Roma Review 2017, Part 3: Perotti leaves it late to seal second place

Daniele Trombetta / @Dtrombetta87: “Diego Perotti's goal was a release from the fear of not being able to secure second place after the highs and lows of the second half of the season - and disappointment in the cup competitions - because Napoli kept winning all the time. The last game at home to Genoa was an easy one on paper so it was seemingly a simple opportunity to wrap up second place but at the same time that was dangerous. As it turned out the fear almost ruined the party. Almost...”

Francesco Costa / @francescocosta: “It was a feeling of unrestrained joy because we all knew it meant more than just the three points and second place – it was about ensuring the greatest Roma player of all time could enjoy a worthy end to his career and it meant we could all concentrate on nothing but Francesco Totti after the final whistle. Those desperate long balls pumped into the box in the dying minutes rarely come to much good, even less often when Roma try it and never when there's so much on the line in a game where we'd complicated things for ourselves. When you watch that goal back, it's amazing just how calmly [Federico] Fazio, [Edin] Dzeko and [Diego] Perotti dealt with the most important chance of the season – followed by that explosion of joy among the players and fans. You won't see something like that again."

Bren / @BrenCdT: “It was thrilling and a massive relief all at the same time. Qualifying and staying in the Champions League is such a crucial part of modern football. Failing to do so, even if only for one season, can set you back years economically speaking, so Perotti’s goal was worth its weight in gold.

John Solano / @Solano_56: “I was ecstatic. I wanted Roma to avoid the Champions League qualifying play-off at all costs. Given that the qualifiers are in August, a team has yet to find their stride and few teams are ever in form at that point.”

@BrenCdT: “It was absolutely critical to Roma’s long-term health so we can’t undersell how important Diego’s goal was to everything we’d seen in the ensuing seven months. Finishing first and winning the Scudetto would have been an unbelievable end to Totti’s final season, but the real goal was always qualifying for the Champions League. Without that security, there would be no Patrik Schick purchase and more players may have even been sold.”

@francescocosta: “It was a crucial victory because if Roma are to keep growing we need regular Champions League football and the new stadium. Direct qualification was important both for financial reasons and for football reasons, and more than ever the two things are intertwined. We have to be playing in the Champions League to attract the best players and to keep the ones we have already, but more importantly it's where we ought to be. We must feel comfortable playing in it too. Besides everything else, the Champions League is a tournament where experience of playing in top-level matches makes all the difference. Roma couldn't afford to be excluded from it – or risk being excluded from it – two seasons in a row."

Wayne Girard / @WayneinRome: “I felt like I was going to faint. It was the opposite of a panic attack – it was salvation and even when Italy won the World Cup, I hadn’t experienced that feeling. It meant everything. If Roma didn’t qualify, Financial Fair Play would surely have required the sale of some more players and the squad would not have been strengthened in the same way.”

“Finishing second was crucial, both to make up for the disappointment of going out of the cups and to give the new coach coming in the chance to prepare for the new season without having to rush things or play a make-or-break Champions League play-off in August.”

- Daniele Trombetta

@BrenCdT: “We achieved a club-record point total, so I’d say we deserved more, but we did just enough down the stretch to hold off Napoli, so you’ll get no complaints from me!”

@Solano_56: “Roma absolutely deserved second, especially after their form in the winter and early spring.”

@francescocosta: “Clearly I'm biased but I do think Roma deserved it – and that's taking nothing away from the quality of football Napoli offer up. Napoli are a wonderfully talented side but they're very closely tied to the ideas of the coach and the ability of a small group of players. Roma are a great team and have remained a great team in recent years with a clear identity and a large group of players, while playing under two coaches with very different methods. They showed they were better last season by beating Napoli at the San Paolo and staying above them in the table most of the season. It was an exceptional campaign: we set a new record for consecutive home wins, began the run of away wins which extended into 2017-18, won both games at San Siro and Dzeko scored 39 goals...”

@WayneinRome: “It was what the club deserved. The team ran a sprint in the first half of the season but couldn’t keep up in the marathon. In the end, it was our heroes like Radja Nainggolan and Edin Dzeko that maintained our position throughout the latter half of the year.”

@Dtrombetta87: “Roma definitely deserved second place. We knew it would be a two-horse race for second as Juve were too far in front. Roma got the job done in the league by staying strong when the going got tough and picking up some big points at very difficult grounds.”

Andrea Cardoni / @andrecardoni: "I don’t know if it was a question of deserving it, but it was the result of a long year that began with the disappointment against Porto and then another against Lyon. The Roma v Genoa match, more than just a game, was a drama written by a novelist, a talented but evil one. Everything that happened in that game turned out the way we wanted it to be - for once. From the video looking back at Agostino Di Bartolomei that was shown on the big screens, to the airplane that flew over the Olimpico just before the game kicked off, the goal scored by De Rossi, the captain, and Totti coming on. Then there was Perotti’s goal and all the players in front the Curva. In and amongst that [Kevin] Strootman broke a photographer’s fold-up chair (though I did feel a bit sorry for the photographer). It was the sort of match Roma are known for."