After a poor season in 2018/19 which saw Roma finish sixth in Serie A, optimism has carefully returned to the capital at the dawn of a new season. The man leading them into this campaign is the Portuguese coach Paulo Fonseca. Fonseca brings a very specific and energetic style of play with him and this tactical analysis scout report will look at his tactics and how they will suit Romas squad.
I will begin by looking at the style of play Fonseca looks to implement, starting with his defensive tactics followed by his preferred setup in attack. Afterwards, I will look at the squad he has at his disposal and how those players suit his approach.
Energetic organised defending
The first thing to note when talking about Fonsecas teams is that they are energetic. They are all about energy, energy and some more energy. The players press intensively when they do, although Fonsecas Shakhtar rarely pressed high but more often opted to start from about ten metres inside the oppositions half. They defend in a positionally-orientated 4-2-2-2 or 4-4-2 depending on the positions the two wide midfielders pick up. The initial aim is to close off the centre and force the opponent into the wide areas where the team will overload around the ball, block passing lanes and press aggressively. The collective aim is also to keep a very compact shape, as highlighted by the two images below.
We have already seen examples of this defensive style at Roma. The below image highlights Romas pressing in their first pre-season friendly. The 4-4-2 pressing shape is clear, the right-back joins the press high up the pitch and Roma look for the trigger of the back pass to move even higher.
As mentioned above, back passes are an obvious pressing trigger once the team has an opportunity to press as a collective. In the above image, they are well-positioned to do just that and then the forward just awaits the back pass before sprinting forward to press.
The other obvious pressing trigger is passes into opponents p
Subscribe To TFA To Unlock All Posts - Free 7 Day Trial
Try TFA Free For 7 Days
Gain access to all of TFA's premium contents.More than 12,000+ articles.
