Alberto De Rossi: We need balance against BATE

“We need to make sure we maintain a balance throughout,” declared De Rossi, speaking on the eve of the UEFA Youth League match. “BATE have a lot of quick, powerful players that can be very dangerous on the counter-attack. We need to keep possession and maintain a hold on the game, making sure we keep mistakes to a minimum to avoid giving them the chance to break.”

The Primavera boss also underlined the importance of putting an end to a run of two successive defeats with victory over Lazio last time out: “We’re in good shape – the derby has a bigger impact than other matches, although in my eyes the emotion we feel and the effort we put in should be the same every time we pull on the Roma jersey.”

A win against BATE will assure the Giallorossi of a place in the next round of the Youth League, a competition that De Rossi has always stressed is key to his side’s objectives this season.

The match will kick off on the Di Bartolomei pitch in Trigoria at 14:30 CET on Wednesday, and De Rossi is expecting to see a healthy number of fans there to cheer the side on: “Support is fundamental at any level. Having the fans there during tough moments in matches helps you to get through them. We’re not used to having so many fans at our games, so the boost we get from them being there may be even greater.”