Netherlands coach Daniele De Rossi studied and learned from his predecessor Jose Mourinho's style long before he was appointed to lead Roma.
Mourinho joined Roma in the summer of 2021, under a contract until the end of the 2023-2024 season. The "Special One" helped Roma win the 2021-2022 Conference League, reach the Europa League final last season - where they lost 1-4 to Sevilla in a penalty shootout, and twice finished sixth in Serie A.
"I studied Mourinho's Roma very carefully when I was simply a fan. He achieved great results in Europe and reached the final of both competitions in more than two years in charge of the team," De Rossi said in Rotterdam on February 14 at a press conference ahead of the first leg of the Europa League play-off round against Feyenoord.
However, De Rossi insists he will not copy the "Special One", as each coach has a different vision, preferences, style and approach. The Italian coach only rotates by changing some positions, and explains that changing the entire starting lineup will make the players lose form and fitness and make it difficult for those who rarely play together.
De Rossi at Roma's Trigoria training ground on February 13. Photo: asroma.it
After succeeding Mourinho on January 16, De Rossi helped Roma win three consecutive matches, defeating Verona 2-1, Salernitana 2-1 and Cagliari 4-0, then losing 2-4 to Inter Milan in Serie A. The 40-year-old coach will make his European debut today when Roma visits Feyenoord in the first leg of the Europa League play-off round in the Netherlands today.
"I'm very happy to be leading a team in Europe for the first time and to be honest it's not something I expected so soon," De Rossi said. "February 14 was my daughter's birthday and a year ago I was sacked by SPAL. So I'm very grateful to be here now."
De Rossi is a Roma legend, playing for the club from 2001 to 2019, scoring 63 goals in 616 matches, winning three titles: the Italian Cup in 2007, 2008 and the Italian Super Cup in 2007. De Rossi considers the 1-7 loss at Man Utd in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals in 2007 as his worst memory while playing in Europe.
On the contrary, he considers the 3-0 win over Barca in the second leg of the quarter-finals to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2018 on away goals as his most memorable memory. At the Olimpico that day, De Rossi wore the armband of Roma and made it 2-0 in the 58th minute thanks to a penalty kick.
This is the third consecutive time Roma have played Feyenoord in the European Cup. In the 2021-2022 season, Roma beat Feyenoord 1-0 in the final thanks to Nicolo Zaniolo to become the first champions of the Europa Conference League. This result helped Roma win their first European Cup in history and end their title drought after 14 years, since the 2007-2008 Italian Cup.
The two teams will meet again in the quarter-finals of the 2022-23 Europa League. Feyenoord won the first leg 1-0 in Rotterdam. But in the second leg at the Olimpico, Roma won 4-1 after extra time to advance 4-2 on aggregate.
Hong Duy
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