Roma Coach Luciano Spalletti acknowledges “if I don’t win something, I’ll have to go home”.
The Giallorossi are still in the running for the Europa League, Serie A and the Coppa Italia, but the tactician hasn’t committed his future beyond the end of the current campaign.
“Why did I come back?” Spalletti considered, speaking to French sports newspaper L’Équipe.
“Quite simply the affection I have for this city, for these supporters, for the Giallorosso people who are omnipresent every day.
Roma Coach Luciano Spalletti acknowledges “if I don’t win something, I’ll have to go home”.
The Giallorossi are still in the running for the Europa League, Serie A and the Coppa Italia, but the tactician hasn’t committed his future beyond the end of the current campaign.
“Why did I come back?” Spalletti considered, speaking to French sports newspaper L’Équipe.
“Quite simply the affection I have for this city, for these supporters, for the Giallorosso people who are omnipresent every day.
“And above all the love I have for the club, which is also the club of my children’s hearts.
“For a variety of reasons, winning is imperative here. We don’t have the time to think of a gradual progression, everything is accelerated, lived at full-speed.
“So it’s very simple: if I don’t win something, it means I haven’t done any better than my predecessors and, as a result, I’ll have to go home.”
Spalletti was also asked about the style of play employed during his successful first spell.
“The general idea was to look for a style of play which is commonplace now, but which then had few adherents.
“I’m referring to the style Pep Guardiola imposed on Barcelona, which took the name ‘tiki-taka’ and is based on possession of the ball and control of the game.
“This is what we were trying to do, on our level. With his mobility, [Francesco] Totti was perfect to reduce the spaces when possible and allow us numerical superiority in the midfield.
“The opponent was then forced to break their lines and we used the great skill of our players to attack the depth.
“The public and the critics saw our great ability to counter the team we were facing, probably less so how much my players liked it, because it always them to always have the ball glued to their feet.
“The current team occupies the pitch in a different way. It’s more stretched and therefore less stifling.
“That’s explained by the different technical characteristics of the players who make up the squad.”