Former Roma sporting director Gianluca Petrachi was recently asked about his brief spell at Roma, during which the ex-Torino executive claims to have been close to appointing Roberto De Zerbi before veering toward Paulo Fonseca.
“I think Italian clubs often lack the necessary courage to make daring decisions,” Petrachi said in an interview with Sportitalia.
“When I was at Roma I wanted to bring De Zerbi with me, he was the new coach to surprise everyone. His style had always fascinated me, he could easily coach any of the top four teams in Italy.”
“At Roma I had also signed Carlos Augusto,” Petrachi confessed, referring to Monza’s 23-year-old fullback. “He even came to Trigoria. We wanted him as Kolarov’s long-term replacement but then Spinazzola’s transfer to Inter collapsed.”
“Lukic to Roma? He’s a very good, technical modern midfielder. There is no point in him staying at Torino anymore. If Roma get the deal done, it will be a very good one.”
