Aquilani: On the Pitch

By: Stephanie | July 3rd, 2008

Ok, so this is part one of a two part profile on Alberto. The 07/08 season started on a high for Aquilani, after the previous season was restricted due to injury (which apparently happens once a year). In week 1 Roma played Palermo, winning 2-0. Alberto let everyone know he was waiting for his chance to come back and show his worth by scoring a wonder goal from 30meters out, which also happened to coincide with his 100th appearance for the club.
August 26,2007:

In week two Roma played Siena and won 3-0, with Alberto scoring in the 17th minute from another long range shot.
September 2,2007:

Alberto went on to play in games against Reggina, Juventus, and Fiorentina in Serie A, and Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League. He was also chosen by The Don to be part of the September Euro qualifiers. He was chosen to be in the starting line-up on the October 2nd game against Machester United. Then what followed was another lengthy injury…

Years later, when Roma played Atalanta and beat them 2-1, Aquilani made his return. Roma lost to Juve 1-0, and it was after this game that the dumbest fight in Roma history broke out. The squad was at Trigoria training; Panucci and Mexes were talking about tattoos. Alberto told Panucci: “Maybe you should get a tattoo of yourself sitting on the bench in Torino.” Upon hearing this story I thought, “Dumb, but funny.” The fact that Panucci got so mad, that he actually started a physical fight about it, made the whole story that much more entertaining. In case you don’t read The Spoiler, here is a prototype of the tattoo:

He scored his first goal since September on March 1, 2008 against Parma. A day where he was especially pissy towards Francesco.
March 1, 2008:

And here he is PMS’ing:

And then they played Madrid…

It was the second game against Madrid when Alberto caught the eye of Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon. It took about ten minutes after the final whistle for Ramon to make mega money bids for him and Daniele De Rossi. I would say it was a significant moment in Alberto’s career thus far; his name was on a lot of clubs’ wish list after this, and a lot more people knew of him. He played offense, as well as defense, and helped Roma advance past Real. It was my absolute favorite Roma game of the year, and it made me truly believe Roma could win the Champions League title. I was wrong….but it was an excellent game, so here are the highlights anyway.

In May, Alberto was chosen to be in the Azzurri squad for Euro 08. He impressed a lot of people in training, but only got one start of the tournament. I was at a wedding the day Italy played Spain, and got home from the church, literally, just in time for the shoot-out. I was pretty pissed off after that, and didn’t bother watching any of the replay. Therefore, I can’t give my opinion of Aqui’s performance. However, considering the track record of Azzurri squad members who impressed at the Euros, I’m gonna take a wild guess and say his performance was probably below par. Afterwards, in an interview, he did say that he wished he could’ve taken a penalty, because he felt confident his would have went in. He also thanked The Don for giving him a chance to be part of the Azzurri squad. We’ll have to wait and see if Marcello also gives Alberto a chance, but there is a friendly on August 20th, so we don’t have to wait too long. It was also during the Euros that the rumor mill was working overtime about his future; Alberto has yet to sign a contract renewal with Roma as of today. (This worries me.) On Monday, in honor of Alberto’s birthday I will post part 2 of Alberto’s profile; Aquilani : Off the Pitch. Until then, everyone enjoy your weekend! And for all the readers in the US who plan to celebrate this weekend with large sticks of dynamite- be careful. You’re gonna miss your fingers when they’re gone. Ciao a tutti!