An American Billionaire in Rome, or the Narrow Margins of AS Roma

Adem Ljajic drooped on the sidelines in Rome, with nowhere to hide, his mind seemingly still stuck in Moscow.

The second half was nearing its end, Manchester City en route to a 2-0 victory at the Stadio Olympico, and the Serbian starlet's sullen eyes said it all. The imperial Champions League hopes of AS Roma, the ever-ascending American-backed club, were nearing their tragic demise, for this year, anyways.

Who knows exactly where AS Roma owner and Bostonian billionaire James Pallotta's head was in those waning moments? He could've been pondering the potential FFP sanctions facing his team, mourning the loss of a potential eight-figure windfall that Round of 16 advancement would've delivered, or perhaps fretting the political scandal that had befallen the Italian capital and threatened to jeopardize the team's much ballyhooed 2017 stadium development project.

Meanwhile, Ljajic, a 23-year-old maestro midfielder subbed out in the sixty-seventh minute, did what he could to channel his misery: smashing an unsuspecting water bottle to the ground, holding his face in his hands for what felt like a many melodramatic minutes, zipping up his black hoodie extra high to conceal his mouth and sorrow. Mythical Roman striker Francesco Totti, the oldest Champions League goal scorer at 38, sat stoically, unsympathetically next to him, his steel blue eyes soaking up the sights of what may be his last run, at the only home stadium he has known in his 22 years of football.

Samir Nasri's masterful blast first signaled Roma's losing fate, and Pablo Zabaleta's human-turned-bull of a run, finish, and somersault in the final minutes delivered the death blow like the crazed Argentine matador he resembles, sending City into the knockout stage of the tournament for only the second time in club history.

In an instant, the audacious and fascinating Pallotta—a former Celtics owner who bought low on the Eternal City club with aims to elevate Roma's brand to heights known only by Manchester United and Real Madrid types—was handed a sobering reminder of the speedbumps paving the way to UCL glory; difficult losses minimizing the hyperbole and NFL possibilities packed into the announcement of the team's beautiful new stadium grounds.

Yes, the line between success and failure is razor thin in Europe, where climbing a level from frisky Italian contender (as Roma has proven itself) to the strata worthy of competing against the likes Madrid, Munich, Messi, and Mourinho, is a most slippery slope indeed (as Juventus has discovered all too well). The simple takeaway: take your chances when you get them.

And to think, on November 25's frigid night in Moscow, with 0,000 CSKA supporters in attendance due to FIFA sanctions, Roma's advancement seemed a formality; manager Rudi Garcia's outfit comfortably sat on second place and four points in the deathly Group E; meanwhile, City appeared DOA, shouldering the bulky expectations of a blood thirsty UK media, with a measly two points from four games, an impending home fixture with Bayern Munich, and a European exit loudly assumed.

Then what transpired: Ljajic's game-clinching, point-blank chance was somehow denied by CSKA keeper Igov Akinfeev's left pinky toe in the seventy-ninth minute; a stoppage time giveaway in the Roma half broke for Moscow midfielder Vasili Berezutski and his desperately hopeful cross missed two teammates, doing enough to flummox keeper Morgan DeSanctis and send the ball trickling into the corner of the net, for the game's final play and a 1-1 draw.

Only a few hours later, City turned a 1-0 first-half home deficit into an unthinkable 3-2 triumph over Bayern Munich on the back of Sergio Aguero's hat-trick and Bayern defender Jerome Boateng's puzzling red card. Hope suddenly manifested in Manchester, with the Blue Moon momentum carrying into this week.

And despite lacking mainstays Aguero, talismanic central midfielder Yaya Toure, and captain Vincent Kompany, Manny Pellegrini's boys shook off a shaky start (aided by a quietly heroic Joe Hart in goal) and chances from Jose Holebas, Gervinho, and Miralem Pjanic (and Ljajic, of course) before Nasri's sensational blast rocked the Curva Sud silent.

Sure, the Curva Sud will live to fight another day, this year even. Such are the promises for the maroon-clad ultras fan base with more than half of the Serie A season ahead, where Roma sits comfortably in second with 32 points from 14 games, three shy of Juventus, poised to challenge Turin's top side for the Scudetto.

And the sound construction of Roma's current iteration lends itself well to optimism and excitement. They've brought in aging European champions with something, if not everything, left in the tank: Maicon, Ashley Cole, and Seydou Keita. The club found opportunities to sell high on talented young defenders (Mehdi Benatia to Bayern, Marquinhos to PSG); and bought wisely on creative playmakers (Pjanic and Ljajic), young, pacey attackers (Juan Manuel Iturbe and Mattia Destro), future and past EPL dynamos (Kevin Strootman and Gervinho), and Greeks (Holebas and Kostas Manolas).

Better still, old guard torchbearers remain in Daniele de Rossi and Totti, equal parts Cal Ripken Jr. and Julius Caesar, an authentic Roman legend alongside the Pantheon and pasta; a potential ambassador and marketing tool that should serve the side well in the years ahead, navigating the complicated terrain of carving out international market share in the U.S. and around the world.

All of it adds up to a bright future—one that got the slightest bit bleak after crashing out of Group E sooner than expected.

"Rome wasn't built in a day, right?" Pallotta declared knowingly, cloyingly, following the announcement of the new complex.

Adem Ljajic knows painfully well that 'under construction' sign could've been lifted, with a little luck, on a fateful night in Moscow. Instead, Roma will now start building for 2015 continental success, presumably brick by brick.