Roma chief Walter Sabatini made surprisingly frank comments on Edin Dzeko, Juan Manuel Iturbe, Dani Osvaldo and Seydou Doumbia.
The director of sport sat down with Pagine Romaniste at an awards ceremony this evening and discussed some of the players who have been and gone.
“Iturbe is 23 years old, he’s full of problems, now he’ll return to Roma and we’ll see,” he said of the player on loan at Bournemouth.
Roma chief Walter Sabatini made surprisingly frank comments on Edin Dzeko, Juan Manuel Iturbe, Dani Osvaldo and Seydou Doumbia.
The director of sport sat down with Pagine Romaniste at an awards ceremony this evening and discussed some of the players who have been and gone.
“Iturbe is 23 years old, he’s full of problems, now he’ll return to Roma and we’ll see,” he said of the player on loan at Bournemouth.
“Osvaldo was a huge disappointment as a person, because as a player he was formidable. He let us down, but he was a prisoner of his own character.”
Was Dzeko also a disappointment, Sabatini was asked?
“There was a push from some quarters for it to go this way. When he was in a position to do things, he could.
“Leaving him out was a legitimate decision by the Coach, as the team was scoring three goals per game, so someone had to pay the price, but if you think that Dzeko when not playing that much still scored 10 goals, it’s not such a negative tally.
“He is fully aware that he has lost his place at Roma and needs to earn it back. Fantasy football inspired me.”
Was Doumbia also a flop from CSKA Moscow and will he return from Newcastle United?
“Many of us got it wrong with him, but when we loaned Doumbia out he went to score five or six goals in the Champions League, he wasn’t just wandering about.
“He wanted to go to Newcastle at all costs, but I knew he’d be a flop there. He went there because he had a strong attraction to that type of football, having scored against Manchester in the Champions League.”