Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Tuesday 4 November 2008 – 20.45CET
Group A – Matchday 4
AS Roma coach Luciano Spalletti has diagnosed the cause of his team’s troubled start to the season as “psychological” ahead of the UEFA Champions League Group A visit of table-toppers Chelsea FC.
Under pressure
After being pipped to the Scudetto last term by FC Internazionale Milano, Spalletti has come in for criticism following four straight Serie A reversals, including a 2-0 defeat at Juventus on Saturday. The Giallorossi, UEFA Champions League quarter-finalists in each of the last two campaigns, are also in danger of failing to make it out of the group stage, having lost at home to CFR 1907 Cluj on Matchday 1 and away to Chelsea two weeks ago.
No fear
“More than technical or tactical, I think the problem is mental,” said Spalletti. “Our players need to maintain their self-belief. Producing fear is not the answer … I don’t have to intimidate my team to get results – that’s the worst thing a coach can do.” The 49-year-old added: “The Chelsea game is crucial because, depending on the result, it will affect our performances in the coming matches against Bologna [FC] and [S.S.] Lazio. I’ve had tough times before in my career, but my future is at Roma.”
Exchange
Spalletti has received words of advice from an unlikely source – Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari. The Brazilian, who describes Spalletti as a friend, suggested the Italian “work harder”. “As a coach, I know these things sometimes happen,” he said. “I say to him ‘work, work and work harder’. Maybe tomorrow will be the first opportunity to get something back.”
Flowing football
In contrast to their opponents’ 17th position in the Italian table, Scolari and Chelsea are sitting pretty at the top of the English Premier League. They have scored 27 league goals, although their manager, who replaced Avram Grant in the summer, attributes their long awaited free-flowing football to a solid defence. “It’s very important for us to have confidence in our defence,” he said. “We have very good players in midfield and attack so we know if we don’t concede, we have a good chance of winning.”
Top ten
Despite the Londoners’ impressive results both domestically and in Europe – where they have seven points from three outings – Scolari refuses to accept that Chelsea are better than last season when they finished runners-up in the two main competitions. “We are not better, because to do that we have to get to finals and win them,” he said. “I think Chelsea are one of the best ten teams in the world, but not yet the first.” Nicolas Anelka, hat-trick hero of Saturday’s 5-0 home thrashing of Sunderland AFC, should lead the line at the Olimpico. Ashley Cole has succumbed to a calf tear, yet there may be another runout for Didier Drogba after his weekend substitute appearance.
Totti doubt
Francesco Totti, who has a knee problem, remains Spalletti’s one major doubt. With or without his talismanic captain, however, the trainer anticipates a performance to rival that delivered at Stamford Bridge. “Until the last 15 minutes, when John Terry scored, we matched them,” the Tuscan said of the 1-0 loss. “It’s not about counterattacking, we need to be solid and play as a group. That is the way to stop Chelsea.”
De Rossi tells Roma to stand united
Midfielder Daniele De Rossi has called on his AS Roma team-mates to treat Tuesday’s home tie against Chelsea FC as a chance to rediscover the form that took the Italian side to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in each of the last two seasons.
Winning mentality
The Giallorossi may have lost two of their three Group A matches, including a 1-0 defeat in London a fortnight ago, but De Rossi spoke passionately on the eve of Matchday 4 as he recalled past successes against the likes of Real Madrid CF and Olympique Lyonnais. “We can do a lot better,” he said. “In the last two years we have beaten Madrid and Lyon. Chelsea may be one of, if not the, strongest teams in the world but if we can show that Roma again, I know we can win.”
Losing streak
De Rossi, who will skipper the side if captain Francesco Totti fails a late fitness test on his knee, was quick to defend under-fire coach Luciano Spalletti following a disappointing start to the season. Saturday’s 2-0 loss at Juventus was their fourth straight reverse in Serie A. “Why should we change Spalletti?” he asked, responding to a reporter. “We’re a better team with him in charge and we like the way he plays. Wherever that information has come from, the dressing room is united behind the coach.”
Relegation form
After being pipped to the Scudetto by FC Internazionale Milano last term, Roma lie fourth from bottom having managed only seven points from their first nine games. With six defeats, they have already equalled their total number of losses of the previous campaign. “I can’t explain what has gone wrong,” continued the 25-year-old Italian international. “It’s like a vicious circle of problems – technical, tactical, even physical ones. What we need to do is our own jobs, and stop blaming others. It’s melodramatic to say we’re playing for the coach. The players, the coach and the management all need to pull together.”
Unlucky
Looking back to the Chelsea match on 22 October, De Rossi said: “We played well over there. They’ve been scoring at will – three, four, five goals a game in the Premier League. We kept them at bay for most of our match and I think we were unlucky to lose. It’s going to be tough, there’s no doubt about that, as they have probably the strongest squad in the world. They may have changed coach but [Frank] Lampard, [John] Terry, [Didier] Drogba and their goalkeeper [Petr ?ech], to name a few, are all world-class players.”
Match fit
With Totti battling for fitness, De Rossi is adamant that Roma need to press on without their own star man. “We want him to be properly fit – it’s no good him coming back for one game but then being out for three,” said the Roma academy product. “We also need to remember how to win without him, as we did last season.”
