Do you remember Juan Iturbe? The Argentinian with a Paraguayan passport joined Roma from Verona as the “new Messi.” His season with the team from Veneto launched Iturbe into the spotlight. All summer long, Juventus and Roma fought over him, and in the end, Walter Sabatini, then Roma’s sporting director, emerged victorious. Today, Sabatini considers Iturbe one of the biggest mistakes of his career. At Roma, Iturbe was like a fish out of water. After just a few months, it was clear to everyone that he was a major flop, despite being the most expensive signing under the new American ownership at the time. Everything that came so easily to him at Verona seemed complicated or clumsy in Roma’s colors.AS Bizarre – Roma’s psychologist leaves club just 20 days after arrivalIt seems that Matías Soulé is facing a similar fate. The young Argentinian played an excellent season—or rather, half-season—with Frosinone, which was enough to make him one of the stars of the transfer market. Daniele De Rossi was very eager to sign Soulé, especially since Paulo Dybala was initially expected to leave for Saudi Arabia. Soulé was envisioned as the centerpiece of a new Roma side set to play in a 4-3-3 formation. Throughout the June transfer window, De Rossi insisted on signing wingers capable of beating defenders one-on-one or creating numerical advantages in the offensive phase. Soulé seemed like the ideal solution. To be fair, there were skeptics who pointed to the case of Iturbe and noted that Soulé had scored only one goal from open play in the latter part of the previous season. Interestingly, in recent days, much has been written about the players Claudio Ranieri needs to revitalize or find a proper role for in the team—except for Soulé, who has received the least attention.Bove won’t be able to play in Italy ever againThe reasons are straightforward: Dybala and Soulé cannot play together due to balance issues in the formation. As long as Paulo is fit, Ranieri will struggle to sacrifice him under any circumstances. There’s also another intriguing detail. Dybala is nine matches away (in which he must play 45 or more minutes) from triggering a clause for an automatic contract extension with Roma. If Roma were to reach the Coppa Italia final or the Europa League semifinals, the required number of matches would increase to 16. Essentially, Dybala faces a conflict of interest: the further Roma progresses in cup competitions, the more games he needs to secure his stay in Rome until 2026, with a salary close to 9 million euros. UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUND 6Wednesday20:45: (1.08) Atl.Madrid (13.0) Slovan B. (20.0)20:45: (1.53) Lille (4.10) Sturm (6.50)23:00: (1.35) Arsenal (5.50) Monaco (10.0)23:00: (1.62) Benfica (4.10) Bologna (6.25)23:00: (3.60) Dortmund (3.70) Barcelona (2.10)23.00: (1.38) Feyenoord (4.80) Sparta Praha (8.50)23:00: (3.80) Juventus (3.50) Man.City (2.10)23:00: (1.28) Milan (6.20) Crvena Zvezda (12.0)23:00: (1.35) Stuttgart (5.30) Young Boys (8.00)***odds are subject to change***
