James Pallotta is confident Roma have what it takes to be crowned Serie A champions this season, whilst he defends the defeats to Bayern Munich.
James Pallotta is confident Roma have what it takes to be crowned Serie A champions this season, whilst he defends the defeats to Bayern Munich.
Losses to Juventus and Napoli in recent weeks have threatened to derail the Giallorossi’s title tilt, but the President has backed the team to regain their belief and deliver a first Scudetto since the turn of the millennium.
“What do I expect from the League? I know where you're going with this…” Pallotta responded to the Corriere dello Sport.
“You want me to talk about the Scudetto, right? I’m thinking about the title, and I think we can win it. Why shouldn’t I?
“We have a strong team and I have no doubt about the players. It's true that we are three points behind Juventus, but we can make up the ground.
“We’re aiming to have an important season and we want to win again on Sunday. I have faith in Roma.”
Pallotta then attempted to explain the aggregate 9-1 defeat that his side suffered across two Champions League group matches to Bayern Munich.
“There’s no doubt that we played better [in the return match] against Bayern. [The first] was a freak match.
“It was a tough defeat to take, but we showed in Munich that we were over it. The team responded by showing what they were capable of,” he added.
“Losing can happen because you have to keep in mind the value of who we face. In Europe, at the moment, how many other teams have Bayern’s potential?
“I don’t know if the Germans are the best team in Europe or one of the strongest, but they certainly have an important squad made up of so many champions. Having played our game, it should make us think positively.
“What must be transmitted to Totti and the other players from Wednesday’s match? Trust.
“It's true that we lost, but we gave everything and strove to play. We mustn’t forget that we’ve had to deal with many difficulties, but we did not disintegrate.
“What have we lacked in the big games? Just take a look at our list of absentees. I’m not the type to go looking for excuses or justifications, but when you face Bayern Munich, it’s not easy to not give up with so many of your players missing.
“Especially in defence, we were missing Castan, Maicon and Astori. It's inevitable that certain absences affect a Coach’s preparation for a match.
“Roma did what they did because it was a very tough match. Now we must look to the future with optimism. We’ve now faced Bayern twice, so our destiny is in our own hands.
“Qualifying? I’m sure we can. City lost at home to CSKA, who are now below us, and we will face them in the next match.
“In Moscow, will it be a walk in the park? Of course not. We won the first meeting, but this will be another match and completely different. In the Champions League, anything can happen.
“We'll have to prepare ourselves for this encounter and then focus on the last game against City. They are still a great team and not out of the running.
“If we beat CSKA and City don’t beat Bayern, will our passage be secure? We’ll only think about doing well in Moscow.
“In the Champions League, we’ll keep going because it's a great competition, but before that, there is the League.”