Tribal Football

Roma captain Pellegrini fronts media after Fiorentina thrashing: No excuses; we all SUCKED!

Carlos Volcano
Roma captain Pellegrini fronts media after Fiorentina thrashing: No excuses; we all SUCKED!
Roma captain Pellegrini fronts media after Fiorentina thrashing: No excuses; we all SUCKED!Action Plus
Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini fronted the media after their 5-1 thrashing at Fiorentina.

The midfielder took questions and defended coach Ivan Juric after the meltdown.

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Feelings after the match?

"The atmosphere in the locker room is not easy. What I told the team, and that includes me, is that certain performances are unacceptable for us and today is one of those. On the other hand, we need to think about moving forward and I don't know of any other way than working and doing it more than before. But now it's important to look each other in the eye and be men before being footballers, tonight is unacceptable for everyone."

 

Is there compatibility between you and the coach?

"Since mister Juric arrived, there has never been a single moment in which the team has not given him everything. Like all things, it takes time to see certain results. Excluding tonight: what happened is not acceptable and you know that I always suffer twice, once as a Roma fan and once as a professional. Like a double stab. I want to watch the game again but the feeling from the pitch is that there was nothing to appeal to. Now there is no need to make a drama out of it, but the difficulty is real and objective and it must be resolved for the good of Roma."

 

What did you and Dodo say at the end of the first half?

"Nothing happened, to free myself from his marking I leaned my arm a bit and then he did the same in the area. We said something, but beyond that the moment is frustrating and doesn't help."

 

How to justify the moment?

"I'm not looking for excuses of any kind, today's match goes beyond any alibi. From everyone. A performance like that is not good. There is an objective problem and it must be solved. If I were the problem, I would raise my hand and walk away. Roma is in a difficult moment and we need to tell each other how things are."

 

Is the locker room with Juric?

"Since he arrived, there is not a single person who hasn't done what he had to. We can't allow things like that."

 

What do you lack in terms of structure?

"When I talk about organizational issues it's because a team starts with one coach and after four games you find yourself with another, it's certainly not a benefit. Every coach is different, De Rossi and Juric have very different philosophies. Obviously we all have to improve, me first."

 

What went wrong, right from the start?

"When I say unacceptable, I'm talking about everything. How you entered the field, the difficulties you encountered and not knowing how to fix them. I'm talking about everyone, no one excluded. And it takes courage to say that we all sucked. I'm not made to hide behind a finger."