He was not his clone on the pitch, even if there are many affinities. Today the Roma coach, like that of Real Madrid, continues to place the human factor at the basis of collective work
He had many illustrious teammates and many coaches to inspire him. He played, or rather he played little because he was only at the dawn of his career, even with Guardiola, who wore the Giallorossi for a year without much luck. He shared his destiny, starting with Totti, with friends and extraordinary characters. And, as he himself said, he learned from many and was especially inspired by Spalletti for the concepts to apply on the pitch. The desire to be a protagonist, not to be carried away by the current, the ambition to want to be proactive, without falling into the surreal debate between gamers and resultsists. As if the former, through the game, were not looking for the result anyway. But Daniele De Rossi, because it is naturally him we are talking about, perhaps had a model, so to speak, in an unconscious way. He didn’t share his experiences at Roma with him as a player because they were from too different eras. Just think that when Daniele was born, “the other one” we are talking about, he had won the scudetto with the Giallorossi two months ago. In short, he certainly wasn’t a clone of his on the pitch, even if – to tell the truth – there are many affinities. Both midfielders, with great running, physical and athletic strength, with a sense of sacrifice, with a great shot from distance, an intelligence – not only on the pitch – out of the ordinary, a natural predisposition to be a protagonist or a supporter. Without being overwhelmed by the ego or without experiencing the second dimension with a sense of frustration. Because you can be great, or rather you can be Great, also and above all by putting yourself at the service of the collective.