Radja: Defeat in Madrid won't knock us off our stride

On Friday afternoon Radja Nainggolan spoke to Sky Sport Italia to preview Sunday's game against Genoa.

Read what the midfielder had to say, as he also reflected on Saturday's derby victory over Lazio and the midweek Champions League defeat against Atletico Madrid...

Your teammates have called you ‘superhero’, ‘warrior’, ‘ninja’. Is this special rapport with the group your secret?

“I think I have a great relationship with everyone and everyone knows they can rely on me. I try to do my best for everyone and they also try to do their best for me.”

How will you approach Genoa-Roma?

“It’s an important game, like they all are. There has been a bit too much said about the game against Atletico, but we are always focused. We go there to play our game as we have done in all our games so far.”

How are you physically, have you recovered?

“Physically I’m good, I had a problem but I recovered quickly. I’ve been playing with a bit of discomfort, but I’m ready – I’m available. They can rely on me.”

What does the defeat against Atletico mean?

“We need to give them our compliments, they are a great squad and have a lot of experience in the Champions League. For one defeat like this you don’t need to get dramatic. We are still in a good spell, we played a good first half, and sometimes in games like that you win and sometimes you lose.

"To get through the group would be a great achievement. At the start I don't think anyone had confidence in us qualifying.”

What impact did scoring in the derby have?

“A derby goal is always a great moment, but every goal is important to me. We need to try to win every game. The mentality is the same, it was great to score in the derby but now we need to forget it and move on.”

Can you tell us about that moment in front of the Curva Sud?

“I had the chance to pass the ball to Florenzi – he would have killed me if I hadn’t scored! I was confident and tried the shot. It went well, I’m pleased for the team, we are looking forward, concentrating only on the upcoming games.”

Do you have the strength to keep going during this tough run?

“Why not? We have obtained good results so far. We know everything we have to do and we are all giving everything. If we stay united like this we can go a long way.”

Do you feel you are on the level of Napoli and Juventus?

“You don’t need to talk about this, there are a lot of difficult games for everyone, the results will tell the story. We are taking things game-by-game.”

What would it mean to have a stadium of your own?

“It would be something beautiful for the club, the players and the fans to have a stadium of our own. We hope that everything will go well. A club like Roma needs to have its own stadium. As a player, I can only hope that it gets done.”

What would it mean for you to play at the World Cup?

“In my case it would be great just to be there, as I’ve been through a bit of difficulty. It would be a huge honour to represent my country at the World Cup – but the decision is not down to me.”