Romano Schmid, the simplifier

Romano Schmid is accustomed to looking up at his opponents from below. For him, however, this has never been a problem. After all, football is played with the feet, and he has always been adept with the ball at his feet. Moreover, his 168 centimetres are firmly anchored to the ground by strong, fast legs, enabling him to avoid being overpowered by opponents who are taller and stronger.

The issue for Romano Schmid was that, for others, his 168 centimetres were seen as a shortcoming. That is why, when in January 2109 Thomas Schaaf, then sporting director at Werder Bremen, arrived in Salzburg with one million euros for the player, the directors at Fußballclub Red Bull Salzburg could hardly believe their luck. After a few hours of negotiations, the transfer was completed immediately. In Austria, it seemed like a bargain. The real bargain was struck in Germany.

The player who was deemed unsuitable for the Austrian Bundesliga in Salzburg has proven perfectly adapted to the German league. And not only that: he has also demonstrated his value in Serie A, given his performances in the first five matches of this season while wearing the Frosinone shirt.

In October 2019, Thomas Schaaf travelled to Salzburg for the first time because an Austrian colleague of his had told him about a young player with good footwork and excellent vision. He had added that “he has a knack for always playing with an eye on his teammates’ movements, a tendency not to overdo it, and the ability to bring order to complex situations”. He then added, with a touch of scepticism: “There’s one problem, though: he’s very short.”

He had responded to the scepticism of his colleague Thomas Schaaf with a slang expression from the Palatinate that is very similar in meaning to the Roman ‘sticazzi’. For three years he had played alongside Klaus Allofs, a striker who was barely 1.70 metres tall but who, amongst the giants of German football in the 1980s, “knew how to bring the game to life, always knew what the best course of action was; he was probably the teammate best at making it easy for you to play football”. Thomas Schaaf saw something similar in Romano Schmid.

The Frosinone management saw something similar in Romano Schmid. They shelled out eight and a half million to get him on the team. This summer that seemed like a lot; five matches on, it seems like very little.

Because in Serie A, the Austrian attacking midfielder has continued to do exactly what he did at Salzburg and Bremen: playing with an eye on his teammates’ movements, not overdoing it, bringing order to complex situations. And, above all, making it easier for others to play alongside him.

Olive is back again this year – Giovanni Battistuzzi’s column on the (not necessarily) leading figures of Serie A. Brief, unfiltered profiles, perfect for reading over an aperitif. You can read all the other profiles here.