Aberto De Rossi: The boys are fired up

"They cannot wait to play," the Giallorossi coach announced. "These occasions capture the attention not only of football fans but that of the players as well. They are extremely fired up."

After qualifying in second place from Group E, Roma U19 defeated Red Bull Salzburg and then landed the Dutch outfit in the draw in Nyon.

"PSV invest a lot of work into the youth sector and that's immediately apparent from the training ground here. You can tell that the club is really involved in their development.

"They've got a squad composed of good players, we know them a bit because quite a few of them played at Viareggio last season."

How important is experience going into games like these?

"Four of their players have already made their debuts in the first team and some have even featured in the Champions League. PSV will bring all their experience to bear tomorrow in this sense.

"It's the same situation that happened to us in a big way last season against Manchester City, who had eight players in the side with experience in the senior team.

"The only thing we can do is to play as a unit, everyone doing their bit for each other and showing the immense quality we have in order to negate the dangers our opponents pose."

How do you approach a game like this, both on the pitch and off it?

"This is a knock-out game played over one leg, which is fundamental for the players' development. Without a return leg, we can teach them to treat every match as if it were decisive.

"We want to get through the round and there aren't any other ways of doing it. We'll put everything into tomorrow's contest."

Will the fact you're playing away from home have an effect?

"It shouldn't, precisely because of what I've just said. The only aspect that might influence the game is that there aren't B-teams in Italy, while many sides we've faced already are made up of lads who play in reserve leagues or national second divisions.

"These are all extremely formative experiences that we hope don't have an effect."

How will you manage Lorenzo Di Livio's absence from attacking midfield?

"It's true that he's the only player we have who's got the perfect attributes to play in that position. Nevertheless, we tried three other guys there during the week, who were all different from one another.

"They give us different options from usual and that's very positive for the team."