Press Conference: De Rossi pre-Cagliari clash

Read on to find out what he had to say...

Are any players not available for tomorrow's game? How are you going to deal with the Paulo Dybala situation?

“They're all available. [Leo] Paredes will play with the Primavera team because he's suspended and needs to get games under his belt as he came back later. We're pleased with the support from the academy.

“As for the other matter, we all know there's something going on. We've heard... Joking aside, Paulo will be with us. All the players will. There are other players who might be linked with potential transfers but he'll be with us, in the squad.”

You had four and a half months as Roma coach last season and now you're starting a full season. What are your hopes, dreams and ambitions?

“I have the same hopes and dreams as eight or ten other coaches who are all fighting for more or less the same targets.

“I hope to keep seeing the same enthusiasm and work ethic I've seen from the lads throughout the whole of pre-season. At the start we had loads of youngsters and they gave us a huge hand by ensuring we could maintain a high level in training, although clearly it wasn't the same thing. The last part has been brilliant. We've worked really well. I wish I could say we'll have the same players on 2 September but we all know that won't be true for any club, so we'll go over what we've done again in future.

“The dream is to take this team as far as possible. And I think mentally, from what I've seen, the lads have exactly the right attitude.”

What would Dybala's departure mean for you as a coach on a technical and tactical level? And how would you deal with such a big player leaving as a fan on an emotional level?

“You can't ask me to think as a fan. I'm not a fan anymore, not now. I am and I always will be...”

I mean, what sort of message can you send out?

“The message is what I always try to do: I try to deal with topics that are vitally important to fans delicately. If you talk about selling a player to someone like my mum, or someone who's not a fan, they might say. 'Ok, fine.' But if you talk about it with a fan, you know that players like that conjure up memories of great moments, unforgettable moments, also bad moments, but they're all moments that create a bond with that player. There's only one person who knows better than me what it means to share a bond with these fans.

“So what I can try to do is talk about these situations delicately. And what I can do as a coach is try not to talk about them when it's just rumours. I can't comment on talk, negotiations or chat. Firstly, because I wasn't there. I wasn't part of those talks. And secondly because I have an important game tomorrow. It's not something I should get into. I think at some point Paulo will explain what's happened over the last few days. On a technical level, Paulo is a fantastic player. He was two months ago and he still is now. I've always said he's a fantastic player and he is.”

And your plans for the team?

“I've said what I had to say to the club and to Paulo. I've always been there for my players. I've often spoken to lads who had the chance to leave, those who wanted to leave, those who wanted reassurances, those who weren't playing much and wanted to know if they should leave. I talk to everyone, and on good terms. I'm up front with everyone and so far it's working, on a personal level at least. I can't do anything more. I've said what I had to say to the people I had to say it to, and to the club of course. Here at Roma, no one is more important than Roma. That's a key concept.

“Last time my words got a bit twisted afterwards. Nothing and no one is more important than Roma and I have no interest, no ulterior motives, no obligation not to speak. I just want a great team. That's the one thing that saves me – a great team. It saves me, as it saves all coaches. Great team, great players; great players, good results. I have no obligation to talk about other matters. People should know me by now.

“I'm here to make a great career for myself as a coach and to have a great season with Roma. That's my goal: to make sure that when I leave Roma, we're in a better league position than when I joined.”

How is Matias Soule settling in? How dangerous a player is he?

“You can see from last season what a dangerous player he is. Sometimes people only look at the fact he played for a team that got relegated, or that we expected him to score 40 goals. But if you look at five or six statistics – the ones we're interested in when we get a bit nerdy – he's one of the best Under-23 players in nearly all categories: assists and dribbles completed, attempted, considered, key passes, through balls... That's how dangerous he is. Then of course we have to make him feel comfortable.

“But I'd like to talk about the other players as well. They've all settled in well and are showing they're up for it.

“I'd also like to mention the players who were here last season, including those who haven't played much. They're all training well and helping to keep this team at a high level.”

You said, 'My goal is to have a great team'. How do you reconcile losing the best player in Italy with having the best team? You spoke about being delicate and suggested you'd rather not talk about the matter but so far nothing's been said about Cagliari v Roma. At one point your predecessor started complaining about the lack of a media figure to discuss these matters. Do you not feel the need for someone who can talk about these things instead of you?

“Right now, no club official could talk about these things because it's just rumours, or maybe something a bit more than just rumours. I might talk about it quite happily after 2 September, or perhaps the player himself will, or the club will. It's not that I don't want to talk about it because it's a taboo topic or because I'm afraid of making a mistake, but because at this moment in time you shouldn't talk about. I think even a club official would find it hard to say anything until it's over.

“I think Paulo would find it hard to say anything until it's over. On 2 September we'll know and be able to talk about it in all calmness. It's not that I need someone to talk about certain matters. I'd like to talk less generally. You know what I was like as a player: I did one press conference a year. Apart from that you'd see me after a game if I was man of the match or if we'd lost. Those were the times when I spoke to the media.

