Gervinho will be like Cristiano Ronaldo

COMMENT: The Ivorian had another outstanding game against Juventus on Sunday evening, but he must improve his scoring record if he is to become the finished article

Gervinho’s stock has never been higher than it is right now.

A player ridiculed in England after a miserable two-season spell at
Arsenal, the 27-year-old has restored his reputation at Roma and is once again feared and respected by defences all over Europe.

During the past seven days, the champions of England and Italy have discovered just how difficult it is to stop Gervinho when he is in full flight.

Manchester City’s Gael Clichy and Martin Demichelis were given a torrid time in the left-hand channel during Roma’s Champions League trip to Eastlands. At one point in the first half, Gervinho raced past the pair as if they didn’t exist before drawing a fine save out of Joe Hart.

On Sunday, the Ivorian created havoc every time he attacked Juventus’ backline during the big Scudetto showdown in Turin. Gervinho created Juan Iturbe’s goal with a magnificent through-pass and set up another gilt-edged chance for Miralem Pjanic with a run and cut-back.

Roma have placed themselves back on the map with two courageous performances against City and Juventus. The draw in England puts the Giallorossi in a good position to qualify for the Champions League knockouts, while the controversial and unfortunate manner of the 3-2 defeat in Turin underlines that the capital outfit can certainly fight for the Scudetto.

But there will be a tinge of regret as they return to Trigoria with only a draw and a defeat to show for their efforts. Rudi Garcia knows that despite conceding three penalties and a dubious Leonardo Bonucci strike during these two matches, Roma would have claimed two victories had they been more clinical in front of goal.



Gervinho was certainly one of the main culprits in this regard. His finish and final touch let him down on a number of occasions in Manchester, while he squandered a glorious opportunity to put Roma 3-1 up against Juve just minutes before Carlos Tevez dispatched his second spot-kick.

“We did enough to win, looking at the chances with Gervinho and Pjanic,” Garcia sighed.

While Gervinho certainly should not be judged on his goals – last season only Francesco Totti and Alessio Cerci had more assists in Serie A – he does need to improve his scoring record if he and Roma are to realise their potential.

“If Gervinho could finish then he would be like Cristiano Ronaldo,” Totti memorably remarked several months ago.

The same Ronaldo who scored 51 goals last season and already has 17 to his name for Real Madrid in 2014-15. His hat-trick against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday means he now has 13 goals in his first six La Liga games.

Gervinho, by comparison, found the back of the net nine times in the whole of Serie A last term. A decent total, but only 26th best in Italy. Before Christmas he went three months without registering, and followed that up with another two scoreless months in the New Year.

This term, despite two assists and 11 chances created, he has scored just once and had only three shots on target in six league games - although he did hit a memorable double in the 5-1 demolition of CSKA Moscow in Europe.

“Yes, at times in front of goal a fog descends. Perhaps the speed of my feet doesn’t match up with that of my mind,” Gervinho explained ahead of the match with Juventus.

“But with the help of the technical staff here I have improved my concentration at the end of a move.”

In terms of his overall game and influence, Gervinho is not that far away from becoming one of the most devastating attackers in Europe. He has the pace, acceleration, dribbling and creativity to dissect and destroy any defence – indeed he has been doing so on a weekly basis since joining Roma from Arsenal in the summer of 2013.

But to become the finished article, just as Ronaldo is, he must add more goals to his game. At his current rate, he will finish the season with six or seven Serie A goals. That is nowhere near enough if Gervinho wants to be Serie A Player of the Year. And it certainly won’t be enough if Roma want to overtake Juventus in the race for the Scudetto.