The One You Probably Won't Notice....STROOTMAN

Totti. De Rossi. Gervinho. Pjanic. These will be the first names you hear. They are saying Totti deserves to be back in the Italy team while Gervinho IS Roma's attack. But, there is one dude in midfield who is VITAL to making Roma work and operating. That is the Dutch man from PSV who, like so many of his compatriots, has a VERY HIGH LEVEL in the technical reserves. STROOTMAN.

His control and eye for the RIGHT pass is central to how Roma play. Anytime he is on the ball, you are confident who won't lose it cheaply. But with his great ability as a central midfielder, he can also attack and MANY of Roma's forays into the enemy's barracks come through him. For me, this may one of the PURCHASES of the summer. The thing is, he isn't flash and won't grab those headlines. But if you watch Roma closely...you will see his influence.



Van Gaal HAS to start him in Holland's midfield next year. I don't give a damn who is there now, he IS Holland's best central midfielder. After Holland came so close in 2010, Strootman will definitely elevate them and perhaps be what they miss to go that final step? That's really up to Van Persie and Robben actually doing their part....

The Roma team are looking good and Mister Garcia has made some quite amazing acquisitions. But this may be one of his most important. When things get tight and hard in the league, THIS is the guy you want in those hard matches. Match for match, I see a consistency in this guy. He is Dutch and with these guys, you will rarely see a fluctuation in performance. Garcia will NEED that for Roma to dethrone Juventus.



HH