Cristian Romero is a real enigma of a footballer.
The Argentine is a World Cup winner and a fantastic talent, but, in the same breath, he can be an absolute liability.
You never know what you’re going to get from Romero, he can either be the Man of the Match or, as he showed against Chelsea on Monday, he can pick up a stupid red card and cost his team the game.
Speaking on The Game Football Podcast, Tony Cascarino has been discussing Romero after his red card against Chelsea, and he says that while the Argentine can be a bit naïve at times, he’s a hell of a player who reminds him a bit of the legendary Argentine, Daniel Pasarella.
Romero can be brilliant
Cascarino shared his verdict on the 25-year-old.
“Romero is one, he’s nailed his Argentine teammate. He does have that air of Stan Laurel about him where he doesn’t look as though he’s done anything wrong. He has a long CV of nailing people, he’s done it a few times,” Cascarino said.
“He’s a hell of a player, he has a bit of Daniel Pasarella in his game, but he’s a bit more shrewd Pasarella when he did it, the great Argentine centre-half.”
Old school
The Pasarella comparison to Romero is brilliant, because the Tottenham centre-back is a real throwback of a defender.
Romero is a no-nonsense, battering ram of a defender, and if he played in Pasarella’s era, he’d probably be seen as one of the best in the world.
Cascarino says that Pasarella was a bit smarter with his aggression, but the fact of the matter is he was playing in the 70s and 80s, refereeing standards were just different, and if you could stick Romero in a DeLorean and send him back in time, he’d absolutely thrive in that environment.
Unfortunately for Romero, the game has changed and you can’t get away with most of the challenges he wants to make these days.