Spalletti behind Roma's revival

The sacking of Rolando Maran by Serie B club Brescia last week proved how difficult a coach's job has become in Italy. It has always been like that and the likelihood is that it will remain unchanged. Brescia, looking to secure a place in the promotion play-offs, now have the wily Zdenek Zeman at the helm.

In recent years, the clubs' thirst for instant success has left coaches with practically no choice - either they get immediate results or else they find themselves out. The name of the game has become instant success.

As happened in previous years, this season was no exception in that we have witnessed a significant number of coaches getting the sack. But do results alone justify such a move midway through a season.

Take Livorno, Udinese, Empoli, Palermo and Treviso for instance. There was no improvement here despite the arrival of new coaches.

We also hear of coaches on the brink of failure but in a matter of weeks they manage to thread fantastic unbeaten runs that change the fortunes of their clubs.

Luciano Spalletti is the protagonist of a similar story. Up to late last year, he was under great pressure as Roma were faltering badly. Now Spalletti has become Roma's winning card and contributed significantly to foster a united dressing room, which in turn has helped Roma make a quantum leap in terms of quality and results attained on the pitch.

Had Roma, who are in the Coppa Italia semi-finals, opted to change coach in November, then, in all probability, they would be languishing in the bottom half of the table by now.

Roma changed hands four times last season. Cesare Prandelli quit for family reasons and his successor Rudi Voeller did not resist for long either.

Under Luigi Del Neri, Roma alternated between good and poor performances until they were caught in the mire of relegation. When the ex-Chievo coach was shown the backdoor, Bruno Conti was appointed stop-gap coach until the end of the season. His primary targets were two - helping Roma avoid the drop and steer the side to Europe by reaching the Coppa Italia final. Conti was successful albeit Roma finished the season empty-handed.

It was up to Spalletti to start re-building a team to challenge for a Champions League berth at least, given that Roma do not boast the financial muscle of big guns Juventus, Milan and Inter. Indeed, Spalletti had a tough task ahead.

He had to revive the fortunes of Roma without actually counting on new players.

The club was momentarily prohibited from signing new players due to the prolonged Philippe Mexes transfer saga.

It was at a later stage that Roma were allowed to sign Rodrigo Taddei, Shabani Nonda and Samuel Kuffour, all three for free.

But in actual fact, the team that has now registered an incredible run of 11 straight wins and a draw since the turn of the year is exactly the same of last season with the exceptions of Brazilian custodian Alexander Doni and compatriot Taddei.

Players like Mexes, Christian Chivu, Christian Panucci and Brazilian Mancini have found their form in recent months thanks to the sterling work of Spalletti.

No rifts

Internal rifts are something of the past particularly after the departure of 'rebel' Antonio Cassano to Real Madrid in January.

It is not easy to find enough superlatives to describe a team that has dropped only two points out of the last 36 and improved its tally by a massive 17 points over last season. Roma's foundations seem to be solid albeit nothing is yet won.

The coming weeks will be crucial for the Giallorossi.

The decisive clash with Fiorentina next month will help to shed more light on the contest for a Champions League berth whereas crucial ties against Middlesbrough, in the UEFA Cup, and Palermo, in the Coppa Italia, are also in the pipeline.

So far, Roma have made a strong comeback from all aspects but the final two months of the season are there to test their resistance.

Statistics

0 penalties in favour of Treviso so far this season. Prior to last weekend, apart from Treviso, Ascoli were the other top division side still to benefit from a penalty this season. But on Sunday, Marco Giampaolo's team salvaged a precious draw against Udinese when captain Maurizio Domizzi transformed a dubious penalty five minutes from time. The other penalty of the day was scored by Massimo Oddo for Lazio. Ascoli's upcoming midfielder Roberto Guana was the only red-carded player last week. Filippo Inzaghi (Milan) and Simone Tiribocchi (Chievo) grabbed the only two braces. Three players, namely, Gianpaolo Pazzini (Fiorentina), Andriy Shevchenko (Milan) and Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), came on as substitutes and scored for their respective teams.

1st win for lowly Lecce after a barren run of 12 games (four draws and eight defeats) as they hit twice after the break to beat Palermo for the second year running. A balanced opening was the prelude to a more entertaining second half in which Lecce made most of the running and deservedly scored twice in the space of five minutes to claim a vital win that enabled them to revive their chances to avoid relegation. In this regard, the upcoming Messina-Lecce has vital importance on the destiny of these two sides. With Sunday's defeat, Palermo have confirmed their poor record at the Via del Mare stadium, where they have not won since a resounding 7-1 victory in October 1994 (in Serie B). Fiorentina had to sweat for a hard-fought home victory over Siena in a highly contested Tuscan derby. This was Fiorentina's second ever home win - the first since May 14, 1939 (4-0 in Serie B) - over Siena. Fiorentina's second straight win coincided with Siena's first setback after two wins.

