Former Roma manager Paulo Fonseca – who’s been recently appointed as Lille’s head coach – described his two years in the Italian capital in an interview released to The Coaches’ Voice.
“Roma came to after three years of coaching Shakhtar Donetsk. I’d won everything in Ukraine and so I wanted a new challenge in one of the top European leagues,” he said.
“Serie A is one of the best, I’d already wanted to coach there. Roma are an incredible club. I learned a lot during my two seasons there. Tactically, Italian football is very specific. Each game is different and very strategic. You have to study and work hard before every match.”
“The Derby della Capitale is also incredible. The atmosphere is incredible and all the fans dream of winning it. It might even be more important to beat Lazio than to win Serie A to them. The emotions before the match are unforgettable.”
“During my time at Roma I also had to work for eight months without a sporting director and face the paralysis of the football calendar due to the spread of COVID-19.”
“When the Friedkin Group, the new owners, arrived in Rome in August 2020, I realized they wanted to start a new project with new people. And it was agreed that I would leave when my contract ended at the end of the 2020/21 season.”