Vainqueur on Italian football, Luciano Spalletti and the Derby

Below is the pick of what the French midfielder – who joined the Giallorossi in the summer of 2015 and has made 21 appearances for the club so far – had to say.

First steps in Italian football.

“When I linked up with the squad I was just coming back from an injury I’d picked up in Russia and after the first training session – a fitness session – I went home and threw up. I realised that what I’d been told about Italy was no joke. A quick look at the size of the players’ thighs is enough to make you understand what I’m talking about. They know football in Italy. In their eyes, a midfielder is just as important as a forward or a defender. It’s no coincidence that [Andrea] Pirlo and Daniele [De Rossi] are Italian.”

Pressure.

“Here you feel the pressure that surrounds a club as big as Roma every day. When things are going well – as they are right now – people leave you in peace, but when things go less well – like in November and December – the atmosphere gets a lot tenser very quickly. But that’s why I do this job. I love pressure. Both the club officials and De Rossi himself explained to me what it would be like. When I was in Moscow we played in front of 5000 people. There was zero pressure whether you played well or not.”

Verdict on the season.

“It’s been good, above all because I’m surrounded by great players: De Rossi, [Miralem] Pjanic, [Seydou] Keita, Maicon, [Radja] Nainggolan and, obviously, [Francesco] Totti. I’ve discovered a new league and it’s on another level. It goes at 2000 miles per hour here – if you don’t read the game before you receive the ball you’re dead. I think I’ve improved – when I arrived I was nobody. I formed a plan with my agent Meissa Ndiaye to work hard in training, earn a place on the bench and then get onto the field. I was well aware I wasn’t coming to be an instant starter – there are lots of big stars ahead of me so that was impossible. I have to earn my place. That’s my goal.”

Luciano Spalletti.

“It doesn’t matter whether you’re a star or a normal player, if you don’t do what he asks he kills you [laughter]. But he loves his players and will defend them until the very end. I’m nobody in this team compared to the huge names around me, but he puts everyone on the same level. He’s the best tactically and he understands the game like no other. He tells you to get yourself in a precise position in a certain phase of the game – at the start you don’t understand why but then you see that the ball arrives at your feet.”

Nainggolan and Pjanic.

“Radja is exceptional. He can do anything. He’s powerful, technically gifted, he can play high, in the centre or a bit deeper. Roma are a great side but he could play for any team in the world. That said, the guy who’s impressed me the most – apart from Totti – is Pjanic. He’s a genius. When he’s at 100% he’s a pleasure to watch. He sees everything on the field. For Miralem and Radja there are no limits.

Totti.

“The captain is incredibly laid back in the dressing room. In a sporting sense, he’s still astounding. He’s nearly 40 years old – I don’t know how he does it. He has eyes in the back of his head and can do whatever he wants with his feet.”

Real Madrid.

“When I told my agent I was starting against Real, he told me to remember where I’d come from and that all the sacrifices we’d made together were so that I could play in that game. I was at Roma, with [Zinedine] Zidane in the opposing dugout, playing against players like [Luka] Modric and with the possibility of doing it again in the return fixture.”

The Derby.

“I remember it well, especially because I started the game. Everyone at the club and all the fans make you understand that you can’t lose… When we were in the hotel, we saw hundreds of supporters arrive at eight in the morning. Walter Sabatini called me into his office and didn’t beat around the bush. He told me I was playing, that he trusted me and that he hadn’t signed me for nothing. That’s when I started to get a bit shaky. The Rome derby is a unique event. When you win you can do whatever you want in the city – if you go to a restaurant you don’t pay, people follow you about… I’ve been lucky enough to play in it and, even better, to win it.”