The Definitive AS ROMA FM 13 guide

Narcos

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Introduction:


The thing that is probably going through your mind right now is: Why? Why should I read this guide? Why on earth should I play AS Roma? Why are they an interesting team to play?
As a gialorossi fan, I’m going to speak from the gut here. I am a passionate AS Roma fan for several reasons.

1) Heroism: Just like in ancient Rome, AS Roma is built on heroes. Great players who play for their team, and genuinely love their team. Players who devote their entire life to one single club. Whose devotion is never tempted by greater international success and shiny riches. Those heroes are Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi. Do I really need to introduce them? Maybe not, but writing about them is pretty fun!

Totti started his first match as a young man in 1993, his skill was clearly visible from the get-go and as the years passed he gained more and more first team experience. At the age of 22 Totti was already a regular and had gained the captaincy of The Luppi. In 2000 renowned coach Fabio Capello built his team around Totti, and played him in a trequartista role. It was to be AS ROMA’s most glorious season, AS Roma won the scudetto and Totti was lauded with praise both nationally and internationally. In that same year, Totti was named Italian Footballer of the year, received his first Ballon d’Or nomination and that was just a taste of things to come. In the following years he gathered many more individual trophies, but always put his beloved Roma first.

Introduction of Roma’s greatest hero: check! Next on the list is Daniele De Rossi. Oh what a player he is. A bit later on, I will describe his abilities in detail. But for now, know that Daniele De Rossi is a complete midfielder, he’s a jack of all trades with good skill in each of his abilities. He’s vice captain of the team and is expected to carry the team upon his shoulders when Totti finally retires. Considering Daniele’s great fitness, he can still wear that captaincy armband a significant amount of time. His ‘job’ on the pitch makes him a less splendorous player than Totti, but his down to earth, make-your-hands-dirty style of play has carried AS Roma and the national Italy team forward. Daniele, just like Francesco has come through the ranks of Roma’s youth project. Many big clubs have tried to tempt him away from Roma, offering him as well as the club huge sums of money, to no avail. A Romanista’s soul cannot be corrupted…

Oh and by the way, check out his awesome leg tattoo!
View attachment 322597


2) Roma Youth:

Roma may have its current heroes, but one must not forget the future, and that future is bright indeed! Through the ranks of Roma’s youth system come Allessandro Florenzi and Alessio Romagnoli. Both of these players are extremely talented, and you’ll have a lot of fun training them to their full potential. But those are only the promising players that come from the Roma youth system, Roma has some other promising youngsters in Marquinhos (what an amazing centre back he is, the kid is just 18 and already tearing it up), Erik Lamela (13 goals and 2 assists so far this season, not bad for a 21 year old) who becomes one of the best attacking midfielders in the game and Tachtsidis (a solid DLP that becomes surprisingly good.

3) Something to play for:

Is this team as good as Chelsea, Barcelona, Man United ect? Not really, but come’ on, we both know you want something to play for. Roma is a team for people who want to build something on solid foundations, not start off as one of the world’s best teams. If you’re looking for a very easy win to the top, then sorry, this team is not for you. If you’re looking for an extreme challenge this team probably isn’t for you either. Roma is a good top tier Serie A team, but you have some way to go before you get to the European top. Nontheless, the tools to build a team like that are there. Alright, enough time wasted on the intro. Are you guys still there? Good, let’s go check out Roma’s players.

La Squadra:

Goalkeepers:

Maarten Stekelenburg:
Maarten is a good solid goalkeeper. He’s certainly not the best keeper around but he’s good enough. You’ll praise him when he pulls one of his spectacular saves, and you’ll curse him when he messes things up.

Roma’s other keepers:
Bogdan Lobont, Curci and Goichceahchachawah (eeeew):
Nothing to see here, move along. Lobont is an ‘ok’ backup keeper but that’s it.

Maarten Stekelenburg: 7/10
Roma’s overall goalkeeping situation: 6/10

Centre Backs:

Leandro Castan:
He’s kinda solid all round. He’s not going to win ‘defender of the year’ though. Nothing much I can talk about here.

