Roma Review of 2016 Part 10: Champions League hopes dashed by Porto

In part 10 of Roma’s review of 2016, we revisit the lowest point of the footballing season – defeat to Porto in the Champions League qualifier

Antonio Rudiger, Roma defender: “Our target was to get in the Champions League because I think it is the best competition in Europe for club teams - and we missed it.”

John Solano, Roma fan: “When we drew Porto, I wasn’t too upbeat. Obviously we could have drawn Manchester City, which would have been a disaster. Porto was ‘middle road’, so I wasn’t too upset over the draw but I wasn’t completely optimistic that we would get past them.”

Tommaso Guccione, Roma fan: "I have a lot of regret looking back at the two legs against Porto - based on how things panned out on the pitch. At the time, I was in Puglia and I watched the game there with some friends. Usually I go to a pub in Brussels, where I live with my family, along with all the other Giallorossi supporters from the fan club. I say regret because I think we had the quality to get through and the opportunity to carry on listening to the Champions League music, which is one of the best things for us fans. That anthem introduces you to the best matches in football, not only in Europe but all over the world.”

John Solano: “After that first match when we drew in Portugal, I thought that we had it in the bag. I thought it was great. Business as usual - coming home, they had this. No problem whatsoever.”

Wayne Girard, Roma fan: “I was nervous. I’ve lived through those games where Roma has been blown out and where the unthinkable has happened. In the first leg, I was hopeful. I said, ‘Roma looks good, they look comfortable. Even this Fazio guy, he looks pretty decent.’ They were controlling the ball and should have killed the game off even further.”

"We messed that game up. Maybe we weren't ready to play in the Champions League."

- Kevin Strootman

Tommaso Guccione: “The biggest shame was that the first leg started so well with the own goal from a Porto defender and Roma hitting the post. The contest became more tricky once [Thomas] Vermaelen got sent off, even though 1-1 at the end of the first leg was still very positive because the Portuguese outfit deserve respect and have lots of experience in the Champions League.

"Unfortunately the second leg was affected by the red cards and at that point – nine against 11 and trailing on the scoreboard – it would have been really difficult to pull it out of the bag."

John Solano: “Obviously as the match progressed, within the first 15 to 20 minutes, you realised that this was not going our way. Porto get a quick goal off of a set-piece, De Rossi is sent off, and as that happened, I was extremely worried because I thought that terrible moment would have an effect on our league form. It did slightly, early on when they drew some matches that they probably shouldn’t have, like Empoli for example.”

Kevin Strootman: “If you want to compete in that tournament, you have to beat teams like Porto – there's nothing else to it.”

Antonio Rudiger: “It was very hard for everyone – especially also for me because I was unable to help the guys. I couldn’t contribute. At the end of the day, it’s our own fault – it’s like this, if you have two games and you get red cards against any team, then it becomes difficult.”

Wayne Girard: “When the second leg went wrong, I knew that Roma was going to be constrained in the transfer market because of the loss of that added revenue from the Champions League. I thought, ‘This is going to hurt us because the Scudetto is not won in half a year. It’s won over 38 games mixed with European play and the Coppa Italia. Without a bigger roster, there’s no way in hell we can win because we’re not deep enough.’"

Antonio Rudiger: “The Champions League is gone. We now have the Europa League and we finished first in the group, so now we are in the last-32 and I think our target is to go as far as possible in it. We want to win something. We have to be ready in February. We have the abilities to win the competition – why not? – but we have to focus on the here and now before we get to that.”

Kevin Strootman: “The Europa League is a good trophy and we want to do well in every competition we're in. Now the group stage is over the matches will be even better, for sure. The tie against Villarreal is exciting; we have to win it."