Baldissoni confident North American tour will prepare Roma for biggest challenges

As the squad departs for Boston today for a two-week tour of North America, asroma.com asked general manager Mauro Baldissoni for an insight into the club’s aims and ambitions for the pre-season trip.

The Giallorossi have a growing correction with North America – this is the fourth time in the last five years that the club has visited the continent as part of its pre-season preparations – and sets out this time with two significant friendlies scheduled, against Premier League side Liverpool in St Louis (1 August) and MLS club Montreal Impact in Montreal (3 August).

Prior to that, Luciano Spalletti’s squad will once again be based in Boston – training at the world-renowned Harvard University.

Baldissoni is confident the tour will help the club reach its goals on and off the pitch.

What are the club’s overall hopes for this latest tour to North America?

“Well, in modern football we know it is about an overall product. You have to look at your fanbase: not just what we see at the stadium and around us when we are at home, but also that international fanbase, the support all over the world. Everyone knows that there are many countries and continents where football is becoming more and more interesting to millions of people, and so we need to be aware that we have fans in those places that have far fewer opportunities to see the team and our players.

“So this tour is a great opportunity for us to be able to meet some of those individuals, and so one of the primary aims we have when we organise a tour is the ability to be closer to a different section of fans than can normally be around us.”

Once again the squad is staying in Cambridge, training at Harvard University. What is it about that setup that makes it perfect for Roma’s needs?

“North America is well-known to have great facilities, and this is also true for Boston and Cambridge – the quality of facilities and the level of services that we can get there is absolutely at the very top. But with all that being said, Cambridge is also inspirational for our players because it is a very exciting environment - with some of the best colleges and campuses in the world.

“Every day, everywhere you look, there are people who are at the forefront in the sectors, who are bringing advances in new fields. So we hope we can take a little bit of that ethos into our football-related matters, to bring that attitude and use those inspirations to be at the cutting edge of performance in what we are trying to do.”

Boston has a big Italian community as well…

“Well, Boston not only has a big Italian community, but obviously it is particularly meaningful and relevant for us because our owner and president comes from that neighborhood. He is from North End, where the Italian community has historically based itself in Boston, and now we will be near there as well.

“According to what he always says he grew up a member of that North End community, and resolved even in his childhood that he was not going to leave that culture, that community. He grew up in a really Italian part of the United States, in Boston, and as a result has a strong connection to his roots and his origins – and that is ultimately one of the reasons why he decided to invest in this team, in this club. So that is another special connection for us, and it will be great to be there.”

It is coach Luciano Spalletti’s first overseas tour on this scale, how involved has he been in the planning side of things?

“Well, our coach is not only a great coach but he is also one with international experience, so he is perfectly aware of how important it is in modern football for a club like ours to tour, to be present in these new markets and new environments. He is very happy to be going to North America, and has been very collaborative and accommodating with us, with the need we have to bring the team to different markets and his desire to prepare the team.

“This year we have actually organised the tour slightly different than on previous occasions. We will spend an entire week in Boston when we arrive, which gives plenty of time for the team to plan a good portion of pre-season work: we will be staying in the same facility – a top-quality facility – and so the coach can plan his training while avoiding too many back-and-forth flights, which can cause problems in this period of the season.

“Then of course we will travel to play a couple of top-level friendlies, and these friendlies will serve an important purpose in getting ready for the new season.”

It has become something of an international derby for us, because we have twice played Liverpool in Boston, in the US, and it is good to be able to keep this sort of friendly rivalry alive and growing.

- Mauro Baldissoni

It is the third time playing Liverpool in recent seasons. What are your memories of the past games against the Reds, and your hopes for the third meeting in a new venue?

“Well it’s very interesting, because Liverpool are an important part of the history of this club. Unfortunately that is in something of a negative way, because of course we lost against them in the final of the European Cup – what was the Champions League – in Rome in 1984. So they remind us both of the biggest achievement of this club, but also the very bitter outcome that was the result of that game.

“So it is interesting. I was saying recently that it has become something of an international derby for us, because we have twice played Liverpool in Boston, in the US, and it is good to be able to keep this sort of friendly rivalry alive and growing. We hope this game will finish like the other two as well, so we can keep the upper hand in this new rivalry!”

And then the team returns to Canada, to face Montreal. Is it also valuable to be playing a team that is mid-season, further along in its development?

“Certainly, from a sporting perspective, it is good to face a team that is in a different stage of its season. They are further along in their campaign so it will be a good test of the performance and fitness of the players.

“It is also good to play club owned by Mr Saputo, a man whose company has invested in Italy – just like our ownership. We have a great opinion and very high respect for what they want to do, what they have shown themselves to be able to do in Canada and also what they want to do Italy – because we need this kind of foreign investment and this kind of ambition to improve the level of Italian football.”

Lastly, overall the hope is this tour is the right preparation for the Champions League qualifiers?

“Yes. What we are talking about here is all leading us towards the first and probably most important moment of the season, which is the playoff game for qualification for the Champions League group stage.

“We know what that means in terms of prestige and also the financial impact on the club, so we are eager to play the tie and want to be absolutely ready when we reach it. So everything we are doing in pre-season, including this tour, is about being ready for that moment.”