Marcano excited by Roma project as he settles in to new adventure

The 31-year-old Spaniard spent the past four years at Portuguese side Porto, but opted for the Italian capital when the time came to choose the next step in his career this summer.

Read what Marcano had to say, as he spoke to the press on Monday afternoon.

What led you to choose Roma?

“Roma looked like the best project for me, from a sporting perspective. They really wanted me, right from the start, and that flattered me. Roma is a great club. I could have stayed at Porto, where I was happy for four years, but I chose to take this step instead.”

Today is the first day of training camp: how are you feeling?

“I’m learning the language, and that will be important to do as soon as possible. I already knew Kostas, having played with him in Greece. I feel good about things, this is a great group and we have all the foundations we need to do well.”

You have experience playing in the Champions League: what does it mean to join a team that just played in the semi-finals?

“Roma are coming off an extraordinary run in the Champions League, during which they even knocked out Barcelona. It will be difficult to repeat that run again, since only four teams can get into the semis. For my part, I will give everything I can to see us there again.”

What expectations do you have coming here to Roma?

“There’s a lot of competition here, as is the case in any big club. My ambition here is to fight for a place, and help the squad and the coach.”

How did you find playing with Manolas at Olympiakos? Will you form another pairing at the back here too?

“I don’t know what the starting pairing will be, we’ve just begun our preparations for the season. We’ll all work hard, and then it’s up to the coach to choose what’s best for the team.”

You’ve scored in four different leagues: is there a way to train to do that?

“I think that, with time, you can learn where to place yourself in the box, particularly in dead-ball situations. It’s not a case of any particular techniques, just experience and a sense of positioning.”

From outside of Italy, did you get the impression that Juve were unbeatable? Would Cristiano Ronaldo make them even more so?

“Last year everyone in Portugal thought Benfica were set for their fifth league title in a row, but in the end things went differently. Clearly they’re going to be favourites coming off the back of seven league wins on the trot, but they’ll still have to win it out on the pitch. With regards to Cristiano Ronaldo, the deal isn’t official yet, so I couldn’t comment on it.”

The Italian league is one of the most tactically focused: do you think you can improve even more under Di Francesco?

“You can always get better, whether at 31 or even 37 years old, the most important thing is to always have that mentality. I’m coming to a league that puts a lot of emphasis on tactics. I’m sure that I’ll be able to improve with this coach.”

How can the team improve on last year’s Champions League run?

“I watched the two semi-final games, and they were very open, balanced and full of goals, maybe it was just a case of needing an extra five minutes more home and away. All in all, Roma weren’t missing anything really. In the league we need to be consistent, so we’ll try to work on that and improve.”