Dzeko calls on team unity ahead of Manchester United challenge

Edin Dzeko believes team spirit will be the key as Roma head into a massive Europa League semi-final clash against Manchester United this week.

The Giallorossi travel to Old Trafford on Thursday night, looking to get a positive result against the Premier League side to take back to Rome ahead of next week’s second leg at the Stadio Olimpico.

For Dzeko it will be a return to both a familiar city and a ground he knows well – even if he has not returned to Manchester since leaving United’s cross-town rivals Manchester City in the summer of 2016.

“I’m pleased to be going back to Manchester,” Dzeko told Roma TV.

“Since leaving Manchester City six years ago I haven’t been back. So it will be a special match for me. A few years ago it was a derby game, now I’ll be going up against them as a Roma player. European nights, especially against teams of that magnitude, are always something very special.

“I believe and expect that the game against Manchester United will be really special for all of us, and I hope we are able to get a good result.”

Dzeko believes Roma will go into the games as underdogs, but sees no reason why they cannot believe they can progress to the final.

“We are in the semi-finals now, so we need to give everything we have,” he noted. “It doesn’t happen every day that you get to play in a game like this. We need to understand what’s coming, first of all. We know that they are a great side.

“Manchester United are the favourites for these two games, but the fact we’ve reached the semi-finals means we’ve earned the right to believe we can do it.

“We know we have ability, especially when we work as a team, so we need to make sure we focus on that. If we do that then nothing is impossible.”

The Giallorossi reached this stage after a narrow quarter-final victory over Ajax, one effectively sealed by Dzeko’s equaliser in the second leg in Rome.

While seemingly a straightforward finish – the striker reacting quickly to turn home Riccardo Calafiori’s deflected cross from close range – the Bosnia & Herzegovina international nevertheless looks back on it as one of his favourite goals for the club so far.

“That goal against Ajax is one of my favourites, because this season hasn’t been one of my best in terms of my performances,” he said. “With everything that has happened, that goal lifted a huge weight off my shoulders.

“Playing in another European semi-final, three years after the one in the Champions League against Liverpool, means a lot for both me and the club.

“That goal was really important and definitely one of my favourites.”

The goal was also notable for Calafiori’s assist – the culmination of a fairytale comeback for the young full-back.

Almost three years earlier Dzeko was paying tribute to the then-Primavera prospect after another European game - as the then-16-year-old had suffered a potentially career-ending knee injury in a UEFA Youth League game.

“There’s a reason why they say that football is the most important of the least important things,” Dzeko said.

“I think about that in cases like Riccardo Calafiori’s, who suffered a serious injury two years ago. I think that was after the game against Viktoria Plzen. I dedicated the hat-trick to him because that was a really tough injury. He was still so young then.

"He still is now, but he’s shown that with hard work nothing is impossible. His assist helped Roma reach the semi-finals.

“It’s a great story and I’m really happy for him because he’s a good lad, polite – and that’s not always easy to find these days.”