3x3: Roma’s best import, VAR and the most competitive league

Matt Walden, Joseph Genova from ASRomaNow, and Ross Catanzariti are put on the spot with three topical football questions…

The Roma Question: Who is Roma’s best-ever foreign import?

Matt Walden / @mattwalden37: “I’m going to have to go with Falcao. There was greatness in him and it manifested itself on the field with titles in the early 1980s.”

Joseph Genova / @ASRomaNow: “Roma's best foreign import would undoubtedly be Gabriel Batistuta. Not because he was on Roma during a time of success, but he's one of the best finishers I've had the pleasure of watching, and he had fun doing it. I'd also give Erik Lamela a special shout-out (feel free to come back to Rome!).”

Ross Catanzariti / @bosco08: “Really, really tough as Roma have had many fantastic imports. Let's go for a top three that I've seen: number one is Aldair. Brazil is renowned for attackers, but he was one of the best defenders in an era filled with Italian giants. Number two is Batistuta, who was one of the finest ‘number 9s' in the 1990s. Number three is Nainggolan – he’s a modern football warrior, one of the finest box-to-box midfielders in Europe.”

The Serie A Question: Has Video Assistance Referee (VAR) helped or hurt the league?

@mattwalden37: “Honestly, I think it’s too early to tell. But I’m a purist and am OK with human error being a part of games, so at this point in time, I’m leaning towards the opinion that it hurts the game.”

@ASRomaNow: “VAR hasn't hurt nor benefited Serie A, if anything it's just stirred up more controversy. VAR was brought to essentially perfect the officiating of the game, meaning no bad calls on the referee's behalf, no bad cards given, and to double check if somebody dove or if there was contact. But, it isn't doing that – the referee still chooses when to go review the decision. I can think of multiple times this season that I was convinced VAR would be used, but it wasn't at all. I also live with a household full of Juventus fans, and VAR has worked against them on more than one occasion.”

@bosco08: “VAR has helped in a way, but takes way too long to make a decision and really detracts from the spectacle of the game.”

The General Football Question: Which of the big five leagues in Europe is most competitive this season?

@mattwalden37: “To be completely honest, the only one of the big five leagues I care about in any way, shape or form is Serie A. This season you have five, if not six really strong teams, and it’s impossible to tell who is going to come away as the winner. That’s more than enough for me.”

@ASRomaNow: “I've always loved Serie A, and it will always be the most competitive in my mind. The English Premier League will be the most fun to watch, as it always is. But the most competitive will definitely be La Liga – Barcelona is a strong team but they were significantly weakened this summer, whereas Atletico Madrid has not lost anyone, but Real Madrid is having a struggling start. Not to mention, Valencia has formed a formidable side, and Sevilla is also a top team. These teams have a genuine thirst to dethrone Real and/or Barcelona.”

@bosco08: “Probably the English Premier League this year, there are genuinely a few teams who can battle for the title. In saying that, it may be competitive but it is definitely not the best quality of football.”