Umberto Gandini says Francesco Totti has been very useful as a director and is “confident” that Roma’s new stadium will be built by 2020.
In the second half of his interview with Radio Anch’io Sport, Gandini also hailed the rapport between Roma boss Eusebio Di Francesco and sporting director Monchi, while commending VAR for its “excellent” start in Serie A.
“Totti’s new adventure has started very well,” explained the CEO.
Umberto Gandini says Francesco Totti has been very useful as a director and is “confident” that Roma’s new stadium will be built by 2020.
In the second half of his interview with Radio Anch’io Sport, Gandini also hailed the rapport between Roma boss Eusebio Di Francesco and sporting director Monchi, while commending VAR for its “excellent” start in Serie A.
“Totti’s new adventure has started very well,” explained the CEO.
“After an understandable moment of difficulty to understand how his life changed, he’s fallen perfectly into this role. He’s been very useful.
“He’s very close to the team and the players see him as a legend and an inspiration.
“We’re happy to work with Francesco. His birthday in Baku will get a lot of coverage on social media, given we’ll be there for the Champions League.
“Stadium? We’re confident and we hope that with a revised project, we can get permission to start working and building it next year. The objective is to have the new stadium ready for the 2020-21 season.
“Difficult start? I don’t agree because we didn’t see it that way. The result didn’t reward us against Inter and we hit the woodwork three times, but the most important thing is that the team have been built properly.
“Di Francesco? As a club, we’ve been very strong and supported the Coach. The atmosphere is what it is. All big teams have big expectations.
“It’s different at Roma because the city breathes with the team and the team breathes with the city.
“I think the corporate structure, the sporting side with Di Francesco and Monchi, looks good.
“Monchi? He’s here now and this new reality has hit him after being accompanied by Spalletti at first half.
“He then built a team, which we haven’t seen at work completely due to injuries.
“He has great experience and worked for years at a club that became important thanks to him, with sporting and economic results. He must now bring results to Roma, like myself.
“VAR? I think it’s excellent. For a long time, there had been a glaring disparity among those who saw the game, with the technology and the referee, who didn’t have it at his disposal.
“It’s been well accepted by the players, but we must also remember it’s an experiment and that it involves certain cases.”