5 Reasons Why Roma Can Now Go All the Way and Win the Champions League
Roma are very much seen as the underdogs in the Champions League semi finals and most Liverpool fans will probably be glad to be drawn with the Italians in the last four as it meant avoiding both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
But I Giallorossi are a force to be reckoned with and underestimate them at your peril.
This is five reasons why Roma can go all the way and win the Champions League this season.
5. One Impossible Challenge Is Already Behind Them
Only two other teams in the history of the Champions League had ever won a knockout tie after trailing by three or more goals after the first leg prior Roma's heroic comeback against Barcelona - Deportivo La Coruña in 2003/04 and Barça themselves just last season.
The fact that Roma managed to overturn a 4-1 deficit against a team like Barcelona, who could very well soon become the first ever team to go unbeaten in a 38-game La Liga season, will give them huge confidence that they can now genuinely beat anyone.
4. Proven Winners & Top Talent
Roma have the perfect combination of experienced, proven winners and fresh young talent.
Club captain Daniele de Rossi won the World Cup with Italy in 2006. He was also a Euro 2012 finalist, an Under-21 European Championship winner and was present for back-to-back Coppa Italia triumphs in 2007 and 2008 - Roma's only major trophies since 2001.
Edin Dzeko is a proven goalscorer at the elite level and has netted six times in the Champions League this season alone. He has league titles in Germany and England and no other player has ever scored 50 or more league goals in Germany, England and Italy.
Aleksandar Kolarov also won trophies in England alongside Dzeko, while 29-year-old Radja Nainggolan is seen by many as one of the best central midfielders in Europe.
Add to that the very effective Alessandro Florenzi, now in his peak years at 27, coveted centre-back Kostas Manolas, Brazil number one Alisson Becker and 20-year-old starlet Cengiz Under, and this is a very talented group of players.
3. The Manager
In Eusebio Di Francesco, a member of Roma's 2000/01 Serie A winning squad, the Giallorossi have a manager who was notoriously hard working as a player and has proven his coaching ability over a number of years working at a lower level to get to this moment.
He made a name for himself at Sassuolo upon taking over in 2012, first leading the club to the top of Serie B and later miraculously keeping them up in Serie A. Sassuolo, who had never been higher than the third tier until 2008, then qualified for the 2016/17 Europa League under Di Francesco's guidance and made it through qualifying to the group stage.
He was hired by Roma last summer and this is his debut Champions League season. That never stopped Louis van Gaal (Ajax), Jose Mourinho (Porto), Pep Guardiola, Luis Enrique (both Barcelona) and Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid) going all the way at their first attempt.
2. Liverpool Have Weaknesses
If Roma can find a way to beat Liverpool in the semi final, it comes down to a one off game against either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich. And given what happened against Barcelona at Stadio Olimpico, we already know they have it in them to beat anyone on their day.
The key is getting to Kiev, first. And Liverpool are far from bulletproof despite comfortably putting Manchester City out of the competition themselves.
The Reds are still not strong enough defensively - they have conceded a minimum of eight* goals more than any of the Premier League top five this season, as well as Burnley. Their frailty in that department was horribly exposed in the opening minute of the quarter final second leg, but City simply didn't exploit it enough in the rest of the game.
What will be crucial is finding a way to nullify Liverpool's attacking threats. But it is doable, as Manchester United showed in a recent Premier League game.
1. It's About Time
Of the final four, Roma are the only club that hasn't yet won the European Cup/Champions League. They have never even reached the semi finals before now in the Champions League era, while their only final appearance in the European Cup came in 1984 against Liverpool.
Roma's only European trophy to date of any kind was the 1961 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, a forerunner to the UEFA Cup and what is now the Europa League.
*Figure accurate on date of publication