Juventus\u2019 final game before Christmas arrives is a rather important one, with one of Serie A\u2019s biggest early-season surprises making their way to Turin to try and keep their positive momentum going.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
In just four months at Roma, Gian Piero Gasperini has turned the Giallorossi into one of Europe\u2019s best defensive units. Gasp\u2019s squad certainly comes with its faults \u2014 namely: goal scoring \u2014 but they have continued to win games despite the fact that they aren\u2019t firing on all cylinders in attack like we\u2019ve seen with so many of his Atalanta teams of the past. But they will arrive in Turin in fourth place, four points ahead of fifth-place Juventus in a matchup between two of the true managerial veterans in Serie A right now.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
As is the case whenever Juventus are facing a team another team from the SBN Italia corner of the internet, we like to bring in one of our best friends of the blog to answer some questions. And here, as we like to do when Juventus face Roma, we bring in the leader of the Chiesa Di Totti team, Mr. Bren himself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Considering how Roma are doing so far this season, you can probably guess that he\u2019s in a good mood during our chat. Or maybe just the fact that Roma have been one of the most successful clubs in Italy for the entirety of the 2025 calendar year. Certainly have gotten more points than Juventus over the last 11 1\/2 months!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
So let\u2019s not wait any longer. Let\u2019s see what Bren has to say about his favorite club from the Italian capital.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
BWRAO:<\/strong> We enter this matchup with Roma ahead of Juventus in the Serie A table. They\u2019ve got, statistically, an incredibly strong defense that has allowed the fewest goals in Europe. The new manager has made a real impact after everything the man he replaced did to resurrect last season. How are the Roma vibes right now?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n CDT: <\/strong>\u201cThe man he replaced.\u201d Are we not allowed to say his name? Is Claudio Ranieri the Voldemort of Serie A!?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Kidding aside, the vibes are incredibly positive, and the turnaround in results and mentality began when Sir Claudio rescued the club from the early-season relegation zone last fall. The problem, at least in terms of vibes, is that Gian Piero Gasperini\u2019s vaunted attack has seldom shown its face at Roma, leaving some fans disappointed by the lack of entertainment value and worried about results \u2014 gutting out one-nil wins isn\u2019t the wisest long-term strategy. Still, they\u2019re making it work so far.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n That said, Gasp\u2019s defense has been breathtaking. He\u2019s worked his magic with Gianluca Mancini, Evan Ndicka, Zeki Celik, and Mario Hermoso at the back, while Mile Svilar has established himself as the league\u2019s best keeper and one of the finest in all of Europe.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n BWRAO:<\/strong> OK, we\u2019ll get the other half of the manager matchup out of the way now. This obviously won\u2019t be the first time that Luciano Spalletti will manage against Roma. But this will be the first time he will be going against Roma at Juventus<\/em>. Does that make it any more strange or is the simple fact that he\u2019s been a few places before landing in Turin ease all that by a lot?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n CDT: <\/strong>I mean, he pissed off Roma fans enough with his poor handling of Francesco Totti\u2019s final days at Roma, but had he moved straight to Juve… oof, I can\u2019t even imagine the scenes when he returned to the Stadio Olimpico. But yes, I\u2019d say that having a few other gigs since leaving Roma has eased some of the animosity. I\u2019m still a Spalletti fan–he\u2019s gotten Roma closer to a Scudetto than any manager since Capello, who led Roma to their most recent Scudetto over 20 years ago.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n BWRAO:<\/strong> The stats say Paulo Dybala hasn\u2019t done much this season. Is it safe to say he\u2019s no longer a centerpiece of this team? Or am I missing something here?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n CDT: <\/strong>Well, the sheer mileage on his legs always meant his role would diminish over the years. Still, with a new manager in the mix and his usual spate of muscular injuries, his decline (or at least his declining influence) seems to have accelerated. I\u2019ve always maintained that, if properly managed, Dybala could be Roma\u2019s second-half ace in the hole, an absurdly talented player who could turn a match on a dime, even if he plays only 20 to 30 minutes, much as Totti did in the 2010s.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n There\u2019s still a chance he becomes that, unless he goes to Boca (which I would love as a passive Boca fan). Ultimately, this is just a cold war between Dybala and Roma, who would love to keep him at a significantly <\/em>reduced rate. In the end, the choice is up to Dybala: Does he want a smaller role at a large European club or to be \u201cthe man\u201d back home?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I hope he stays. As Juve fans know, he\u2019s infectious and impossible to root against.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n BWRAO:<\/strong> On the other hand, another Argentine who came from Juventus, Matias Soul\u00e9, appears to be picking up where he left off to finish last season. How has he continued to grow under Gasp so far this season?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n CDT: <\/strong>Man, he\u2019s a joy to watch, isn\u2019t he? He moves so smoothly and effortlessly through the defense; there\u2019s a lot of Dybala in him. I\u2019m not even sure whether his performance this season is a direct result of Gasperini\u2019s tactics, though that\u2019s certainly a factor. Once the club acquires more attacking talent, Gasperini will be able to make better use of Soul\u00e9\u2018s vast skill set. I\u2019m not sure he\u2019ll ever be a prodigious goal-scorer, but he already plays such a pivotal role in creating chances and as a connective player linking the midfield to the forwards…you know, once we get a functional striker.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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