Daniele De Rossi said he believes he will coach Roma ‘one day’ and hopes to see Francesco Totti return to the club in the future.
The former Giallorossi captain joined Roberto Mancini’s staff at Italy ahead of the European Championship, and his experience as a coach started in the best possible way.
The former midfielder leaves the position as technical coach one month after the Azzurri won UEFA Euro 2020 and hopes to start his experience as head coach very soon.
“It was a difficult choice, because I was very well,” De Rossi told Sportweek. “I gave maybe one per cent and in exchange they allowed me to live an unforgettable experience.
“I will always be indebted to the national team. But it’s clear what I want to do, I want to coach. And as strange as it may seem, since I’m only 38 years old and have never sat on a bench, I feel ready.
“Continuing with the national team, waiting for the first offer to then be released, it wouldn’t make sense and would not be correct towards the Federation and towards Mancini, who behaved in a fantastic way with me.”
De Rossi believes he will return to the Olimpico in the future and admitted it’s his dream to coach the Giallorossi.
“Everyone knows that it has always been Roma for me,” he continued. “A second skin, a passionate and pure love.
“Of course, I would love to train them when I’m ready and I will have earned it for my value as a coach and not for my past as a player.
“I think it will happen one day. But it’s a desire, not an obsession. Now, I want to have my experiences in Italy and abroad.”
De Rossi also believes Totti could return to Trigoria one day in the future and felt the former hero ‘deserved a real chance’ as a manager at the club.
“He seems calm and satisfied in his new role as an agent,” De Rossi continued. “It also allows him to enjoy his family.
“But I hope to see him back at Roma one day. Instead of repeating that he wasn’t ready, that he should have studied, I believe that Francesco would have deserved a real chance as a manager, because he knows so much about football.
“Not being valued and considered turned him off and disappointed him. It hurt me to see him like that.”