Europe League
Alonso is looking forward to his generation colleague De Rossi
Bayer coach Xabi Alonso is looking forward to seeing Daniele De Rossi again. photo
© John Walton/PA Wire/dpa
Like Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso, Roma coach Daniele De Rossi has also started a second career as a football coach. And that’s very promising. Now the two young coaches meet.
“I’m happy if other coaches from my generation also take the next step,” said the Spanish football coach of Bayer Leverkusen, referring to the new Roma coach Daniele De Rossi.
The Italian, who is a year and a half younger than him, and he had faced each other several times in the club and in the national team, “and they were always intense duels in midfield,” said Alonso. “Our values are somewhat the same. He was a great player and as a coach he had a very big influence. You can clearly see his idea in the game. And I’m happy that he can follow this path at home in his club.”
Roma legend De Rossi
De Rossi, who played for Roma for 19 years, replaced old master José Mourinho as coach in January, a great supporter of Alonso from their time together at Real Madrid. “It was nice to see José again last year,” said Alonso, who met Rome in the semi-finals with Bayer last year and was eliminated. “But that’s football. Now I’m looking forward to meeting Daniele.” Since taking office, De Rossi has had a points average of 2.15 points, almost as good as the Leverkusen champion Alonso with 2.20.
Leverkusen striker Patrik Schick, who played with De Rossi during his time at Roma from 2017 to 2019 and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League alongside him, also believes his ex-colleague can have a great career. “He was already a real leader back then,” he said. “He was an exceptional player and he can certainly become an incredible coach. He is already doing a very, very good job and has all the attributes of a top coach.”
Andrich: Don’t play to win at all costs
Leverkusen’s national player Robert Andrich doesn’t want to reduce his chances of progressing in Rome through excessive offensive spirit. “We will play to win in Rome, but not at any price,” said the 29-year-old midfielder in a “Kicker” interview. For him, a good result is “everything except a defeat. We should set the premise that we will not lose under any circumstances.”
AS Roma and Leverkusen had already met in the semi-finals of the Europa League last season. At that time, the Romans, with José Mourinho as coach, reached the final after a 1-0 first leg win with a 0-0 draw in Leverkusen. “Progressing now would not only mean reaching the final, but would also be a small satisfaction, even if Roma’s style of play has changed somewhat now under (new coach) De Rossi,” said Andrich. “But most of the players are still there.”