Given Roma’s struggles to begin the Serie A season, it’s been easy to overlook the club’s equally woebegone Europa League campaign. Roma has amassed a paltry six points through their first five EL fixtures, with their only victory coming against Dynamo Kyiv in late October. Sitting in 21st place in the newly revamped competition, Roma isn’t likely to qualify for the Knockout Phase on their own merits but has a puncher’s chance of backdooring their way into the next round via the Knockout Phase playoffs.
Whether you care about Roma progressing in Europe this season is a matter of personal conviction, but for his part, Claudio Ranieri wasn’t mincing his words, “We have to do well in the Europa League, Coppa Italia and Serie A. We have to give our all in every game – that’s our aim. We’ll see how we fare this season.”
While Ranieri’s pre-match presser ahead of tomorrow’s tilt against Portugues side Braga was a bit light on specifics, the Tinkerman touched on a host of topics, including his future with the club.
Here are some of the best bits from Wednesday’s press conference.
On his squad’s fitness:
“Everyone is fit except [Bryan] Cristante. [Artem] Dovbyk and Celik are both available for selection. Soule is the future. After a fantastic season at Frosinone, he joined Roma and thought he could do the same things. People know him a bit better now and changing clubs affected him a little, but he’s a player I’m counting on, and Roma are counting on. He looks good to me. We’ll try to get the best out of him.”
Ranieri also discussed Dovbyk’s current fitness levels and what he needs to be more successful on the pitch.
“I think the main thing is he needs to get back into the good physical shape he was in before. He had injury problems then flu, and with a body like his he struggles more than a player of a smaller stature. Then of course we need to figure out how to give him the service he needs. I’ve explained it and I’ve shown it, but he needs to work for it too. I think his first goal should be to get back to 100% because a player with his build can’t perform well unless he’s 100% fit. We’ll try to get him back into shape, and the better we get to know him and the more the team’s confidence grows, the more he’ll benefit.”
On lingering injuries and matchday decisions:
“As you know, the night before every match, I reflect on the training sessions we’ve had and the previous game. I’ll need to speak to some of the players to understand things. This game against Braga is important but so is the next one against Como, so I have to decide what the best thing is…
Tomorrow I’ll talk to the lads, then I’ll decide. I’m not worried. Some of them haven’t got 90 minutes in them yet, so I need to decide whether to play them from the start or off the bench.”
On his general match preparations and the fluctuating amount of running/effort in any given match:
“The team had been coached well. Every coach has their own way of preparing for matches, and sees the game their own way. But if the team ran a lot against Napoli and on other occasions, like Atalanta and Tottenham – and I’m talking on a purely physical level, sometimes perhaps running a lot but not the right way – but if they did that it’s because they’d been trained for it beforehand. A coach can’t come in and make players run. They had been given the right preparation by previous coaches and fitness coaches. I’ve benefited from the previous work done and added my ideas about how I like the game to be played. Players are like sponges. Some coaches play a set way, some use different formations, some change formation mid-game, and the players are able to take on board what we want from them. Obviously that helps me a lot.”
And finally, on Thursday’s opponents:
“Nowadays home advantage counts for little. Obviously the Roma fans are very passionate and really get behind the team but I expect to see a Braga side who know how to play football, in the Portuguese way with a European influence. I mean that can play direct, but can keep the ball too, can press, they have with good players – and I know [Joao] Moutinho as he was a player of mine. I expect a good game with two teams both trying to win.”
Ranieri also touched on some longer-term issues, namely his role in tabbing his successor, saying simply, “We want a good coach. That’s it. Hopefully, we won’t get it wrong.”
Match Details
Date: December 12th
Kickoff: 18:45 CET/12:45 EST
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Roma
Referee: Daniel Seibert (GER)