“I don't like talking much. I realise today's press conference is a bit more juicy than usual but otherwise pre-match press conferences are pointless because we never want to give much away. Generally I'd prefer to speak less. If you were to say to me, 'Tomorrow there'll be a new figure who will deal with these things and you'll have to talk less,' great. If they say, 'Tomorrow this person called so and so is going to talk to the fans,' we'll assess that person and I may well welcome that person with a hug.”

But how do you reconcile the departure of a great player with trying to build a great team?

“You're still trying to get me to talk about it! The first question was about this. In any case, I don't know. We could take the example of a club that two years ago sold Fabian Ruiz, [Kalidou] Koulibaly, [Lorenzo] Insigne and [Dries] Mertens – four amazing players. Not better than Paulo, but very good players. And then they won the Scudetto.

“I'm not saying that's what will happen of that we need to do that to win the Scudetto. But I think sometimes teams can be experience an unexpected resurgence even after losing some very important players.”

Earlier you said Paulo will talk and explain the situation. Or did I misunderstand?

“At some point I think he will.”

You said you spoke to the owners. Do you get the impression they're looking for popular consensus? I remember for example when they didn't sign Leonardo Bonucci.

“I don't know what you're referring to exactly. With Bonucci I guess it came down to the sensitivity of the club, or the coach realising that the value he placed on the player wasn't the same as that of the club. I'm guessing, as I wasn't here then.

“I've often made choices. I was the one who had to take a decision or make an assessment. It's not that they blindly trust everything I say, but I've chosen players and the director has chosen players. That's how decisions have been made in terms of players.

“Here you're given a free hand. At other clubs the president might step in more but that's how players are chosen. Like at all clubs, I think. Although sometimes you can't get your first choice, your second choice gets away, the third wants too much and so you end up going down the list.

“I didn't get the impression they were after popular consensus. Perhaps they'd like to have people who are happy to be here at Roma. As I was happy until a few days ago when I wasn't getting insulted on social media and so on. But we have a job to do, a job to carry out and I have my ideas about the game.”

A few days ago you said you expected more signings. Where could more money be spent? In what area of the pitch? Or is there a particular quality you're missing?

“I spoke to the team yesterday and said I know that this is a particular stage of the season, I know that some people might be confused, distracted or attracted by certain talks, but please let's go to Cagliari and think only of Cagliari. Let's focus on that alone, as if it were already October and we were playing a huge match.

“I also said that if anyone was a bit distracted and didn't feel up to it, they could come and tell me and I would accept it.

“But if I keep talking about transfers, I'm doing the opposite of what I've asked them to do. The position in particular is something that's never right to talk about here. That should be done in other places, with the club, as I have done.

“It's right to tell any players who need to know so that they can get ready. Because it wouldn't be right to tell a player on 30 August that I'm signing someone else in their position. That way they can consider their options, get organised and, if they move on, look for the best option. But it's not nice to do that here. Because if we don't end up signing that particular quality or that particular player, the one who stays is tagged as not wanted. And it's not good to start the season with that tag. What I'm asking for is the same thing I've asked for before.”

You mentioned the reaction on social media, which was perhaps a bit excessive considering your history with this club. How different is it working with Artem Dovbyk compared to working with Romelu Lukaku?

“Dovbyk is not all that different to Romelu. They're different ages, they have different experiences and careers behind them, but we haven't brought in a completely different player. We haven't signed a false 9, but a finisher, a No.9, who's good at making the right runs.

“He's fast, very fast, has good control, lays the ball off well, and is clinical in the box, as he's shown over the last two seasons. The instructions are more or less the same, though they might change from one game to the next. We're trying to make him understand what we want from the striker. But without giving too many instructions because I realised in the first part of pre-season that I was asking a bit too much of the new guys. And they tried to do ten things at once on the pitch. So we're giving them fewer instructions and trying to get them to focus on what is really important, because they're all very intelligent players.

“Enzo Le Fee, for example, in the first ten days he was focused on doing the right thing for the team and paid less attention to where the ball was. We gave him a bit more freedom and we saw a different player. Partly because he found his fitness and we' reduced the training loads. It will be the same for all the new players.”

What about the social media reaction?

“It's not nice. I don't give much importance to social media, although socially they are important because people speak and interact that way on an almost daily level. However, in everyday life they wouldn't say the things they wrote – and not because they're scared of me or because I'm dangerous, but because you don't go up to someone in the street and wish them cancer or tell them their family has to die. Now I can smile about it. For ten minutes, half an hour, it can annoy you. A hundred messages like that are nasty but if you count the number of Romanisti there aren't that many. Sometimes you click on the photo of the person writing things and you see they're 14 or 15, or simply not worth your time. So you let it drop. People who spout words like that from behind a keyboard don't deserve the attention.

“It is a shame, though. I always hope to be loved but I knew that in coming back here there was a risk of ruining what I had as a player. Having said that, even as a player there were some tough times. Generally speaking, though, I've never felt as loved and protected as I have with Roma fans but at the same time I've never been as hurt as by some of the fans here – not by Lazio, Juventus, Napoli fans or anyone else.

“I guess it's human nature. We're capable of loving and being loved but also hating. I don't think anything has changed with Roma fans. Perhaps a few good results might help to calm down even those who mess around on social media.”