It’s the match of the fifth against the seventh – and yet it’s so much more: the Rome derby is coming up again on Saturday. Beforehand, AS coach Daniele de Rossi let us in on the details
If there’s one thing you can rightly say, it’s that Daniele de Rossi has breathed new life into Roma. While the Giallorossi had almost degenerated into a gray mouse under José Mourinho, they are now preparing to conquer Europe, even the Champions League seems possible.
But that won’t matter much on Saturday, as there’s only one thing on the agenda: bringing city and arch-rivals Lazio to their knees. “It’s not a normal game,” said de Rossi with a view to the explosive clash and made it clear: “The stress is not the same as against Sassuolo. It’s something different.”
The form curve speaks in favour of Roma, who have only lost one of their last ten games; Lazio, on the other hand, have conceded five defeats in their last seven games – and yet the Giallorossi are warned, also because they have recently failed to win against their city rivals four times in a row across all competitions (0/1/3) – Roma also failed to score in all four games.
“The last derbies weren’t positive,” says de Rossi, who emphasizes: “The lads have a desire for revenge.” The 40-year-old also admitted that he felt different as a player. “It is different. I’m relatively calm, even though I’m looking forward to the game. I think age gives you an advantage.” He wants to radiate this calmness to his players, because that will also be important. “We’re working on balance, we want to be hot but not over-excited. “
De Rossi not worried
Roma also want to win the game, but to do so they have to end their goal drought. Although Roma have improved significantly up front since de Rossi took charge, they have scored just one goal in their last three competitive matches – a 1-0 winner in their last home game against Sassuolo.
They had previously drawn 1-0 at Brighton, while their most recent game was a 0-0 draw at Lecce. De Rossi described the game in Lecce as “one of the worst we’ve played”, but also pointed out that they had chances. No cause for concern for him