Photo by Howard C. Smith/ISIphotos.com
New president of AS Roma, Boston-based Thomas DiBenedetto, is making changes at his new club.
Reports abound say that DiBenedetto will appoint Walter Sabatini as the new sporting director, and after that, he is apparently turning his attention to bringing an American star over to Italy.
The Boston Globe is reporting that Roma has contacted the agents for Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley about a potential transfer. Both players are currently under contract, with Donovan's deal with the Los Angeles Galaxy running through 2013 and Bradley's deal with Borussia Monchengladbach going through next summer.
Do you see Donovan or Bradley winding up at Roma? Do you think that'd be a good fit for either player? Which U.S. international would you want to see at Roma?
Share your thoughts below.
Glove save (and a beauty)
Good points although you would be hard-pressed to convince any knowledgable poster on this blog that Adu is ever going to ‘make it’ (unless you define ‘make it’ as earning a contract in a somewhat reputable league with a mid- to low-table team, and get non-First XI minutes [if any] with the USMNT, then maybe I’d believe you).
As far as MB, you can’t judge based on Villa; Villa was the absolute worst place in the EPL for him to go because of their tumultuous league position and their manager. He probably isn’t ready for the expectations of a club like Roma though.
But your career is going to last another 20 years… Donovan’s will end in 3-5…
I can never pry Dempsey away from Fulham, no matter how well my newly-promoted, Jonjo Shelvey-led Charlton Athletic are playing.
I 100% agree with all your points. Unfortunately I don’t see either of them really panning out, and I think that if the owner is trying to Mark Cuban the signing of a player, it’s only gonna piss off the media, fans, and players of that club, especially when he’s from a not-so-reputable soccer country / league.
It’s harder to judge with MB’s case, because I happen to feel that Houllier is the most arrogant dbag of a coach for the way he treats all his Americans (minus Friedel, but he gets to satisfy that craving with Guzan). In any other situation I’d say “the guy can’t crack the squad at Villa” but not with that guy at the helm. I still think he sold Lichaj so short, and probably did a good bit to hinder his psyche.
Still, it’s hard for me to see this one happening with either of these 2 players.
Please take him so I don’t have to watch or read about him anymore.
I seriously can’t stand that guy.
CD9
Are you sure the American star Roma wants is named Rossi?
The only way either of them should go there is if the situation really looks like they will get some serious minutes. It seems highly improbably that Donovan will be leaving MLS now, and with respect to Bradley, the kid needs minutes in a top flight league, wherever he can find them. If it looks like he will be getting solid minutes, then go. If it looks like he will be relegated to “Left Bench” like that idiot at Villa has been doing with him, then he should absolutely not go. Better to stay in EPL and do that then move to Italy anyway.
I think Donovan could make a huge impact at Roma(his failures in Europe are definitely overstated he played a total of 9 months of first flight football in Europe he never even had a preseason for any of his stints in Europe) but their first choice should be Rossi. He is technically american and he wants to move back to Italy.
(Sarcasm Alert)
Wait, I’m confused……Why would Roma go after a player on loan who doesn’t start at Aston Villa or a guy who plays in the lowly MLS instead of our #1 star striker (according the BB), Jozy Altidore? I mean isn’t he the best striker in our country?
Ohhhh, b/c he’s over-hyped and really isn’t very good at all. That’s why he barely gets play time in a lower division Turkish club. Ok, got it.
But, thennnnn, why is he the USA’s star striker again?
This kind of flies in the face of reality I think.
DiBenedetto sounds like he has his head in the right place, but I have to question whether or not he knows anything about the football aspect of his job.
Michael Bradley has seen the pitch for maybe 10 minutes in a 3 month period of time for Villa. Roma’s midfield is twice as good as Villa’s. I don’t think Bradley would stand a chance of even making the bench after a few weeks in training. This would be a terrible career move.
And in regards to Donovan, I don’t think he has the technical abilities to make any meaningful impact.
they a likely to get the fair play league spot awarded to the EPL.
Arrgh. Forgot about the fair play spot. Fulham qualifies since Chelsea already has a European spot.
I would like to point out that Fulham is not qualified to play in Europe next year. Birmingham (Carling Cup winner), Stoke (FA Cup Runner-up to ECL qualified Man City) and the 5th place EPL team (either Tottenham or Liverpool depending on weekend results) will be playing in the Europa League.
Oh Yes because Adu has skill. The only ACM with the ability to make Altidore(U-20/U-23) and Johnson(Aris) do something they are allergic to……score goals. Also with the crazy track record of Adu do you know what his Appearance to goal ratio is? 4:1…208 games 58 goals…(and thats without a stable team and struggling in Europe). First player in the world to score a hat-trick in the U-20 and U-23 world cups.
