Daniele De Rossi admitted that he had ‘no idea’ what he was supposed to do for the remaining 18 minutes plus stoppages of Roma’s previously suspended match against Udinese, but is happy to be celebrating nonetheless following Bryan Cristante’s 95th minute winner on Thursday night.
Udinese and Roma played out the remaining minutes of their match, which was halted on April 14 after Evan Ndicka’s collapse on the pitch.
It was an unusual affair for plenty of reasons in Udine, not least because of Cristante’s winner with one of the last touches of the game, which settled the scores at 2-1 for the Giallorossi.
De Rossi, who is still in the infant stages of his managerial career, had never had to prepare for such a short match before tonight.
De Rossi’s assessment
“I spoke to the boys, I joked with them that I had no idea what I was supposed to do, I’ve never had to prepare 20 minutes of a match before,” he said during his post-match press conference, reported via TMW.
“Maybe a minute or so after we started with so many attackers, I knew that we might need to make some changes to give us more balance.
“Some guys had to warm up and not even play, but there was serious application from all of my players. I put Stephan (El-Shaarawy) on because he was more offensive, but I waited, because it was Udinese who were growing a little tired on the wings.”
As Cristante’s header found the back of the net in injury time, De Rossi could be seen barraging down the touchline to celebrate with his players. It was a move worthy of his predecessor, Jose Mourinho.
“I’m usually more composed, in fact I should say that I’m sorry for celebrating like that in Udine, against a club that has always been very friendly and always behaves respectfully. It was nothing against them,” DDR said.
“But, the goal was important, and in an important match, demonstrating that we are a strong team. We always looked to find the goal, we are a team that wants something and tries our best to go out and get it. Sometimes luck repays you.”
Providing details on his tactical choices, De Rossi added: “I put Angelino in for the crosses, I had thought it was going to be an even more offensive match, but Udinese’s physical presence got to us a bit. These are three really important points.”
Thursday’s match was also the first in the Udinese dugout for 2006 World Cup winning-captain Fabio Cannavaro, a long-term international colleague of De Rossi’s.
“I saw that he was really excited, I think he can offer a lot. We met last year in a 90-minute match and his team outplayed us. I wish him good luck, I know what he is capable of.
“Along with the likes of Di Francesco, and another friend like Nicola, I wouldn’t wish ill on anybody, especially on a great club like Udinese. I’d be pleased if they stay up.”