Burdisso:
Better already, he’s got some good mental attributes, excels at heading and marking but could use some better tackling. His great mental attributes makes him a good tutor though, so get him to tutor Marquinhos ASAP.

Marquinhos:
Oh how I love this golden boy, in my latest Roma game he just doesn’t stop pushing his limits. He gets better and better every season. During his first season though you should use him as a backup for Castan and Burdisso. Give the kid time to grow and flourish, he’ll reward your patience.

Alessio Romagnoli:
He’s probably not as big a talent as Marquinhos is. But he’s only 17. He’s a diamond in the rough that needs a lot of sharping and shaping. Nevertheless, he can be sharped and shaped but is obviously a long term project. Don’t sell him but loan him out the first year(s).

Roma’s other CB’s: Meh, not worth mentioning.

Leandro Castan: 6/10
Burdisso: 7/10
Marquinhos: 9.5/10
Alessio Romagnoli: 8/10
Roma’s overall CB situation: 7/10

Full- Wingbacks:

Torosidis:
Well, he’s a bit like Castan. Not good enough to mention, not bad enough to forget. Look, he’s solid. You can play him as a full- or wingback and he’ll try and make the best of it.
Ivan Piris:
Again, same thing. He’s solid. However he’s best played as a fullback, seeing his qualities are defensive. Don’t expect him to provide your strikers with crosses though, so put him one short passing with rare crossing.

Federico Balzaretti:
Remember Euro2012? He was splendid wasn’t he? When he officially signed for Roma I was actually quite excited. Well, that seems like a very long time ago now. He’s played a very mediocre season so far in real life, and the newest FM update reflects just that. There are some positives however: his crossing and passing are quite good, and is good defensively too. This guy is your starter on the left side, whatever role you give him.

Dodo:
Is proclaimed as a big talent in real life, but that doesn’t really show in Football Manager. He starts off injured, but can be turned into a good wingback with good acceleration, dribbling, flair and crossing. He’s a good talent, but he’s the sort of talent I give opportunities and then sell once his value goes up. Maybe it’s possible to develop him into a great player, but I haven’t yet.

Roma’s other FB’s/WB’s: None other worth mentioning other than Jose Angel who’s loaned out to R. Sociedad. If you get him back after a season he could be useful to you, but can also be sold for a pretty penny (€6mil).

Torosidis: 6/10
Ivan Piris: 6/10
Ballsacketti: 7/10
Dodo: 7/10
Roma’s overall FB/WB situation: 6.5/10

Midfield:

Depressed already? Good, cause here comes the good news!

Daniele De Rossi:
Sigh… Daniele De Rossi… *Giggle*Giggle*WUB*WUB… I’m married, I’m heterosexual but I have a huge mancrush on this guy. Listen, when he’s fit, you’re playing him, end of story. He’s good at everything he does. You can use him as an anchor man, defensive playmaker, attacking central midfielder, centre back, carpenter, butler, astronaut, fireman, …. Whatever! Just tell him what to do, and he’ll get it done. The guy has like 15 stats above 16 and is one of the best midfielders in the world. Get to know him, use him, love him.

Tachtsidis:

He starts out as a solid player, maybe best used as DLP. He has good physical and technical stats, and with a little training excels at them.

Michael Bradley:

The epiphany of the American virtues: hard work, determination and …. crappy technique. Bradley is a very good player when you play him in the right role. He’s awesome as a ball winning midfielder. He’s also decent as a box-to-box midfielder, but lacks the attacking qualities to make the most of his physical prowess. Notwithstanding, he’s essential to your plans to conquer the world.

Marquinho:
A jack of all trades like De Rossi, but with nowhere the skill De Rossi has. He’s useful cause he can play plenty different positions. Because of that he’s the ultimate sub, but he’s not good enough to start when everyone’s healthy. You can play him as MC, AMC, WM (left), WB (left) and winger (left).
Roma’s other midfielders: Verre and Adamo are talented supposedly, Viviani should be aswel, but I haven’t developed either of these guys to know if they really are.

