Rudi Garcia insists Francesco Totti is still important for Roma, but admits ‘he can’t play every game’.
The Giallorossi captain is 38-years-old, and with the arrival of Edin Dzeko, there has been speculation he will play a bit-part role this season.
“We’re fortunate to have a great captain,” Garcia said in his Press conference ahead of the trip to Verona.
“Nothing has changed with the quality of someone who is a champion on the field and in life. He was invaluable [in the pre-season friendly] against Valencia.
Rudi Garcia insists Francesco Totti is still important for Roma, but admits ‘he can’t play every game’.
The Giallorossi captain is 38-years-old, and with the arrival of Edin Dzeko, there has been speculation he will play a bit-part role this season.
“We’re fortunate to have a great captain,” Garcia said in his Press conference ahead of the trip to Verona.
“Nothing has changed with the quality of someone who is a champion on the field and in life. He was invaluable [in the pre-season friendly] against Valencia.
“[But] Soon he’ll be 39-years-old, and he can’t play every game without losing some sharpness and fitness.
“He’ll always be an advantage to the team as long as he’s pleased to play the game of his Roma.
“Individuals can make a difference, but if the ball doesn’t get to the strikers they can be called Totti or Dzeko, but it will be difficult for them to make a difference.
“Totti will have a big role to play, both on and off the field.
“Will Dzeko change things? I don’t think so, except we’ll have a striker who will always be in the penalty box. But of course, even if there’s one there must still be others.
“We’ve improved, we can do more things and I think that’s a big advantage in winning games, because when something isn’t working in a match I can change the shape, there are a lot of things we’ve worked on.
“[Mohamed] Salah and Dzeko haven’t been with us for long, but we saw what they can do against Sevilla.
“We’ve also worked on Totti and Dzeko playing together.”
The Lupi have also added Wojciech Szczęsny to their ranks, and Garcia revealed the Pole will start ahead of Morgan De Sanctis tomorrow.
“I’ve made my decision for tomorrow. I talked to Morgan and to Szczęsny. Roma are lucky enough to be able to count on two experienced goalkeepers.
“I wouldn’t say there will be a number one and a number two. Szczęsny will start tomorrow, then the person who is the best at a particular moment will play.”
Finally, Garcia addressed the issue of Kevin Strootman, who is still recovering from knee problems.
“Kevin is a terrific player,” the former Lille Coach explained.
“He’s one of the best in the world, and he has the full support of myself and the club. He’s working hard, and he’ll come back even stronger because he’s young.
“We expect and hope he’ll be back as quickly as possible.”