He tries to mask the emotion of a match that will obviously be special for him. “Seeing that crowd will be a great pleasure but I’m only focused on Frosinone. I don’t know what feelings I’ll feel at the Olimpico. For me, however, the love for Roma will remain intact”, said Eusebio Di Francesco on the eve of the match against the Giallorossi.
The Frosinone coach will be the great ex of the match: 101 appearances as a footballer with a scudetto and 87 as a coach with a historic Champions League semi-final. But tomorrow Di Francesco could get Roma into even more trouble, fresh from the heavy defeat in Genoa. In fact, Frosinone will arrive on the strength of 5 useful results in a row (9 points, +4 on the Giallorossi) and dream of a coup to dispel a taboo (Ciociari always knocked out in the 4 previous matches against Roma). “It will be a very difficult match – says Di Francesco – I know the environment in Rome well and I am convinced that despite the recent negative results, the public will support the team as always. Mourinho is a great coach, he has gone through many difficulties and knows how to handle these situations.
So I expect very motivated opponents”. Apart from the announced absentees (Harroui, Lirola, Kalaj, Gelli and Kaio Jorge), Romagnoli and Garritano are in strong doubt. A mini-turnover cannot be ruled out. Those little-used players such as Bourabia, Reinier and Ibrahimovic. But beyond the performers, Di Francesco asks his team not to distort the playing philosophy shown so far. “To put Roma in difficulty we have to be ourselves: therefore aggressive, short and with a lot of running – claims the ‘coach – To make up for the technical ‘gap’ we need the same pace shown from the start.”
breaking latest news © Copyright ANSA