“Niccolò isn’t leaving. He had already demonstrated his worth last year; he’s one of the players who can complete Roma’s squad. He has great ability to get into the mix and plays excellent football,” said Gian Piero Gasperini about Niccolò Pisilli after the match against Stuttgart, when the transfer window was still open and his permanence was in doubt.
The Giallorossi coach had always highlighted the talent of the 2004-born player, often expressing hope that “he could play and develop at Roma,” but the performances of his colleagues had overshadowed him.
Now, thanks to Manu Koné’s injury, the number 61 is taking center stage, but he’s had to work hard to get this far.
At the start of the season, Pisilli didn’t seem like a good fit for Gasperini. After a few minutes in the opening matchdays, the midfielder made a serious mistake in the Europa League away match against Nice, which cost him his job.
Since then, he’s been on the bench for several seasons, working quietly.
In January, amid speculation about his possible transfer, he steadily gained more minutes, scoring a brace against Stuttgart. Yesterday, in the post-match review of the match against Cagliari, Gasperini gave his final verdict: “Niccolò won back a lot of balls and made very few mistakes, with clarity and quality. He has extraordinary energy, he runs for four.”
Against the Sardinians, number 61 delivered a well-rounded performance.
As reported by SiamoLaRoma.it, Pisilli completed 100% of his tackles (2/2) and intercepted the ball twice. Furthermore, defensively, he recovered the ball eight times and won three of five ground tackles. He also performed well with the ball at his feet: he made one key pass and completed 90% of his attempts (65/72), 47 of which were in the opposition’s half.
He didn’t put his ball-handling skills to the test, attempting only one shot in the 22nd minute of the first half, but Pisilli is proving to be a complete midfielder. Nice is now just a distant memory.
