After a three-week break, the pitch is finally back. And Gian Piero Gasperini’s Roma will be top of the table, away to Cesc Fabregas’ Como, a tough match.
The two teams are ready to battle it out in the Sinigaglia match, scheduled for Sunday, October 11th at 12:30 PM.
On the eve of the match, the Giallorossi coach spoke at a press conference at the Fulvio Bernardini sports center in Trigoria and gave a general overview of the match awaiting the Roman side: “Unfortunately, we’ve been without Svilar for a few weeks. He suffered a stress fracture during a push in training, not a particularly strong one, in his fifth toe, in the slightly lower part. This fracture was created, which is not displaced, but it will take at least a month to heal.”
“They are evaluating whether to insert a reinforcement, a screw, and this will probably extend the recovery time until after the next break. Unfortunately, it’s a bad blow, but sometimes, in very long seasons, unexpected things like this can happen. We will prepare Gollini, he will replace him and he will have the opportunity to return to being the important goalkeeper he was for a certain period. As for the rest, all the players have returned.”
“Yesterday we already trained together, while some had returned at the beginning of the week. With those who remained here, we had the opportunity to work well, even if these have been very busy weeks.” long. Aside from Cristante, who we already know about, there’s Koulierakis, who suffered a very serious bruise in the last match against Germany. However, it’s only a bruise: he won’t be recoverable tomorrow, but he’ll probably be available from Monday.”
On the players’ return from international duty: “They’re all ready. The Argentinians were obviously the last to arrive. The first training session we all had together was yesterday, but that’s normal for those coming from further away. The others have returned: some have played more, some less, some not so much. Now, however, the league restarts. We’ll have the opportunity to play a lot of games, to really compete in a lot of matches, so there’s no point dwelling on what happened in these past few weeks. Starting tomorrow, we’ll pick up where we left off, hopefully, with a team full of confidence and in excellent condition. Tomorrow is a very important match, and we’ll be heading into it with the same desire to do well. Pellegrini is doing well. These past few weeks have been very useful for him; he’s now a recovered player.”
On Gollini: “Gollini is a player who, in his career, has perhaps only played consistently with me. I found him here at Roma after a bit of a stint at a few teams. He’s definitely an excellent second goalkeeper. Now he has the opportunity to play consistently. When I had him at Atalanta, he even got called up to the national team, playing as third goalkeeper for a long time, at least for a couple of years. So he certainly has the ability and value. He’s always trained well in recent months and must have everyone’s trust, because we’re not fielding a goalkeeper who’s never played. He’s a goalkeeper who will now have the opportunity to deliver consistent performances.”
On tomorrow’s match: “Fabregas’ team has proven it with their results in recent years, so we’re not discovering anything different. They’re a team that deserves all the praise they receive. They’re certainly a valuable team, which, as I’ve had the opportunity to say, competes for the top spots, with the best teams. I’ve had the opportunity to say that right now, in everyone’s opinion, Inter are the ones who are a bit above them. We certainly played a very, very good match against Inter, in my opinion very favorable, very positive. And we need to build on that.”
“Then Como, like us, Juventus, Milan, Napoli, if you like, Atalanta, and I don’t know who else might be a surprise, are part of that group of teams that, behind Inter, are fighting for the top spots in the standings, hoping that Inter can limp along every now and then. It all seems pretty clear to me, even though only a few days have passed. They, like us, have different possibilities, different variants. In the two matches in which we We met. Como also played with a three-man defense in the first half of the first leg, then changed it. We also have our variations. The tactical aspect is certainly important, but I wouldn’t say it’s that decisive.”
On Svilar: “There had already been a collision against Inter that resulted in a contusion, but then the same thing happened two weeks later, so a week ago. He had recovered well from that contusion and had been training regularly.”
On greater ownership involvement: “They do what they think is best. My observation is simply that, to make a team great, as great as I think, ideally both at the Italian and international level, given that there will be a major stadium, they’re making significant investments in that direction, and there will be a centenary in the middle, I think it’s important to have a club with highly involved ownership. But this is just my opinion, also because I joined Roma when I met Dan and Ryan Friedkin, and that certainly convinced me that something important could be achieved. I hope I still hold that view, that vision.”
On Wesley: “He was extraordinary against Inter. Well, these are assessments that can be different, but Wesley has been very strong this start to the season. In the wings, as in the other positions, having to play nine games in twenty-seven days, I think there’s really the possibility of rotating everyone.”
