The former transfer man of the two clubs on the next Euroderby: “A fratricidal challenge, someone will lose their lives. You can’t do without Cristante. Consistency at all costs is idiocy, and Italiano was intelligent in changing without drama”
“Noooo.” Break. “I was writing some notes and I didn’t see. Really?”. Another pause. “Now that I know, I… feel dizzy and feel very annoyed.” Pause and restart. “Bologna-Roma for me is a fratricidal challenge, a sporting tragedy.” Frankly and sincerely yours: Walter Sabatini, Roma inside, Bologna inside and his entire series of evaluations, ingenious hyperboles, footballing considerations and insights that follow and follow from it.
Walter is at home, responding quickly after the draw.
“But do you know that in October I said that Roma and Bologna could have won the scudetto?”.
Of course yes. Other times…
“Let’s be clear: it was what I felt at that moment based on the football and the growth that both were expressing. In short, it wasn’t a charlatan expression or observation. Bologna played superlative football, I thought they were unbeatable because they did things well, I was very admired. And Roma were making giant strides, with Gasp who was already doing a super job and who should have improved the attacking phase. In fact, with Malen…”.
And now, in the Europa League, how do we fare?
“In October I would have said that Bologna would have been the favourites, but now let’s say that Roma is slightly, slightly, prevalent. A sensation of today. In any case, it’s a bad match because someone loses out. And I don’t like it.”
Bologna is different from the one in November: too many beatings have led it to a metamorphosis.
“I Vincenzo applaud him: because since he arrived he has entered the Bologna system with humility and competence. Then, with judgment, he intervened trying to correct the Sunday dramas: Italiano was good from the beginning because he found the way to manage a team that had been defined as perfect. Now he has tightened the lines, with intelligence: I have always said that coherence at all costs, excessive, is a sign of idiocy… He has studied, changed and corrected. Ah, leave me for a minute moreover: he did it with a club that did practically nothing wrong in every department, not one player; and if a player didn’t seem right it’s because he didn’t shine.”
Malen, on the other hand, creates sparks.
“His movements are a human algorithm, it is a scientific, concrete, surgical action. Malen has movements and technical sensitivity, he was a formidable acquisition who freed Roma from the offensive cage from which they were unable to escape.”
There is a stalemate, however, in Bologna: Orsolini.
“Riccardo like this baffles me. I don’t know if he’s gone backwards, I think it’s a phase. Could Bernardeschi’s competition have had an impact? I don’t think it’s bothering him. Riccardo has a good spirit, he’s not one of those who gets angry out of envy, he knows no worse feelings. For me it’s a physical question. The thought of the national team as a distraction? But it’s essential that you think about it. A 100% Orsolini is worth an immensity. At the time of Bologna I said that it was worth 70 million: it had reached that point, I don’t want it to go back.”
How much Gasperini is there in today’s Rome?
“Football punctuality, determination, and a solid and collaborative locker room have made it even stronger and more important. I see Roma as a hard core with Mancini, Pellegrini and Cristante who do a lot: they help each other and their teammates. And it is a strong point in common with Bologna: when you are in difficulty you risk falling apart, but solid groups can handle everything. Just think of the work that Lollo De Silvestri has been doing for years, he with the others who are in rossoblù for some time. And then in Bologna I saw something that raises the temperature for all the teams. I felt a very strong symbiosis between the city and the team environment, a powerful one, and it is what all members of a club work for: the happiness of the people.
Who would never take away Rome and Bologna?
“Crtante is indispensable. He was the victim of some people’s whispers but he has the ability to know how to do everything. And Castro: as soon as I saw him play I sent a message to Marco (Di Vaio, ed.) and told him ‘You caught a rattlesnake’. He hits ferociously. And he plays with the generosity of a champion.”
Listen: but what do we do with Santiago, your son? For five months he has been an observer for Bologna’s youth teams…
“Let’s see. He is a “sick” Roma fan but he will respect Bologna, I have zero doubts about this.”
Send a message to Sartori and Massara.
“Full of admiration, I am totally on their side. Indeed, perhaps Sartori is getting closer to the gift of infallibility that I thought I still had…”. Another pause. “You always have it!” can be heard in the background.
“My wife…”. And down to laugh.
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