Mats Hummels was in Paris two days ago, although not for fun. No free day for shopping, but rather because he was among the thirty candidates for the Ballon d’Or by virtue of an extraordinary season. The one that led him to be one of the best in the game, between the Champions League final with Borussia Dortmund lost against the defector Real Madrid and a still decent European Championship by Germany, stopped by Cucurella’s hands who then, as admitted by the UEFA, it should have led to the penalty that was perhaps decisive for the fate of the competition.
Rodri won both the Ballon d’Or and the European Championship, but that’s another story. Hummels rejected several destinations to be at Roma. Bologna, Real Sociedad and several others. This is because he wanted a new challenge, but also in a city where you can breathe grown-up air. So far he has breathed the air of a great bench, one after the other, when he ended up among the squad. The other times it was time for posts between the serious and the facetious, between the joking and the terribly serious about the fact that he wasn’t playing.
Then came the debut, a nightmare, on the darkest evening of the Friedkin era, even more than a Bodo Glimt redeemed by the Cup won. 5-1 by Fiorentina and above all an own goal four minutes after coming on. Hermoso’s disqualification could bring him to the center of defense, although perhaps it wouldn’t be the right time to try to save everything (but above all Juric, who will already be with a foot and a half out of the door).