AS Roma will play their first game in Europe against Turkish side Basaksehir at the Olympic on Thursday.
AS Roma have made Italian football fans and themselves proud by performing well in Europe in the recent seasons. The team from the Italian capital has ensured that Juventus is not felt alone in the continental competitions by regularly featuring in the knock-out stages of Champions League.
However, after a poor domestic outing last season, they have been left wanting for a place in Europe’s premier competition and would have to feature in Europa League.
This, however, also gives them an opportunity of winning a silverware in Europe after having to face relatively easier teams in the Europa League. The team that has finished as high as semi-finalists of the Champions League in the recent seasons stand a great chance of finally making it big in Europe.
Newly appointed AS Roma coach Paulo Fonesca knows that he has a huge task at hand and that he would have to make his team leave a lasting impression on the fans while playing in Europe. The manager says that he is ready for the challenge.
“The Europa League is an important and difficult competition, with many strong teams. In this first phase, we have the goal of overcoming the group, but we want to go as far as possible.”
The team and the manager would be expected to strike a balance between their league and continental games. The manager has planned out his team’s training regime as they look for a win in the fixture.
“It is a competition in which we participate with ambition,” says the Giallorossi coach, who announces some new training drills. “The next game will be in a few days and I am thinking of making some changes to the team, but with the utmost confidence to reach the goal of winning the game,” said the Portuguese, ensuring that “the team is well physically.”
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Finally, the manager went on to praise the versatile players that he has at his disposal. Players like Nicolo Zaniolo and Pellegrini have featured for the Italian side at multiple positions and provide the manager with more than one options in attacks.
“Pellegrini played a great match as the attacker but he can play in many roles, as can Zaniolo. Having [versatile] players like them is a good thing for us.”