Tomorrow evening, Roma will face Atalanta at the Olimpico to continue their pursuit of fourth place.
These have been difficult days in the capital, where the only topic of conversation has been the frostiness between Ranieri and Gasperini that erupted after the senior advisor’s comments before Roma-Pisa.
Today, the coach spoke at a press conference on the eve of the match against Atalanta. Gasperini begins: “I’ll tell you in advance, because I know you’ll ask me. There was an interview with Ranieri last Friday that created some confusion; it was an incredible surprise for me.”
“There’s never been a different tone between Ranieri and I, both in the press conferences we held and in our relationship. I wasn’t expecting it. And in all these months, I’d never heard such a tone. From that moment on, I’ve been concerned about not responding and trying not to cause any kind of harm or difficulty for the team or the Roma fans.”
“Tomorrow is important; we still have a chance for Europe. That’s the important thing. And so I’d really like us to talk about this, especially because I haven’t spoken all week, it hasn’t come from everyone, I wanted to try to prevent all of this, but it was impossible on my part. And so from today, I’d really like us to talk about football.”
He continued: “I’ve suffered this media impact, despite myself. But for me and the team, there will be no excuse. We’re on Matchday 33, it’s a final rush, and it’s extremely important for both teams, especially for us. I’ve shifted my focus solely to the technical aspect. I repeat: for me, the important thing was not to cause any harm to the team.”
Injury situation: “Wesley currently feels he can play, but the medical team considers there to be risks. This also triggers issues and discussions. We’ll see what happens tomorrow, but if the doctor says no, I can only abide by it. Everyone depends on a medical OK. Nothing has changed in the lineup since last week, except for Pellegrini’s injury. Pisilli seems to have recovered from an ankle problem.”
Do you feel closer or further away from Roma than before? “You keep talking about other things, I’ll talk about the match. I don’t want to cause any problems that day; you’re creating problems with these questions. So ask me a question about the team or tomorrow’s match. I’m done with the other thing. If you’d like, let’s talk about football.” And I’ve answered you. “No, I’ve answered you. If you want to ask me a football question about tomorrow’s match, I’ll answer. If you want to continue with these situations, I’m done.”
“What is Roma missing for the Champions League?” “The club and Ranieri have always been very clear. I thought that with very little effort we could reach our objective right away, and the facts prove it; we’re still there, despite all the defections. In the first half of the season, we didn’t have that many problems; we were able to compensate. From January onwards, there were many, but I’ve always thought that with a few more ideas we would have had even more opportunities. But these are normal discussions; with Ranieri, they were never aggressive. If we can beat a very strong team like Atalanta, we’ll see what happens. They’re a tough obstacle. If we beat them, we’re entitled to play in the Champions League, and then we have other teams ahead of us, but this is the parameter I’ve always set for myself. I’ve always pushed to improve based on my football ideas, I’ve always pushed for certain players. Without any ulterior motives, my intention has been to improve. I don’t have to wait for anything; for me, that’s the goal. I believe that if you manage to do well in Rome, you’ll get immense satisfaction.”
Difference with Bergamo: “Roma has everything, especially in the team and the external environment. In Bergamo I did well because the surrounding environment was compact; the club’s work was extraordinary. The city, having a single fan base, is compact. This created an ideal climate and the ability to build a strong team over time, not only with young players who were valued, used and sold, making the club very rich: think of Lookman, Ruggeri… There we built a team with Gomez, Zapata, Toloi, Ilicic, Kolasinac. A very strong core, which lasted for years, replaced by Ederson, Koopmeiners and integrated with Scamacca, De Ketelaere, Lookman, Djimsiti…”
“The team overall was strong and could change with the income from a club that is extraordinary in its sales. Think of Romero and Hojlund, generating profits every year. That was an extraordinary thing, not only thanks to me, but also to the club. Then it changed a bit, partly because the ownership changed, partly because it didn’t there was more of my dad to whom I was very close.”
