“A scudetto in Rome is worth 10 in Milan or Turin”.
This is one of Fabio Capello’s most famous quotes in his career as coach, highlighting the difficulties for teams outside the north of the country to claim Italian football’s biggest prize.
A 2012 summer of rebuilding was in store for Roma after a disappointing seventh-place finish last season.
Coach Luis Enrique was shown the backdoor and in came Zdenek Zeman, fresh from leading Pescara back to the top flight after an absence of almost two decades.
For the 65-year-old Prague-born mentor, this is his second stint at Roma, having guided the side to fourth- and fifth-place finishes in 1997/98 and 1998/99.
Although much was expected from the side this season, so far the Giallorossi have been largely unimpressive.
They did well to beat Inter 3-1 at the San Siro but Zeman’s team also conceded a heavy defeat to Juventus (1-4) and threw away a two-goal lead at home to Bologna in a 3-2 upset.
The 3-0 win over Cagliari came as a result of a controversial walk-over, following infringements by the Sardegna outfit, and Roma had to sweat to beat modest Atalanta in their last match before the international break.
Roma’s uneasy start is not typical of teams coached by Zeman, who usually get their campaign going on a high.
The fans now fear that the series of low-key performances and off-field problems would persist and result in another year of utter frustrations.
The Giallorossi are currently trailing joint-leaders Juventus and Napoli by eight points and four adrift from city rivals Lazio.
At home, Roma have already conceded vital points to less-fancied opponents and their performances were anything but convincing, managing just one win from four showings at the Stadio Olimpico.
Their defence has already leaked 11 goals and that’s not an encouraging record either.
Although Zeman’s attacking style promises a lot in terms of entertainment, his team have left much to be desired in terms of style and quality.
To make matters worse, it seems that in the dressing room things are not too rosy as well for Roma.
Zeman’s decision to drop Daniele de Rossi in their last game against Atalanta left many fans bewildered.
De Rossi, the influential midfielder brought up from the club’s youth ranks, is held in high esteem and considered as the natural heir to Francesco Totti’s captaincy when the latter decides to stop.
Off the field, the outspoken Zeman stirred controversy when hitting out at football federation chief Giancarlo Abete, describing him as “football’s enemy”.
Last month, he also blasted Juve coach Antonio Conte for his in-volvement in the latest match-fixing scandal to hit the Serie A.
But, many are now advising Zeman to stay away from stormy debates and concentrate solely on his job at Roma.
Indeed, with the team not figuring in UEFA competitions this season, Roma could have achieved much more than they did so far in Serie A.
In the absence of a turnaround in the team’s fortunes, one would not be surprised if rumours that Zeman would soon be sacked and replaced by ex-Lazio coach Delio Rossi will materialise.