Paulo Dybala arrived at Roma in July of 2022 with huge expectations, being given one of the most memorable presentations in recent memory. Nearly a year later, it’s fair to say that the Argentinian has lived up to the hype, scoring 18 goals and providing 8 assists in 38 games. However, his injury problems have seemingly followed him from Turin, as Dybala missed 11 league games this season. In his absence, Jose Mourinho’s team have struggled, failing to win in 7 of those 11 games.
Paulo Dybala Dilemma at Roma
Unlocking La Joya
Dybala’s best seasons came between 2015 and 2017 at Juventus, where manager Massimiliano Allegri found the perfect way to unlock the Argentinian. A formation of 3-5-2 allowed Juventus to overload the midfield which freed Dybala from defensive or transitional assignments. The attacking midfielder was able to concentrate fully on the final third and operate in pockets of space behind two out-and-out strikers.
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La Joya‘s form dipped with the signing of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018. This could seem strange as Juventus looked like a better team with the Portuguese legend, but his arrival changed the shape of the team to a four at the back to better suit his strengths. Dybala was then deployed as a second striker or a winger, but his game didn’t translate as well as when he occupied a more traditional number 10 role.
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Lack of Consistency
Despite magical performances by La Joya, Roma’s attack never seemed to figure it out throughout this season. Tammy Abraham followed a career high season for him (27 goals and 5 assists in all competitions) with a very disappointing one (9 goals and 7 assists). New signing Andrea Belotti failed to net at all in Serie A.
Last year’s player of the competition in the UEFA Conference League, Lorenzo Pellegrini, took a big step back in terms of importance in the side, which translated into a rather poor showing in 2022/23. The addition of Dybala to the team seemingly made it weaker as a whole because it relied so much on his individuality, as opposed to last year’s Roma who was much more based on the collective of players.
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Mourinho’s system at Roma resembles Allegri’s but relies much more on Dybala for playmaking and transitioning. That is explained by the quality of Juventus’ midfield at the time (Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal, Miralem Pjanić or Claudio Marchisio to name a few), as opposed to Roma’s current midfield.
The Special One will hope to have fixed this issue with the arrival of Houssem Aouar in the Italian capital. However, the 24-year-old’s game resembles Pellegrini’s. We are yet to see how the pair could play together. The onus will be on Mourinho to find a way to find the right balance in the last third.
Struggles Without Paulo Dybala
Nearing his 30th birthday and with a reported clause of £17.6 million for Italian clubs and only £10.6m for clubs outside of Italy, this transfer window could provide an opportunity for the Italian club to cash in on their star player.
Roma’s clash against Sevilla in the Europa League final was a perfect representation of the team’s current status. Dybala shined in the first half, scoring and creating multiple chances, as Roma looked like the better side. However, Roma couldn’t count on its star player for the whole 90 minutes, who had to come off in the 68th minute due to injury. Roma then fell completely flat offensively and held on for dear life until penalties.
Dybala is undoubtedly Roma’s best player. The team has struggled to make anything happen in his absence this past season. Should Mourinho rest his hopes on a brilliant player who has struggled with injuries, is a question that may be answered in this transfer window, with Chelsea reportedly interested in the Argentine attacker.
It remains to be seen how Roma will line up at the beginning of the season, but it’s imperative they keep their best player and improve the team around him, and allow Dybala to fully exhibit his individual brilliance.
Photo Credit: Emanuela Tardocchi, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
