Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi praised his opponent for tonight’s first leg of the Europa League Round of 16, Daniele De Rossi, in a recent interview with Sportitalia.
Ahead of this evening’s kick-off, De Zerbi said, “These are very intense days, then I am passionate, I don’t have the ability to remain cold when it comes to emotions. I come to play with my team in my country, against a great team, against a coach who is my friend and so there is a lot of emotion.”
“Rome is a great place, there have always been great coaches and I believe that De Rossi is the right coach for Roma,” he added.
“He has already started very well, he is already getting results, he has changed the style of the team. He is a friend and I wish him all the best from March 15th onwards.”
“Who would I have preferred between facing him and Mou? Neither. When you do a competition like this for Brighton, if you dream of going all the way, one is as good as the other. We had a hot round and we start again with a difficult round of 16 against Roma: this year it’s one test after another in Europe.”
“We are not two teams of the same level in terms of experience and fame, also because Roma have great players. But we at Brighton have always played with everyone, with humility and hunger, knowing where we come from and with the desire to disprove the predictions. Because it is clear that Roma are the favourites.”
