The 9th of March 2014 a day that will be etched into the memory of Roma midfielder Kevin Strootman, during Roma’s 1-0 defeat against Napoli the Dutchman was substituted with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

 

A bitter blow for the midfielder who would miss the rest of that season and also the 2014 World Cup, a competition that the Netherlands side would finish third in, plus the majority of the following campaign. After eight months of rehabilitation the former PSV player returned in November 9th 2014, but alas just three months later in January 2015 the Dutchman born in Ridderck, Southwest of Holland was stricken again with the same injury and three days later went onto to have his second operation. This injury turned out to be more complicated than the original and after an absence of seven months surgery was required again, obvious concerns about the Dutch internationals career arose. 

 

Fortunately those concerns proved to be unfounded, and after an absence from competitive football of 390 days Strootman returned as a substitute in Roma’s 5-0 victory over Palermo. His words to the ASRoma official website confirmed his relief to be back playing “After three operations, I'm back at the Olimpico for a match that we won. It's perfect, I'm over the moon. Finally, I feel like a footballer again.”

 

Strootman himself did reveal that he himself had doubted he return, “I was certainly afraid. Just before the third operation it was a difficult moment because I had got back to 80 per cent and felt good, but then they told me I had to have another operation and this was a worry but thanks to the medical staff and my team-mates I have returned.”

 

The Dutchman has returned to be an integral part of Roma’s midfield, but he has evolved into a different type of player that he was before the injuries. Always technically gifted as is the norm for Dutch players, his ball playing skills seemed to be over looked for his all action dynamic style of play. As with any player who has suffered such a traumatic injury, the physicality of his game has eased allowing him to leave the tough tackling to such players as Daniele De Rossi and Radja Nainggolan and granting him the chance to demonstrate his other attributes such as passing and positional play. 

 

His statistics for this season back up his importance to the team, a pass completion percentage of almost 85 per cent averaging slightly over two key passes a game and having five assists this season, Strootman has become the modern day deep laying playmaker and rather than using his tough tackling to break up play, he now uses his special awareness to protect the defence. This was highlighted in the weekend match against Sassuolo, 82 per cent pass completion, three chances created and one assist as Roma overturned a goal deficit to win 3-1 and move back into second place in Serie A.  

 

Strootmans’ renaissance has been coupled with an evolution in his style of play, a more complete player, a more technical player and undoubtedly an essential part of Roma’s bid to end the Juventus domination of Serie A and the Netherlands team as they bid to end their 30 year wait for a tournament win.


Mark Neale