Roma director Franco Baldini insists Zdenek Zeman “has nothing against” Daniele De Rossi and explains how Vincenzo Montella so nearly had his job.
Roma director Franco Baldini insists Zdenek Zeman “has nothing against” Daniele De Rossi and explains how Vincenzo Montella so nearly had his job.
De Rossi returned from a three-match ban tonight, but was surprisingly left on the bench for the game against Fiorentina.
“When we wrote up his contract, we knew that it was sustainable, otherwise we wouldn’t have done it,” Baldini told Sky Sport Italia before kick-off.
“We want to balance the budget, but also have a squad that can allow us to win as soon as possible. Champions like Daniele help.
“Zeman said absolutely nothing that would hurt the pride or the prestige of the player. When he said it was impossible that 10 different clubs had put in requests, he meant that there are so many rumours around and not all of them are true.
“I can assure you, Zeman has nothing against De Rossi.”
Fiorentina visit the Stadio Olimpico and are flying high under Montella, who started his coaching career at Roma and was almost recalled over the summer.
“It’s not a secret that we had talks with him because we thought he was suited to the job. The fact we didn’t choose him doesn’t mean we doubt Montella’s talent. In fact, he was a very strong candidate, but at the end we made a different choice.”