Artem Dovbyk joined Roma in the summer of 2024 at Daniele De Rossi’s express request.
The Ukrainian had a difficult time in the capital, suffering from injuries and unconvincing performances.
The 1997-born player spoke to the Ukrainian YouTube channel “Rosso Dritto,” in which he addressed various moments in his career.
The Giallorossi striker began by speaking about his move to the Giallorossi: “That summer I was waiting for Atletico; we had already discussed it. Everything was agreed upon, even between the two clubs. Their director disappeared at a certain point; there was no response. Then De Rossi called me, and we immediately connected. He wanted me, and I told him I would wait for Atletico again. When I saw that they weren’t making any moves, I gave Roma the green light.”\
“The situation with Atletico was a dead end. Later, I received calls from Atletico, but I had given my word to De Rossi. I went to De Rossi because I trusted him; I felt like we had a connection. I never imagined De Rossi would be sacked after just three games. After Totti, he is the club’s greatest legend. I thought: ‘How can you erase a club’s legend after three games?’ It was crazy.”
Upon his arrival at Roma, Dovbyk experienced a triple coaching change. After De Rossi, Roma first chose Ivan Juric and then Claudio Ranieri. The Ukrainian commented on that season: “We lost a lot of games. 70,000 people booed us at the Olimpico. Then Ranieri arrived. A very wise man. That season I scored 17 goals, despite having had three coaches.”
Gian Piero Gasperini seemed like the right coach to revitalize him, but the 1997-born player failed to establish himself even under the Grugliasco-born coach. “This season was a failure for me, partly because of the injuries. In the summer, I was very close to joining Milan; there was this swap that was supposed to happen. It was difficult to make it in the final days,” the striker said of the season just ended and his possible move to Milan.
