The conventional opinion on Italian football is that it is tiresomely boring, with Italian teams more than happy to sit on a one goal lead. Particularly with the influx of Italian managers into the English game, ( Roberto Mancini, Fabio Capello, Roberto Di Matteo ) their style has not helped to contradict the traditional view on Italian football. Despite this, there is no doubt to the strength of Serie A in comparison to Europe's top leagues with Juventus' recent domination of Chelsea in the Champions League group stages. The league has also attracted football's most controversial talent in the form of Mario Balotelli - who just days ago opted for a £20 million move to AC Milan.
Those who continue to laud over the dullness of Serie A clearly have not watched AS Roma play. They epitomise all that is enjoyable about football, free form football and a constant willingness to attack no matter the situation. Zdenek Zeman has implemented an unorthodox approach in contrast to the rest of the league and has no shortage of admirers from football pundits. Despite the perceived praise, he is under pressure from the Roma board because the thing of utmost importance escapes the team slightly - consistent results which would propel the team towards European qualification. Throughout the course of the 2012/13 campaign Roma have scored the most goals yet have also conceded the most goals. The term 'Zemanlandia' accurately sums up Zeman's brand of football - 'indicating spectacular attacking football where supporters were unstoppably entertained.'
Zeman is an advocate of the 4-3-3 formation and the characteristics of his team are: a high defensive line (offside trap) , high pressing and wingers with the ability to cut inside and score. Of course this system only works with a wealth of quality players and with the likes of the footballing veterans Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi, who provide Roma's quality in the middle of the park. De Rossi offers the back line an extra shield of support whilst Totti is involved in nearly every attack with his outstanding technical ability. This season, Totti has provided the second highest number of assists behind Napoli's Marek Hamsik. In addition,Roma have also introduced some prodigious talents. Erik Lamela has been a revolution as a winger with pace, power and an ability for crossing and shooting. However Lamela's talent is unlikely to be further developed under the guidance of Zeman as Roma lost 4-2 at home to a Cagliari side battling to escape the relegation places; placing the Czechoslovakian's job under major doubt.
Although Roma's football is impressive, it is not as effective as the gargantuan of Italian football - Juventus, who remained unbeaten throughout the entirety of the 2011/12 Serie A season. Continuing on the progress made in their previous campaign, Juventus are three points clear atop of Serie A and have developed their impervious defensive record further with the least goals conceded in the league so far. Juventus are however, more defensively minded perhaps, but still play with an attacking flair under Italian manager Antonio Conte. Regularly, Juventus employ a 3-5-2 formation with three established centre halves in Giorgio Chiellini, Leonardo Bonucci and Andrea Barzagli. The two wing backs are integral to the 3-5-2 set up and can evolve it can evolve into either five defenders or five midfielders, giving Juventus fantastic versatility depending on the situation. Juventus have scored just one goal less than Roma but have conceded just sixteen goals compared to Roma's forty two.
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