Swaby adjusting fast to tactical nature of Italian game

Roma Women defender Allyson Swaby admits she has needed to adjust to a whole new style of football as she finds her feet in the Italian capital.

The Jamaica international, a November addition to the Giallorosse in their inaugural season in Serie A, has seemingly settled in quickly for Betty Bavagnoli’s side – becoming a regular presence in the heart of defence, including in last weekend’s narrow defeat away to league leaders Juventus.

Swaby has clearly hit the ground running in Rome, but admits it has not all been completely straightforward.

“My first thoughts [about Italian football] are that the game is a lot more focused on tactics, and on the technical side of things,” Swaby told Roma TV.

“It’s been something very different to what I’ve been used to experiencing in the US, where things are generally a lot more direct and physical. So I’ve been able to see a different style of football, which is only improving my overall game.

“I definitely feel like I’m starting to get more acquainted. It was definitely a bit of a difficult transition, just because the style of play is different from what I’ve been used to. But I feel like every day, and every training session, I’m getting better – and that’s all I can really ask for.”

With Swaby, Emma Lipman, Federica Di Criscio and Heden Corrado, coach Bavagnoli has a variety of centre-back options at her disposal – and all of them have earned regular runs in the side over the season so far.

“Every centre-back brings a specific strength, which I think makes all of us good together,” Swaby added.

“We each have something special that differentiates us from one another, and it means we are able to feed off each other and challenge each other every day and it’s competitive to get on the field. So everyone is getting better here, whether or not you get on the pitch at the end of the week.

“My relationship with the coach has been great so far. She has been helping me adjust to the style of play. I can be really hard on myself too, and I think she sees that, so she’s been good at reminding me of my strengths and helping me to keep calm when I get flustered. It’s been great.”

Swaby believes the side is growing and improving every week, and hopes they will underline that with another big performance this Saturday, as Florentia come to Stadio Tre Fontane.

“You can see from the scoreline [against Juventus] that there has been some improvement from the first time we played them,” she said.

“I think the team learned a lot from that defeat, though, and we’re ready now to try and get back to winning.

“I think the team is more settled and getting into a flow now. I don’t think the Juve loss will derail us too much – I think we’ll bounce back and hopefully keep building on what we’ve been doing so far in the second half of the season.

“We definitely want to finish fourth comfortably, so it’s going to be another important game [against Florentia]. I hope to see the team continue to go on the trajectory we’ve been on in the second half of the season. Where we see ourselves finish this season will tell a story about what we can bring next season.”

With a Women's World Cup appearance on the horizon with Jamaica this summer, Swaby jumped at the chance to join the Giallorosse in the closing months of 2018.

“My choice to join Roma kind of came with the timing of it,” she said.

“It kind of fell into my lap perfectly, right when I needed it to, I’m not one to be scared to jump into new things – so I was really excited just to get here and to get started.

“I spend a lot of time with Maria Zecca and Trudi Carter. Maria is from the US, the East Coast, so we have a lot in common. And Trudi is my national team teammate so we have a lot in common too.

“Rome is a beautiful city, I’ve been here on holiday before so I knew what I was getting myself into. I’ve been trying to get out and see as much as I can, when we don’t have training or other responsibilities.

"It’s been very welcoming, and everyone has been great to meet. It’s been very enjoyable so far.”