Page 3 - AS Roma

18th November 2016. By Edward Stratmann.
With AS Roma in need of defensive reinforcements in the summer, due to Antonio Rudiger's nasty knee injury, plus the departures of Lucas Digne, Maicon and Leandro Castan, the club turned to Juan Jesus.

Joining from Inter Milan on an initial loan fee of €2 million, with an €8 million obligation to buy if certain parameters are met, the deal seemed reasonably logical, despite his time at Inter being rather mixed. After all, Jesus can play, not only at centre-back, but also at left-back. In addition, once the injured Rudiger returned, he'd be an adequate backup and give Roma some important squad depth.

Upon new signing, Mario Rui, suffering a devastating ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, the club would've been additionally grateful they'd signed Jesus, who could now provide vital cover at left-back too. But unfortunately, whether playing in central defense or as a fullback, the Brazilian has largely flattered

There may be a few other kit manufacturers on the battlefield-like Puma or the newly involved New Balance-but for the most part, Adidas and Nike are the rulers of the football kit market. Ahead of the 2015/16 season, these two sporting gear companies held nine of the 11 most valuable kit manufacturing contracts in all of soccer. Judging just on contract price, Adidas was winning the battle at the start of the season, holding all four of the most valuable kit deals (Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Chelsea, and Real Madrid). Nike's top soccer properties, meanwhile-Barcelona, Manchester City, and Paris Saint Germain-aren't quite as high-grossing, since those deals were all signed two or more years ago.

But what about aesthetic and performance? Whose jerseys look better this season and whose kits have been worn by the better-performing football clubs? Read on for Soccer Box's rundown of who made the better football kits for the 2015/16 campaign.

By Edward Stratmann.
AS Roma's capture of William Vainqueur on the summer transfer window's deadline day was a fascinating one.

Having come up through the Nantes youth academy, which he joined in 2002, he subsequently went on to make his Ligue 1 debut for the club in 2006. Vainqueur quickly established himself as a key player for The Canaries, but after 92 appearances spanning a five year period, he felt it was time to move on.

Standard Liege jumped at the chance to sign the imposing midfielder and duly secured his services in August 2011, paying just a €1.7 million transfer fee and handing him a five year contract. His time in Belgium was unquestionably a success, with his imposing performances in the middle of the park ensuring he was a mainstay of a talented Liege side at the time that featured the likes of Michy Batshuayi, Imoh Ezekiel and Paul-Jose M'Poku, now of Chievo Verona.

Winning the

There was a month or two earlier this season where it looked like Juventus might stumble in their pursuit of a fifth consecutive Serie A title. Now, after 21 weeks of play in Italy's top-flight football league, the Zebras are just two points off the lead. Furthermore, Juventus have now won 11 Serie A matches in a row, and 13 of their last 14 games across all competitions.

Even last season, when Juve never left the top Serie A spot after taking up residence there in week four, the soccer club never managed an 11-game winning streak. In fact, the last time Juventus was in this kind of undefeated mode was in the middle of the 2013/14 Serie A campaign, when they won 12 games in a row from late October to late January. The Zebras, of course, won that league campaign with a record 102 points-17 points more than their nearest competitors, AS Roma.

In the Spanish La Liga, five points currently separate the top four clubs on the standings table. In the English Premier League, the top-four spread is six points. In the German Bundesliga, it's 17 points. In the French Ligue 1, it's 24. Compare those figure to the Serie A, where just three points separate the top four soccer clubs on the league standings table, and it's clear to see that Italy's top-flight division is the fiercest competition in all of European football this season.

Indeed, fueled by the early season struggles of Juventus and the comeback of Inter Milan, the Italian Serie A has been an unpredictable battle this season. As of the matches played during the weekend of January 9^th, Napoli are leading the way in the league with a tally of 41 points. Juventus and Inter Milan are two points back, with Juve enjoying the advantage thanks to superior goal difference. Fiorentina round out the top four, with a point tally of 38.

By Greg Lea.

2012/13 was a season to forget for supporters of AS Roma.

Ultra-attacking boss Zdenek Zeman was unsurprisingly sacked in February with the capital club languishing in ninth place, closer to the relegation zone than Juventus at the top of the table. Caretaker manager Aurelio Andreazzoli then steadied the ship and secured a top-six finish, but a 1-0 defeat to bitter rivals Lazio in the final of the Coppa Italia meant the campaign ended in the worst manner possible.

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It is fair to say that most onlookers were therefore not predicting much from the Giallorossi in 2013/14. New coach Rudi Garcia quickly settled into his surroundings at the Stadio Olimpico, however, with Roma winning their first 10 games to sit top of the pile with over a quarter of the season gone. Five

By Matthew Amalfitano.

The transfer window is almost upon us and Italian clubs are already on hot pursuit of talented players to reinforce their respective squads for the second half of the season. After slow starts, Napoli and Juventus find themselves within the first four places. Leaders Inter and Fiorentina have perhaps been the most surprising of the top teams while Roma and Milan round out the top six.

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Here's an overview of what areas clubs should invest in during the January transfer window:

Inter

Roberto Mancini arrived in November of last year to replace Walter Mazzarri and quickly began to form the squad of his liking in the subsequent transfer window. Further additions were introduced

For the first part of the 2015/16 Serie A season, it seemed as if Juventus' reign at the zenith of Italian soccer was about to come to an end. The Zebras entered the season as just about the surest bets in the world: not only were they carrying four consecutive Serie A titles (and going for a fifth), but they were also the reigning holders of the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italia, and were fresh off a runner-up finish in the UEFA Champions League.

And yet, when Juventus kicked off their 2015/16 campaign, they didn't look like the decorated football club they are. Week one brought a 0-1 loss against Udinese-and at home, no less. Week two and week three were hardly better, bringing a loss against Roma and a draw with Chievo, respectively. The Zebras finally won a game roughly a month into the season, winning 2-0 at Genoa. But subsequent losses

By Matthew Amalfitano.

The big theme over the past few years in the peninsula has been the desire for Italy to regain their fourth Champions League spot back, having lost it after the 2011/2012 season.

A substantial reason in how Germany overtook Italy in UEFA's coefficient ranking system stem from a large lack of concern towards Europe's second premiere club competition, the Europa League. Italian clubs saw the competition simply as a waste of resources given the previous winners of the competition did not receive a direct place in the Champions League group stage. Thus, coaches often fielded weaker sides to keep their squad fresh and avoid injury.

This factor coupled with generally mediocre Champions League performances over the past five seasons that have seen just two quarterfinal and one finalist appearance, has aided in the deterioration of the country's ranking, even coming close to being overtaken by France and or Portugal.

Competitive play won't resume in the 2015 2016 UEFA Champions League until well into the New Year, but already, fans are getting excited for the next stage of Europe's most prestigious club football tournament. On Monday, December 14^th, the UEFA announced the draw for the Champions League 2016 round of 16, with the first leg matches to take place on February 16^th, 17^th, 23^rd or 24^th and second leg matches scheduled for early to mid-March. Let's take a look at the match-ups!

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The Games to Watch

Probably the highest profile draw for the round of 16 is the match-up between Bayern Munich and Juventus. Bayern won five of their six group stage fixtures, only dropping one game (against Arsenal). Juventus, meanwhile, have struggled