Just weeks into his maiden season in England, West Ham’s summer-signing Roberto could have been forgiven for aiming a longing glance at the substitutes bench as he picked the ball out of the net, for the fourth time, at the Kassam Stadium on a desperately dreary night for the Spanish ‘keeper in September’s 4-0 thrashing at the hands of League One outfit Oxford United.
The experienced goalie has seen his fair share of ups and downs in a career spanning 15 years for a host of top sides including Atletico Madrid, Benfica, Olympiacos, and Malaga.
London Calling
Before arriving at the Olympic Stadium, Roberto played deputy to Diego Lopez last season at Espanyol. The idea of living in London, playing for a big club, collecting a decent wage and staying on the periphery of the squad behind last year’s fan-voted ‘Hammer of the Year’ Lukasz Fabianski must have had a certain appeal after the Oxford thrashing, but the reality now is fraught with daunting uncertainty.
When the Polish shot-stopper went down injured against Bournemouth it was Roberto who strutted out onto the pitch, just three days after watching Shandon Baptiste roll the ball into his net to score Oxford’s fourth goal.
Now Roberto, who seemed destined to pick up his paycheck before disappearing into second-choice goalkeeping obscurity, has a chance to create a memorable name for himself in the Premier League.
Backed By The Gaffer
Despite West Ham supporters’ concerns, manager Manuel Pellegrini has backed the ‘keeper to perform admirably in Fabianksi’s absence.
“We brought Roberto and we have the same trust in him as with Lukasz. He’s a goalkeeper with an important career with big teams. I am absolutely sure he will replace Fabianski in the way we know he is able to do it.” Pellegrini said.
Roberto has yet to claim a Premier League victory, seeing his league debut against the Cherries end 2-2 while his first Premier League start came in the 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace. The former Spain U21 international can continue to expect every inch of his performances to be dissected and scrutinised, but Pellegrini believes that the 33-year old deserves the trust of the West Ham faithful.
“I don’t think the supporters have any doubt about Roberto. The two goals we conceded against Crystal Palace, one was a penalty and the other three metres from the line. Against Bournemouth also they conceded set pieces and against Oxford we had a very bad performance but not because of him. I see him working every day and everyone, especially the fans, must trust in him.”
Business Yet To Pick Up
Roberto certainly has the pedigree to handle his sudden promotion with Pellegrini outlying his experience as a key element behind the summer acquisition.
“First of all, he is experienced as a goalkeeper. Second, he played in big teams, Benfica, Zaragoza, teams fighting for titles so he has the mentality of a big team. I know he had some top performances at Malaga. That is one of the reasons why he was here. I’m very happy to have brought him in,” the West Ham boss continued.
However, after another questionable display, this time a 2-0 loss against an out-of-form Everton side, Hammers fans again took to twitter to criticise the Spaniard’s performance and as the Premier League edges towards taking it’s shape for the rest of the season, the pressure is on for Roberto and co. as Pellegrini’s men look to force their way up the table into a spot in Europe.
