Karsdorp: I hope this year can be my year

Full-back Rick Karsdorp faced the media on Wednesday afternoon at Trigoria, as he previewed the upcoming Europa League match against CSKA Sofia.

After enjoying a solid start to the new campaign, here is what the Dutch right-back had to say about his season so far - and his hopes for the future with the Giallorossi.

In the summer you seemed destined to leave the club, how much did you have to fight to stay. Do you feel the coach has more confidence in you now?

“I am really happy to be here, to be a part of this team. Obviously everyone knows my situation from last year, that I went out on loan to Feyenoord, and this season I came here with the opinion that I could play. In pre-season I played a lot of games, after that I got an injury but now I am back with the team and of course I have to improve - but I am really happy to be here.”

Is it difficult having three players in the squad competing for one starting position?

“Of course not. If you play for a club like AS Roma then it is normal you will have two or three defenders in your position. That’s what I like about football, because you have to work hard every day to show yourself. It’s better to have two or three players in the same position than being the only one, of course.”

You left the club the first time with some strong words about what it was like here. Have things changed this time around – and if so how?

“I think that was something wrong from a few people in Italy, making a bad translation. When I was at Feyenoord I did my first interview, and at the time I was not happy that I had left Rome, so of course you say some bad things. But I did not say a lot of things – only that, for me as a Dutch player, who played 15 years at a club [Feyenoord] it’s easy to settle in and to eat with each other, play with each other, to do everything with each other. But I had been a Dutch player leaving to Italy for the first time, and then it’s not easy for a player. That’s the only thing I said in that interview. But now it’s different, to what I said before, and I am happy to be here.”

What did you say to Edin Dzeko at the end of the game against AC Milan? Your hug seemed to be a sign of a real friendship there…

“I think I gave him a bad pass during the game and I said sorry for that. I think that’s the only thing it could have been, because I don’t remember really well, but I’ve seen the picture and I think I gave him a wrong pass and I said sorry.”

A few squads have now had positive Covid-19 cases – including Roma. Are you still in favour of playing, or do you think a point is approaching where there should be a stop?

“First of all I am not in a position to say something about that – that’s for others to do. But we do tests every day here, and of course it is a bad virus but we continue to be tested every day and I think that is the best solution right now to keep Covid under control.”

The coach has shown faith in you so far. Where do you think you can still improve?

“I think I still have to improve in everything. I am not the same player I was a few years ago when Roma bought me. I have to improve everything – of course I have had a lot of injuries over the past few years. I am happy that I am playing now, and that’s what you want as a football player. If you play every game, or many games in a row, then you get the confidence back. Then I hope everyone will be able to see the same player as a few years ago.”

You nearly joined Atalanta and then Genoa in the summer – why did that not happen in the end? There were some suggestions a meeting with the new owners played a role…

“It is the past – now I am here so I don’t really want to say too much about it. Of course, if you have had a lot of injuries over the last few years then you start thinking about what you should do, whether it is better to go to another club or not. But at the end I am a Roma player, I want to show everything I can do here. About the meeting with the new owners – yes, I spoke with them and it was a good meeting.”

Are you working hard on the defensive side of the game?

“I have to improve everything, as I said before. I am never happy with myself – for example, in Holland if I played a game everyone would say it in the newspapers, in interviews, but I am never happy about myself. That is why I have to improve everything, and especially in defence. I work really hard on that. But to do that you have to go hard in every training session, in every game and that’s how important it is to not get injuries. I hope that this year will be my year here.”

Tactically, do you feel more comfortable in a four-man defence, or with three central defenders behind you?

“For me it doesn’t matter, because if you play with four in defence the right winger gets the ball and then you can [run on] at full speed, so you can do the same as with three defenders behind you. But with three behind you definitely attack more than with four men at the back. But for me it doesn’t matter, because you can attack with both.”