Roma boss Paulo Fonseca held his pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrow’s clash against Udinese. Here’s what he had to say ahead of the match:
What sort of match do you expect? Udinese just conceded 7 in a match.
Before that match, they were statistically one of the best defences in the league. They’re a physically strong side that defends and counters well. It won’t be easy for us, I expect a difficult game.
How was the idea of playing Mancini in the midfield born?
I thought that in this emergency situation, we should have an aggressive but strong player in that role. Mancini is strong in the build-up, and I thought he was the best solution right now.
What is missing in Florenzi to get back to the top?
Florenzi is our captain, he is a very good player who always trains hard. Against Milan and Borussia, I thought of other solutions for the team. He hasn’t played recently but he will in the future. It’s not a problem, it’s just a choice.
Could Kolarov be rested? What about Mkhitaryan?
Kolarov can’t rest. Mkhitaryan is slowly returning – we’ll have to wait a bit longer to recover him but his return isn’t far away.
What does the return of Ünder add? What extra solutions do you have?
Ünder is ready, but he is not ready to play from the start. His physical condition is not at his best. He can play in different positions. He is an important player, he’s fast. He can be important in many moments of the match, but he is not ready to play 90 minutes.
Perotti and Pastore: are they going to continue or will they rest?
No one can rest (laughs)! I’m not thinking about making many changes. The team played well against Borussia and Milan, so I’m not thinking about changing.
You’ve scored two goals from corners in the last two matches. Is this due to schematics or is it simply random?
It is not a coincidence. Mancini, Fazio, Smalling, Dzeko are the strongest players right now. We must continue like this, we have very strong players on dead balls.
