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| | Friday 16 May, 2008 | | Blog: Roman conquerors | | If Roma win Serie A on Sunday, Mike Anderson claims it will not only be a victory for the Giallorossi and their fans – it will be a triumph for football |  |  | | With Inter playing away on Sunday to a struggling Parma side – who have just sacked their Coach – it seems that they cannot fail to win Lo Scudetto. But it is Roma who, in my opinion, must triumph for the good of the game.
Inter have been excellent this season and it would be futile to argue that they would not be worthy winners of the title. However, their style of play is such that only their own fans can love them. They grind out results without playing football that excites, winning through efficiency.
In contrast, Roma play arguably the best football in Europe. Using a progressive formation – without an orthodox striker – they attack freely and creatively, and with a side containing such talents as Francesco Totti, Amantino Mancini and Rodrigo Taddei, they rarely fail to excite.
A team like Roma winning the championship would be a great advert for calcio, showing the world that the popular defensive stereotype associated with Italian football is well and truly out of date.
I know that the argument will be made that attractive football is not the most effective, that football is about winning and not playing well – but that does not mean that sides should stop trying to do both! Luciano Spalletti is attempting to mould his outfit into a team that can win trophies and play football in the way that it should be played.
If a team performing like Roma can triumph it may inspire more sides to try and play the same way. The truth is, it is much easier to win through out-working the opposition rather than outplaying them. But the current crop of top teams that play this way could kill the enjoyment in football, making it into a contest of aerobic capacity rather than technical ability.
For Italian clubs to regain the respect of the rest of Europe – that they seem to have lost without doing anything wrong! – it will have to be through a reinvention of the Italian style. Using wonderful technically talented players like Totti, Antonio Cassano and Andrea Pirlo to make Italy the home of beautiful football and the envy of the continent once again.
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