Nuno Campos: An incredible team display

Here's what the Portuguese assistant manager had to say following Roma's 5-1 win over Bologna at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara...

A great win, after two tough games. Are you pleased?

“Yes, it’s true, we were coming here on the back of two tough games, but the response today was amazing, extraordinary. We put in a great performance, our first-half display was exceptional: I think Roma set a record, having not scored five first-half goals since 1931. Edin also set one of his own early, for goals for the club. But I want to underline the fact it was a great team performance.”

Is the collective spirit the real strength of this side? That will be important when you are fighting on multiple fronts…

“Without a double. It’s through the collective spirit that Roma will get stronger. We have a lot of games to play, even if that also means we don’t have too much time to train. We have a lot of young players that will need time to grow and to eventually further enhance the quality of the squad. We still need to put in the hard work, there is still a fair bit to do. We still haven’t won anything yet, but this is the path we need to follow going forward.”

You played very directly at times – was that how you prepared the game?

“We prepared for the match like that partly because of the characteristics of the opposition: a side that man-to-man marks really well. So we wanted to play with two touches, sending the ball quickly into the spaces behind the backline.”

Were you a bit surprised by the response from the players?

“No, we were not surprised, because we work every day with these players and so we know that they have that ability, when they put it all together, to put in an almost perfect performance like they did today.

“The performance against Sassuolo was also good, we did well but unfortunately we didn’t score and perhaps that led some to reach different conclusions. But tactically the team did well and deserved to win.

“Today we responded in the right way, we played brilliantly in the first half especially. But overall you saw the growth of the side: in the attitude, in managing the game. It will take time for some of the young players to really grow and develop – but the future looks bright."