D’Amico: ‘Como-Roma an advert for Italian football, faith in all players’
Roma director Tony D’Amico hopes today’s clash with Como can be ‘an advert for all of Italian football,’ putting faith in Pierluigi Gollini and Lorenzo Pellegrini amid an injury crisis.
It kicks off at the Stadio Sinigaglia at 11.30 UK time (12.30 CEST).
These two sides secured Champions League qualification last season, pushing out more prestigious rivals like Juventus and Milan to take those top four spots.
They hope to replicate that this term and have had strong starts to the campaign, both with very attack-minded approaches.
Roma faith in squad depth
“We expect a good game between two strong teams. We had our internationals back on Friday, we hope this will be an advert for all of Italian football,” D’Amico told DAZN Italia.
Roma fans were shaken by news that goalkeeper Svilar will be out for at least a month after suffering a stress fracture to his toe in training, so Gollini gets his first Serie A appearance in two years.
Bryan Cristante is also still out of action after withdrawing from international duty with Italy and remains a major doubt for next week’s Champions League showdown with Real Madrid too.
“It’s very sad to lose an important player like Mile, and also Bryan, as these are quite long-term injuries, but all the lads who are part of the squad have the faith of the coach and club. It must be seen as motivation and not a weight on their shoulders.”
Pellegrini returns to the starting XI for the first time in six months, having been out of contract until signing a new deal at reduced wages.
“He was like a new signing for us. He had some difficult months after the injury, he worked hard over the summer, and we are confident he can give the team a big hand from here on,” concluded D’Amico.