Oh yes…Adu is going to make it
i as well like this move. as a avid Galaxy fan i would hate to see him leave but on the other had i would love to see him pair up with totti dr rossi and borriello. as for another american… what about gooch??? ac milan and roma have been known to do business with each other (borrillo) so it would benifit both clubs. lets be honest with ourselves gooch should have never went to milan. do you really think he will get playing time with the scudetto winning team?
Reason Luke is doing so well is because he’s never played on a team as talented as the Red Bulls.
Not calling you a troll, just think it’s interesting the way some people view donovan like he’s got this european weight tied around his neck.
Come on, don’t be naive. We all know Fulham isn’t the yo-yo club it used to be but disputing the fact that Roma is a bigger club is dumb. Sure, London is comparable to Rome but the fact of the matter is that Dempsey’s Champions League potential skyrockets going to Roma. Fulham has topped out their potential with Europa appearances, whereas Roma has a great chance to get back to CL after this year.
Your complaint is that he has not proved himself. My point is that if he cut it with Moyes and Klinsmann, then your complaint is whiny. He did not continue at Bayern and Everton because of money and club politics, so there’s no reason to use those disappointments as evidence he can’t cut it. It’s ridiculous to say that after Everton he had to prove himself ‘more than ever.’
Should get Duece ;, but out of Donovan and MB i would go with MB. True Pizarro and De Rossi are at Roma, but I think with the age of PEK, and the tendacy for cards for Danielle that he would get plenty of time. Also, it depends on the new manager will they play a regista system or trequartista? Also, Landon will cost to much with no sell on value, making him much riskier
mls players sign away the transfer fee rights as part of their contract with the league.
and even if he got it, it wouldn’t be more than a million bucks or so, not chump change, but not enough to alter his considerations, I wouldn’t think
Guisseppe Rossi to Roma? Never saw that coming…
because he’s 30? I’m 29 and would love my company to move me to Italy or Germany and learn a new language. Though I’m just arguing semantics as I am sure you were implying he’s near the end of his career.
By cut it, I don’t necessarily mean he was a failure, but I think most people were hoping he would succeed at Bayern and Bayer and regularly continue to play at those clubs, which I think you’d agree he did not.
For the record, K Bone, Klinsi wanted him on stint no. 3 but club politics and pride got in the way. So counting that last go as “he couldn’t cut it” is not quite fair.
While I see where you are coming from, I don’t think Donovan’s problems in Europe stem from him not being up to par. He’s quality and always has been quality. But to me I think he went over too soon and was not ready. For some guys they can do this easily and there are many factors that play into this. However, for others – typically American players – it’s rare to find a teenager or someone in their earliy twenties that can go into a Euro squad and make their mark. There’s a lot into this – maturity, cultural diffrences, biases, etc. Our younger guys are getting that swagger though and soon enough we will see a young American walk into a Euro side and become a house hold name. Things didn’t go that way for Donovan (and some other younger guys over there right now) – it is what it is. I am quite sure that Mr. Donovan does not have many regrets.
Hahahaha
as a Roma fan myself. I’d like to see any American go to Roma and do well. IHopefully with the new regime in place, things will go better for them.
Finally, someone with some sense…
I wouldn’t mind seeing MB at Roma, even though he probably wouldn’t get a lot of playing time, he could learn quite a lot from De Rossi seeing as how De Rossi is probably one of the best CDMs on the planet. It could potentially make MB a better player.
If Roma seriously wanted an American, they should take Aguedelo once he’s old and mature enough to head over to play in Europe, to replace the aging Totti.
I would say that they’re style won’t match up with Italy. Bradley is a box-to-box midfielder who fits well in Germany or England, and Donovan wouldn’t work well in a league that’s slow and tactical. From a soccer standpoint, it wouldn’t be a good move, although Bradley could get playing time. The question is, how far off is Bradley from the Aston Villa starting XI (provided he stays) if Young, Reo-Coker, and Ireland are set to leave?
You mean you’re not a troll? You actually believe what you wrote?
I completely understand your point. But anyone who says he didn’t cut it three times in Germany hasn’t really been following closely. The last stint was not the same as his first two. Both Klinsmann (and Moyes) wanted him, but money was in the way. He really doesn’t have anything else to prove.
BTW, my Landycakes comment was sarcastic, K Bone.
Roma is my favorite team in Italy, so if they get an American player, I’d be happy as a clam. Michael Bradley would be a good fit there I think.
