Roma Coach Aurelio Andreazzoli paid tribute to Francesco Totti for his record, but admitted they didn’t show as much quality as usual in beating Genoa.
Roma Coach Aurelio Andreazzoli paid tribute to Francesco Totti for his record, but admitted they didn’t show as much quality as usual in beating Genoa.
Totti converted an early penalty to become joint second all-time Serie A top scorer on 225 goals, but the Giallorossi stuttered before securing a 3-1 victory this evening.
“Can Totti catch Silvio Piola as top scorer on 274 goals? You’d have to ask him! He has already achieved an historic target and I have been fortunate enough over the years to see many of his goals in person.
“Tonight we had the opportunity to prove that we know how to suffer under pressure and that our goalkeeper has some very useful talents,” said Andreazzoli, who replaced Zdenek Zeman last month.
“We held out well against a Genoa side that had got itself back on track. Roma did well to suffer when necessary, then in the second half we completely changed our tactics.
“The lads adapted and at that moment the real Roma emerged. All it needed was that everyone bring out that tiny bit more after the first half, other than Maarten Stekelenburg and Alessio Romagnoli.”
It was a special night for 18-year-old defender Romagnoli, who scored on his full Serie A debut.
“He is a good lad and if he didn’t have quality then I wouldn’t have been so calm about picking him for my starting XI,” continued the Coach.
“I have no doubts about Romagnoli and the fact he scored was just the icing on the cake. We had studied that option from corners. This Roma can still improve.”