EUROPA LEAGUE | 10 TO FOL LOW
2 The controversial appointment
PAULO FONSECA (Roma)O
stensibly new Roma coach Paulo
Fonseca has one task and one task
only in the current campaign: to
achieve a top-four finish in Serie A,
thus securing a Champions League berth for
2020-21. Accustomed to living it up in the top
European bracket, the team were sixth last term,
their worst classification in six years.
This was not what the club’s American owners
anticipated when they took over in 2011. Indeed,
if Milan had not been banned from Europe for
Financial Fairplay breaches, the Giallorossi would
not have made the Europa League
group-stage cut at all.
Some believe that Roma will not
be particularly motivated to pull
out all the stops in cross-frontier
action over the next few months.
But Fonseca has long held dreams
of UEFA glory.
“I don’t know when it will be, but one day I will
be in the Final of a European Cup,” declared the
former Shakhtar Donetsk boss last year.
Fonseca loves to cross swords with the best
and has fond memories of the time Shakhtar
posed no end of strategic problems for Pep
Guardiola’s Manchester City in 2017.
The 46-year-old ex-central defender
undoubtedly has a soft spot for the Europa
League. It was in this competition in 2016 thathe had one of those all-important eureka
moments, reaping praise a plenty for his part
in steering Portuguese outfit Braga to the
quarter-finals.
The arrival of the tactically shrewd Fonseca- who has promised Roma fans a “courageous”
team, one which “plays in the opposition half
with a big defensive line” – is not the only
grounds for optimism here. A number of
excellent new recruits have come through the
door, notably Atalanta centre-back Gianluca
Mancini, Juventus left-back Leonardo
Spinazzola, Guinean defensive midfielder
Amadou Diawara from Napoli and the much-
underrated ex-Espanyol and Real Betis keeper
Pau Lopez. And in a further tonic for the troops,
striker Edin Dzeko extended his contract.
As ever, Roma’s sporting outlook will be
coloured by the mood of their fan base. Should
results improve, the faithful will be happy. If they
don’t, cue more furious protests against the
holders of the purse strings.3 The Main Contender
From Outside The
Premier League
SEVILLANot only is transfer guru Monchi back, splashing
out a whopping €150m on talent. The
Andalusians also have a hungry new coach in
ex-Spain and Real Madrid boss Julen Lopetegui.4 The Dark Horse
WOLFSBURGThe VW outfit are on the up again after a barren
spell. Expect new coach Oliver Glasner, formerly
in charge of Austrian side LASK, to make them
an even slicker attack-minded force.5 The Headliner
BRUNO FERNANDES (Sporting)Extraordinarily creative, the Portuguese
international attacking midfielder was a hot tip to
leave the Alvalade, only for a hefty price-tag to
put off would-be buyers in the Premier League.“I don’t know when it will be, but
one day I will be in the Final of a
European Cup”