Now more than ever: we are all Zaniolo

Let's get ready for the process. Stuff like, "it was better to sell him", "but what a multi-million contract," "he never scores", "he's a spoiled brat", "if someone with money shows up better let him go", and so on and so forth. The accused, it’s not that it takes that long to figure it out, can only be Nicolò Zaniolo, replaced in the match against Lecce after a blow to the head (as Mourinho explained after the game) at the end of a first half in which, let’s be clear, he's been everything less than a factor, another negative test.

Behind the young man who has just turned twenty-three, starts studded with special effects that made us dream, two broken cruciate ligaments and needing as many rehabilitations as well, this year he was supposed to be finally recovered, but then a dislocated shoulder that forced him to stop for a few weeks after initial games caused many to give up hope. In all, he has put together seven appearances (all as a starter), but here is the statistic that is more controversial than any other, zero goals. A number that almost compares to last season, two in the league, six in Europe, moreover four of these embellished by the hat-trick against Bodø and, more, by the one in the Tirana final. 

The numbers, there is little to be done, constitute an impossible charge to refute, even giving the benefit of general extenuating circumstances. But there are not only the numbers in the indictment that the next day's lecturers (the worst) are ready to present to the court. There is the interstage in personal actions that, often and unwillingly, lead to him being subjected to fouls that are then almost always not whistled in his favor. Further, he is not always conducive to fluid team play and that could benefit all, Nico included. There is also a sense of an obvious nervousness that only magnifies the problem (see the silly, not to say worse red card rightly suffered in the final minutes of the match against Betis last Thursday). There is also the impression that the boy, with the arrival of Dybala, is having a hard time figuring out where to position himself on the field. There is a lack of serenity that also deprives him of his courage to try the winning play, as, for example, happened in the first half against Lecce, when Dybala gave him an extraordinary ball, but Nico decided to wait for the ball that was only supposed to be thrown into the net to end up on his favorite left-footer. This resulted in the opposing defender anticipating him and creating an end to any dreams of returning the goal. No, this is not the Zaniolo we had known in his first two seasons with Roma, the boy who had been able to amaze Italy and Europe before Lady Luck decided to block his seemingly unstoppable rise. This is the bad copy of the boy who gave us the impression that he could break the world, who now may fear (given the precedents) that he could be sold in the face of a more or less indecent offer. 

This, above all, is not Nicolò Zaniolo. That is why we say out loud, come on Nicolò. We are all Zaniolo. Because we may be out-of-time do-gooders and incurable optimists, but we remain convinced that the best Roma is imaginable with the special-effects Nico (and with Dybala, let's hope that for the Argentine the injury turns out to be less worrisome than it seemed on the air). For this reason, as well as out of natural sympathy for the boy, including his exuberances, we do not join the trial that has already begun against the twenty-two for some time. On the contrary, we ask to be heard as witnesses in favor of the defendant. Because he gave us the Conference goal. Because of the Zaniolo that we began to know in the early days, we are convinced that somewhere within, he is still there, we just need to have the patience to wait for him, without making him feel, in the limits of what is possible, the breath on his neck of an exaggerated wait. Moreover the legitimate child of the aforementioned special effects. Because the vile people of society deserve to turn from accuser to culprit. Because a contract to be extended and adjusted cannot be an indictment. Because we cannot see a technical reason why Zaniolo cannot score goals. Because putting him in the dock would only add more problems, and the thing would be a detriment to our Roma and the very thought of it makes us cringe. Because he is still only twenty-three years old, two of which were spent dealing with doctors, while only bad thoughts were passing through his head, especially after the second broken cruciate. Because we still, probably in the lowest moment of the still young career of the twenty-two, remain convinced that our dreams of greatness cannot but pass through the recovery of special effects. Because the boy needs above all serenity, not charges. Because that feeling inside Roma certified by the smiles he has given us is the guarantee that the judge will say, "Zaniolo is innocent because he will become a champion."