Tommasi on Di Francesco: 'Even as a player you could feel his presence'

Members of Roma's 2000-01 Scudetto-winning side, Damiano Tommasi and Eusebio Di Francesco know each other very well.

With Di Francesco appointed as the Giallorossi's new manager on Tuesday, his former midfield partner Tommasi explains the characteristics and qualities he will bring to the club he graced for four years as a player...

What was Eusebio Di Francesco like as a team-mate?

“We were together during the [Zdenek] Zeman era and people used to call us the midfield twins. Twenty years later, we still call each other ‘twin’ when we speak on the phone. We have a strong relationship – we’re close. Alongside Stefano Fattori, who was the captain of Hellas Verona when I was starting out, Eusebio was – and still is – a real role model for me in football.

"Looking back on the time we spent playing at Roma together, that was his best spell as a player and he deservedly got called up to the Italian national team as a result. Zeman’s brand of football really brought the best out of him and that’s where his approach to management stems from. He’s probably even improved Zeman’s game a bit, but he’s kept the concept of having players burst into the box, which is something he did as a player.”

Back when you were team-mates, did you think that Di Francesco had the makings of a coach?

“He was quite a unique player in the dressing room, in the sense that you could feel his presence regardless of whether he was a starter or not. He had already realised how to use the power of the group in a way that went far beyond what happened on the pitch.

"When we won the Scudetto under [Fabio] Capello in the 2000-01 season, I don’t think enough was made of the contribution that players like Di Francesco, who was injured and didn’t play much, made to the team spirit we had. He always helped to raise the standard in training and therefore on the pitch. He was very important in that title win and made a big contribution to making that group successful.”

You were still at Roma when Di Francesco served as team manager in the 2005-06 season, before he embarked on his coaching career…

“That’s right. That role served as a stepping stone to starting his career as a coach. I think it probably helped him realise that the team manager role was too narrow for him and didn’t allow his leadership qualities to shine through. After that year, he had other management roles at smaller clubs and these helped him to hone his leadership skills and develop in terms of managing the dressing room.”

How would you sum up his rise as a coach?

“I’ve followed it right from the start. He took over at Pescara in 2010 and got them promoted to Serie B after they beat Hellas Verona, my old team, in the play-offs. I think it was then that he grew into a serious professional and despite the fact that he got sacked the following season, he has reaped the rewards of that in the long term.

"At Sassuolo there has been a good combination of a well-run club and a professional coach in Di Francesco, especially in the way they built the team, selecting a particular type of player and putting them on the pitch the way he wanted. In that regard, he’s a coach that gives you a degree of certainty.

"Roma is a test for him, because the objectives are higher – but that’s good for a coach on the up, like him. It’s right that he’s testing himself in a new adventure with loftier ambitions. The expectations at Roma are obviously different from the club, the city and the fans, and Eusebio will have to measure up to that. But I think he’s paid his dues and this is the right time for him to take the step up.”

How much will the fact that he used to play for Roma and knows the club help him?

“It’s definitely an advantage. If you choose Roma knowing what the club and everything around it is like, it shows that you know what you’re expecting and what you’re going to have to deal with. As well as the good stuff, he knows the kind of difficulties he’s going to come up against.

"Everyone is waiting to see whether the decisions being made are the right ones. Anybody who has already been at this club definitely has an extra something up their sleeve.”

Di Francesco has always put his faith in young players, particularly when he was at Sassuolo. Do you think we might see more of the same at Roma?

“It’s more difficult to do that at a big club like Roma, despite the fact that Roma has a great tradition of bringing players through its youth academy. I have to say that I think our mentality is a bit lacking in Italy in that regard – we tend to overlook the potential of our homegrown youngsters. We definitely need to bring about a cultural change in this country, but Roma – who have always had a prominent youth academy – might be able to enjoy some success in that area seeing as Monchi was insistent on phasing youth players into the first team during his time in Spain.

"It’s standard for Spanish teams to have more of a focus on young players, but they have an advantage in that the clubs have reserve teams that play in the lower leagues, which makes it easier for young players to step up to the first team. We’ll have to wait and see whether Monchi’s arrival brings developments in this regard, while not losing sight of the high expectations that a club like Roma has.”

How do you think Di Francesco’s Roma will play?

“I’m sure that the set-up, playing style and movement will be the same he used at Sassuolo, but he’s not the kind of manager that adapts the players to fit the system. He knows how to manage the players he has and put them in a position to produce their best form, even if that means moving away from a system that might inhibit the team."