Gasperini previews Roma-Real Madrid

Gasperini previews Roma-Real Madrid The Olimpico is ready for a night of passion and great football. Roma and Real Madrid are ready to battle it out, and the setting will be one of unforgettable evenings, with the Champions League theme music ready to resound in the capital after a seven-year wait. Speaking at a press conference from the Fulvio Bernardini sports center in Trigoria, Gian Piero Gasperini presented the match against Mourinho’s Los Blancos: “It’s a good moment for us. We’re eager to compete against one of the best teams in Europe, even if they need some time to get used to the new coach’s rules. It’s a highly prestigious match that will impact the standings: let’s not forget that they also beat Inter on Matchday 1.” On the path Roma must take to catch up with European giants like Real Madrid: “It’s a bit difficult to compare ourselves to Real Madrid, given what they represent worldwide: they’re the most successful club, the one with the most fans on the planet. So, that’s not the yardstick we should use, but rather what happens on the pitch. We need to measure ourselves against them for what the match will be. We’ve recently played against Inter and Como, who are among the best teams in Italy, and now we’re facing one of the strongest teams in Europe. Our goal is to measure ourselves against them and see how competitive we can be.” On Mourinho’s return and the message he wants to send to the Olimpico: “It’s right that it should be this way, because the fans have certainly shown great love for Mourinho, and therefore he deserves all the recognition they will give him. These are things everyone feels and cannot be stopped. I’m also convinced that, once the match begins, all feelings will be set aside and the people of Rome will cheer exclusively for their own team.” On the comparison between his Roma and Mourinho’s: “They’re different teams; each team has its own characteristics. That was a Roma that, at the beginning, was under new ownership, with huge involvement, enormous enthusiasm, and also a huge expenditure of resources. This, however, is a team that’s growing and is also very tough—I’d almost say very confident. There’s a fantastic atmosphere within our squad, and it’s a team that was capable of reaching the Champions League. This is sometimes forgotten; people think a trophy is more important. Instead, the Champions League is more important, because it gives the club significant resources to focus on achieving more and continuously improving.” On Endrick: “I don’t think I’ll ask Mourinho. It’s just something that doesn’t interest him right now. We’ve just started a series of matches, and we’ll experience tomorrow’s match, along with the entire stadium and the city, as an event that’s finally been missing for many years. As we’ve said, it’s been seven or eight years since we’ve had an event like this, so we’ll experience it with this pleasure.” On the attitude we’ll see on the pitch: “It’s clear that when you’re down to ten men or down to ten men, it’s a different kind of match. I think our attitude has led us to play these types of games, to finish third last year, and to finally win the Champions League. I think we have some characteristics that we don’t want to distort. We clearly know Real Madrid’s value, but they’re not the first top-level team we’ve faced; we’ve certainly faced others. We know that Real Madrid is a team that, just when you think you can cause them problems, maybe scores. They need very little to create dangerous situations. However, this is part of great teams, with great players. We’ll need to be more careful, but I don’t think Roma should distort their characteristics.” On the comparison with his Atalanta’s Champions League campaign: “It’s undoubtedly my goal, my hope. Clearly, it requires many components, and we started last year. It’s clear that Atalanta started from a lower position than I found Roma, and they climbed many places. They didn’t win the Champions League, but they won the Europa League. In the last seven years, they’ve played in the Champions League five times, and when they haven’t, they’ve managed to win the Europa League, which is a very complicated and difficult competition. But this is a discussion that concerns all Italian teams to a certain extent.” “It seems to me that many years have passed since Inter last won the Champions League, in 2010, and before Atalanta won the Europa League, I don’t think an Italian team had won that competition since the 1990s. This is why, at this moment, we can’t make proclamations: our football cannot afford to announce that it wants to win the Champions League or other European cups. We need Everyone should let their own little garden grow well. That’s what we’re trying to do with Roma, but there’s still a long way to go.” Regarding the conditions of Koulierakis and Cristante: “Koulierakis returned to the group yesterday and trained with those who didn’t play in Como. Cristante still needs some time. Yesterday we had a good training session with those who didn’t play in Como, while all the others who took part in the match will have their first training session now, after the press conference. I must say, however, that there are no particular ailments or difficulties. We just need to evaluate their recovery, because it’s clear that the Como match was demanding, especially since we played almost half the game with ten men. Right now, however, we have good morale to face these types of matches.” On Real Madrid: “Yes, as I said before, perhaps they need a few more games to get used to it. They’ve changed their playing system a bit, and their coach as well, but they’re a team with enormous resources, and I think they can only grow in that regard over time. They’re still a very dangerous team, capable of winning any match right now. Then, perhaps, on a purely aesthetic level, they definitely have room for improvement, and I think they can improve over time. I think we’ll have to see how this Champions League plays out. This competition will tell us where Real Madrid will stand, because when you have Mbappé, Vinicius, Diomandé, and then all the others up front—at least seven or eight, Bellingham, and so on, without even mentioning them all—you have extraordinary players, capable, as I said before, of deciding matches. But perhaps they’re lacking a bit in team cohesion, and right now, they’re a team that still needs to come together. The Champions League will be useful, especially because it’s their home, to compete with teams that currently seem like better teams than Real Madrid.” Madrid, but they certainly don’t have all his talent. So I think the Champions League will tell us where Real Madrid will stand this year.”