It was the sight that no Roma fan wanted to see, but it was pretty unavoidable yesterday: Alisson Becker in a Liverpool shirt.
The Brazilian number one made his Liverpool debut against West Ham on Sunday, just under a month since he completed his move from Roma to the Anfield club. His departure was a massive blow to Roma, after he impressed so much for the Giallorossi in the 2017-18 season.
Despite the support shown to Alisson from the Roma fanbase, it doesn’t seem like the decision to leave the club was one that he made with any difficulty. After Brazil’s World Cup adventure concluded, it took Alisson just 13 days to say goodbye to Roma, with little sign of regret. But could things have turned out differently?
Alisson’s two seasons in Rome were quite different from one another. In his first season, under Luciano Spalletti, he featured only in cup competitions, with Wojciech Szczesny preferred in Serie A. When Szczesny moved to Juventus last summer, an opportunity presented itself for Alisson in Eusebio Di Francesco’s new look Roma. Despite initial doubt over whether Alisson or Lukasz Skorupski would be number one, the former quickly established himself as first choice, and his performances over the season showed why.
As his good form continued, Alisson made an admission. His lack of action under Spalletti could have led to an even earlier exit.
In September, he confirmed: “If I hadn’t had the guarantee of playing, I would have asked to leave Roma.
“This is the most important year of my career. I didn’t want to leave, but I would have had to think of myself and my targets. Now I know that everything depends on me and my performances. Nobody in Brazil, in a World Cup year, has a guaranteed place.
“I didn’t play much due to the decisions of our ex-coach, Spalletti.
“I am a calm boy and I don’t like talking. I didn’t feel comfortable going to him and saying things because he chose to have two high-level keepers and he played me in the cups. He used meritocracy because Szczesny had done well during the first year. Let’s say that I learned to have a bit of patience.”
And there it was. The seed was planted. It seemed a reasonable enough comment at the time, but looking back, it’s clear that the idea of leaving Roma was already in Alisson’s mind. When the opportunity to become the (short-lived) most expensive goalkeeper of all time came this summer, by moving to a side tipped by many to challenge for the Premier League title, his decision to leave Roma was a little easier.
Would Alisson have been more inclined to stay if he had played more in his first year? Perhaps it’s wishful thinking, but there is an argument there. He wouldn’t have had to seek assurances in 2017, and maybe wouldn’t have entertained the idea of leaving so easily. After all, it’s not like Roma weren’t successful last season. There were reasons to stay.
In some ways it’s difficult to discuss with conviction, because Szczesny was very good in his time in Rome. Hence, Spalletti’s reliance on him was understandable. However, it’s clear now that Alisson is the better keeper. Had Spalletti realised that early, Alisson could have featured a lot more in his first season, enough to make him feel more like a part of the club. Then, when the offer to join Liverpool did arrive, he might have considered the option to stay with Roma more carefully, knowing the club had shown faith in him.
Now Roma look ahead to a new campaign with a new look goalkeeping department. Robin Olsen has big gloves to fill, and while expectations are low among some supporters, he has a big chance to enhance his own reputation. In a hypothetical world, Alisson may have stayed with Roma into a third year, but in reality, he has not. Instead, 28-year-old Olsen has been tasked with the responsibility of protecting the Roma goal. Whereas Alisson is competing with the talented Ederson for the Brazil jersey, Olsen is clearly his country’s number one, and therefore perhaps has less to prove to the world. Hopefully, that will lead to a bit more loyalty in the somewhat unlikely event that he also excels enough to earn links to top clubs. It wouldn’t go amiss.
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