Opinion: Goals just one part of Kolarov's immediate impact

Another weekend, another match, and another instance where the only thing missing for Aleksandar Kolarov was the red cape as he, once again, played the role of hero in Roma’s crucial 1-0 victory against Torino on Sunday.

The Serbian has played a crucial role early into his Roma tenure, almost instantly becoming one of the most consistent performers for Eusebio Di Francesco as his impact is being felt both on and off the pitch.

When the Serbian arrived this summer, there was certainly understandable trepidation from the fans’ perspective given the left-back’s history with arch-rivals Lazio. But it has taken Kolarov all of two months to quell any of the doubts over his commitment to the shirt or his new team.

Kolarov’s early impact with the Giallorossi is difficult to put into perspective, given just how impressive he has been in his early days. The former Manchester City man has started in all eight of Roma’s Serie A matches and only once has he not played the full 90 minutes.

It’s the same story in Roma’s Champions League campaign: of the three matches Eusebio Di Francesco’s men have played, Kolarov has played the full 90 minutes in each of them, as he leads the team in minutes played this season.

Despite the high workload, he continues to perform at a sensationally high level while delivering sublime performances again and again: he has three goals and four assists to his name in eleven matches in all competitions, making him the Giallorossi’s second leading scorer this season.

Given the ongoing absence of Emerson Palmieri, who continues to recover from the knee injury he suffered on the last day of last season, Roma were in dire need of a steady presence at the left-back position, and Kolarov has lived up to everything that fans and the club could have asked for.

The 31-year-old has displayed the utmost professionalism ever since his arrival and has brought a sense of seriousness - first seen in his transfer announcement video - and grit to the team.

After scoring the winner against Torino, Roma manager Eusebio Di Francesco echoed this sentiment when praising the Serbian stating, “He has fantastic technical ability, but the thing I like most is his mentality.”

As Roma’s season marches on, it appears that Di Francesco will continue to lean on Kolarov, and continue to task the Serbian with steadying the Giallorossi’s left flank. Roma have three very important matches in the next seven days and it’s certainly possible that Kolarov will be handed the starting nod in all three.

Kolarov will celebrate his 32nd birthday on November 10, but he has shown no signs of slowing down or wanting to rest. The Serbian has been a welcome presence both on the pitch with his fantastic performances and off the pitch with his superb mentality, which certainly seems to have been transmitted to his teammates.

In a sport where there are so many question marks and uncertainties, Aleksandar Kolarov is proving to everyone that he is anything but.