Roma's only way to Europe is through the <i>Coppa Italia</i>

Tonight it is Siena at the Olympic Stadium, next weekend Roma travel to Sampdoria... Roma's beleaguered Serie A campaign trundles on. A top four-finish is a distant dream now, Europe is far from guaranteed.

Last weekend, Roma lost another battle and succumbed at home to Reggina. Definitely, they are out of the race for a Champions League berth.

Not only that. Roma are a long way behind Udinese and Palermo in the standings. To make the UEFA Cup, they have no other alternative but to win the Coppa Italia.

Saturday's home encounter with struggling Reggina was a perfect occasion for Bruno Conti's team to interrupt a five-match winless run.

Reggina were coming from a miserable run of six defeats (the last four of which in a row) in their previous seven outings. Both sides were desperate for a win, but if there was a team that would have settled for a draw, then that was Walter Mazzarri's Reggina.

Roma have made remarkable progress in the Coppa Italia where they reached the semi-finals. But the team's real potential should be judged over their performances in the Serie A and Champions League.

Any team having Christian Panucci, Christian Chivu, Simone Perrotta, Daniele De Rossi, Francesco Totti, Vincenzo Montella and Antonio Cassano in their ranks has to be a contender for sure.

However, this was not Roma's case this year. They found it hard to maintain last season's runners-up spot practically from the word go. It has been a turbulent 2004/05 campaign for them.

Walter Samuel, Jonathan Zebina and Emerson, together with coach Fabio Capello, quit the club in summer. Cesare Prandelli was seen as an ideal substitute for Capello but due to family reasons he quit days before the Serie A got underway.

First, Rudi Voeller and then Luigi Del Neri failed to revive the team's fortunes as Roma's position in the standings continued to go from bad to worse. Recently, club director of football Fabrizio Baldini also tendered his resignation.

Indiscipline has been a major problem at Roma. Discipline is connected to attitude and desire. Roma have lost composure on many an occasion because they lacked character.

Last season, Roma performed outstandingly in the Serie A. There was the promise that despite some notable departures, they had enough quality to finish among the top four at the end of the season.

If they fail to win the Italian cup, Rome will be out of Europe next season. The future of Totti and Cassano will probably be away from the capital in this eventuality with Juventus, Inter, Milan and Real Madrid being the most likely destinations for the two strikers.

Most of Roma's quality players would like to play continental football next season. The spectre of staying out would compel some to ask for a transfer. The bleakest part for Conti and club supremo Franco Sensi is the future. Where do Roma go from here?

Conti, or whoever will be coach next season, is unlikely to get a squad as strong as the current one. The club is in dire financial straits. That will inevitably lead to the sale of at least one from Cassano, Totti or De Rossi.

Perhaps, the only way forward for Roma is to look at their junior ranks.

In Gianluca Curci, Valerio Virga, Gaetano D'Agostino and Alberto Aquilani they have a promising array of home talent ready to fill the boots of those set to leave.

The club is not in a position to spend big and in view of this, it would be fundamental to convince Totti and De Rossi to stay.

Seria A numbers

1st defeat for Milan after a nine-match positive run as they threw away a 1-0 lead to go down to lowly Siena for the first time ever. It was a must-win game for both sides. The hosts played perhaps one of their best games this season. Milan took the lead through Hernan Crespo but Enrico Chiesa hit an equaliser barely 10 minutes later. At this stage, Milan went all out in search of a winner but in one of the last counter attacks, the much-travelled Francesco Cozza, ironically a Milan youth product, scored what proved to be the winner for Luigi De Canio's team. Juventus profited from Milan's unexpected slip by beating minnows Lecce 5-2 in Turin and went three points clear of the Rossoneri. Although the visitors broke the deadlock as early as the seventh minute, it was one-way traffic with Juventus scoring three times before the break. For the record, this was Juve's first home win over Lecce since their 3-0 success on February 3, 2002 (3-0).

2nd win on the trot for back-to-form Lazio as they came from a goal down to beat Bologna 2-1. Lazio's first away success since beating Chievo 1-0 on February 20 coincided with Bologna's second straight home defeat. The most recent of 14 draws in 59 league encounters between Bologna and Lazio came on February 25, 1990 (1-1). Lazio have now leapfrogged city neighbours Roma in the league standings. On Saturday, Messina almost made sure of avoiding relegation thanks to a narrow, though significant, home win against Udinese. Bortolo Mutti's side recorded their first home win since beating Lazio on March 6 thanks to an Ivica Iliev second-half goal. This was Udinese's first defeat after two wins and a draw. At the Olympic Stadium, Reggina prevailed over crisis-hit Roma to move out of troubled waters. Roma played well in the first half but faded away as the game entered its crucial stages. Reggina's first win after four straight defeats coincided with Roma's fifth defeat in their last six outings.

3rd straight win for Coppa Italia semi-finalists Inter. They scored a goal in each half to beat mid-table side Cagliari for the first time in five years. With this win, Roberto Mancini's Inter consolidated their third place. Cagliari's latest of five wins in 26 Serie A visits to the San Siro dates back to a decade ago whereas the most recent draw between these two sides dates back to November 30, 1996 (2-2). In a pulsating match which could have gone either way, Sampdoria overcame Palermo at their Luigi Ferraris stadium, the winner coming from a Francesco Flachi penalty deep into stoppage time. The Sicilians saw more of the ball but when it seemed that the two sides were going to settle for a draw referee Rodomonti awarded a dubious penalty for the home side. Livorno made a giant step towards extending their stay at the top flight by beating neighbours Fiorentina. The Viola have thus confirmed their truly dire record in Livorno, where they have prevailed only once in 11 league visits - 2-1 on January 6, 1935 (2-1 in Serie A).

4 years had to pass for Chievo to return to winning ways against Parma as Mario Beretta's side scored two goals after the break to record their second successive home win. Parma were a far cry from the side that reached the UEFA Cup semi-finals three days before. Chievo and Parma have never shared the spoils in four Serie A meetings at the Bentegodi. In another decisive end-to-end clash, Brescia needed a late penalty, scored by Luigi Di Biagio, to prevail against a gallant Atalanta side. This was Brescia's 14th win in 24 home meetings with Atalanta.

25 goals were scored on the 31st day: 18 coming from the hosts and the remaining seven from the visitors. Foreigners contributed with 11 goals. Total number of goals scored so far amount to 778. Juve's Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored three of his side's five goals against Lecce. Livorno's Cristiano Lucarelli grabbed the only brace of the day to give his side a crucial victory against Fiorentina. Two players - Fran-cesco Cozza (Siena) and Mattia Marchesetti (Chievo) - came on as substitutes and found the net. Three players, Claudio Rivalta (Atalanta), Federico Cossato (Chievo) and Cesare Bovo (Parma), received marching orders. All of the five penalties given in the past weekend were scored. Samuele Dalla Bona hit a late goal for Lecce in their 2-5 drubbing to Juventus. This was the first penalty Juve had against this season. Lucarelli gave Livorno a head-start against Fiorentina by converting a 12th-minute penalty. Luigi Di Biagio (Brescia) and Francesco Flachi (Sampdoria) both converted injury-time penalties to give their respective sides vital home wins against Atalanta and Palermo. Massimo Oddo grabbed Lazio's equaliser from the spot. Lazio then went on to beat Bologna.