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| | Saturday 10 May, 2008 | | Blog: Bosom Buddies | | What are the odds of getting even, of bridging a gap that, at one stage this season, stretched to 11 points? James Horncastle believes Siena represent the final card up Roma’s sleeve in their bid to trump Inter |  |  | | “Just when I thought I was out…they pulled me back in,” joked Silvio Dante in The Sopranos, impersonating Al Pacino’s character Michael Corleone from The Godfather III. Romanisti must be wondering the same thing after seeing their team, 11 points adrift in late February, come within three points of leaders Inter with two games remaining.
While the odds are against the Giallorossi winning the championship, our hats should go off to Coach Luciano Spalletti who, aside from leading Roma to yet another Coppa Italia Final, has guided the club to a record points total of 78, surpassing that achieved by Fabio Capello’s Scudetto wearers in 2001.
If only Roma had beaten Cagliari and then Livorno two weeks ago it could have been a different story, but, as is often the case, a lost chance is seldom the last. Inter face Siena on Sunday in what could be a repeat of last year’s title decider. The Tuscans, once seen as Juventus’ sister club, have more than their fair share of Romanisti and Milanisti in their ranks and, given their giant-killing pedigree this season, are fully capable of vanquishing the Biscione of Inter.
Talk about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer, there are two former Roma players currently staffing the Siena starting 11 and another three with links to the city in the squad.
Houssine Kharja, who made 12 appearances in Giallorosso between 2005 and 2006, scored the Robur’s clincher against Juventus at the weekend and, promptly looking forward to his side’s game at San Siro on Sunday, unashamedly declared: “I support Roma.”
Stand-in goalkeeper Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos spent a year, albeit without playing, at Trigoria. Central midfielder Daniele Galloppa was on the Lupi’s books as a nine-year-old and is still 50 per cent owned by Roma, while Daniele Portanova and Manuel Coppola were born and bred in the capital.
It would be sly to suggest that this would make a difference and, stopping short of raising a glass to Spalletti, a la Alan Curbishley to Alex Ferguson, Mario Beretta, a Milanista, has assured fans that his boys will give their best against the Nerazzurri. After all, a win for the Robur would allow Siena to emphatically break their record points tally for a season in Serie A, something else they could have in common with Roma this year.
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