Daniele De Rossi felt it ‘wasn’t a disastrous season’ for Roma but that they ‘could’ve done better’, looking to Atalanta as an example to follow.
The 40-year-old Italian tactician took over at the Giallorossi back in January, following the club’s decision to sack Jose Mourinho, and he quickly managed to impress in the dugout, winning six of his first seven league games in charge.
Roma’s form began to dip a little from March onwards, dropping points to teams like Fiorentina, Lecce, Bologna and Napoli, a run that ultimately saw them miss out on a spot in the Champions League.
De Rossi reflections
Speaking via TMW, De Rossi first discussed his opening six months in charge of Roma.
“It wasn’t a disastrous season, but it could’ve been… I could’ve done better. I wanted to bring Roma back to the Champions League and to the Europa League final, but things were done correctly and above all they need to be done now so that Roma can rise to that level.”
He was asked how far away the Giallorossi were from his ideas.
“It’s not a question of me or of another coach. When you find a team created by others, it’s necessarily a little different. I like having the same ideas as the club, last night we discussed what we have to do.
“I’m happy to have the same ideas as the director and Lina Souloukou, the ideas are always easy to carry out, but we also have plans b, c, d etc.”
De Rossi spoke about his considerations for the future.
“We had prepared yesterday’s match from a mental point of view, there are matches that officially count for nothing, but the players must respect the league table, the fans and the profession. I saw this attitude.”
He discussed the next steps ahead of the club.
“I’m the one who has to give them the tools to score, I want to give them something more, I want to put them in the best conditions. Sometimes the results cover things up a bit…
“We’re left with a less than sweet ending to the season, even if that of yesterday it was a strange match and it was decided by a player who should have been sent off a few minutes earlier.
“We ended up with empty batteries and we have to make sure we improve, the example is still Atalanta, who for me have been for many years. We have to have that kind of attitude both physically and mentally.”
De Rossi was asked if he was hoping to see Atalanta drop points to help his side qualify for the Champions League.
“I had no doubts that Atalanta would do their duty… Even against us they must have seemed tired and distracted by the Coppa Italia… But the team are built like this, to do these things.
“I had no doubts, they did it and I didn’t expect that they would do us any favours. We should have scored a few more points during the year.”
He spoke about a recent conversation with the club’s owners.
“We talked about our things, our opinions. Now that the season is over, we have to start planning.”
Finally, De Rossi was asked about the transfer budget.
“The club and I will talk about it, they are not things that are said publicly. They are things that are managed within the walls of Trigoria.”
They shoulda looked at Parma as example long time ago when it comes to UEFA trophies. Parma may be a yo-yo club now but they have more European level trophies than both Roma & Lazio combined.