Luciano Spalletti warned Roma “have no alibis” ahead of his debut against Verona. “It was an easy decision to come back.”
It kicks off on Sunday at 14.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
“It’s a pleasure to see you all again,” smiled the Coach who left this club in 2009 and is back to replace Rudi Garcia.
Luciano Spalletti warned Roma “have no alibis” ahead of his debut against Verona. “It was an easy decision to come back.”
It kicks off on Sunday at 14.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
“It’s a pleasure to see you all again,” smiled the Coach who left this club in 2009 and is back to replace Rudi Garcia.
“I have come back because I know how wonderful it is to work here. It’ll take me a little time to get up to speed with the changes here at Trigoria, so I decided to sleep at the training camp and get to know it better.
“I got a good impression from the first training session, which was confirmed in the second and third. The lads are very focused and in terms of desire that’s what I wanted to see. It was the best message I could receive.
“Some are naturally upset for Garcia, it’s only normal, as he did some good things here and set records. He will have his career and I wish Rudi all the best.”
Garcia suggested there were problems at a fitness level for the players, but Spalletti shot that down.
“The signs sent from the brain to the body are important. What do I tell the players, that if they lose for another two months it’s because they don’t have fuel in the tank? Are we kidding? No alibis, otherwise the people who welcomed me so warmly at the airport will grab me by the ear and drag me round the city. I have an advantage, which is I already know what it’s like at Roma!
“I was happy to come back here and therefore it was an easy decision to make. President James Pallotta has a passion for our city and our team. He greeted me at the door of his home with a Roma jersey. It was a bit tight, so I might send him a new one. It’ll be a sign we have both grown…
“I hope to see ‘my’ Roma straight away, because the other teams are going at a great pace this season. We are a little behind and have no other option but to start strong and own our quality again. I expect a strong reaction from tomorrow.
“Scudetto or third place? We have to see how the first week goes and anything else follows on from there.
“I came back because being the Coach of Roma is wonderful. The rest that happened when I left is all cancelled. I came here because my children, three very special Roma fans, asked me to. They remained in Rome with my wife and she sent me a picture of my daughter aged four with the Giallorossi scarf round her neck.”
Spalletti has already made one big change, as Alessandro Florenzi is training with the midfielders and not the full-backs.
“Is Florenzi a Number 2 or 7? In my view he’s a 3.5. I saw him do well in many different roles, so it will be a problem picking one, but modern football has evolved to be more fluid in teams and players.
“Napoli, Fiorentina, Empoli and Giampiero Ventura’s Torino all play great football and their Coaches developed a more total style of football, based on the team unit. There is something new, more elastic, and we are closer to European football that way.
“It is also more entertaining for the fans. I used the 4-2-3-1 because at the time it worked with the players I had and they learned it very quickly. It did some great things and I had fun, almost to the point of being turned on…
“Now we will do something different and try to get it working as quickly as possible. The team must be open to assimilating new ideas.
“Nowadays 90 per cent of the play goes through midfield and we have a fantastic midfield. I gave Francesco Totti everything I had, more than I had. He was the first player I met here and I tried not to disturb his talent.
"I didn't have a centre-forward before, but now I do and if I'd had the chance to choose which one, I'd have picked Edin Dzeko!"