Gasperini holds press conference ahead of Bologna v Roma

Here is what the Roma coach had to say.

What can you tell us about Mario Hermoso’s physical condition? Could he be ready to play in this upcoming match?

“We have to see how he’s feeling tomorrow. He took part in very few training sessions, so we don’t know if he can play an entire game. If he gets called up, it means that he is fit to play. He could be in the starting line-up, but with the prospect of substituting him at some point, or he could come on as a substitute later in the game. In any case, he’s available.”

Could your choices for this game also be influenced by your upcoming match against Como on Sunday?

“No, every match is crucial. Our game against Bologna is important for the Europa League campaign and Sunday’s match is important for the league. We’ll have another Europa League match next Thursday, and finally the Serie A match against Lecce. Then there’ll be the international break. I don’t think we can make any serious calculations right now; in fact, we’ll refrain from doing that altogether and just give it everything we’ve got one match at a time.”

How about Lorenzo Pellegrini, how is he? Have you talked to him about his future, since time goes by and his contract renewal talks are becoming increasingly relevant?

“No, it’s not something we’ve talked about yet. This is a very important phase of the league season and of the Europa League. We are both completely focused on our performances and matches. Of course, some games go your way and in others you struggle more, but that’s perfectly normal. It happens to everyone, not just to him.”

Ahead of your game against Panathinaikos, you said that Roma’s priority was the league. Have your priorities changed since then? I also have a question regarding tactics: Donyell Malen seemed to be too alone against Genoa. Is there a chance that for this match you'll play someone alongside him, maybe using an attacking midfielder?

“No, but we always have 11 players on the pitch. We can’t have more than that. But I don’t think that’s a problem since, as you’ve noted, we’ve been scoring more goals, so it won’t be a problem. Every game is different: sometimes you can create more and others less. However, as you said, it’s certainly a positive trend, as with Malen we are now more dangerous up front.”

And what about your priorities?

“I don’t remember saying that, but in any case, they are both my priority. At the time there was probably also the Coppa Italia, and that was a priority too. We never considered neglecting anything. We’ve always aimed at giving it our all in all our competitions. Also, I don’t know how we would even be able to choose. It’s not like we can devote less energy to one game than to another. We’ll try to go as far as possible in the Europa League and give it everything in the league, in every single game. If we don’t succeed, it won’t be because we chose not to.” 

Has Bryan Zaragoza settled in? As soon as he arrived at Roma, you said he was a player that could help the team, that you needed to get to know him. How far along are you in that respect?

“We’ve lost many of our forwards compared to the first half of the season, such as [Artem] Dovbyk, [Evan] Ferguson, [Paulo] Dybala, [Tommaso] Baldanzi and [Matias] Soule. But we have Malen, who has certainly brought some added value to the team, although our squad depth has taken a hit. We’re working on integrating players such as Zaragoza, who didn’t play in our last game but always played in the previous matches. He arrived less than a month ago and has always played. Of course, it’s never easy to join a team in January and do what Malen has done, but these are pretty rare cases. It always takes a bit longer for January signings to settle in. I still believe that Zaragoza, for example, provided an excellent assist and I hope he will play a key role in our upcoming games as well. January signings always struggle to settle in, also from a physical point of view; they need a few extra weeks to become fully integrated. We’ve had to rotate in that position owing to the absences of Dybala, Soule etc. The player who’s been playing with the greatest continuity is certainly Pellegrini. Other players are also trying to settle in, such as [Lorenzo] Venturino, who has only just returned, [Stephan] El Shaarawy, who was out for a long time, as well as Zaragoza and [Robinio] Vaz, who have just arrived.”

Every time an Italian team loses badly in Europe, Italian football’s competitiveness becomes a topical issue. The question that is asked is whether Italian clubs can compete against other European teams. You won the Europa League; do you think this is the case? Also, do you have an opinion on Atalanta’s match? And do you think that the winner between Bologna and Roma will be able to make it all the way to the end?

“What’s certain is that at least one Italian team will advance to the next round. This year, however, is even worse than previous ones, especially when it comes to the Champions League and the Europa League, because Roma won the Conference League a few years ago, but it’s been a long time since the Champions League and the Europa League have been won. The Europa League hadn’t been won since the Nineties, while Inter won the Champions League in 2010, but in general it’s been a long time. Over the past 25 years, for 15 years, no Italian clubs have won these competitions. This year it’s even worse and it’s connected with the problems we’ve seen in the league, with the national team, as we hope to qualify for the World Cup. So, it’s not a coincidence. We’re certainly struggling, there’s no point denying that. We’re probably all responsible and we need to find the causes of this. It can’t just be a matter of a substitution or a formation. The problem runs deeper and can probably be found in the youth academies as well and in the way teams are built. If these are the results, our league has some problems that concern all of us and that need to be addressed.”

Since you have many back-to-back matches, could we see a Roma line-up also without Malen? Can he play all 360 minutes of the four upcoming games? Could you switch between different formations to allow him to rest?

“We’ve been in an emergency situation up front for a while now. As I said earlier, our squad depth has changed: compared to the first half of the season, we’ve lost five players, including El Shaarawy. When it comes to natural strikers, such as Malen right now, we have Vaz, who is still a very young player who’s just arrived in the league, and then there’s [Antonio] Arena, who’s even younger and can’t be included in the squad list, just like Venturino. There are certainly some serious problems up front, but our numbers are better than they used to be. We’re trying to complement one another and to perform as best we can in every game, as we have so far. As far as formations and minutes are concerned, we try to use our resources as well as we can, but as I always say, we can only rest at night.”

Is playing Malen and Vaz together a viable option in the starting line-up, or is it only feasible during the game when Roma need to be more dangerous?

“Anything is possible. Speaking of Vaz, he’s a player who since joining the team has collected many appearances. He hasn’t been here long, but he always ends up playing. If, however, I make different decisions, it’s because I believe that in that particular circumstance, that decision is the right one.”