Gasperini previews Serie A opener against Bologna

Here's what the coach had to say:

Tomorrow will be your 600th game in Serie A. How do you imagine your first time at the Olimpico as Roma boss? And how are the players looking?
 
“I read this morning that tomorrow will be my 600th match. It came as a surprise to me – a big surprise – because I don't normally look at statistics much. There couldn't be a better way to do it than this: the first game of the season, my first time with Roma, in a stadium packed full of people. It's something extraordinary.

“The players have a lot of desire to do well. Tomorrow is a chance to set out our stall. We have huge support behind us, loads of season-ticket holders, lots of fans, and we're playing against one of the best teams in the league in the last few seasons who have a well-established playing style and are well prepared. It's a great opening match.”

It's been quite a difficult week, with Leon Bailey's injury and talks for Jadon Sancho stalling. What's it been like for you? And how is Paulo Dybala's fitness?
 
“What happened to Bailey is incredible. We're gutted for him. It's an injury that's hard to explain, especially given the seriousness of it. It's a shame. A real shame. Given how close we were to this game, I don't know how useful he would have been but he probably could have featured. It's strange to see such a serious injury from a normal movement.

“I don't know how long talks take but we're into the final stages of the transfer window now. The transfer market is always very unpredictable. I'm concentrating on the Bologna match and the start of the season.

“As for Dybala, he's been back for ten days and he's making progress. He made a good start to pre-season, then he had to sit out for ten days. Now he's up and running again and is doing everything. I don't think he can play 90 minutes. He'll either start or come off the bench.”

Did you expect things to happen more quickly in the transfer window?
 
“I did yes, especially for a Roma coach coming in with different ideas. But I must say that we've been able to work very well with the players who have been here for the last month and a half. With the lads who have been here since the start, we've done really well, a lot of work. With the guys who arrived afterwards, it's been a bit stop-start. Everyone would like to start the season with the final squad in place to make the most of the initial preparation phase, but it's a utopia for all of us.”

When you spoke about the sort of squad you wanted, were you given reassurances?
 
“You always set out with intentions, but your intentions are one thing, putting them into practice is another. The intentions have always been clear and recognised in every meeting we've had. Putting things into practice sometimes takes longer and you have to see how quickly it's possible to do things.”

Regarding the unpredictable transfer market, does that go for Artem Dovbyk too or will he be Roma's striker?
 
“You really do like talking about tomorrow's game, don't you? I don't know. I don't have a crystal ball so I don't know what will happen over the next ten days. Dovbyk is in the matchday squad for tomorrow. I'm always looking ahead. Tomorrow there will be a lot of expectation because it's the start of a new season. Dovbyk and the others will need to be very focused on how they present themselves to our fans, who we'll be seeing for the first time this year. As for other matters, we'll see what happens.”

During the training camp, you use a musical metaphor to refer to Dovbyk...
 
“I wasn't referring to Dovbyk.”

What do you mean?
 
“I said that in football in general there are different types of tempo, like in music. It wasn't about Dovbyk but in general, for anyone playing football. Top-quality players are the ones who have the right tempo, like in music. If you come in a little earlier or a little later, you can play the wrong note. The same thing goes during a move on the pitch. You made it about Dovbyk but I never meant it that way.”

Sticking with the musical metaphor, who do you think is more in tune at the moment, Evan Ferguson or Dovbyk? And do you think this Roma team is better than last year's?
 
“I think they're both instruments and depending on how you play them determines whether or not they have the right tempo. But they're both fine instruments. Different, in different ways. Some find form sooner and some later. I think they're both improving compared to the start of the season, in terms of their movement and fitness.

“As for the second question, we'll find out if we're better than last year. We had a way to measure last year's team. This year we're only just starting to play. It's certainly a very different Roma team. Compared to the starting line-up in the last game against Torino, in May, three months later three of the starters are now longer here, as well as six or seven of the subs. Around ten players have left. Five outfield players have joined and one of them immediately got injured, so it's different. It's different numbers-wise too. Just look at the numbers. I hope this is a better Roma team but we'll find out along the way.”

How is Lorenzo Pellegrini's recovery coming along? Have you already thought of where to play him? Could we see Neil El Aynaoui playing further forward tomorrow?
 
“They're all possible solutions. Pellegrini is close to recovering. He was injured when I arrived and he's never been able to train with us but I don't know why you always ask me these questions and not the player or the club. From what I've seen, the situation with Pellegrini is a bit hazy. By that I mean that the club clearly doesn't plan to extend his contract and Pellegrini clearly needs to be playing if he wants to be in the Italy set-up and for his other personal targets. I'm not the best person to ask. This is a situation I've inherited. I'm trying to make it clear because you bring it up in every interview – I don't know if it's to stir things up – but I don't want to stir anything up.

