Roma wing-back Nicola Zalewski – whose emergence last season as a reliable starter in Leonardo Spinazzola’s absence provided the Giallorossi with a huge boost in the second half to their campaign – discussed his journey at the club from his boyhood days to the present as a Conference League winner.
“I still have a lot to prove in order to stay here and give my best,” said the Polish international.
“I don’t feel like a veteran nor do I go around giving advice to younger players in preseason. After all, I’m still the youngest,” he said on the AS Roma Podcast.
When asked about his first day at Trigoria, Zalewski replied, “I have vague memories of that day. I auditioned with Calafiori. We just did normal workouts, with older guys, then they took us both.”
“There were times when I thought I was physically too small to play at greater levels, then I was lucky enough to have people close to me who always supported me and who helped me in never giving up.”
“Surely Edoardo Bove was there too, he’s been here for ten years, we did the whole youth program together.”
On climbing up the ranks, Zalewski concluded, “I’ve always tried to play as I have always done, from the U15s to the Primavera, I’ve always tried to put aside emotion and tension, even if perhaps sometimes I didn’t succeed.”