2nd ever win - the first in almost 51 years - for Parma in 15 league visits to Messina's San Filippo stadium. On Sunday, Parma hit late in the game through Australian Mark Bresciano to register their second away win on the trot (following an identical 1-0 success against Treviso). The southerners dominated for long stretches and would have deserved a handsome win. But it was not Messina's day. Bortolo Mutti's side hit the post three times and threw away various scoring chances. On their count, Parma played a containing game and it was only towards the end that they started threatening Messina custodian Marco Storari. For the record, Messina and Parma have not shared the spoils since May 20, 1990 (1-1 in Serie B). Current runners-up Milan struggled to beat relegation-haunted Empoli at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium. Up to the 76th minute, the game was still goalless. But in the last 14 minutes, Milan hit three times to cruise to their fifth straight win. For Empoli this was their fourth winless game in a row (one draw and three defeats).

3 unbeaten games in a row (two successive draws and a win) have helped Reggina stay outside the drop zone. On Sunday, Reggina conquered Treviso's Euganeo stadium for the very first time in four league visits thanks to a Nicola Amoruso last-gasp goal. From the outset, Walter Mazzarri's Reggina renounced to attack, preferring to defend in their own half. Reggina seemed almost happy with a draw. The same could not be said of Treviso, who hustled and bustled in search of a winner from the word go. But football is about taking chances and Treviso did not take any that came their way. At the end, when the first drawn result since September 30, 1956 (0-0 in Serie C) was the likely outcome, Reggina hit a vital winner to strengthen their chances of salvation. In an entertaining encounter in Verona, Chievo and Lazio shared the spoils for the first time in two years to keep their respective chances to book a UEFA Cup berth alive. Chievo, whose most recent home win over Lazio dates back to January 30, 2002 (3-1 in Serie A), are undefeated at home since going down to Inter on September 21.

11 winless games in a row (five draws and six defeats) have seen Udinese taking a nose-dive in the Serie A standings and after the weekend's results, they have precipitated to sixth from bottom, only five points above the relegation zone. On Sunday, Udinese were on the way to beating Ascoli for only the first time in over 11 years as they took a 77th-minute lead through substitute Antonio Di Natale. However, Ascoli, unbeaten in their last six outings (two wins and four draws), never threw in the towel and eventually hit a late equaliser through captain Maurizio Domizzi from the penalty spot. This was only the first drawn result between these two sides since December 1984 (1-1 in Serie A). For the interest of statistics, Ascoli's only win in 11 league visits to Udine dates back to January 31, 1982 (2-0 in Serie A). Roma, on their part, had their run of successive league wins interrupted by Inter as for the second season running they were held at home by the Nerazzurri. Inter's most recent win at the Olympic stadium dates back to May 3, 1999 (5-4).

20 goals were scored on the 28th day: 11 coming from the hosts and the remaining nine from the visitors. Foreign players contributed with seven goals while there were six first-half goals. Neither own goals nor hat-tricks were recorded. Total number of goals scored so far amount to 717. Fiorentina and Italy striker Luca Toni still leads the goalscorers' list with 23 goals (two from penalties). The ex-Brescia and Palermo hitman is now five goals clear of nearest pursuer David Trezeguet, of Juventus.

51 years had to pass for Cagliari to return to winning ways against Livorno at their Armando Picchi Stadium as the Sardinians left it late to record their first away success since beating Lazio 3-2 in November 2004. After a lifeless first-half, Livorno started pressing in search of a much-needed goal. But it was all in vain as Cagliari defended solidly and operated through fast counter-breaks. When Livorno's veteran coach Carlo Mazzone decided to deploy a second striker - Italy U-21 international Raffaele Palladino - with a view to try to win the game, Cagliari hit through David Suazo to inflict on Livorno their first defeat since the ex-Brescia and Bologna mentor took over from Roberto Donadoni. Livorno have not beaten Cagliari at home since their 1-0 win on January 6, 2003. Reigning champions Juventus maintained an assuring 10-point lead at the top of the table, ahead of next Sunday's titanic home clash with Milan, after beating Sampdoria at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium for the second season running. For the Blucerchiati this was their third straight defeat.