Daniele De Rossi talked candidly about his rapport with Zdenek Zeman, how Luciano Spalletti dealt with Francesco Totti and being an eternal Roma future captain.
The midfielder spoke to Undici magazine in a lengthy interview. You can read the rest of it here and here.
He was asked about his rapport with Zeman, who famously dropped him in favour of Panagiotis Tachtsidis in 2012-13.
Daniele De Rossi talked candidly about his rapport with Zdenek Zeman, how Luciano Spalletti dealt with Francesco Totti and being an eternal Roma future captain.
The midfielder spoke to Undici magazine in a lengthy interview. You can read the rest of it here and here.
He was asked about his rapport with Zeman, who famously dropped him in favour of Panagiotis Tachtsidis in 2012-13.
“Over the years, the Coach proved himself to be a fair person. There are some sides to his character that caused him to enter into conflict with more or less everyone in the team that year, but this squad fought for him to the last second, even if some in Rome claim otherwise.
“We played a Coppa Italia tie against Fiorentina after every paper, every radio station, every TV channel and even some within the club had made us realise that if we lost, the Coach would’ve been sacked the day after.
“I was on the pitch that day. Fiorentina were strong, but we played 120 minutes by fighting hard. And we qualified. If a team wants to lose a game with many players missing and against a strong opponent, it’s not that hard to do…
“There was a player Zeman considered to be very good, Tachtsidis, and more suited to his style of football than me. I always found Coaches who started me even when I wasn’t fully fit, so with the law of averages I had to find one who didn’t like me.
“I don’t think Zeman is at all dishonest. His career and history speak for him, he always showed great rectitude, so I don’t see why he would compromise that for me. It wasn’t an easy time for me and I don’t think it was for him, either.
“In every Press conference they’d ask him why De Rossi wasn’t playing and every now and then he’d get fed up, replying with a provocative comment like ‘who will buy him now? He’s 30 years old, nobody wants him.’
“I spent a year being totally quiet, not even raising an eyebrow. I hoped for a little more protection, but I am also fully aware that it’s a really tough job being a Coach. He is the only one forced to speak all the time, before and after games, during the week. Every now and then you’re going to let something slip.”
Spalletti experienced a not dissimilar situation when he dropped Totti and was attacked by the media and fans. How was that experienced in the locker room?
“It was a very particular situation. The pressure was enormous, as if that was the only possible topic o discussion. I thought that wrong, this need people felt in the media to all align yourselves with one party or the other, to express an opinion at all costs.
“I never intervened, because it would be like being asked if you agreed with Mummy or Daddy? I had an opinion, I still do, but it would’ve been just another voice among so many others. Who would it have helped for me to pipe up?
“Over the last 16 years I’ve had the luxury of being able to experience Totti as more than just an idol. Being with him every day made me consider him normal, when he is not a normal player.
“When I had to protect him from an opponent, I protected him. When I had to argue with him, I argued. When something sat wrong with me, I’d point it out. When I had to show him affection, I did, and when I had to tell him he was being an idiot, I told him.
“It’s a luxury practically nobody is afforded in Rome, because here if you say Totti tied his shoelaces wrong, it’s as if you insulted the King.”
De Rossi has for over a decade been nicknamed ‘Future Captain,’ but as Totti is still wearing the armband at age 40, has that become a weight on his shoulders?
“If he retires or not, the captain’s armband, all this is of no interest to me. I think you can be a captain without wearing the armband. Above all, you can be a great captain even as a vice-captain.
“Aside from all that, there was never a duality with us. Perhaps there could’ve been rivalry if we had played in the same role, but in football terms, all the world recognises Francesco is unrivalled.
“In the hearts of the people, he is unique. He is loved by everyone because he scored 300 goals. I am not loved by everyone because I cannot score 300 goals.
“Plus my personality means I tend to say things every now and then that I shouldn’t…”