Daniele De Rossi urges Roma to be more ‘like vultures’ after the win away to Salernitana and hails Lorenzo Pellegrini. ‘I could not think of a better captain.’
The former midfielder and club icon is having an ideal start on the Giallorossi bench, winning against both Verona and this evening Salernitana.
In both those matches, they had taken a 2-0 lead and then were forced to hang on under siege in the final stages to the 2-1 result.
Tonight it was a Paulo Dybala penalty – their first shot on target – and a Lorenzo Pellegrini tap-in after smart Dybala back-heel flick, before the Grigoris Kastanos free header let Salernitana back into the game.
“I told them the same that I did after the Verona game, which is that if we have this slow possession without moving the ball around quickly, without trying to break the defensive lines, we will not get any shots on goal,” De Rossi told DAZN.
“However, if we keep the ball, dominate the game and also then pounce on those moments like vultures, then we can be a really strong team.
“It’s something we must work on, figure out the moments of the game, when we need to wait and when we ought to pounce.
“In football you can talk about systems and tactics, but the fact is it’s all about 20 duels all over the pitch, when you have the ball and when the others do. That’s all football is about in the end, the rest is philosophy.
“However, if the lads are not in a condition to win those duels, then that is my fault as coach. I must have them ready to know when to go in and when to hold back. When I get them to understand that, they will make the difference.”
De Rossi has changed tactics already from Jose Mourinho, moving from 3-5-2 to 4-3-3, so these are early days.
“Romelu Lukaku was the only one to give us a bit of depth in the first half, but we were not giving him the right service. He becomes devastating when he has service. He worked hard and I think helped out even more than against Verona, rolled his sleeves up and fought with the others. He has the right spirit.”
The Salernitana goal was a concern, as Kastanos was allowed a completely free header from six yards.
“The lads worked with three centre-backs in recent years, so with four you divide the area up differently between you. We haven’t had much time to work on it in training, one day we work on one thing, one day another, then convincing the midfielders to close the passing channels.
“We will have more time to analyse. If you look, even before we introduced Dean Huijsen and had five at the back, we were already locking the spaces down better and not letting a needle through. We have to work on positioning on crosses from the by-line, but we also have to be really focused, otherwise you lose precious points in places like Salerno.”
When Dybala was stepping up to take the penalty, De Rossi seemed to say something to second-choice goalkeeper Mile Svilar on the bench.
“I was just joking around, I said to him, will he score? Of course he’ll score, it’s Dybala! It was just a bit of fun.”
Pellegrini was De Rossi’s teammate and has seemingly flourished under this new coach.
“I could not think of a better captain. Aside from the friendship that will always remain, he is so professional, focused, helps his teammates.
“I came back to Roma after a few years out and tried not to ask or get involved. I found a great group of lads who are focused and really care about this shirt we all love so much. Pellegrini is the best leader for them.”
De Rossi is also a fan of American Football and said he hopes Kansas City get the Superbowl this year.
Lorenzo Pellegrini steals it for Roma! ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/9w4MYeq27Q
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 29, 2024