Zanzi: Melbourne has been fantastic

The Giallorossi played in front of over 120,000 fans across two games at Melbourne Cricket Ground and ended the tournament unbeaten in normal play.

Having beaten Real Madrid in a penalty shoot-out on Saturday night, Rudi Garcia’s team went down 5-4 to Manchester City in the shoot-out that followed a thrilling 2-2 draw.

Roma have two points from two games and now need Real Madrid to beat Manchester City on penalties on Friday night to have any chance of finishing the tournament as joint winners.

For Zanzi, however, Roma’s visit to Australia has been a success – regardless of the final standings in the International Champions Cup.

"We've had a fantastic stay here so far,” Zanzi told guests at Melbourne Cricket Ground during a brief Q&A session set up by the tournament organizers. “We are very fortunate to have the pleasure to travel around the world quite a bit for competitions but we can say very candidly that this has been the best reception, the best hospitality and the best environment that we've trained and played in so far. We'd like to say a big thank you to Melbourne and the State of Victoria, who have been fundamental in our experience here."

How important has it been to play world class teams in this tournament?
"We have a lot of respect for the clubs we play and all of our opponents and to be here in front of these huge crowds is a big honor for us. This is a very important part of the season in terms of preparing for next year."

What do Roma as a team - and a brand - achieve by coming to Australia?
"The first thing to say is that it is a real pleasure and an honor for us is to be able to meet and play in front of the Roma fans who are already here. Melbourne is a very international city with a lot of Italians, a lot of Romans and Roma fans here and it's been tremendous. It's also to show the world what Roma is - as a team and as a city - and we've been delighted with the reception."

What is the objective for Roma this season?
"We don't like making predictions. We only say that we respect everyone but we fear no one. We have a long, challenging season ahead in Serie A but we're confident about it, just as we're confident about our Champions League endeavor. We'd like to thank again the State of Victoria, the City of Melbourne, our opponents and all the fans here. Forza Roma!"