorten the timelines as much as possible." Alessio Nardo, also of Tele Radio Stereo, said Roma should be among the top four and that finishing from fifth down would be a drama, adding that he would also be disappointed if Roma did not reach at least the Champions League playoff. Roberto Pruzzo of Radio Radio said Lazio play well and have an identity, and that they play only once a week, which helps them. On Roma, he said the side walk over weaker teams, and that Dybala, who has not played for two months, needs to be recovered. On Milan, he said they should leave Europe, as a double commitment would be a problem. On Mora, he said: "His growth is not something you see, because his height is what it is… joking aside, he still has half an hour of stamina." He said Mora is at his best against this type of team and becomes decisive in the final metres, though in other games he bounces and must be ready to be substituted after half an hour. On Hermoso, he admitted he had been wrong to think his career was finished, saying he had bounced back spectacularly. Nando Orsi of Radio Radio said he never doubted Roma would fight for the scudetto, and that Lazio are playing well with one match a week, describing them as a humble, convinced and empathetic side. He said: "It cannot just be a miracle; miracles do not last long. This is a team that must go all the way, or at least try. Napoli and Atalanta are far away." Mario Mattioli, also of Radio Radio, said Roma have more players but also more fixtures, while Lazio have a coach who is more realistic than the king in judging what happens on the pitch. He said: "I believe Lazio will last; whether they last longer than Roma, I don't know."