BURSTING between two Hellas Verona players and stealing the ball away, Cengiz Ünder dropped his shoulder to slip beyond a third would-be defender before uncorking a thunderous left-footed shot that Brazilian goalkeeper Nícolas was powerless to stop. The ball hit the back of the net with the match barely a minute old, but the impact the AS Roma winger had that afternoon would dominate the following morning’s newspapers.
“Ünder takes care of it” proclaimed the Corriere dello Sport that Monday back in February, going on to add that the display had prompted Giallorossi Coach Eusebio Di Francesco to consider handing the youngster a more prominent role in the team. He would do just that and, after spending the first few months of his time with Roma being used largely as a substitute, the 20-year-old suddenly found himself a regular member of the starting XI.
From dreams to reality for @cengizunder
#ASRoma #VeronaRoma pic.twitter.com/bGkIMJqbwS— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) February 5, 2018
He would add two more goals and an assist against Benevento, going on to find the net against Udinese and, crucially, in a Champions League last-16 clash with Shakhtar Donetsk. That strike in Ukraine ultimately led to the famous quarter-final encounter with Barcelona, where it was a cross from Ünder that allowed Kostas Manolas to head home Roma’s unlikely winning goal.
Since then, he has continued to shine even as the team around him descended into chaos. A whole raft of players – including Alisson, Mohamed Salah, Radja Nainggolan and Antonio Rudiger – have since departed the Stadio Olimpico. Gone too is Di Francesco, his second season failing to live up to the expectations set by his first and he has been replaced by Paulo Fonseca, the very Coach whose Shakhtar side were undone by Ünder’s vital away goal 18 months ago.
Yet he seemingly might have arrived too late to work with Ünder who, according to a number of sources will soon be the latest name to depart the Italian capital. Despite rejecting a €28 million offer from Everton, Roma appear willing to sell him this summer but will be looking for a fee in the region of €55 million per a report by transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio.
Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain have all been linked with a move, and a fee in that region is certainly not beyond them. It would represent quite a profit for Roma too, the club having paid €13.4 million to sign him from Turkish side Başakşehir just two years ago. Sporting director Monchi was the man who convinced Ünder to make the leap to Serie A, the player turning down an opportunity to sign for Manchester City in order to join the Giallorossi.
The fact the Premier League outfit were discussing immediately loaning him to Freiburg played a major factor, and in hindsight, there is little doubt he made the right choice. It might have been more straightforward than trying to get ahead of Leroy Sané, Kevin De Bruyne or Bernardo Silva at the Etihad, but breaking into the Roma lineup was no easy feat and it continued the excellent footballing education that Ünder has so far enjoyed.
Leaving his hometown at the age of ten, he joined the highly respected youth academy of Bucaspor. “They had the best youth sector in Turkey,” he told Roma’s official website earlier this year. “The club president Seyit Mehmet Ozkan did an incredible job. Nobody put more into developing young players than him and Bucaspor was a huge influence upon my career.”
They certainly did and by the time Ünder joined Roma he had played over 100 games as a professional, quickly earning his way into the national team squad. It was there that he encountered Mircea Lucescu, the veteran boss instantly taking a shine to the youngster and doing all he could to aid his development.
Having spent time on the benches of Pisa, Brescia, Reggiana and Inter, the Coach is hugely respected around Serie A and began talking to Ünder only in Italian to help him pick up the language. As those early months at Roma proved difficult, Lucescu told him to refuse a loan move away in January while also taking time to praise his protege’s qualities to those in charge of the Giallorossi.
“I advised Di Francesco to persist with him and work patiently with him because his qualities would’ve come out in the long run," the Turkey boss revealed, and those words certainly paid off as Ünder exploded onto the scene the following month.
Roma with and without Cengiz Ünder starting in Serie A last season
For more player stats — https://t.co/sSjUo3Jr2b pic.twitter.com/tBd6JZxYi1
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) July 20, 2018
"He is in the optimal psychological mindset and can make the most of any situation," Di Francesco told reporters after the aforementioned encounter with Udinese. “Just a few weeks ago he was short on confidence and was hitting shots into the stands.”
Under has now made 65 appearances for Roma, scoring 14 goals and weighing in with 12 assists. He is widely considered to be one of the fastest players in Serie A, so quick that coaches with the Giallorossi have had to teach him to slow down in certain moments in order to capitalise on chances that fall his way.
His decision making has improved over the past year, although he does occasionally still hold onto the ball too long, which can result in him being caught in possession and he needs to work on his aerial prowess in order to maximise his potential in front of goal. However, Under’s finishing with both feet is excellent, quickly moving beyond the criticism of a fan who called him out on social media for a miss back in March…
Imagine saying, ‘Even I could have scored that goal’ and getting brought to the Olimpico to prove it!
But that’s exactly what happened to Marco, thanks to @HyundaiEurope!
#ForTheFans
pic.twitter.com/nCEEqpI6nO— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) April 11, 2019
Predominantly left-footed, he is equally adept on either wing or in a number 10 role but seems to enjoy playing wide on the right whenever possible. From there he can cut infield to devastating effect, linking up well with midfielders and strikers alike to create scoring opportunities for himself and his team-mates.
It remains to be seen where he takes his next steps, but there is little doubt that he is on the right path. The 21-year-old might not be a household name quite yet but, looking at how others have left AS Roma and gone on to enjoy unrivalled success, do not bet against Cengiz Ünder following suit very soon.