I saw Roma play Inter at the Stadio Olimpico during my honeymoon back in 2006 … amazing atmosphere there. Crespo scored the lone goal of the game, but Doni saved a penalty. Totti had a terrible game.
Before the game, firemen were hosing down the track in front of the ultras at the south end. I couldn’t figure out why until bombs started being thrown onto the track and filling the half the stadium with smoke. Pretty crazy.
I can honestly say this though, as a Sounders season ticket holder, as awesome as it was being a part of that crowd in Rome, Qwest Field is just as loud on game days and is a much better stadium for watching soccer.
uh, a coaching staff who had strikers they were happy with, or a staff who thought that bringing him in might disrupt the team, or a staff who thought that Torres might not fit in with how the rest of the team plays.
Didn’t I pretty much just say that?
Just so we’re clear, I did NOT say that Torres, or any American player you might mention, is not a good player. To put it another way, as I think John was implying, I don’t like an owner to think he can treat a real team like he’d treat a team in a video game. Is that really such a strange concept?
Exactly. People give too much credit to the MLS when Luke Rodgers ( not to knock em) is starting in the league, and doing quite well for NYRB. MLS is not even a top 10 world league. I have a friend who is European-American, and he is always says ” i wanna see an American player go to Europe and have a 20 goal season or start at CB for inter or something, that is when I will be a believer in the US team”. When our so called best player turns down a move to Roma, we move further away from making my friend a believer. Donovan would, i think, make the move because he has a reputation to protect, and with Clint tearing up the EPL he is running out of both time and excuses.
The only worthy American is Giuseppe Rossi. That’s who they should be looking at.
What exactly does he have to prove? He’s the all time leading scorer for his national team. He’s probably not worried about what a bunch of eurosnobs think about him.
I would love this. Roma fans would love them both. Bradley for his hardness, Donovan because he’ll score goals. Rabid fan base over there.
I would think if Donovan really wanted a challenge he’d have moved on by now. He obviously is a great player, but how can anyone say this would be a great move for him, he has relatively no experience at that level, so who knows how he’d do? He hasn’t really tried to prove he’s a world class player at the club level. And I’m sorry, doing well at Everton for two months doesn’t prove you’re world class. I think he’s content staying in MLS and running the show, which to me is a shame because he could potentially succeed abroad, but hey, it’s his life…
For Donovan, even though the salary is identical, he likely gets a cut of the transfer fee. $$$ talks. And it’s Serie A – less physical than the Bundesliga and the Premier League. I think it’s a good fit for him and a new challenge.
what coaching staff didnt want Torres after his Liverpool stint??????
No love for Harkes? He was the man in his day.
wow…i have not heard that name in years…I remember he played on my Sunday league team for one game maybe 3 yrs ago. I sent a ball into the 18 from my position at left back. The dude took the ball off his chest and scored. Second half, he was just running around defenders. The league is pretty competitive however, you wont find much speed on the pitch. Needless to say, he didn’t play for us again haha. Anyone know where he is playing now when he is not playing on sunday league teams?
Don’t under estimate LD’s ego in all of this. He is now the SECOND best American player. He is now playing firmly in the shadow of Clint Dempsey with 12 goals in the EPL. I think Donovan saw this, and was like “hey, that could be, should be me”. In order to claim to be the best American player ever, he will have to go to europe for 3-4 years and prove it. Like Dempsey has, Buddle scored 18 goals in MLS and is a super sub on a bundesliga two squad fighting for relegation. Success at Galaxy is not enough to claim the mantle of best American player ever. Time for us to see exactly how good landon is with respect to Dempsey,Mcbride, Beasley in his prime, and the other “best” US attacking players.
I know, I’m sorry I had an opinion that differed from you, I’m such a loser…
I’m not saying Donovan has to prove anything to me, I’m not looking for soccer players to impress me. My comment is related mainly to people like you all that think because he had a “successful stint” in the EPL (can a fourth of a season be called a stint), he has somehow proved himself in Europe and made up for not cutting it three times in Germany. He obviously feels no need to prove anything to himself, which is great for him. He loves his life I’m sure, who wouldn’t. I also wasn’t commenting on his national team career, which is excellent. I don’t expect too many of you get my point anyway, you’ll think whatever you want. And I’ve always hated the name Landycakes…
Well since Sidwell has more or less surplanted Etuhu I figured the central midfield pairing was Sidwell and player to be named later. Bradley is no Danny Murphy but I don’t think Danny can play every game next year especially if they actually make a run in Europa and make it deep in the FA Cup again.
You doubt MB in Italy because he couldn’t “make it with a team like Villa”, but you think Adu is still going to make it even though he couldn’t make it with DCU, Benfica, Monaco, Beleneses, or Aris?