The defender of Roma Mario Beautiful spoke at a press conference on the eve of the Giallorossi’s Europa League debut against Athletic Bilbao. It was inevitable for the Spaniard to also return to De Rossi’s farewell and the potential of the team now in the hands of Ivan Juric:
Is this Roma already ready and strong enough to be in the Champions League?
“The squad has enormous potential. They have brought in players who are not used to playing every three days in such important competitions and therefore there will be a need for an adaptation period. We will have to get used to competing every three days at a very high level, being demanding ourselves. With Atletico I played in the Champions League, it is special on a personal and environmental level. People are anxiously waiting for those matches, we have to set the bar high, the squad is capable of competing at that level”.
Did anyone from the management ask you players for an opinion on De Rossi before he was sacked?
“I’ve been here for a short time, I don’t know the management structure well and what is outside of our daily lives as players. I can’t answer you therefore and I personally have not had any contact with the management about De Rossi. I’m not the right person to do it, there are other players in charge of dealing with these situations, the captains who wear the armband, who act as spokesmen for better or for worse”.