Daniele De Rossi: 10/10 Complete midfielder.
Tachtsidis: 8/10
Michael Bradley:8/10
Marquinho: 6.5/10
Roma’s overall midfield situation: 8.5/10. Watching De Rossi and Bradley playing together and pushing your opponent’s midfielders around is a joy to behold. Tachtsidis is a promising player to look out for.

Attacking Midfielders:

This is the most promising part of Roma’s team. A lot of talent here.

Alessandro Florenzi:
He’s quite good in a lot of positions, but I like to think of him as Totti’s successor and I play him in centre attacking midfield, I also try to train him as a trequartista. Florenzi is a really good player that will create and score a lot of goals. He’s quite good at free kicks as well, so let him take the free kicks when Totti isn’t around.

Erik Lamela:
One of the best attacking midfielders in the game. After a season or 2 you’ll get offers around the 30mil € for him. Don’t sell him! Let him be like the femme fatale men dream about but can never touch. He plays best as a winger with the inside forward role, train him accordingly.

Miralem Pjanic:
Awesome in real life, but FM just doesn’t like him as much. Excellent AP with great passing and creativity. But he doesn’t become much better than he is, shame really.

Nico Lopez:
Hmmmm, since the latest FM update, the coaching reports tell me he’s got a lot of talent. And he does in real life, but I feel like that’s not really true for FM. After 3 years he doesn’t seem to have developed nicely, even after sufficient opportunities. Maybe I’m wrong though, prove me wrong if you can.

Roma’s other midfielders: Taddei and Perotta: Both are hard working fill inns. Keep them around as backups, you won’t get much for them when you sell them off.

Florenzi: 8.75/10
Erik Lamela: 10/10 Yeah I said it! 10/10!
Pjanic: 7.75/10
Nico Lopez: 5.5/10

Strikers:

Francesco Totti:
Totti is having the season of his life right now, but FM won’t represent that. He’s still good, but has a hard time staying on the pitch in FM. During the second season it gets even worse, FM doesn’t seem to think that Totti can stay on the field much longer than 30 mins, which is a shame. Keep him around for as long as you can, offering him 1 year contracts with reduced wages each time, so he can tutor the new generation, which he is really good at. You want your kids trained by Totti. Nontheless, make use of his phenomenal passing, finishing and long shots.

Pablo Osvaldo:
Good work rate, quite good finishing, strong and ok attributes all round. Pales in comparison to Destro.

Mattia Destro:
Now this is a guy that I LOVE. He’s still young, and will improve a lot, but he can definitely be part of your first season plans. He’s actually quite complete too, and you can mold him into any sort of striker that you like. There is a flipside however, he is still owned by Genoa, and to complete the deal you need to pay them 4.5 mil euros. Make sure you have that 4,5 mil lying around for when his loan contract ends come June.


Totti: 7/10 (for a season)
Osvaldo: 6/10 (he stats aren’t amazing but he does score sufficiently I guess)
Destro: 8.5/10 (starts banging them in almost from the get-go and he has a bright future)

Transfer strategy:

You get 3 million euros, basta.

General Advice:

- On goalkeepers: Look, Stekelenburg’s good enough to start off with, but look for a good young goalkeeper to take over the reigns at some point. May I suggest our chef’s recommendation monsieur? Leali. Or perhaps you want a taste of our delightful Andrada. Leali alors? Tres bien, your Leali will be ready in a season or two monsieur.
- On Tacthsidis: He’s co-owned between Roma and Genoa, but when you get the opportunity to buy him, please do. He’s got a lot of potential and you’ll get him on the cheap.
- Gianluca Caprari is co-owned by Roma. When you’re asked to bid for him by the end of the season, DO SO! It’s an opportunity to get a good player on the cheap. Caprari is an excellent striker, and I think you can get him if you make an offer of 3 million. Pescara will delay the ordeal by a year though, so be warned.
- On Pablo Osvaldo: I don’t know what to make of him in real life, however my stance on him in FM is clear; SELL HIM. You can get 15 to 16 mil euros for him at the least. Spend that money on a striker with actual talent.


