Following the magical Europa League evening at the Olimpico and a crazy win over Feyenoord on Thursday, young Roma leader Daniele De Rossi is focused on Monday’s challenge against Torino. The Giallorossi coach anticipates a tough game against the tactician he admires – Ivan Juric and a highly unpredictable Granata side.”They are difficult teams to analyze, with a clear identity. Juric was one of the first coaches I looked into when he was at Verona. I consider him a strong coach, and I think Torino is one of the toughest teams to face after going for 120 minutes in midweek. They have an offensive performance almost at the Champions League level so it will be a good challenge for us.”Ivan Juric = 1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ matches as a @TorinoFC1906_En coach 👏👏#TorinoLecce pic.twitter.com/aWwxc7E2hv— Lega Serie A (@SerieA_EN) February 16, 2024 According to the Roma coach, the biggest mistake would be to dwell on the success against Feyenoord.”Don’t talk to me about a post-Europa League hangover because if we go in with the wrong mindset, it means I’ve done everything wrong. At Frosinone, I said it was a mistake in my choices; two times in a row, no. I want to see a team that enters to win the game. Every game is the game of our lives; we have to fight. It would be understandable if we had won the Europa League, but we only passed the round of 16. We can celebrate and enjoy it for an hour, or at most 12 – and that’s it.”##NAJAVA_MECA_7899408##Against Torino, De Rossi will give a rest to more than one starter, but he doesn’t seem inclined to apply extensive rotation.”I don’t like changing ten players, but there was an important change: half an hour more of play. Today is one of those days where I want to see how the boys are. I’ve talked to everyone, I need to understand if they are able to play a very demanding game like every time we face Ivan Juric’s team.”##NAJAVA_MECA_7899404##Addressing the current situation of Romelu Lukaku, De Rossi says playing the big Belgian alongside the recovering Tammy Abraham is an intriguing prospect.”When I saw him close to Abraham, I immediately thought I wanted to play them together. Then we have to see when Tammy returns, who has been out for several months. It’s an idea that I might like, but we’lll have to wait and see if it works. We also have Sardar Azmoun as the backup striker; otherwise, I would have tried to keep Belotti. We want to try to use the flanks.”As for Chris Smalling, who still needs to regain match fitness, De Rossi remains realistic.”He’s doing well; we know he can’t play 90 minutes, then maybe he’ll prove us wrong. We have to understand if we’ll start him from the start or bring him off the bench; we’re evaluating this. I see him well, more fluid in his movements, and we’ll evaluate him.”🚨🎙️Roberto De Zerbi on Roma manager Daniele De Rossi: “De Rossi is a big friend. Our daughters are very big friends and I have big respect for him. I knew before he started to work at Roma he could be a good coach, because as a player he showed great personality.” #BHAFC… pic.twitter.com/9D0EaVV8M9— Owen (@owen_bhafc) February 23, 2024 Finally, commenting on the Europa League draw that pitted Roma against Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton in the round of 16, De Rossi was far from happy. Not just because the Eagles are a dangerous team – but because De Zerbi is his close friend.”I didn’t want Brighton; it’s a difficult game to prepare for, it has hurt many big teams in England. I respect De Zerbi a lot; with me in particular, he was an open book, he made books, data available, gave me words of comfort. Then our daughters are friends; they meet at the Roma Club in London to watch Roma’s games. I imagine his daughter won’t be wearing the Roma scarf against us. This thing brought us much closer; I think he’s a genius, he may like it or not, but he brought something new, and whoever does that is a brilliant coach. You can’t mimic someone who is brilliant from that point of view, but I think he’s someone who has changed something.”SERIE AFridayBologna – Verona 2-0 (1-0)/Fabbian 27, Freuler 65/SaturdaySassuolo – Empoli 2-3 (0-1)/Pinamonti 54 pen, Ferrari 77 – Luperto 11, Niang 64 pen, Bastoni 90+4/Salernitana – Monza 0-2 (0-0)/Maldini 78, Pessina 83/Genoa – Udinese 2-0 (2-0)/Retegui 36, Bani 40/Sunday14.30: (1.33) Juventus (5.00) Frosinone (10.0)17.00: (4.50) Cagliari (3.60) Napoli (1.90)20.00: (7.50) Lecce (4.40) Inter (1.45)22.45: (2.45) Milan (3.50) Atalanta (3.00)Monday20.30: (1.95) Roma (3.35) Torino (4.20)22.45: (2.40) Fiorentina (3.35) Lazio (3.25)***odds are subject to change
