Walter Sabatini believes Roma need a winning mentality, otherwise they will continue to suffer from their “weakness of winning and losing in the same way”.
Sabatini stepped down from his position of Roma sporting director on Thursday after five years of service, and he reflected on the highs and lows of his spell with the Giallorossi at a farewell Press conference.
“Thank you all for being here,” he began.
Walter Sabatini believes Roma need a winning mentality, otherwise they will continue to suffer from their “weakness of winning and losing in the same way”.
Sabatini stepped down from his position of Roma sporting director on Thursday after five years of service, and he reflected on the highs and lows of his spell with the Giallorossi at a farewell Press conference.
“Thank you all for being here,” he began.
“The first time I came here, I was feeling better, then the high pressure changed things a tad. I don’t remember my first Press conference, I could go back on some things, but let’s move on.
“This is still my team. They’ll still be there physically, but I’ll be a participant. The squad are [of a high] level, there’s the possibility of a great season with a great Coach like Spalletti. Our cycle is a positive one.
“Emotionally speaking, I regret not saying goodbye to the Roma fans at the Circus Maximus. I always thought the different squads we worked with, that they could compete for the Scudetto.
“I won’t say that I’m upset about this, but I’m certainly sad. I’ll conclude by saying that I was the sporting director of the Roma, the only sporting director of Roma in recent years.
“I did everything thinking about Roma first. This experience wasn’t a fraction of my life, but my [whole] life. Everything that happened before I came here was a bit dull.
“I can say that I’ve lived for Roma, I’m jealous of this feeling and concerned that I’ll be tired in my next role for this experience.”
“I want to thank all the fans who worked with me. There are people here, whom I really valued so much, although I’m not a man who likes to make my feelings clear.
“My experience here was supported by many people. There are some exceptional professionals, and I trust them.
“The Giallorossi will go on to be great without me, the team are very strong and formed by serious lads who want to do something important.
“I took Roma to Europe’s best tables. We’ve always battled. I always went to the mercato with the aim of improving the squad.
“Glory should be seen as a necessity now, so we’ve opted for a cultural revolution. I’m sorry not to have tasted success, but I still have a lot of experience because we have a great Coach.
“I hope he’ll stay for at least five years. We must think about glory as a need, we must act and think like this.
“I’m disappointed, here we’ve lost and won in the same way. This is our weakness.
“My three best experiences? Of course, when I came here for the first time. I think I did something important, but not triumphant.
“I wanted Roma to impose themselves from all aspects, and at the time I thought it could really happen.
“I won’t forget the victory in the derby and I want to mention Ibarbo, who was so criticised. We bought him for a certain amount, a €2m loan, and he was loaned to Watford.
“That win against Lazio, in which Ibarbo and Iturbe were together, I’ll take it with me. I also remember that [Michael] Bradley goal in Udine, an important victory for our records.
“Negatively speaking, I can’t not mention the defeat to Lazio in the Coppa Italia final.”