OUT:

- Pablo Osvaldo: Excuse me monsieur, may I kindly ask you to leave ze restaurant? This etablissement is for classy people only.
Yeah that’s right, don’t be shy, sell him! You can get 15 million euros for him, minimum. There are a lot of good strikers that you can buy to take his place.
- Miralem Pjanic, kinda pains me to tell you this but it’s for the best. It’s like breaking up with a girlfriend that is no good for you. Pjanic is a good young player, unfortunately in FM, he hardly develops any further. Sell him and you will get 15 million for him, minimum.

IN:

There’s a couple of areas you can strengthen. If you sell Osvald/Pjanic, don’t forget to replace them.
If you’re going to invest in CB’s, I would recommend Bellusci from Catania. You can get him for around 3mil euros.
If you’re going to invest in defensive backs, depending on how you spend your money from Osvaldo and Pjanic, try to get Peruzzi. He’s a very talented kid with excellent stamina and work rate. Just what you need in a defensive back. He’s also a right back, which is where the weakness really lies for Roma.

Tactics:

There are countless amazing tactics posted online. Tactics that will make a provincial side look like Barcelona in space marine suits and on drugs. So I’m not going to discuss any tactics. What I will do, is advise you what sort of tactics you should develop or look for.
Obviously defence isn’t Roma’s forte. So building a tactic on the Roma defence would be a bad idea. Roma’s defence isn’t good enough yet, although it has the foundations to grow into an excellent defence with Marquinhos and Romagnoli.

You should probably base you tactics upon Roma’s attack, and you have the tools for that. Roma has a good attacking trio with Lamela, Pjanic, Florenzi (Totti), so a 4-2-3-1 formation should suit you fine. You could also devise a schema with a 2 striker system. All in all, I think going with 3 attacking midfielders is the best way to go for Roma.


Staff:

I’m only going to note the guys you should keep around:
- Sabatini, Director of Football
- Tovalieri, under 20s manager
- Bruno Conti (!), Head of Youth Development
- Zago, coach
- De Rossi, under 20’s coach
- Chinnici (give him a role other than fitness coach)
- Scala, Fitness coach
- Flammini, physio
- Orazi, Chief Scout

Roma lacks severely in quality scouts, physios and fitness coaches.

Facilities:

Stadium: Roma have a huge stadium with a capacity of 70.634, the flipside however is that they rent the stadium.



They have top training facilities, good youth facilities and good junior coaching with an esablished youth network.

Final words:

It’s been a pleasure writing this guide and I hope this guide achieved 2 things:
- Inform you about AS Roma in FM.
- Tempts you to try AS Roma, when you wouldn’t normally consider them.

Thank you for reading!
 
Quality guide.loved you're part on Daniele de Rossi.
the co ownership thing annoys me in Italy but I'll maybe give them ago after my spurs save.

I do have Lamela 17.5 m fist season buy and Bradley 10.25 2nd season.both have been great buys although Bradley is a dirty boy.26 yellows and 2reds this season but an average rating of 7.50
 
Great guide... Not exactly a "fan" of Roma, but it's the only team that I actually follow closely, after my boyhood club Liverpool.

This guide actually made me wanna give Roma another try. Well played sir.
 
@yorkshirelad11: Haha yeah, the challenge was the objectively describe the team :p .

@talibkweli9: Thanks! First guide, might make more in the future. Yeah Lamela's brilliant, and with high flair, he's the kind of player fans like too. I forgot to mention that De Rossi collects yellow cards, with 20 in agression he has a pretty short fuse and he has some loose elbows :p .

@Chokopop: Yeah I'm playing my 3rd Roma game in FM13 as well. Maybe I should try Liverpool.
 
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