In the first leg of AS Roma’s Coppa Italia tie with SSC Napoli, one man stole the hearts of Roma fans with late match antics worthy of a Roman epic. It was Gervais Lombe Yao Kouassi, Gervinho, who proved himself to those who doubted his abilities as a footballer. He contributed not only one of the finest pieces of dribbling to result in a goal this Italian football season; he also managed to be picked out by Alessandro Florenzi to beat his marker for the match winner in the 88th minute of play. He’s had a knack of snatching important victories single-handedly for the Lupi as of late – weeks prior, he was at it again securing the quarter final victory against the Old Lady, Juventus herself in fine fashion. It’s not that this was unexpected of the Ivorian, he is simply fulfilling the potential that he has promised to deliver to the footballing world ever since he burst into the spotlight several years prior.
It wasn’t very long ago in August of 2014 that many an Arsenal supporter were sniggering with delight when they heard the news that their inconsistent and much maligned winger had departed the English capital to join A.S. Roma of the Italian Serie A. Little did they know he would emerge to become one of the capital club’s driving forces in their push for their first piece of silverware since 2008.
The Gunners’ fans were not without good reason for finding displeasure in their expensive signing from Lille in the summer transfer window of 2011. This after all was a man who was supposed to be the star of an Arsenal side trying to overcome the loss of integral squad members like Samir Nasri to rivals Manchester City. His first preseason match began optimistically with a two goal spree in the span of 15 minutes, yet his regular season debut ended in humiliation – sent to the showers early for slapping Joey Barton in the face.
The first season in London for Gervinho was average in general apart from this incident, with occasional flashes of his brilliance on display. His second was marred by injury and also included stints in which he was left out of the entire match-day squad when fit. There was even a stint in which he was forced to play out of position due to a lack of depth in proper strikers. What he is most remembered for is rather unfortunate: Gervinho had attracted a notorious reputation for faulting under pressure when it counted most for Arsenal – Bradford City anyone?
Statistically speaking, he’s scored five goals in 18 league matches as of Week 22 for AS Roma which when taken at face value is not that fantastic for a player of an attacking nature like him. These numbers are actually the exact same as he had last season with Arsenal in total – he only made 18 appearances in last season, a third coming from off the bench. In comparison, he has achieved 18 appearances in much fewer fixtures this time round with only two occasions in which he has been called from the bench.
It must be remembered that Roma is not a team built around Gervinho and neither was Arsenal. Thus, goal scoring is not what has been his greatest asset to Roma – his ability to create chances for others in his opponent’s half is. Seven assists this season so far he’s managed, compared to a total of eight over the previous two with the Gunners. Regarding this, Italian football and Roma legend Francesco Totti has praised his abilities, comparing him to Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of his dribbling technique and the explosiveness which he possesses.
Arguably the biggest difference lies in not his statistics, but his composure. According to Rudi Garcia, Gervinho needs confidence to succeed. This is directly related to playing on a consistent basis – at Arsenal, Gervinho was in constant threat of starting from the bench. He’s demonstrated that he is capable of lining up alongside Francesco Totti and Adem Ljajic in the starting eleven weekly, forcing the breakout star of last season Alessandro Florenzi (who was converted into a winger by Garcia) to be placed in the wings alongside his Italian U-21 compatriot Mattia Destro. The consistency Gervinho has put forth in terms of effort is every bit deserving of this new role he now owns – it’s a culmination of the hard work that he’s put into this season.
It can be said that he will be known as one of the few players mismanaged by Arsene Wenger if his performances for Roma continue along the same trajectory that they have been on. That Rudi Garcia had enough faith in Gervinho to purchase him outright from Arsenal despite his occasional mishaps and an inability to break into the starting lineup says much about the effect a fresh environment and a familiar face can have on a player – Garcia coached Gervinho at Lille to much success.
The first leg of the Coppa Italia match versus Napoli was Gervinho’s party – let’s see if he can maintain his form as Roma navigates through a treacherous week of fixtures, including the Derby della Capitale, (the most heated fixture in Italian football against arch-rivals SS Lazio) and another date with SSC Napoli. The way in which Gervinho danced through defenders, pranced over the keeper and caressed the ball into the net was mesmerizing to put it mildly. It didn’t even matter that he capitalized on 88 minutes – what matters is Gervinho is now ready to carry Roma into the battle known as the UEFA Champions League as one of its Centurions for years to come.
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