Ranieri offers update on Roma’s progress, derby win and more | OneFootball

Roma manager Claudio Ranieri spoke to Corriere dello Sport about a number of topics including the team’s progress since his arrival and the recent derby win.

“The derby conveyed very strong emotions. I know these are the last ones I’ll feel of this kind,” he said. “The last stage has begun and when you think it’s over, that’s when the climb begins.”

“I realize I have changed a lot. At the Olimpico, when Antonello’s anthem was sung in the past, I didn’t go up from the tunnel because I was moved, while now I can handle the emotion and, indeed, the singing of the sixty thousand gives me the last burst of energy.”

“Do you believe me if I tell you that in the last few months I have received more requests than after the triumph with Leicester? When I realized that there was still a desire for Ranieri, the desire returned to me too, but I knew that I would only do it for two teams, Cagliari and Roma.”

“That Monday in November, Ghisolfi called me to tell me that the Friedkins wanted to talk to me. I left immediately for London.”

“They had just fired Juric, they call me and what can I possibly think? Claudio, we start again.”

“Right away I understood what the Friedkins were all about. They want to do well, to bring Roma back to the top.”

“They don’t speak in public? Because, do you see other Americans, I mean team owners, who give interviews or simple statements? Americans are like that. They entrust tasks to the people they choose and if they don’t go well they change them.”

“I found the team to be in the same situation as other teams that have had their coach sacked. In this case, two in just a few months. Down morally, but physically they were fine. With Daniele and Juric they had worked well on the athletic level.”

“I simply brought my ideas to the table, I tried to stimulate the boys, we quickly got on the same wavelength. What does it mean to get on the same wavelength? Thinking the same things, giving everything for each other. Always playing to the death. I am someone who demands a lot in training, when the game comes I give the players freedom because, if they have worked well, they know how to behave both defensively and offensively.”

“Every mistake must be matched by a reaction, no one must think back to the mistake they have just made. There is still a lot of time. We all make mistakes, on the pitch, in life… Some time ago I read a sentence that I really liked. If a mistake is not a stepping stone, it’s a mistake.”

“Now things are going better, the team has regained its self-esteem, the boys are confident again.”

“The derby? I was happy for the fans. The joy you can give is greater than the one you feel. I’m not afraid to say things: we beat a Lazio team that is having a great season and playing beautiful football. On Sunday I saw a different Roma, a Roma that knows how to be on the pitch. Very far from the one in Naples, but I had only been there a day and the national team players had just returned. The progress, the growth is remarkable. In Naples we had played a good game, but we had been too timid, we had never tried to win.”

“The transfer window? I already have a good squad, but it needs to be completed because we will soon be playing three games a week. Something more is needed, after all we are talking about a repair market and so we too will try to repair.”

“Some players will leave while the new signings will have to comply with the Financial Fair Play.”

“Dybala? I see him with a big smile on his face. A smile is important, those who arrive on the pitch with a smile, like Paulo, make things easier and fill your heart. I already liked Dybala a lot when he was at Palermo.”

“Paulo is a superior player, he plays a lot now because he is well, but he must be protected. I take him off as soon as I see him tired. In the derby he and Dovbyk did an exceptional job, contributing decisively to the victory.”

“Paredes and Hummels’ leadership? You don’t have to say anything to Paredes and Hummels, they know exactly what to do and their teammates recognize their leadership, it’s no coincidence that they always rely on them.”

“Totti’s future at the club? I don’t there is any, but I can guarantee that I will talk to Francesco, but first he will have to understand what he wants to do when he grows up. I will talk to him, just as I talked to Daniele and I would really like to hug Bruno Conti, whom I haven’t seen for too long.”