Umberto Gandini is relishing Roma’s ‘dream’ Champions League quarter-final with Barcelona and reveals Francesco Totti is learning quickly as a director.
Roma have been drawn Barca in the last eight of Europe’s elite club competition, while Totti is coming to the end of his first season as right-hand man to sporting director Monchi.
“Barca? It’s a great source of satisfaction for us,” he told Radio Anch’io Sport.
Umberto Gandini is relishing Roma’s ‘dream’ Champions League quarter-final with Barcelona and reveals Francesco Totti is learning quickly as a director.
Roma have been drawn Barca in the last eight of Europe’s elite club competition, while Totti is coming to the end of his first season as right-hand man to sporting director Monchi.
“Barca? It’s a great source of satisfaction for us,” he told Radio Anch’io Sport.
“We’ve reached an important target, which this club hadn’t reached for years. Barcelona? We’ll play a match that many can only dream of.
“It’ll be an exhilarating and tough challenge, but nothing’s certain in football. We’ll use our weapons and the advantage of having a free mind.
“The first leg will be crucial. We’ll try to score at Camp Nou, aware however that we’ll face a player like Messi, who can change games whenever he wants.
“Qualification for the knockout stages took a bit out of us mentally, and we paid for the winter break.
“It’s a shame that we lost ground on the top two, who are going at a mad pace. New stadium? The bureaucratic process is still ongoing, but we hope to lay the first brick before the end of 2018.
“Totti? He’s central to the new project, he’s living through a delicate and important transition from the field to the desk, but he’s learning the secrets of his new profession.
“Schick? He came in after a difficult summer due to injuries and a lack of preparation. It hasn’t been a good season for him, but the Coach has kept him in contention.”