Albanians abroad

[CanaYouDoIt]

Kumbulla bit off more than he could chew with the move to Roma.

Judging by the way his dad snapped at Vata, I would assume his advisors are out of touch with reality.

He was one of the most sought after CBs in Europe, at 19 he was looking so good in the Serie A and moved to Roma because of the guarantee of mins over other better teams like Inter and Juve , Roma have just built the squad poorly since then and have too many CBs . Mourinho doesn't help either.

[Aurora Bulkualis]

That's hard to claim because they are much quicker and better on the ball than him. (both hugely important) They also win nearly all their duels with attackers. Maybe not world class but they are very very good. But Roma was due a let down because they are riding high. They are not going undefeated and some of the goals Verona goals were insane too.

You got some stats to back that up? To me they seemed no different at all. Hearsay and anecdotal evidence is great and all, but let's be objective here.

[Dallku]

That's hard to claim because they are much quicker and better on the ball than him. (both hugely important) They also win nearly all their duels with attackers. Maybe not world class but they are very very good. But Roma was due a let down because they are riding high. They are not going undefeated and some of the goals Verona goals were insane too.

You got some stats to back that up? To me they seemed no different at all. Hearsay and anecdotal evidence is great and all, but let's be objective here.

What stats are there for that?

When you watch Kumbulla play alongside Djimisiti you don't see a difference between them? I see it but I don't know how stats can show it. Mancini and Ibanez are probably even better than Djimsiti....

Sometimes it's good to trust your eye test but I guess the best evidence is the fact that they are absolute starters over Kumbulla.

Kumbulla is just unlucky his competition is so high level but for his age he's a good defender.

[RedFootballs]

That's hard to claim because they are much quicker and better on the ball than him. (both hugely important) They also win nearly all their duels with attackers. Maybe not world class but they are very very good. But Roma was due a let down because they are riding high. They are not going undefeated and some of the goals Verona goals were insane too.

You got some stats to back that up? To me they seemed no different at all. Hearsay and anecdotal evidence is great and all, but let's be objective here.

What stats are there for that?

When you watch Kumbulla play alongside Djimisiti you don't see a difference between them? I see it but I don't know how stats can show it.Mancini and Ibanez are probably even better than Djimsiti....

Sometimes it's good to trust your eye test but I guess the best evidence is the fact that they are absolute starters over Kumbulla.

Kumbulla is just unlucky his competition is so high level but for his age he's a good defender.

Djimsiti is one of the best CBs in Serie A. I fully believe he would have minutes in any team in the world.

[Dallku]

Djimsiti is one of the best CBs in Serie A. I fully believe he would have minutes in any team in the world.

Djimisiti is a great fit for Atalanta because of the way they play. He's very comfortable on the ball and they play a possession game. But the other Atalanta defenders are actually more rated than Djimisiti on a global level. Like Romero who recently signed with Spurs. Djimsiti also has been sharing minutes with Demiral this season. It hasn't been a great start for him.

Back to Kumbulla, when the levels are close there is usually a debate between fans on who should start. I've never seen a comment by a Roma fan saying Kumbulla should start over Mancini, Smalling, or Ibanez. I've seen complains about them overpaying for him but never praise for his actual performances. If you can find a comment by a Roma fan saying that Kumbulla should start or is equal to them then fair enough... Lack of debate about it shows that the levels are nowhere near close.

[RedFootballs]

Djimsiti is one of the best CBs in Serie A. I fully believe he would have minutes in any team in the world.

Djimisiti is a great fit for Atalanta because of the way they play. He's very comfortable on the ball and they play a possession game. But the other Atalanta defenders are actually more rated than Djimisiti on a global level. Like Romero who recently signed with Spurs. Djimsiti also has been sharing minutes with Demiral this season. It hasn't been a great start for him.

