Daniele From Rossi he spoke to the microphones of Sky Sport at the end of the championship match against Juventus. Below are the words of the Roman coach.
An analysis of the match? Was there a lack of quality up front?
“It was important for us to play a solid game. The team remained united after trying to do so in Cagliari and not having done so with Empoli. It’s a period full of pressure and it was very important to play well, to come away with a few points. Now we can work, not with all the players; but we know who will be there. It’s a good starting point: we could have done better with the ball, but Juventus are strong. And in the second half, incredible players came on”.
On the communication between the team and Dovbyk?
“They don’t have a hard time finding each other: Dovbyk scares everyone. Motta left Bremer and Gatti on him, we could have been free on the wing but we were less dangerous up front. He prepared it well, his defenders are very physical. Dovbyk, however, has worked hard, many goals will come”.
A Roma with a lot of spirit, which had not been seen in the other matches. You said: “We will soon fight for the Scudetto”. Are you convinced?
“It depends on what we mean by short time. I didn’t mean this season, I was referring to the market. We’ve taken good players and you can’t bring in 15 in a year. By bringing in people with quality, hunger and energy there won’t be any distance with the other teams. But I’m convinced that we’ll fight for the Scudetto.”
Good performance by a team that you put on the field with courage. The first time Juve counterattacked, the team got scared and you complained often. How long will it take to see personality?
“You’ve picked up on an important nuance. With Empoli, the first 8-9 minutes went well in their half. Then on the counterattack we got scared and the first half became ugly. The same thing happened today. We started well, then we got scared. If there’s space between two players we can always go there. We have to put football in front of fear. In these moments, when we’re holding back, we have to realize that in the 94th minute there’s spirit. We have to keep the bar straight when it seems like we’re suffering.”
From Rossi to Dazn
Maybe you didn’t get the three points, but you found unity again. How happy are you?
“I’m happy, we started from that. With courage and humility we knew we had to defend against good players. The boys were almost perfect, especially the central defenders and the wingers. We have to do better with the ball, but we had stretches in which we kept it. This is a game played on equal terms, but against strong teams you have to be solid”.
You faced perhaps the worst team with great personality. In the last 20 meters you seemed to ask more from Dovbyk. Satisfied?
“I’m satisfied with the performance, he worked hard and Thiago left Gatti and Bremer behind him who were marking him. We had to be quicker to move the ball, to touch it, we had to put them in difficulty like that. Everyone was good, Dovbyk will score when the team moves the ball faster”.
Among the positive elements are also the fans. Now there is a break that will be good to work on certain aspects. What will you insist on?
“They won’t be there, they’ll go to the national team. We’ll work with those who stay, analyzing and looking for solutions to try to be stronger. We’ll also work with some other players; one has arrived who hasn’t trained for a while… Hermoso… Once upon a time when we were listed on the stock exchange this was a very serious thing (laughs, ed.)! We’ll work with the youngsters. Pisilli played an important match, played on a pitch like this against Juve. We’ll prepare as best we can for a very difficult match like the one against Genoa. There will be room for everyone: the most positive thing is that the substitutes came on in an exceptional way and this gives me hope”.
On Saelemaekers? Could he be a wild card? Do you have anything to say about Pisilli?
“Alexis is important, especially for the size we have taken. In the first phase of the transfer market we wanted less balanced and more instinctive wingers, he is very strong in the defensive phase. He can also play on the right. On Pisilli… I’m happy, because it’s a signal for everyone. There is room for all those who go fast in training and don’t complain. I treat those like that a little better. Today he played a more than good game, considering Juventus. We are talking about an incredible guy”.
De Rossi in press conference
A judgment on Dovbyk?
“I rate his performance positive, because he worked hard. He helped a lot, he worked, we had a strong team in front of us, with an intelligent coach who left us in inferiority. To serve him better we need to be better at finishing. We wanted to bring the ball from right to left to disorganize them, in the area there is little to do. Today we didn’t get to serve him very much but he is strong, he is a unique striker. Nothing to worry about, he will go back to scoring goals as he has always done”.
How do you rate this draw?
“There was pride, here in Rome even though we are in the third game of the championship there is a bit of a heavy air, as if we were in quicksand. We were less aggressive, but more compact. The first half against Cagliari cost us the position in the standings we have. Last year we were more explosive but we conceded more at the end of the season. Compactness will be our mantra this year”.
Was this the Roma you expected from the market? Will Dybala and Soulè play together?
“We saw them together. We’ve already seen them together in a segment of the game. Everyone wants to see quality players together, but you also need balance. Defending differently can help support them, also playing with more defensive and muscular midfielders. They are two who run anyway. Today it was a technical choice, Dybala suffered against Cabal against Verona last year. Everyone likes to see offensive players, but then you have to mark Yildiz. Get to the point of making them all players together”.
How should Dovbyk be served?
“He played the team’s game. Gatti and Bremer were also there at the far post. Sometimes we were a bit slow, other times in the last 30 meters we lost the ball. From the first questions I understood how it will go this year, Dovbyk will score a lot of goals. It was a balanced game, it’s not like Vlahovic had 45 shots on goal”.
