Roma coach Daniele De Rossi is ready to help his ‘brother’ Daniel Osvaldo after the ex-Serie A and Italy striker opened up about his battle with depression and addictions: ‘I’ll be here.’
Osvaldo revealed his battle with depression and addiction in an emotional video published on Instagram on Thursday and De Rossi briefly spoke about it after a 1-0 loss against Brighton.
“I’ll talk to Dani because Dani is a brother to me. We spoke two days ago, after the Fiorentina game, we sent each other pictures of some Fiorentina-Roma games from the past,” the ex-Italy midfielder said at a press conference.
“We have such an intimate relationship that I’d prefer not to say anything, especially because I didn’t know everything. On my side, I can say that I will forever be here for him, like when we were teammates, as he did for me when I went to Argentina. If he wants, I’ll be here for him.”
De Rossi and Osvaldo spent two seasons at the Stadio Olimpico and the former forward helped De Rossi when the 2006 Italy World Cup winner moved to Argentina to play for Boca Juniors in the final months of his playing career.
Osvaldo scored 41 goals in 124 Serie A matches, making his senior Italy national team debut in October 2011. He netted twice in 14 appearances with La Nazionale.
Roma qualified for the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday despite a 1-0 loss against Brighton. The Giallorossi had secured a 4-0 win at the Stadio Olimpico in the first leg so they beat Roberto De Zerbi’s side 4-1 on aggregate.