Gian Piero Gasperini and his Roma are ready to return to the pitch.
After narrow wins against Bologna and Pisa, the Giallorossi will face Torino.
The Granata, on the other hand, got off to a poor start, losing 0-5 at San Siro to Inter and drawing 0-0 with Fiorentina.
During today’s presser, Gasperini said, “Dybala worked well for two weeks at Trigoria, improving his fitness and is ready to get more minutes in his legs and start again. He’s definitely improving: we saw that in Pisa, where he came on in the second half and played a very good 45 minutes. I don’t know if he’s fully fit yet, because he’s never played them before, but it’s a good moment.”
“Wesley had a small problem, which turned out to be nothing serious. He played the first match against Brazil, then missed the second due to fatigue. From a muscular standpoint, there are no problems: yesterday he trained normally and today, after the last training session, we’ll decide.”
“Pellegrini stayed, and that’s fine with me: he’s an additional player, certainly technically valuable and with important qualities. He’s back on track now, has started training more intensely, but he’s clearly not in the same condition as the others who have been training for two months.”
“He’ll still be available: he needs to improve his fitness and rev up his game, because his quality is unquestionable, but football is made up of many components. I think he’ll have every opportunity to be very useful to us during the season. For me, he’s a midfielder, not a striker. He can play a little further forward or a little further back, but he’s still a midfielder in every sense. After Dybala, I think he’s absolutely one of the best in terms of footwork. He needs to play in midfield, with all the skills necessary to play that role.”
“I expect a lot from all the players who are still here, from Pellegrini, from Dovbyk, and from all the other 20-21 players who make up the squad. What’s important is Roma and the season we have to have. I can’t talk about individual issues: everyone has to give their all. I spoke with Dovbyk, I asked him what his best qualities are, and he told me: inside the box, strength, and depth. Let’s start with these three, but I have to see them all, and at a high level.”
“I’m convinced he’ll do well; I’ve never had any doubts about his commitment, nor about anyone else. We have to play excellent matches, have spirit and mentality, play not only for ourselves but for Roma, to get the best results. Now is the time to play and push. What matters are performances: everything else is guesswork, while the real value comes only from the pitch.”
