Alisson: Nothing writes you into a club's history like winning a trophy

After moving to the Italian capital in the summer, the Europa League has been the Brazilian's opportunity to shine - playing in all four of the club's Group E games so far.

Ahead of Thursday's meeting with Plzen, where a draw will send the team into the next round of the competition, Alisson spoke with the match programme about how things have been going so far...

How's life in Rome? Have you settled in okay?

“I'm really happy here and so is my wife because she's joined me now. Rome is a fantastic city full of great people – and happy people too. It's quite similar to Brazil actually! I'm delighted with my decision to join Roma. The food is amazing as well.”

Are the training methods different here in Italy compared to back in Brazil?

“Yes, they are a bit different but when you're a goalkeeper regardless of who you play for you have to do a lot of work on intensity and mentality. The biggest difference is that here in Italy we work more on technique while in Brazil there's more focus on explosiveness and reaction speed.”

How do you find working with Marco Savorani, the new goalkeeping coach?

“It's good – I'm enjoying it. I had to get used to a different way of working at the start but it didn't take long. I like working with Marco and he's a really nice guy too. He's doing an excellent job both with me and [Wojciech] Szczesny.”

Viktoria Plzen are coming to the Olimpico on Thursday after you drew with them away from home. What kind of game are you expecting it to be?

“It's going to be tough because they'll be doing everything possible to win, but we're focused on the job and on winning every game ourselves. Besides the Scudetto we want to win the Europa League because it's an important competition – even more so for me as I'm playing in it.”

How important is it to win your group?

“It's very important. It would be the best way to set us up for the rest of the tournament and it would also be reward for the great work we're doing. Finishing top sends out a message and earns you respect in the eyes of your opponents.”

Italian clubs have traditionally tended to snub the Europa League. How high up is it on your list of priorities?

“It's right up there. In my view only losers pick and choose competitions. Winners never do that. Roma have never won the Europa League and nothing writes you into a club's history like winning a trophy.”

There have been a few occasions when you've come unstuck against what we'd call smaller sides. Why do you think that is?

“Every match is a story in itself and all the teams are on a similar level nowadays. On paper we have an amazing team but we have to prove how good we are on the pitch. If you go into a game with the wrong mindset, your opponents will have you for dinner. That's always been the way in football.”

Can you tell us one of your strengths and one of your weaknesses?

“I don't really like talking about myself. Maybe I'm too much of a perfectionist and that can be both a positive and a negative. One thing I can say is that I spend too much time thinking about football and perhaps not enough on my family.”

You're Brazil's first-choice keeper and you're currently involved in qualifying for Russia 2018. What can you tell us about the Brazil team?

“We won the first two matches after the new coach [Tite] came in and that gave us the confidence boost we needed. Winning gold at the Olympics brought us closer to our fans again after the massive disappointment at the World Cup in our country and that was really important for us. On an individual basis we perhaps have the best players in the world but we're finally playing like a team again now. You never get enough time to work together but as a group we're doing really well tactically and technically.”

Apart from your fellow Brazilians, which of your team-mates have you bonded most with?

“We've got a really close-knit squad and I get on great with all my team-mates. Obviously I'm closer to the Brazilians but I couldn't pick out one person in particular.”

We saw from a pic on Instagram that you have a vegetable patch at home. Is that a hobby of yours?

“That's new, actually! They're herbs and spices for cooking, although I prefer eating to cooking myself – unless there's a barbecue to fire up, then I'm your man! My favourite hobby is playing the guitar. I like to play Brazilian music, especially sertanejo, but I'm also a big fan of pop and rock artists, like John Mayer. I often try to play his music but unfortunately I'm not as good as him!”