After scoring the late winner against Sassuolo, Stephan El Shaarawy addressed the media ahead of Roma’s Conference league clash on Thursday evening. The Italian international spoke of his return to the capital and the atmosphere in the locker room under Jose Mourinho.
On how to manage the excitement following the 2-1 win over Sassuolo:
“I don’t put too much pressure on myself. I am a player who has many years of experience and understands what the coach wants. There is a lot of competition and you have to know how to accept decisions.”
On his decision to play in China and then return to Roma in January:
“It is a closed chapter. I had an experience abroad, but my goal was to return to Roma and I succeeded. I thank everyone for welcoming me back. Now I think only of Roma and doing well here.”
On the difference between the current Roma and the previous ones he was part of:
“When I came back I found a team that was very strong in terms of quality. Roma had started their league run well, then we lost it for a moment. We started again with a project made up of experienced and young players.”
“We have a coach with great quality and we follow him all the way. There is a lot of expectation but we don’t have to burden ourselves with pressure, but with enthusiasm that needs to be fueled and kept high with victories.”
On competition inside the locker room:
“There is a lot of competition. There must be but it must not scare us. The goal of each one of us is to work with seriousness and commitment.”
“There will be times when things will not go well, they will come and we know it well in Rome. In that case we will have to be ready to react in the right way.”
On playing alongside Tammy Abraham:
“He is very young. It has settled down really well. It was received in the right way and managed to integrate in the best possible way. He is complete, he has a lot of technique, he goes in depth. He is a fundamental player.”
On the difficulties he encountered after his return from China:
“The difficulties were more athletic because when COVID broke out we were stopped for 7 months. It was my first training in three years. This was discussed with the trainer and we made a suitable preparation. I feel very good.”
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