Alberto De Rossi, father of former Roma midfielder Daniele, revealed that he once had the chance to coach the Giallorossi first team.
The elder De Rossi recently left his role as the Giallorossi’s Primavera coach after 18 years in charge, being a key figure in the club’s youth development. He has now become the Director of Development at the club and is training to be a national team coach.
De Rossi looked back at his time in charge of Roma’s Primavera squad, discussing what the team mean to him and why he stayed for so long.
“Trigoria is like a second home to me, I’ve never considered it a place of work. I have a very good relationship with everyone. On the first day I remember perfectly all the emotions when they told me that the interest had become a reality.
“Being loyal for 29 years has been easy for me. Besides the passion, the work, it is the attachment to the club that makes the difference.
“I have shown this attachment because the bond is very strong, this makes everything take second place, even interest from other clubs. This has led me to stay here all these years.”
He then spoke about his son Daniele and why he turned down the chance to become Roma’s first team coach years ago.
“He’s an icon for the club, yes. I feel like an honest worker. We each did our job, we respected each other’s space and neither of us talked about the other. It could have given rise to gossip.
“In the past I had the chance to coach the first team and I turned it down precisely because Daniele was part of that squad. I think I would have created problems.
“Of the two of us he’s more of a Romanista. Calling it faith seems strong to me, but we could never get the Roma shirt off him as a child.”
The younger De Rossi spent the first 18 years of his professional career with Roma, being a part of the first team from 2001 to 2019. He made 613 appearances in total for the club, scoring 63 goals and providing 54 assists.
A. De Rossi: "Avrei potuto allenare la Roma, ho rifiutato perché c'era mio figlio Daniele" https://t.co/1U05qd7NTv
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