Five things that will happen in World Football this week

Bradley’s gone, De Rossi’s suspended, step up Radja Nainggolan

Belgians have been the talk of the town in the footballsphere the last few months, and it’s no different in Italy this season as Radja Nainggolan has taken the plaudits for his exploits with Cagliari.

Michael Bradley this week was confirmed to leave Roma with a return to the MLS after nearly 10 years, as he has been signed by Toronto FC. Roma lost their last league game to leaders Juventus 3-0 creating an 8 point gap at the top, any more dropped points could be disastrous for their title hopes. Here is a Tactical Analysis of the Juventus-Roma game. Roma came away with two red cards from the game, one of which was Danielle De Rossi.

These two factors prove to be a perfect opportunity for Radja Nainggolan, the club’s new signing, to nail down a place in an increasingly competitive midfield. Nainggolan was being tracked by all of Italy’s big clubs, so to pull off his signing is an achievement in itself. A workhorse in midfield, Nainggolan has the ability to take charge of the central positions. He’s instrumental in winning back and retaining possession and you can understand how Rudi Garcia would benefit from such a player in the side.

As was proved against Juventus, Roma’s usual tactics have been found out with club’s now taking advantage of their false nine play by simply tightening their wide areas and preventing the wingers from playing. Roma now need their midfield to not just deal with possession, but directly create opportunities for the side, and Nainggolan could have a big part to play, starting with Genoa on the weekend.