Welcome to Calcio Square, an email newsletter dedicated to Serie A and Italian football. Every Monday, Anthony Lopopolo breaks down the week that was in the Italian game. The merry-go-round at Roma is the focus of this week's issue.

Ivan Juric was always going to go down in Rome as the man who replaced Daniel De Rossi. Roma's ill-fated replacement-level coach had to be perfect to even have a chance of keeping his job. Roma, by contrast, were not, winning just four of Juric's 12 games in charge before putting him out of his misery. Sunday's 3-2 loss to Bologna left the Giallorossi just four points outside the relegation zone and in a world of hurt.

Juric couldn't improve the team. How could he? He didn't have the time. Roma didn't press like his Torino or Hellas Verona sides or play competently man-to-man. They were a sieve, conceding 12 goals in the last five matches alone. The players - including goalkeeper Mile Svilar, who fluctuates violently between hero and liability - continued to commit basic errors. You could question a lot about Juric, whether he's too provincial to ever coach a top side, but you could never question his commitment to defense. What happened here was predetermined.

The mood has been rotten for a while. Roma's hardcore supporters whistled the life out of the team in the lead-up to Sunday's match, and a good amount of them walked out of the stadium halfway through. Midfielder Bryan Cristante was accused of plotting De Rossi's downfall. Then captain Lorenzo Pellegrini's manhood was questioned. Now defender Gianluca Mancini is being criticized for allowing Bologna to score the third goal in Sunday's fateful defeat.

Roma are looking for a fourth coach of the year while owner Dan Friedkin attempts to close a separate deal for Everton. It's hard not to think Friedkin's priorities lay elsewhere. But Roma demand the utmost attention. The Friedkin Group agreed to pay more than $700 million to acquire the club in 2020. Without plans for a new stadium or a competitive team, it's hard to imagine how Friedkin could recoup anywhere close to what his group has spent on the team. That says nothing of the pre-tax losses Roma have suffered in recent years, totaling hundreds of millions of euros.

Hiring Rudi Garcia, Edin Terzic, or Roberto Mancini seems like a rinse-and-repeat mistake. And yet these are Roma's options. This team has no choice but to accept the season it's over. Imagine admitting that in November after spending nearly €100 million in transfer fees.

Key observations 👀

Developing storylines that deserve your attention.

• Moise Kean finally has it together. Kean bagged the first professional hat-trick of his career in Fiorentina's 3-1 win over Verona on Sunday, bringing him up to eight goals through 11 matches. That's some return for a player who failed to hit the back of the net all of last season. A lot of people couldn't understand why Fiorentina would spend up to €18 million on Kean, but he's delivered on the promise he showed earlier in his career when he burst onto the scene with Juventus. His goals against Verona were technically brilliant. He rolled off the shoulder of defenders, ran into channels, and held off his marker to score all three. He even missed a sitter, as he's wont to do, but it's easier to forgive him now.
• Can Lazio sustain their early form? The Biancocelesti have quietly won 10 of their last 11 matches, scoring 23 goals while conceding just eight. Manager Marco Baroni hasn't so much led a revolution as he has steadied the ship. He seemed an uninspiring hire when he replaced Maurizio Sarri in June, but the mild-mannered 61-year-old was exactly what this club needed. Baroni's side has also had an easy go of things, beating up on Torino, with one win in eight matches, and relegation-threatened Genoa and Cagliari. After the international break, Lazio will face Napoli, Ajax, Inter, and Atalanta. We'll know by the end of the year if they're serious or not.
• Don't sleep on Andrea Cambiaso. What a performance he had against Torino. Cambiaso carried the ball dozens of yards at a time, creating the opening goal and nearly scoring himself in Saturday's 2-0 win for Juventus. No one played the ball more times than Cambiaso in the Derby della Mole. Head coach Thiago Motta has fielded Cambiaso more often than any other Juventus player in Serie A and asked more of him than anyone else in his squad. Cambiaso has done jobs at left-back, right-back, in midfield, and even at right-wing. Keep an eye on the 24-year-old as he leads Juventus to more victories.
• We'll see more of Francesco Camarda. Though not quite the youngest player to make his first Serie A start, the 16-year-old showed maturity well beyond his years in AC Milan's 3-3 draw with Cagliari. It's infinitely harder for a teenage center-forward to play amongst men than it is for a precious winger to have an immediate impact. Think about how much more difficult it is for a striker to find space and do battle with physical center-backs than it is for a wide forward to dribble one on one. But Camarda didn't look out of place. He showed intelligence on and off the ball and nearly set up a goal himself.

One thing you should know 🔎

The most interesting news item from the past week.

• Marco Giampaolo is back. Eighteen-placed Lecce brought former Milan manager Giampaolo out of the wilderness to lead their survival bid. It's a lot to ask of someone who's been out of the game for the better part of two years. Giampaolo was famously fired by Milan in 2019 after just seven matches and subsequently let ago by Torino and Sampdoria after less than a year at each of those clubs.

Parting shot 💥

Final remarks about the current state of Serie A.

Despite its various issues, Serie A is offering some of the best entertainment in European football. Just two points separate the top six teams through 12 matches, and a total of 328 goals has already been scored across the top flight. That's 14 more than we've seen in the Premier League so far this season.

It's been this way for a while. If you want goals, come to Italy. Atalanta are already at 31 this season. Inter are up to 26, and if they weren't, they'd be much lower in the table. Fiorentina and Lazio are flying high, and Juventus have come out of their shell.

Napoli are the only ones who've restrained themselves — and they're in first place. So there's still something to say about the virtues of defending.

But I can't help but feel Napoli can do more. Sunday's match against Inter was there for the taking. When Hakan Calhanoglu missed his first penalty in his last 20 tries, Napoli could've rallied to win the game. Giovanni Simeone missed a golden opportunity to steal it late. But his attempt was one of just two shots Napoli fired in that second half. It was as if Napoli manager Antonio Conte had decided that a point in Milan was enough.

But the Partenopei can't afford to do that in too many of these big matches. They have Khvicha Kvaratskhelia raring to go. He has sacrificed himself so much in recent games and still found ways to get on the ball in the final third. Imagine what he could do with a more attacking mandate.

There are too many teams taking their chances for Napoli not to take theirs. The way Serie A is shaping up, head-to-head encounters could end up deciding the title. And the neutral stands to benefit most.