Daniele De RossiRoma’s coach, spoke in the press conference after the draw in Naples: “In the last match we played 18 minutes and in the one against Bologna we kept the ball more than them, we shot on target more than them. Only in the final phase did we played worse than them because Bologna plays very well. Then first there was Milan and I don’t think we were defeatists, on the contrary, apart from when we were down to 10 men. For me the conservative attitude is part of the team, football It’s many things and my team must be many things. Had we been more conservative, perhaps Napoli would have shot less on goal, especially on some things we had analysed, such as Osimhen’s depth big difference, especially if I try to remember my second match, with Salernitana, or the first half of Verona or some moments of Roma-Inter we had moments in which we suffered and defended with gritted teeth, as every team must be able to do “.
The team looks tired. It worries you?
“At the end of the championship everyone is a little tired, it’s difficult to see very brilliant teams. Today I didn’t see the match against Bologna because we were in the changing rooms. There are moments in which the team seems less brilliant than in the central phase of the championship, that could be and sometimes you don’t notice it because you’re facing teams that are clearly inferior. For example, against Udinese before the suspension we were growing. Then when you play against teams as strong as Napoli it can make you look even more tired of what you actually are. It’s a series of contributing factors that lead to playing a less brilliant game, to conceding a little too much. But for me we played against a very strong team, which had a phase of confusion in the central phase of the championship but today he prepared this match like the big teams do when they are challenged or are in difficulty. Being 9 points behind Napoli means having made an important run-up, because when I arrived we were 2 points behind. This must be evaluated in the medium to long term. Coming in front of a team, which for me is inferior only to Inter, is a sign that we have done something important. And to do something important with this continuity, sometimes you’ll feel out of breath, the importance of the next matches will give us great energy, I’m sure of it.”
How important is this goal for Abraham?
“It’s very important for an attacker to always score, let alone when he comes back from injury. He damns himself when he doesn’t succeed in something. I think this goal can help him. It’s nice that this equalizer came from a spark from Evan (N’ Dicka ed) and Tammy’s header”.
An important period, how important is tiredness?
“Some time ago I made a joke: I think that talking too much about tiredness makes you tired and doesn’t help you feel better. It’s not the right way to prepare for all these matches. We’re working with intensity, we’re also sipping the days of rest because sometimes a day of rest is better than a day of training with the team tired in the head. We will understand what to do this week. The tiredness is there, Leverkusen will also be a bit tired given that they have been playing for 12 months winning practically almost all the matches. We are arriving a little tired and sometimes you seem more tired because the opponent is good. After the 3-1 Bologna were very good at making us look tired because they extended the spaces and the management of the the ball was clean, so we always arrived late. Today we met a very strong team. We studied the various stages of their season who had moments in which they didn’t play well but they have quality and a very important legacy, they won the championship a few months ago. . Today they were very motivated and had prepared for the match with 4-5 days of training camp, these things help them seem less tired beyond their qualities. I think we’ll be pretty lively on Thursday night.”