Monchi insists Roma are in the Scudetto race and Italian football can be ambitious in the Champions League, but the Giallorossi “must find the grey area.”
The director of sport spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport, you can read the first part of that interview here.
Monchi insists Roma are in the Scudetto race and Italian football can be ambitious in the Champions League, but the Giallorossi “must find the grey area.”
The director of sport spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport, you can read the first part of that interview here.
“Italian football is on the way back, as don’t forget in our Champions League group are the Premier League title holders and Atletico Madrid, who played two Finals in the last four years: yet Roma are on top.
“Although they lost, Napoli were really glued to Manchester City. Then there’s Juventus, who in Europe fight it out with the biggest clubs.
“In tactical terms, Italian football is at the vanguard. Of course Italy can be ambitious in the Champions League. Right now the English clubs are doing well, but you have to go a long way back to find one of their sides in the Final, while Juve played two in the last three years.
“Italian football has no need to panic, as it’s close to the best, and I’m sure you will go to the World Cup. I say Barcelona are the favourites to win the Champions League this season, but I am not 100 per cent convinced. Manchester City are strong, but we cannot forget PSG.”
As for within the confines of Serie A, Monchi sees the Scudetto race between Napoli, Juventus, Inter and Roma, but not their city rivals Lazio.
“Why can’t we talk about the Scudetto? If you don’t show the carrot to the donkey, it won’t move. We aren’t the favourites, but we have the duty to try. We started behind, but are slowly getting towards the level of Napoli, Juve and Inter. We’re a work in progress, but at the end of the day, the construction will be beautiful.
“Lazio? I can’t cite everyone as possible candidates for victory. Like Roma, Milan are a work in progress and it would be unfair to call them one of the favourites, even if they did spend a lot of money.”
Luciano Spalletti said it was extremely difficult to work at Rome because of the peaks and troughs, something that Monchi agrees with.
“Here they need to discover the existence of grey. It’s not possible that after a victory you have already won the title and after one defeat to Napoli you belong only in fourth place.
“It’s impossible to put barriers in the place of enthusiasm, but we must be able to rein it in. It’s not healthy to have these bounces in mood. Find the grey area.
“We knew this was going to be a tricky year. I knew from the first day I arrived that Spalletti, who did a great job, was going to leave. Then we lost players like Mohamed Salah, Antonio Rudiger and Leandro Paredes, while Francesco Totti closed his career as the most important player in the club’s history.
“There were so many new faces, including a non-Italian director of sport like myself, that we can be happy with the progress so far. At the same time, we must be ambitious and demand more. We must find the internal, economic and sporting balance so that we don’t have to sell players. We must aspire to being a consistently elite team in Italy and Europe.
“Let’s just say that Atletico Madrid are a good example to follow. Even if we have to keep selling players, there’s no fear: just like with Sevilla, sales are made to consolidate a position, not damage it.
“The fans will only follow if we get results. They don’t come to the stadium to applaud the economic projections. If I finish the year with a €45m profit and no players, the fans are not happy. I am here to win, not blow smoke.”