How Will Paulo Dybala Help Roma? - Player Spotlight
Paulo Dybala is a strong and priceless edition to Roma's squad - but how will Dybala help Roma?
When a person utters the words ‘It’s just a game’. Show them the image of AS Roma fans welcoming Paulo Dybala at the Colosseum square in Rome. This is the kind of frenzy and hysteria that marquee signings cause, and Paulo Dybala is certainly one. But how will Dybala help Roma?
Role:
To answer ‘How will Dybala help Roma’ his tactical and positional role must be broken down.
Dybala was listed as a right-sided attacking midfielder in Roma’s listed 3-4-2-1. In the image above, it shows that in principle that is true and Dybala will most likely be playing that goal-scoring but also facilitating role, similar to what Bruno Fernandes did in his first season at Manchester United.
Like most Mourinho systems, the attacking structure is quite versatile. Dybala’s role will also be quite similar as he will roam quite frequently. Here he collects the ball at the right-wing position but also deep in midfield – giving him options to link with the 4-man midfield but also drive into space and start attacks.
Here is another great example of the same thing. But what this also highlights is Dybala’s natural goal-scoring instinct. Tammy Abraham and Pellegrini did the bulk of the scoring last season but the signing of Dybala as a natural goal-scorer, it will definitely help Roma’s goal production.
This is also a very interesting structure here. Tammy Abraham as seen last year with Roma is great at going deep and holding up the ball almost a Harry Kane esque role which is why Southgate loves him in the England set-up as well. He can be seen doing that here and then Dybala proceeds to take the centre-forward role like his Juventus days – once again just a pinpoint of how versatile his position is with this Roma set-up and how he and the rest of the attack will be a nightmare to defend due to the different positions they can get into.
Another key aspect to Dybala’s success will be how well the partnership with the likes of Abraham and Zaniolo gels. From early signs it seems to be pretty good- there was this one eye-catching play in the first half of Roma’s opener where Tammy Abraham held up the ball and slotted it to the right side to Dybala who found the open space Zaniolo was in due to the men that Abraham drew out, while Zaniolo did squander the chance it was a great play which signals how Dybala could help Roma – in a positive way.
His impact in the first game however was minimal. His attacking output was at the 13th percentile which isn’t ideal as he is a creative cog. However, to judge him even in a hyper judgemental age is quite premature. It is completely valid for Dybala to take time to accustom to the style of play in Rome but also it may have just been an off-night out.
Adam Digby brought up an interesting point when exploring Dybala’s role- the kind of roaming role that he has been given under Mourinho requires great tactical discipline and awareness. Dybala has played under various systems in Argentina and Juventus and his tactical discipline is not something he is known for. How he excels in his role will be an intriguing narrative for the rest of this season.
In general, the success of Dybala is one of the intriguing aspects of this season. In a World Cup year and the promise that Argentina has under Lionel Scaloni will probably make this one of the most important in recent times for Argentina. If Dybala reaches a level of stardom in Qatar later this year, he may give his country a great chance to win it. His role at Roma is one that can give him confidence for the marquee tournament in November, but, more importantly, can inject X-factor into Mourinho’s team and give them a potential outside chance at challenging for a Scudetto.
Massive thanks to SmarterScout and Adam Digby for their great work which helped form parts of this piece. Please check them out through the hyperlinks in the piece.