Four Years On: How Rick Karsdorp found his footing

It's been four years to the day that Rick Karsdorp signed for Roma and the Netherlands international is now firmly settled into the Italian capital, having put his injury woes behind him and recaptured the form that made the Giallorossi make their move for the right-back in 2017.

Karsdorp initially arrived in Rome as a 22-year-old full international, and with an Eredivisie winners' medal round his neck from Feyenoord's title-winning campaign in 2016-17.

And Karsdorp immediately laid out ambitious plans to further his already superb development at the Stadio Olimpico.

“Coming to AS Roma is a great step forward for me,” Karsdorp said after signing on the dotted line on 28 June 2017.

“I come here with a great desire and enthusiasm to play and to realise my dreams.

"I know I still have a lot of room to improve and I hope to do that here.”

Unfortunately, things didn't initially work out quite as the player, club, and fans had hoped.

An ongoing knee problem first delayed Karsdorp's debut until Matchday 10 of the 2017-18 season, and the Dutchman's 82-minute bow in the 1-0 win over Crotone would be his sole appearance that term.

Another knee injury, suffered in that game, this time drew a line under Karsdorp's first year at the club before it had even really started, and it wouldn't be until the third week of the following Serie A campaign that Roma fans would see their new man in action again.

Further injuries restricted Karsdorp to 14 appearances in all competitions in 2018-19, before he returned to his boyhood club 12 months later in search of fitness and consistency.

It appears to have made a considerable difference, too, with 2020-21 marking a landmark 12 months of football for Karsdorp, who firmly established himself as first-choice on Paulo Fonseca's right flank.

By March, Karsdorp had earned a new four-year deal that will keep him at the Olimpico until at least 2025, on the back of 45 appearances in all competitions last year - making it the busiest season of his professional career as those previous injury concerns were emphatically put to bed.

Following his contract renewal, Karsdorp said: "The club has shown a lot of confidence in me. The first few years here were not the best for me, I didn't play a lot in the last few seasons - but now I have played almost every game this season and you see in the fact I have signed a contract until 2025.

"I knew I had to change something. I did that and, yeah, it’s going well."

That's putting it mildly.

Only Henrikh Mkhitaryan (10) registered more Roma assists in 2020-21 than Karsdorp (six), whose output was only bettered by Juan Cuadrado (nine) and Achraf Hakimi (eight) among defenders across the entire division.

Clearly, Karsdorp is settled in his surroundings, and back to his best. As he puts it himself, the Giallorossi faithful are now witnessing "the real Rick" in action.

"It’s not easy not to play much for three years," he added.

"You're in a new country and everything is harder. But now I have more experience, I came back and I know the league better, the city – even the traffic! Everything has helped a bit and now people are seeing the real Rick."

Karsdorp's resurgence under Fonseca will excite his replacement, Jose Mourinho, when the trophy-hoarding coach takes the Roma reins this summer.

Not only because of Karsdorp's superb form last time out, but also because of the youngster's unfettered ambition that will firmly align with the demands Mourinho - a league champion in four different countries and two-time Champions league winner - has of his players to deliver success.

"There's so much I want to achieve," said Karsdorp.

"Otherwise, I wouldn't have signed until 2025. As a player, you always want to win the league or the cup – so let’s go and try and do it!”