Dybala is decisive for Roma: Mou thinks of a soft raise

If you ask who the Beatles were, they will answer Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr. If you really are very curious and want to know who was the most important, someone will tell you John, others Paul, a small niche will swear by George, but hardly anyone will sacrifice themselves for Ringo. For the “Fab Four” of Rome, however, the situation is different. Lorenzo Pellegrini is the captain and the recognized leader, Tammy Abraham is the surprise to find again, Nicolò Zaniolo is the jewel to be polished, but it will be hard to find someone who does not deliver the palm of the most incisive player – if not the champion – to Paulo Dybala. Precisely for this reason, Joya’s management in the first match of the renewed season, that is next Wednesday at the Olimpico against Bologna, could be extremely delicate.

The desire

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The story is clear. Since his injury against Lecce on 9 October, the Argentine forward has played just 51 minutes, spanning three appearances: one against Turin (13 November) and two at the World Cup in the final minutes of matches against Croatia and France. In the first and third appearance, however, his contribution was decisive both in the unforgetable draw against the granata and in the victory on penalties in the most beautiful World Cup final ever, the one against the transalpines. Moral: how can we do without a Dybala right from the first minute who sends Roma flying to an average points of 2.22 per game (against 1.16 without him), who alone scored 27.8% of the goals from the team and who also cut some days off after the Qatar match to return to Trigoria earlier?

The risks

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Yet, despite the fact that José Mourinho was the “engine” of Dybala’s early return, the perplexities of the Special One are understandable. A fact for everyone: since the 2015-16 season, that of his transfer to Juventus, the forward has missed 68 games due to injury, 59 of which in black and white and the rest in yellow and red. Logical, therefore, that the Portuguese coach intends to manage his champion in the best possible way, also because someone like the Argentine is always able to make the difference, despite a “historic” stop due to injuries that is certainly not trivial.

The condition

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What is whispered in Trigoria’s belly is that Dybala’s form is rising day by day. The feeling is that, if it weren’t for these almost three months of hiatus since the last time Paulo was in the starting lineup, the question as to whether or not he can play for Bologna wouldn’t even arise. Now, however, it is different. First of all because already last Sunday there is the big match against Milan at San Siro, one that Joya absolutely would not want to lose. But the real question is another: can Roma, seventh in the standings, which is already frantically climbing towards the Champions League area, afford the luxury of giving up their champion at the start, running the risk of complicating the match? After all, the litmus test of this situation seems to have already been experienced against Turin: without Dybala, a listless and unimaginative team, an adrenaline rush from his entry that at least earned him a draw, even unexpectedly up to a certain point.

The “Fab Four”

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If we wanted to bet one euro, we’d bet on Joya as starter against Bologna, but for Roma this would not only mean finding the team’s most prolific striker, but also potentially dusting off the rock and roll of their “fab four”. So far the Argentine, Pellegrini, Abraham and Zaniolo have only played together for 113 minutes: 68 against Salernitana and 45 against Cremonese. A pittance compared to summer dreams. By the way, Roma won both those two games. If this can be the best possible viaticum for the future, there is no one better than Mourinho to be able to understand it. And the answer, after all, does not seem so difficult to discover.