InterviewsSerie A

Former Roma, Juve defender Jonathan Zebina backs Mourinho’s men in tonight’s clash

John Solano
I

Ex-Roma, Juventus, and Cagliari defender Jonathan Zebina weighed in on tonight’s showdown between his two former clubs.

The Frenchman backed the Giallorossi ahead of the clash and gave some advice to attacker Paulo Dybala as he faces his former side.

“I believe Roma are the favorites and hopefully they can win this game,” Zebina told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“They needs points and, as it always is, finishing behind Lazio in the table would be an issue. Roma spent twice as much as the Biancocelesti on the transfer market.”

“Mourinho or Allegri? I don’t love one more than the other. Certainly Rome is one of the most heated and passionate environments he’s ever coached at. There’s no middle ground when it comes to Mourinho, you either love him or hate him.”

He added, “As for Dybala, certainly he’ll have good feelings coming into tonight that will give him the energy to want to prove Juve wrong.”

“In my opinion, they were wrong to let him walk especially considering all the money they spent afterwards. I’m a huge Dybala fan, he’s a humble guys that’s doing well. He’s found his balance at Roma.”

Finally, the 44 year-old weighed in on Nicolo Zaniolo’s sudden January exit, admitting it felt similar to his 2004 exit from the Italian capital.

“The situation with Zaniolo was brutal,” he said. “That’s the problem with an environment like Rome, they’re capable of making you feel like a god before losing their minds on you.”

“The same thing happened to me. However, the supporters eventually apologised after some time. Nonetheless, I have fantastic memories from my time with the club.”

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MatchDay 29
17 Mar 18:00
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