Daniele De Rossi spoke to Sky Sport on the eve of the first leg of the Europa League quarterfinals with Milan.
With less than 24 hours until kick-off, De Rossi discussed the anticipation for this duel and expressed admiration for Milan boss Stefano Pioli.
“The analysis of the opponent is fundamental today, with the means we have at our disposal and the staff we have, we manage to know everything and vice versa, it’s a tug of war. If you don’t know who you’re facing it doesn’t make sense how you set up for a game. You have to come prepared.”
“Pioli? I respect him very much. I am curious and passionate about coaches like him. I dreamed of being a coach. I met him when he was at Chievo, then at Bologna and Inter even more so, then he went to Milan playing even better and he did it better than anyone else, bringing an idea of modern football.”
“I can’t help but respect him as a person, we faced a common loss in a difficult period. Davide (Astori, ed.) was one of his players and like a brother to me, unfortunately this also brought us closer.”
“Dybala and Lukaku? They need to be trained a lot and stimulated. They must be aware that they can and must give us the most of what they have.”
“Football-wise they need to be managed differently: we need Paulo to be free and able to move across the entire offensive front and go where they don’t expect him to go.”
“Romelu needs to have many players who collect and receive the ball between the lines and then send it deep, there he can unleash his strength and his incredible technique.”