“From what I see, if he can find a suitable solution, one in which he is happy to leave, then the club would be happy too. But it's not easy to find a suitable solution and that's why there's this standstill. It seems clear to me – there's nothing new there. That's what I can tell you.”

Can you give us your view on the new signings: Ferguson, Wesley, El Aynaoui and Daniele Ghilardi? How are they coming along? Could they start tomorrow?
 
“I don't know if they can start as they need to have settled in but they can all play a part in the game. They're players who Roma wanted to build the future around. They're all young – the oldest is Neil, who's 24. Ghilardi is 22, Wesley 21, Ferguson 20. They're different players, all very young, with experience. They're good players. I like working with them, with everyone, but they definitely have good prospects.

“They've come here at different times. Wesley, for example, off the back of 30 games because the season is different in Brazil and he played at the Club World Cup. Ferguson has spent a long time not playing. Ghilardi started pre-season when he joined us and missed the first part. El Aynoui is the one in best shape, also looking at how he's performed. They're different players but I like them all and we can work well with them.”

What sort of choice can we expect to see in midfield, in relation to Dybala too?
 
“It's not a choice regarding our players, it's about adapting to the situation depending on our opponents and who they play with. Ideally I want our team to be able to play two different formations comfortably, and switch between the two during the match if needed, in a way that's easy for the players. It takes a few games. The more you play, the more you assimilate the ideas and the easier it is for you to be flexible.”

Do the players Roma have chosen to sign fit with your idea of football? Are your transfer ideas in line with Frederic Massara's?
 
“The right players are good players. That's always the case. It's not about attributes. Good players with potential all fit with my idea of football. As I've said before, they fit with the requests that the club made to me: rejuvenating the squad, having players who aren't fully established yet, with sustainable contracts, who can also be sold at a profit.

“It seems very easy: you buy a youngster, play him and then you sell at a profit. It would be very simple. But it's not actually like that. You need to sign players who have a future, a value. You look for players who might cost more than established players so that you can then make a profit, capital gain. Why do people want those capital gains? Some want them to balance the books, others to sell players, reinvest in others and repeat. Alternatively, you can go and buy established stars on big money and you raise the level of the team immediately but you're working less with the future in mind.

“At the moment the clear message from the club, when they spoke to me, was the former situation. Hopefully we can do it. I'm focused on how I work and how to move forward.

“I don't always give such long interviews but as this is the first one I'm trying to be completely clear for you. I hope that next time we can spend more time talking about the match and our opponents. But as there haven't been other times, I'm trying to do this today.”

People often talk about the importance of the wide midfielders in your playing system. Will the players in the current squad have to do the same job as your Atalanta players, even though they're different to the likes of Robin Gosens and Hans Hateboer?
 
“I've had so many, all different to each other, and they didn't all do the same things. [Andrea] Conti was different to [Leo] Spinazzola, Gosens different to Hateboer, [Joakim] Maehle different to [Timothy] Castagne, [Raoul] Bellanova different to [Davide] Zappacosta, and in the same way Angelino, Wesley and Rensch are different to all the others. We have to try and get the most out of them and the qualities they have.”

Should we expect to see a more defensive team tomorrow or a team that already has a Gasperini spirit?
 
“That's what we're aiming for, with the goal of getting the best result possible while respecting our opponents and building up confidence to take into every game.

One day before the start of the first league game of the season, have you encountered more difficulties than you expected? Is Mario Hermoso a playing you're counting on?
 
“Hermoso was a player who it seemed wasn't even going to join us for pre-season, then he did at the last minute. He's a player who's played at the highest level and you can see that. He spent four months on the sidelines before starting pre-season. He's a professional. He's done all of pre-season, trained well and played every game, even though initially that didn't seem to be the plan. [Zeki] Celik is suspended tomorrow, so I have to find someone else. He's left-footed like [Evan] Ndicka, but he's one of those who could play.

“As for the difficulties, I knew there would be difficulties up until 30 June for sure. I hoped we would have more opportunities after 30 June and we did, then things came to a standstill. You can assess your transfer dealings on 31 August. The club's intentions have not changed. They've always said the same things to me. Their ideas were always clear to me. Putting them in practice is tricker.”

What has surprised you most about Ferguson?
 
“Ferguson is the classic example of a youngster who did really well two seasons ago, then had a bit of a lull, be it for injury or whatever. He hasn't lived up to expectations but it's the classic example of a player you can help get back up to the level he was at a few years ago.”