De Rossi tells Roma to imitate Atalanta and warns Leverkusen

Daniele De Rossi feels Roma should ‘follow the same path’ as Atalanta and insists La Dea are one of the few teams that can cause trouble for Bayer Leverkusen.

De Rossi spoke at a press conference on Sunday after Roma’s 2-1 loss to Atalanta.

Despite their latest loss, Roma’s hopes to qualify for the Champions League are still alive, but they must hope La Dea win the Europa League Final and finish outside the top four in Serie A.

DDR and Gian Piero Gasperini briefly crossed paths on the touchline before kick-off.

“Gasperini said he wanted to talk to me at the end of the match to congratulate me. Surely not because of today’s performance. We met before the kick-off for five seconds,” the ex-midfielder said.

De Rossi warns Leverkusen about Atalanta

Roma were eliminated from the Europa League semis by Bayer Leverkusen, so the Germans will meet La Dea in the Final next week.

“He [Gasperini] does not need my advice, but a few days ago I said that if there is a team that can cause trouble for Leverkusen, it’s Atalanta,” insisted De Rossi.

“But at the same time, Atalanta must know that they’ll meet a strong side, strong in the build-up, on the wings and in attack, similarly to them. I believe there is no better team to make Leverkusen struggle.”

Roma’s hopes to qualify for the Champions League are still alive, but De Rossi feels the Giallorossi should start a long-term project similar to Atalanta’s.

De Rossi tells Roma to imitate Atalanta

“We should follow the same path as our opponents, who hasn’t lasted a few months but many years,” he said.

“I think we start from a more solid base because before Gasperini arrived, Atalanta would go from mid-table to lower positions. It was a long project. They worked on the coach’s ideas and requests and after a few Champions League campaigns, they can afford to sign strong players.

“We are a financially strong club that can boost this process. We start from a strong team, which must be completed with some characteristics we lack, as it’s been highlighted in games like this.”

Roma did lose 2-1 in Bergamo, but La Dea dominated the match for over 70 minutes and had several chances to score more goals.

This coming Wednesday, La Dea will meet Juventus in the Coppa Italia Final at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.