Daniele De Rossi sat down on the AS Roma bench in January, where he spent essentially his entire playing career. The Italian specialist took the place of José Mourinho, under whose management Roma had just been eliminated from the Coppa Italia against Lazio. Under the guidance of De Rossi, Roma climbed from the ninth place in Serie A to the fifth position, and on Saturday they broke the bad streak against Lazio with a 1-0 victory.
Mancini, who scored the winning goal, is celebrated by his teammates (Source: X/AS Roma)
De Rossi has participated in thirty-one capital city derbies as a player, so he knows exactly what this match means. Tammy Abraham, who returned to action against Lazio after a ten-month absence, has highlighted how De Rossi has boosted Roma, who have struggled under Mourinho.
– Before the match, you can hear in his voice how much it means to him. He is still a player at heart and that is very important for us because we needed someone to bring out the best in us and De Rossi is doing just that – said the English forward.
De Rossi’s strange arrangement
But Rossi revealed that he experienced the derby against Lazio differently than before, as a player.
– The pressure is worse as a coach, because as a football player, at least on the field I was able to reduce the tension by running a lot.
After a while I asked the fourth official if the clock had stopped because the match seemed to never end
– De Rossi revealed after the 1-0 win.
