Daniele De Rossi underlined the difficulties for his Roma ahead of their clash with Bologna and hit out at both Lega Serie A and Lazio.
The Giallorossi have been hot on the heels of Thiago Motta’s side for weeks, desperately fighting in the race for a Champions League finish, and their persistence has seemingly paid off following the confirmation that Serie A has secured a fifth spot in Europe’s premier club competition.
De Rossi’s Roma are now gearing up for a key head-to-head clash with Bologna, scheduled for 17.30 on Monday at the Stadio Olimpico. The result of this could prove decisive in the fight to finish fourth, putting pressure on both sides.
De Rossi press conference
Speaking in a press conference via TMW, De Rossi first discussed Roma’s mid-week win over Milan.
“It was a difficult match against Milan, a great physical and mental effort was needed. The boys made an incredible effort, but we recovered and are ready to play.”
He confirmed that Romelu Lukaku wouldn’t be available to face Bologna.
“Lukaku won’t be in the match. He had a minor muscular problem, but we’re confident it’s nothing serious. One of Azmoun or Abraham will play, we’ll understand better today. I won’t rule out that we can use them both.”
De Rossi was asked to give his thoughts on the decision to move the match against Udinese to April 25th.
“Yes, I find myself trained with the words of the club. I had talked about it with Lina, Maurizio and the presidents. Serie A itself has always helped us and the teams involved in Europe to manage these matches in the best way.
“A particular precedent has been created here, in my memory it’s the first time that a day and time hasn’t been granted to help a team involved in such an important semi-final. I’m sorry that Casini did not listen to our legitimate and sacrosanct requests.
“I’m sorry for Butti who is a man of football, he was in the Treble-winning Inter, he knows very well how one day more or less can be decisive, otherwise the Florida effect is triggered, repeated words make you feel tired.
“Repeating that we are tired, and they haven’t protected us can be counterproductive. It’s true that they haven’t protected us, but I won’t tell the kids anymore.”
The Roma coach touched on his expectations for the match with Bologna.
“I’ve said it many times already, they’re the most fascinating team in the league. Milan played well, Inter play well, Fiorentina play well, but they are teams with high quality players. Bologna on the other hand is a constructed team for mid-table and are doing a masterpiece.
Which is why my compliments are always sincere, to Thiago and to the club. Tactically they’re a very fluid team, the central players fit in a lot. It’s fascinating to watch them. It’s difficult to study them and face them.
“I congratulate Thiago. Ferguson’s absence will be an advantage for us, but I send him a hug because he will also miss the European Championship and I’m sorry.”
De Rossi spoke about how Roma’s attack changes without Lukaku.
“I haven’t seen much of Tammy, I want to find out. He’s a force of nature, he has great enthusiasm. Sometimes he loses energy with referees and fans. We have to channel his energy and his repressed anger for the nine months of absence, we manage to have a great player.
“We have to understand him, he is already understanding us. He is a fascinating player to coach, he is not too different from Lukaku. They have many years of age difference, Romelu is more experienced.
“I’d like Dybala to become a false nine, sometimes I’ve thought about it. To play with a false nine like Paulo you need great players on the flanks, explosive players. I would also like to fit the midfield in the deep attack and it’s not a great characteristic of ours.”
De Rossi was asked about Lazio president Claudio Lotito’s comments regarding Evan Ndicka.
“I had prepared myself for this question. Here is a tweet from 8.42pm from SS Lazio that says ‘Come on Evan, we are close to you’. It was 8.42pm, so there was the feeling it was something very serious. Luckily it wasn’t, but I don’t think anyone should hold it against us.
“I don’t think anyone should hold it against us that our friend and teammate isn’t dead or still in hospital with the after-effects of a heart attack.
“When I talked about people seeing the rottenness… go on social media, some send messages ‘eh but it’s nothing, you did it to gain 20 minutes’. But Roma had no advantage in not finishing the match.
“The inertia of the match at that moment was in Roma’s advantage If we really want to judge the usefulness of that stop, we did something that was against our interests.
“I repeat, if die-hard kids send messages and they only watch the football, it bothers us for 30 seconds and then it goes away, if we do it too in the world of football… even in the chats with Butti and Casini this thing came out.
“As if the fact that it wasn’t serious was our fault. Our mistake. As if the fact that we were scared and that something serious could happen wasn’t enough. It’s a shame because we lost something. I’m sorry that Lotito did it too.
“I have a good relationship with him, but this time he made a mistake. Maybe he missed a shot. We always miss opportunities to make progress.
“If some put a player’s interests and life forward, we should all agree. As did Udinese and many others who showed us solidarity, not only at 8.42pm but also until today.”
Finally, De Rossi discussed the new role of Lorenzo Pellegrini.
“It’s inevitable that he finds himself further forward on the left and then goes central. Bove and Cristante play on the other side and go out wide, Lorenzo plays on the left and is inclined to centralize.
“Tactically he amazes me, my collaborators didn’t think he was so strong and intelligent. I found him to be another player also on an athletic level, he is an incredible player.”