ROMA, JUAN JESUS: "THE NEW PLAYERS HAVE THE RIGHT ATTITUDE"
With pre-season in full swing now, on Tuesday morning Juan Jesus become the latest player to visit Roma Radio - to discuss his feelings ahead of the new campaign.
The Brazilian sat down to discuss what it has been like so far working with Paulo Fonseca, along with his intiial assessments going into the new campaign.
This is your fourth year at Roma – you’re a veteran now!
“Let’s hope I can spend another ten here at Trigoria. I came here to achieve big things – I’ve still got a lot to learn and achieve.”
What are your feelings on pre-season in Trigoria?
“This is a new group of players – there’s been a lot of change. I must say that I’ve seen the right level of desire from all those players that have come in, and that is very important. The boss is doing his best – he’s explaining his tactics and how we need to play. Even though it’s only been a few days we’re starting to see what he’s been asking of us and we’ll need that during the season.”
There’s a real sense of positivity.
“Of course – this group is new and young, with lots of youngsters who want to learn and want to achieve more. We are a calm group of players and this is fundamental for working well and doing what we like, which is playing football.”
The fitness side of things seems less intense.
“In reality that’s not true. The work we’re doing is actually very intense. We like it a lot because it's always nice to work with the ball, even when it’s fitness work. When you run without the ball it can become more difficult, but it must be said that even with the ball you do run a lot.”
Which of your team-mates has impressed you?
“I think this is a good group. [Bryan] Cristante always trains hard and is committed. [Amadou] Diawara, who’s only just arrived, has incredible technical ability. These are players that can really help Roma. [Diego] Perotti has made a very positive return, as have [Federico] Fazio and [Gianluca] Mancini. I could name them all, because they're all training well and have made a positive return from the summer break.”
What is [Paulo] Fonseca like?
“I can understand everything straight away because of the language, since he speaks Portuguese. He is a very serious guy - he knows what he wants from us and puts across what we need to do. We're enjoying this - if we play the way he wants it will be difficult for the other teams to take us by surprise. The team is getting behind him and this is very important."
Now the coach wants high pressing.
“Yes, this can help you throughout the game, but of course it's hard to focus on that for the duration of a match. Either way, if you stay compact, you can be first to the ball; even if you lose the ball, you can recover it quickly. The boss has clear and beautiful ideas.”
What do you think of the fixture list that came out yesterday?
“It’s a nice fixture list. I think we can do good things in the league. We need to win as many games as we can. It’s nice that we’ve got the Rome derby early – the second match of the season.”
What’s the game you’re most excited for, looking at the schedule?
“I obviously look at all the matches against the big sides: Juventus, playing Milan and Inter at the San Siro, also Napoli."
(Photo Getty Images)