Back to Kumbulla, when the levels are close there is usually a debate between fans on who should start. I've never seen a comment by a Roma fan saying Kumbulla should start over Mancini, Smalling, or Ibanez. I've seen complains about them overpaying for him but never praise for his actual performances. If you can find a comment by a Roma fan saying that Kumbulla should start or is equal to them then fair enough... Lack of debate about it shows that the levels are nowhere near close.

Djimsiti for me is good in all aspects. Fast, strong defender good at interceptions, marking and good on the ball. Pretty much has it all. He started 4/5 games this season, I assume it's nothing more then regular rotation.


I'm sure I can find a comment saying Kumbulla should start but that doesn't do us a great service in talking about it. I do know a couple Roma fans personally that watch all the games and they say he is good but overrated, so pretty much the same sentiment. I do think he is better than Smalling. But I agree with Zen's general take on it.

If Kumbulla was going to be 4th or even 5th CD this season he should have forced a move through to Torino, Djimsiti spent years earning poverty wages to get to where he did. It takes sacrifice.

[artan]

What a stud Muci is. He’s so good in tight spaces and his ball control is really good. Ive said this last year when he was in the Superliga he always passed the eye test and I don’t remember a player with his technical quality coming out of the superliga in a long time. Even guys like Olayinka or Berisha who did good in Europe were primarily more physical/athletic players and didn’t match the technical quality Muci has. Legia needs to unleash the boy and let him do his thing.

I’ve always thought him and Broja were the long term pairing at forward but it needs to happen now. They’ll compliment eachother well.

[Klejdi1023]

Kumbulla got bought by Roma bc they played with 3 cb’s in recent years, but with the coach change Kumbulla got screwed over, which goes to show how important formations are in these decisions. Should Atalanta switch as well, unfortunately Djimsiti would get dropped too. Playing with 3 cb’s has been huge for Djimsiti’s development too.

[artan]

Kumbulla got bought by Roma bc they played with 3 cb’s in recent years, but with the coach change Kumbulla got screwed over, which goes to show how important formations are in these decisions. Should Atalanta switch as well, unfortunately Djimsiti would get dropped too. Playing with 3 cb’s has been huge for Djimsiti’s development too.

Mourinho is a tough coach to play for and you really got to win his respect. He really likes physical and gritty players. Don’t forget that he didn’t rate many players at Chelsea that later turned to be huge stars like De Bryne, Salah, Lakaku, etc.

Obviously Kumbulla is not like them but Mourinho has a certain type and it doesn’t mean that Kimbulla is a flop or a bad player. Kumbulla doesn’t seem like Mourinho’s type of player, especially from a defender. But who knows Kumbulla seems like a good kid so maybe he’ll fight for his place and win him over.

[Klejdi1023]

Kumbulla got bought by Roma bc they played with 3 cb’s in recent years, but with the coach change Kumbulla got screwed over, which goes to show how important formations are in these decisions. Should Atalanta switch as well, unfortunately Djimsiti would get dropped too. Playing with 3 cb’s has been huge for Djimsiti’s development too.

Mourinho is a tough coach to play for and you really got to win his respect. He really likes physical and gritty players. Don’t forget that he didn’t rate many players at Chelsea that later turned to be huge stars like De Bryne, Salah, Lakaku, etc.

Obviously Kumbulla is not like them but Mourinho has a certain type and it doesn’t mean that Kimbulla is a flop or a bad player. Kumbulla doesn’t seem like Mourinho’s type of player, especially from a defender. But who knows Kumbulla seems like a good kid so maybe he’ll fight for his place and win him over.

I don’t think this has to do with just the coach though. Roma rates Mancini and Ibanez higher than Kumbulla atm, and any coach coming in would be in a tough spot to drop one of them over Kumbulla. I always thought Roma bought Kumbulla to eventually replace Smalling in that 3 cb line. Kumbulla should move to a club that gives him minutes in January, even on loan, otherwise he’s riding the bench all year long and hurting his development.