Lorenzo Pellegrini maintains Jose Mourinho is ‘exactly what those of us at Roma – the players, coaches, staff and fans – all needed. He is the perfect choice at the right time.’
The midfielder has been promoted to captain after Edin Dzeko’s falling-out with previous coach Paulo Fonseca in January, so sat down with the official Roma website to look back over his personal 2021.
That included the arrival of Mourinho, an appointment that was announced between legs of a Europa League tie with Manchester United.
“It was a thunderbolt, nobody expected the news,” said Pellegrini.
“Fonseca always tried to pass on his way of seeing the game to us and, in my opinion, he left an impression on many of us. He taught me a lot, he helped me to improve and I will always be grateful for that. I have a really good relationship with him.”
However, the situation has changed with Mourinho, who seems to have the Giallorossi supporters very much on his side, even when results and performances do not arrive.
“What I like most about the boss is that he is interested in just one thing: working hard to try and find new ways to win. That’s what I want most of all too. I am 25, I am playing for Roma and I want to win. All the work we do is about wanting to achieve that target and I too, as a player, want to win and want to finish first.
“Mourinho is exactly what those of us at Roma – the players, the coaches, the staff and the fans – all needed. I think he was the perfect choice at the right time.”
Despite Mou’s pedigree, he oversaw a shocking 6-1 Europa League defeat to Bodo/Glimt.
“Everyone here understand how bad the loss in Norway was,” admits Pellegrini.
“We need to keep that one in our heads to make sure it never happens again. Sometimes you are going to lose games, but it can’t happen that you lose one in that fashion.”
“What I like most about the boss is that he is interested in just one thing: working hard to try and find new ways to win. That’s what I want most of all too. I am 25, I am playing for Roma and I want to win.”
🗨️ Lorenzo Pellegrini discusses the key moments of 2021… #ASRoma
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) December 30, 2021
There is no greater goal than trying to find new ways of achieving that positive result, which I think is applicable to any result oriented project.
I most definitely agree with #LP7 Daje Roma💪❤️💛