Comparing Fonseca’s Roma to last year’s Tottenham Hotspur
By Aaron Coe
In doing more research on apparent new Tottenham Hotspur coach Paulo Fonseca, it is almost eerie how similar his Roma side was to the Spurs last season.
It looks like AS Roma and Tottenham Hotspur have effectively swapped coaches, as Paulo Fonseca appears set to take over as manager of Tottenham Hotspur. As you look deeper into Fonseca and his Roma team, you cannot help but see the similarities between Roma and Tottenham, which may or may not be a good thing.
Remarkably similar seasons for Tottenham and Roma
From the big picture perspective, Roma and Spurs had the same season. Both teams won 18 matches, drew 8, and lost 12 in their domestic league. They both finished in 7th place in the league on 62 points, earning a spot in the UEFA Europa Conference League Playoffs.
If having the same record and placement in their respective leagues aren’t enough, both teams scored 68 goals. To have the same point total, goals, and table placement is remarkable. Both teams also started fast only to fade out of the top four toward the tail end of the campaign.
Their seasons so eerily similar, both took part in eight-goal games at Old Trafford of the same scoreline. Tottenham won 1-6, whereas Roma was on the wrong end of a similar hammering.
The teams are by no means identical, for Tottenham, Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son carried the load. Roma had to spread the wealth a lot more. So with the results nearly identical, let’s look at how the team performances compared, with stats provided by fbref.com.