Sport
Cristian Romero’s mad moment against Liverpool showed he’s still a liability for Spurs
Had it not been for Cristian Romero, there might have been a late equaliser for Tottenham Hotspur against Liverpool on Saturday. Despite being second-best for the majority of the Premier League encounter, Spurs had pulled themselves into a position to snatch an unlikely point, until Romero was sent off
The Argentinean defender had no grounds for appeal, not that this stopped him complaining to the referee about his decision to show red. Romero mindlessly, and needlessly, kicked out at Ibrahima Konate as Tottenham were pushing for a leveller, reducing them to nine men and all but confirming Liverpool as winners on the day.
It was a moment of petulance entirely in keeping with the character of Romero, widely considered one of the most volatile players in the Premier League. In 114 league appearances for Tottenham, the defender has picked up 34 yellow cards and three red cards. Saturday’s sending off was inexcusable given the circumstances.
“I think any player needs to control their emotions and be cool-headed,” said Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank after the match. “It’s not only because you’re a captain that you need to be exceptionally cool-headed. That’s also always good, of course. We’re talking about a very passionate player that’s been very good for this club and team for many years.”
Frank is right to point out Romero’s quality. On his day, the 27-year-old is one of the best, most accomplished defenders in the Premier League. Romero is a World Cup winner who is expected to play a key role for Argentina at next summer’s World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
At their best, Romero and Micky van de Ven form one of the strongest centre back partnerships anywhere in European football. They compliment each other well in a technical and physical sense. If either were to leave Spurs, they would have no shortage of suitors in the transfer market.
Yet Romero is a liability. This has been proven over a prolonged period of time and Tottenham need players they can count on at this point in their development under Frank. They need to know that their key figures are going to stay on the pitch for the full 90 minutes plus stoppage time.
Spurs were already lacking leadership on the pitch. Now, Frank must prepare for a tricky away trip to Crystal Palace without Romero at a time when the Danish coach is under intense pressure to turn around Tottenham’s disappointing run of form. He could have done without Romero kicking Konate off-the-ball on Saturday.
Romero’s petulant outburst was reflective of a general lack of discipline from Spurs against Liverpool. Xavi Simons was also shown red for a reckless tackle on Virgil van Dijk when the Dutch playmaker didn’t need to make such an intervention. Other over-the-top challenges were made by players in white too.
Frank might have asked for greater fight from his players, but that didn’t manifest itself in a positive way on Saturday. Romero’s late red card was proof of this. The Argentine cost his team when they needed him to keep his head and help the stoppage time push for an equaliser that could have been a catalyst for the weeks and months ahead.
It was only a few weeks ago that Romero was the hero for Spurs, scoring twice in an away draw against Newcastle United. The 27-year-old is more than capable of making an impact at the top level of the game, it’s just that he allows other things to get in the way of him doing that far too often. It seems Romero will never learn from his mistakes.
