Roma sporting director Francesco Totti has backed manager Eusebio Di Francesco to turn the club’s season around following a tentative start.
The Giallorossi are currently languishing in seventh in Serie A, having only clinched six wins out of a possible 16 and with 22 points currently separating them from table-toppers Juventus.
Where has it gone wrong for Roma this season? Five things to know…
- Roma were sensational last season, reaching the Champions League semi-final and finishing third in Serie A.
- The club have so far failed to replicate their form from last campaign, winning just six league matches this term.
- Di Francesco’s men only conceded 28 league goals last season, and have already let in 22 this time around.
- Roma also struggled through Group G in the Champions League, recently losing to Viktoria Plzen.
- Di Francesco lost key players over the summer, including Alisson to Liverpool and Radja Nainggolan to Inter Milan.
Roma were recently drawn against Porto in the Champions League last 16, which presents a fantastic opportunity for Di Francesco to take the club through to the quarter-finals and possibly repeat their scintillating European exploits from last season.
Domestically, the Stadio Olimpico club face an ominous away trip to Turin as they lock horns with Juventus on Saturday, but regardless of the result, Di Francesco has received the full support of the club’s hierarchy.
Following news of Roma’s last 16 opponents in the continent’s premier knockout tournament, club legend and sporting director Totti gave his full backing to the current coach.
“We were lucky to avoid other teams, but we mustn’t underestimate Porto, who are a strong team,” he told Sky Sport Italia (via Football Italia).
“We’ll face a difficult team and we also know that the field is different from what we talk about before the game.
“We have two months to get back to the Roma we want to be. We’ll try to get back to our best.
“Two months isn’t a long time, so we must stick together in these times of difficulty and get out of it.
“We’re often used to ‘ifs and buts’, but Di Francesco is Roma’s Coach today and we’ll try, him primarily, to get to where he took us last season.
“We’d like to repeat the path we took last season, but it won’t be easy. Although we haven’t had a great season so far, we can still turn it around.
“We give all our support to the Coach and then it’s up to him to take us forward.”
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Totti relishing Conceicao clash
The last 16 clash between Roma and Porto will see Sergio Conceicao once again collide with the capital club and return to his old stomping ground, having enjoyed two spells with Lazio during his playing career, as well as stints with Inter Milan and Parma.
But it was during his time with fierce rivals Lazio that Totti holds his fondest memories of Conceicao, and the sporting director is now teeming with excitement at the mouthwatering prospect of clashing with his old foe once again.
He added: “I faced [Porto boss] Sergio Conceicao in several Roman derbies.
“I have beautiful memories because I was a player like him at the time and he’s doing a great job. I hope he can do great things from March onwards.
Totti also gave his verdict on the recent 3-2 win over Genoa, before going on to talk about how he is thriving in his role as sporting director.
“Yesterday’s performance? It’s you [journalists] who should explain it to us,” he said. “I’ve been in such a position almost every year and it’s more difficult at a club like Roma.
“It’s normal for many players to be afraid of playing, but we got the result with anger and determination. The result is good, even if the performance wasn’t excellent.
“I’m still at the beginning of my new role, but I’m on a very long journey and I’ll try to give all of myself as I did on the field.
“I now understand many things that I didn’t as a player.”
The post Di Francesco has the backing of Roma, insists Totti appeared first on Squawka News.
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