Luis Enrique admits he “clearly expected” Francesco Totti to score the penalty in Roma’s draw with Juventus” data-scaytid=”2″>Juventus.
Luis Enrique admits he “clearly expected” Francesco Totti to score the penalty in Roma’s draw with Juventus.
Daniele De Rossi had put them in front and Giorgio Chiellini equalised, but the score remained 1-1 because Gigi Buffon saved Totti’s spot-kick.
“I clearly expected it to be a goal,” confessed the Coach. “I thought Francesco would do what he knows how to do best – score a goal. But he was faced with Buffon, who is an intimidating goalkeeper.
“I enjoyed the first five minutes of the game, then I saw Juve are a great side and their Coach has given them real character. The attitude of my team was wonderful, even with three or more players missing. The fans were also right behind us.”
De Rossi was pulled back into central defence with 19-year-old Viviani given his Serie A debut in midfield, but Roma still seemed more solid than usual.
“We wanted to keep the ball in the first half, but Juventus were putting pressure on us. After conceding the equaliser, we saw that the possession was less balanced and created four scoring opportunities. The team did what the fans wanted to see tonight, so we hope to continue this way.”
There was also controversy, as Pablo Daniel Osvaldo was clearly irritated at being substituted and went straight down the tunnel. This was his comeback after a suspension for punching teammate Erik Lamela.
“I know Osvaldo very well, he is a good man and a spectacular player. He wants to win and it’s normal that he reacts this way. This is the grit I want to see.”
Enrique was also asked about a comment he made during yesterday’s Press conference, in which he said “never say never” about possibly resigning.
“If I look back at the recent history of Roma, then Luciano Spalletti and Claudio Ranieri both resigned. When I talked about this, I said that in football you can never say never, but today I saw a faithful group of fans.
“The club believes I have the opportunity to do something. I will continue working until I see there is a problem with the club.”