Ranieri: I want Roma fans to focus on De Rossi

Published on: 18 May 2019

Claudio Ranieri has pleaded to Roma’s supporters to only focus on celebrating the career of Daniele De Rossi in their final game of the season at home to Parma next week.

In their goalless draw at the Mapei Stadium on Saturday, Roma’s ultras expressed their frustration at president James Pallotta for his running of the club and the decision not to renew De Rossi’s contract, but Ranieri believes the iconic midfielder deserves a farewell to remember.

“It’s inevitable that we’ll talk about De Rossi,” Ranieri said after the game at the Mapei Stadium, “even though he remained on the bench for the entire match.

“I never thought about bringing him on because I want him ready for Sunday when he will have his party against Parma.

“He deserves a big party. I’d like us to focus on his farewell, then the fans are free to think and do as they please. But Daniele only deserves the best.”

Speaking about Saturday’s slip, Ranieri admitted that while he was disheartened by the result, he isn’t too disappointed by the performance of his team and can take positives from what they showed.

“We kept going until the final whistle,” he added.

“We created at least four of five clear chances and we were missing a bit of luck. Maybe we need to be more clinical, but I don’t feel like scolding the players.

“They fought and I liked the second-half performance very much. We regret not taking three points and we didn’t do well for a lot of this season, but that’s how it is.”

Source: forzaitalianfootball.com

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
Learn more