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Here is what the Roma coach had to say.
Are you satisfied with the team’s reaction after conceding that first goal in the opening 10 minutes and after the second goal by Daniel Maldini? Could you have done more or was this good enough?
“What we did tonight was certainly very good. Tonight we undoubtedly had some players who were not in ideal form, who hadn’t fully recovered. And of course, Cagliari’s players, especially those up front, were fresher and made things hard for us on some occasions. So that’s the only reason why we struggled. But also in midfield lately we’ve always played with the same men for 90 minutes in every game, and the fatigue was apparent. So winning this game is all the more valuable, partly thanks to our substitutions and partly because of everyone’s will to keep pushing. To me, especially when we were one goal down, we still played well, and we also performed well towards the end of the game.”
Have you ever had such a strong reaction from the entire squad, including the players who were not starters? For example, Daniele Ghilardi.
“Absolutely, because Ghilardi has put in some excellent performances lately. Tonight he probably should’ve been brought on earlier. Then, however, we were in a situation where it was hard to sub him on, so he ended up having to wait and was the first change after half time. But he’s also played well recently: he’s grown a lot compared to last season and is certainly a player who will play an increasingly important role. He’s not far behind, because tonight [Leonardo] Balerdi and [Mario] Hermoso were out because they weren’t in good enough form to play. But we still need to recover a bit.
“Playing many games without [Manu] Kone, [Paulo] Dybala, as well as [Lorenzo] Pellegrini, [Mile] Svilar – to a lesser extent because [Pierluigi] Gollini did a tremendous job – is anything but easy. But when you have four or five players out, it gets hard. With [Bryan] Cristante who has returned after one month out and featured in two games in three matches playing the full 90 minutes, mistakes can be made and to me winning this game is a great achievement, because Cagliari are undoubtedly a challenging opponent.”
Speaking of Gollini, what kind of work have you done with him, also at a psychological level?
“He wouldn’t have featured in 112 games with me if he weren’t a top goalkeeper in a team that with him has even played in the Champions League. He’s reached impressive results. He has also become a different player. At the time he was much younger, much more exuberant, let’s say. He was perhaps less focused on hard work and improving. It was a shame, because back then he was already the third goalkeeper of the national team. Then we met again here at Roma and I had no doubts about his potential on the pitch. We’ve fixed a few things and for the past year and a half he’s been doing great. I’m very happy about what he has done tonight, as well as in our recent games. I’ve always said that he’s extraordinary at close-range shot-stopping, but sometimes concedes goals from a distance, and that has always been his weakness. But he’s a valuable goalkeeper.”
How important is it for a club to see a goal at home scored by Niccolo Pisilli on an Emanuele Lulli assist, a goal that came from two players who rose through the ranks of AS Roma’s Academy?
“They are outstanding lads. But I must say that in Roma’s Academy there are always some great players. What strikes me most is that the players always have a strong bond, they all have this sense of belonging, which means that their dream is to make their professional debut for this club’s first team. It’s a very positive thing. There’s a special sense of belonging among Academy players. And they are two precious players; he’s not particularly tall, but Lulli scored with a header, he was working on his headers yesterday, which are not what he’s best at, but he was great.”
Rodrigo Mora is not a product of Roma’s Academy, but he is nevertheless a young player, as he is just 19 years old.
“Mora too. I saw him score against Porto. I saw him score a goal against Porto that was very similar to the one he netted tonight. He is admittedly quite short, but he has good coordination and his leap and finishes are great. He jumped a lot today. He generates power almost from a standing start. It was a brilliant goal.”
What did you feel after Balerdi’s second goal against Napoli?
“I saw Balerdi celebrating but I couldn’t understand why; I thought the keeper had saved it.”
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