Ghisolfi: ‘Roma want more from Dovbyk, new coach must be proud’ | OneFootball

Roma director Florent Ghisolfi warns they ‘want more’ from Artem Dovbyk against Cagliari and European qualification will ‘not affect the choice of coach’ for next season.

It kicks off at the Stadio Olimpico at the unusual time of 15.00 GMT.

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s five Serie A games on the Liveblog.

The kick-off is an hour later than usual because the Rome Marathon was this morning in the streets of the Eternal City.

Roma are seeking a sixth consecutive Serie A victory, but they crashed out of the Europa League on Thursday in a 3-1 defeat to Athletic Club.

“We are disappointed after the Europa League elimination, but still alive and kicking,” Ghisolfi told DAZN.

“I want to see heads held high, as the staff and squad deserved much more, but this is football. We now have an opportunity to turn over a new leaf against a side that is fired up, so we need a great performance. We have a lot of hunger, intensity and the right freshness to do well.”

That night in Bilbao was doomed to failure when Mats Hummels was sent off after just 11 minutes, leaving his side down to 10 men for almost the entire match.

Ghisolfi was asked if the owners of Roma, the Friedkin family, had sent any messages to the squad and coach?

“The owners are disappointed too, we received their strong support, as always. We win and lose together. They are already working for the future, we have 2027 as an important year and then the stadium issue in 2028.”

Roma look to future after Europa League exit

ROME, ITALY – MARCH 02: Artem Dovbyk of AS Roma scores his team’s second goal during the Serie A match between AS Roma and Como at Stadio Olimpico on March 02, 2025 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

Dovbyk also disappointed in Bilbao and coach Claudio Ranieri said in his post-match interviews that the striker had to believe in himself and not “give up” on Roma.

With that in mind, the Ukraine international starts this evening against Cagliari too.

“He knows that we expect more from him, but also that we believe in him,” added Ghisolfi.

“His season is good, but we want more. This is an opportunity to play really well. We are Roma, so while we might not have a great performance every time, we must give our all for the shirt.”

Ranieri had already retired after rescuing Cagliari from relegation and was only talked into coming back to help his beloved Roma until the end of the season, so is there more news on the next coach?

“These final matches will not affect the choice of coach. If someone is waiting to see which European competitions we qualify for, then they are not the right person for us,” insisted Ghisolfi.

“We want a coach who feels proud to lead this great club.”