Roma’s 2-1 home defeat to giant-killers Cremonese was notable for a couple of reasons.
One, because it saw one of world football’s greatest ever ‘cup managers’ bow out at the quarter-final stage, a stony-faced Jose Mourinho storming down the tunnel at full-time, barely attempting to hide his evident frustration.
And, two, because it featured the rarest of sights; a Giallorossi goal for Andrea Belotti.
Since joining on a free transfer, the former Torino captain has scored just three times in 22 matches. Considering that he averaged a goal almost every other game in Turin (113 in 251), it’s safe to say Belotti finds himself in unfamiliar circumstances.
Warming the bench; this is something new. He’s not used to this. In fact, the Granata legend is not used to anything expect being, let’s say, the ‘main man on campus’. Under dean Mourinho, however, his role has changed. From star man to substitute.
Roma striker Andrea Belotti turned down Wolves last summer
“Belotti seems to be suffering from this disease we have up front,” Mourinho quipped earlier in the season (The Sun). “Today I saw him do four or five backheels touches. This is not him.”
The bullish, almost brutal finishing that embodied Belotti’s outstanding spell at Torino appears, for whatever reason, to have deserted him in the Italian capital.
“He has to score, with his knee, with his backside, with his head,” Mourinho added. “He has the virus of a playmaking wizard, whereas he just needs to score. That’s it.”
When Wolverhampton Wanderers identified the 2021 European Championship winner as a potential solution to their own goalscoring problems last summer – offering Belotti a £60,000-a-week contract at Molineux (Il Messaggero) – it’s unlikely they wanted the Italy international for his vision or penchant for a heel flick.
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A stripped-back Belotti is about as pure a centre-forward as you’re going to find; all power, precision and pristine finishing. With just two Serie A starts and three goals in all competitions since joining Roma, maybe it’s time for one of Italy’s best modern-day poachers to go back to basics.
“Belotti is one of the best strikers in Europe,” the legendary Fabio Capello said during his 2017 peak (Goal).
The Bergamo-born battering ram scored 28 goals that season.
“He knows how to move,” Capello adds. “He basically knows how to do everything. He’s fast, technically skilled and is probably better than (Serie A icon Gabriel) Batistuta.”
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