Former Roma full-back Vincent Candela believes this season will be “decisive” for Coach Rudi Garcia.
The Frenchman is in his third season with the Giallorossi, having finished second in the previous two seasons, and his compatriot believes this season will be the crucial one.
“Garcia arrived three years ago,” Candela said in an interview with Sky.
“In the first season, I was really surprised with the level of communication and the level of the squad, the way they played.
Former Roma full-back Vincent Candela believes this season will be “decisive” for Coach Rudi Garcia.
The Frenchman is in his third season with the Giallorossi, having finished second in the previous two seasons, and his compatriot believes this season will be the crucial one.
“Garcia arrived three years ago,” Candela said in an interview with Sky.
“In the first season, I was really surprised with the level of communication and the level of the squad, the way they played.
“He proved himself to be a great Coach. I saw him win with Lille in France, but the Italian League is a different thing, it’s more difficult and he didn’t win it.
“Last season I was a bit disappointed, because I thought they [Roma] could win it. We lost to Napoli in the Coppa Italia, and in the Europa League to Fiorentina, I expected more.
“This year is the decisive one, in the sense that I think it falls to Garcia to manage and understand the players, to get them to give 200 per cent.
“They need to feel a sense of belonging to Roma, to play as a team and not as individuals.
“There are so many players, a lot are new and everyone – not just in football, but in general – thinks about themselves too much these days.
“That’s the big difficulty in managing a squad, because you win with 22, not with one player.”
Candela won the Scudetto with the Giallorossi in 2001, and looks back fondly on that triumph.
“The Scudetto with Roma is hard to put into words, it was something magical, extraordinary. I’d put it on the same level as the World Cup [won with France in 1998], even though I’m French.
“We won in France and there were a million people on the Champs-Élysées, at Circo Massimo [in Rome] there were a million and a half!
“That Roma was a team full of stars, but we were able to manage it. [Fabio] Capello was there, it wasn’t easy for him, in his second year with Roma, but he ran the team well.
“The Roman people often made me feel like a gladiator, and that’s why it’s important for a player to play for a club like Roma.”