GEROLIN ROMA BALZARETTI – One of the many former players of Roma who have become high profile managers in their careers Manuel Gerolin. The former midfielder also directed theUdinese, last team he saw Federico Balzaretti as director. These are his words.
Gerolin’s words
It seems that some pawn in the organization chart will be inserted: we are talking about Balzaretti. What do you think of how Roma is moving?
“It is clear that the technical area is important, because it is at the base. The general manager and the secretariat are important components, but hiring strong players is fundamental. Strengthening a sector that has had problems in recent years is important.”
In Coverciano they give important ideas on how to evaluate young kids. What do you see in a boy?
“It’s difficult to explain, it takes talent there too. Seeing how they move, the human relationships, the technique… You can see everything, but the number of people is not enough: it’s better to have a few quality people. I did it for years at Udinese, we were pioneers. Teams like Chievo and Brescia copied us, and those who were there now work in Naples, Bologna, Atalanta… We need an area that resists over time and that is not tied to the coach and sporting director, because they change. With the strong structure you always know where to take refuge.”
A coach who has lived in this area for a long time has returned to Roma, but this club has not been able to find stability.
“Ranieri is a man of experience, he is a football man and this is important. He has always been a coach, but he understands the roles, he knows the people, he knows which buttons to touch. It’s the quality of the people that makes the difference, it seems to me that mistakes have been made in recent years. The roles were filled, but whoever was there was evidently not up to the task. It is important to understand who can play in Rome and in Italy, because there are often players who do well in other places but not here. It is necessary to know how to evaluate purchases carefully also in relation to the budget you have and the value of the player.”
The good scout is able to understand the player, but the ability to impose himself in contexts is difficult mentally.
“This is why you need experience, you need to have had a lot of experience in many situations to understand these things. This is the step: understanding where a player can impose himself well, here for example it is necessary to have the head to react to the pressure that I experienced in Rome.”
Even tactically we need to contextualise the players, Dovkyk is the perfect example.
“The leagues are all different: Ligue 1 is different from La Liga. the Premier League is different from Serie A. Tactically, someone who does well in Italy plays well everywhere, Serie A is not good but it is difficult to play. Those who are not used to it find it difficult.”
There has been talk of a revolution since January. Can it be done already in the winter window? And what do you think of Dybala at Galatasaray?
“I would always keep strong players, those who have technique always give something when they find the physical and mental condition. But those who are inside experience the situation better and understand better. On the first question, I have never believed in the revolutions made in the winter: at that point it is better to train those who are already there in a different way. I would think from this perspective more than anything else in June, in the summer it can change more”.
We should have a coach in hand to plan now. What role does a sporting director have in choosing the next coach?
“The large technical area creates high-level teams regardless of the coach who will be there. A coach can give indications, but the DS has greater knowledge of the objectives, the budget and the line to adopt. It’s the example of Napoli: Conte took Lukaku and Buongiorno, but the DS did a great scouting job on the rest of the team.”
