Player Focus: Nainggolan Versatility Improves Strong Roma Midfield

“Good luck brother. Make everyone see that you’re the best. We’ll miss you… Actually, I’ll miss you,” tweeted the Cagliari striker Mauricio Pinilla after he heard the news that his teammate Radja Nainggolan was leaving for Roma. Over the last two and a half years the pair have become really close friends. If you have followed them on Twitter you’ll have seen the pictures of them shaving each other’s heads, falling asleep on each other’s shoulders on flights; the stuff of true bro-mance. At times it felt like Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure.

Take Nainggolan’s reply for instance. “Bro, unfortunately the moment has come where I have to go beyond the limits,” he posted. “Save Cagliari for me. I’ll always root for you guys.” Leaving Sardinia was bound to be emotional for the 25-year-old Nainggolan, even though Cagliari had until mid-October been playing their home games on the mainland for almost a year and a half on account of a farcical dispute between owner Massimo Cellino and the council over their old ground Sant’Elia and the inadequacy of a hastily built new one, the IS Arenas.

Sardinia remember is where Nainggolan met his wife Claudia, a local girl, and where their daughter Aysha was born. He considers himself an adopted Sardinian and wrote an open letter expressing as much following his move. In order to further his ambition, though, Nainggolan had to go. Every top club in Italy had made their interest in him known: from Juventus and both Milan clubs to Napoli and Roma. Provided they met Cellino’s demands, he could choose his destination. Nainggolan had earned that right by garnering the respect of each of them.

So why were they all queuing up for him? Nainggolan is another member of the Belgian golden generation, a less prominent one that’s for sure. His story is similar to many of his peers in the national team: a multicultural background like Vincent Kompany, Axel Witsel, Marouane Fellaini, Nacer Chadli, Christian Benteke and Romelu Lukaku and an early move abroad like all the aforementioned players as well as Thibault Courtois, Jan Vertonghen, Kevin de Bruyne, Dries Mertens and Eden Hazard.

Born in Antwerp, Nainggolan and his twin sister Riana were abandoned by their Indonesian father, and raised in a tough neighbourhood by a single Belgian mother. Both would go onto to become footballers and credit where they are today to her. She passed away after a long illness in 2010. One of Nainggolan’s many tattoos - the 23rd - is a pair of wings inked on his back with the dates of his mother’s birth and death in memoriam.

Another important influence in his life is Alessandro Beltrami, the Swiss agent. He was the one who spotted Nainggolan as a 17-year-old playing for Beerschot and brought him to the attention of Piacenza. Given his debut in Serie B by Beppe Iachini, the baseball cap wearing serial promotion winner, he established himself in the team under his successor Stefano Pioli. “He was the one who made me a footballer,” Nainggolan reflected.

What kind of a footballer, you ask? He’s an all-round midfield player. Nainggolan’s idols as a kid were Ronaldinho and Rino Gattuso. Accordingly he learned to play behind the striker but also in front of the defence, to the left and to the right, to build the play and destroy it, to get up and down. Described by one paper as a Johan Neeskens of his generation, whether you agree with that or not, Nainggolan is several midfield players rolled into one. Who wouldn’t want a player as useful as that?

Signed by Cagliari this time four years ago, the player nicknamed Il Ninja has been stealthily impressing. During his time in Serie A, no one has made more tackles than Nainggolan [473], nor has any outfield player recovered the ball more [1223]. Ranked eighth over that period in accurate passes [4945], he has got forward into shooting positions too, scoring 7 goals from 213 shots. No player with over 160, however, has found the net on fewer occasions. Otherwise we might be talking about Nainggolan as another Arturo Vidal.

Improve his finishing and maybe we can have that conversation again at a later date. Juventus’ interest in Nainggolan was often explained in terms of preparing for Vidal’s succession if the club were to receive an offer for him that was too good to turn down. On the one hand, that perhaps became a less pressing concern when they tied the Chilean down until 2017. On the other, they and the Milan clubs were caught out by Roma, who had the necessary liquidity to get a deal done for Nainggolan now.

The timing was significant. By signing Nainggolan so soon after their 3-0 defeat to Juventus 10 days ago, a loss that left them eight points behind the league leaders, Roma changed the record straightaway. Rather than talking about the beating they’d received in Turin, its impact and how they still have got some way to go before matching the champions, everyone was now talking about them making a statement, how they’d beaten fierce competition for Nainggolan and what a midfield they were assembling. Psychologically it resonated.

Already one of Europe’s best, Roma have upgraded their midfield. Instead of Michael Bradley filling in for Daniele De Rossi, Kevin Strootman or Miralem Pjanic, now it’s Nainggolan. And he won’t just be ‘filling in’ even though he has been signed partly with next season in mind when - a catastrophic collapse permitting - Roma will be back in Europe and their fixture list much more congested. Nainggolan intends to work his way into the starting XI for club and country ahead of the World Cup.

In Roma’s case, that might mean a system change. It gives coach Rudi Garcia something to think about. Nainggolan received plaudits for his first league appearance for Roma, completing 102 passes, which is only the 11th time that a player has managed 100 or more in Serie A this season. “It’s like he did a pre-season with us,” Garcia said. “He’s a high level player. He has a lot of talent and I’m not surprised by his integration into the team. Our play suits him. We play with the ball on the ground and he knows how to do everything: steal the ball, pass it long: a good signing.” Very good, indeed.

What will be Roma's strongest midfield following Nainggolan's arrival? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below