Roma defender Gianluca Mancini spoke to Cronache di Spogliatoio about the team’s Top 4 aspirations and Claudio Ranieri’s impact.
“From that Derby in January until today, few people believed we could be near Top 4. Few people had thought about it. We, in the locker room, knew what we were doing, but when mister Ranieri arrived, to be honest, we too had a hard time believing it.”
“However, thanks to the work ethic and the calm that the coach brought to the team, game after game we realized that we could recover ground and climb the table.”
“Now we are there, but as I said, really difficult games await us. This is the last of a cycle of eight important games, and we must think about winning to stay up there.”
“European cups, having reached a semi-final in the last five years, have always been a goal that we cared about a lot. It’s a shame that this year things didn’t go as we hoped.”
“The league, on the other hand, made us suffer too much. It was hard to see ourselves in those positions, in those months in which the results didn’t arrive. However, as I have said many times, the commitment during training, the strength of the group and the desire to be together were never lacking, not even in the most difficult moments.”
“I can’t say that we were completely calm, but we were convinced that things would work out. We couldn’t think of neglecting the league to focus only on the cup, because in the locker room we always think game by game.”
“Early on in the season the standings weighed on us, seeing Roma in those positions hurt us, and we wanted to climb back up. In Europe we gave our all, but unfortunately, in the last match, a decision – not a referee’s, but still decisive – changed the outcome of the match, and we had to give up.”
“The commitment, both in the Serie A and in Europe, has always been high to get as far as possible. In Europe we didn’t succeed, while in the league, up to this point, we managed to climb back up. But we haven’t done anything yet.”
“Ranieri? Since he arrived, the coach has opened the door to our locker room. I, but I think my teammates too, have felt the tension subside, because we were really experiencing the lack of results badly. The coach explained his working method to us, how he saw things both on the pitch and in his attitude.”
“One thing that particularly struck me was a phrase he said as soon as he arrived. It was November, we were coming off a series of bad results and I don’t remember exactly our position in the standings, but everyone knew that the situation was complicated. Yet he, right from the start, said that the good horses are seen at the end. That phrase made me think.”
‘He arrived at a dramatic moment, without knowing us directly, but evidently he had seen a few games and had sensed the team’s potential. Saying something like that in that context gave us a great boost: he made us understand that he believed in us, even without knowing us thoroughly.”
“From that moment we decided to follow him, to work according to his instructions and to rely on his experience. So we’ve come this far, but, as I said before, we haven’t done anything yet. There’s still a long way to go, and now we’re focused on the rest of the league.”
“Ranieri’s future? This is a particular topic. He has always been clear with us and has also been clear in recent weeks with you journalists. It is clear that a figure like his is important not only for us players, but for the entire Roma environment: from those who work at Trigoria, ...
