On Thursday evening, during the press conference after the victory against Milan in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, the coach of the Roma football team Daniele De Rossi complained to the journalists, who the previous day had reported his comment on the Milan coach Stefano Pioli, distorting and emphasizing it.
In the press conference organized the day before the match, a journalist asked De Rossi if Pioli was “at a crossroads” in the season, that is, if Pioli’s stay on the Milan bench or in any case his future could depend on the outcome of the match . This year, Milan had a disappointing performance and was never really in the fight to win the Serie A championship. Furthermore, it was eliminated from the Italian Cup, and therefore the Europa League, in which Milan participated due to the elimination in the Champions League groups, it was the last competition he could win. Roma eliminated him by winning 1-0 in the first leg played at the San Siro stadium in Milan, and 2-1 in the return match played on Thursday evening at the Olimpico stadium in Rome.
On Wednesday De Rossi responded by saying that the match could be considered the last resort for qualifying for the Europa League semi-final, but he also said that «when we talk about “crossroads” we are talking about what is the perception from the things that they read in the newspapers, so I tend not to comment, not to disrespect the writer, but because sometimes they aren’t even necessarily true.” He then added that Milan are second in the league and play well “almost always”.
De Rossi’s response in the newspapers, both in the articles and in the headlines, was much emphasised. Their summary was “Milan at the last resort”, and Stefano Pioli was subsequently asked for a comment again at the press conference. Pioli responded that it is certainly “the last resort” to qualify for the semi-finals, but added that Milan will play in the Champions League next year, the most important European tournament. The statement was interpreted as an attack on Roma, which is not yet certain that it will qualify for that tournament, and the response was in turn emphasized by the newspapers which spoke of “back and forth”.
In reality the tones were very calm on both sides, and in De Rossi’s case the headlines partly misunderstood the content of his response. For this reason on Thursday evening De Rossi asked journalists to be more correct in reporting his statements.
I have to beat you up. I come here to speak with great enthusiasm, you recognize that I speak, I don’t hold back, I don’t hold back, I tell you a lot of things. But then if the next day you tell me “Pioli is in the last resort” and I say “No, Pioli is not in the last resort, we are only in the last resort as far as qualifying for the semi-final is concerned”, and then the day afterwards I read everywhere “De Rossi: Pioli is at his last resort”, then someone gets pissed off and doesn’t speak anymore.
In addressing journalists in this way, De Rossi referred to his own communication style, more frank and in many ways effective than that usually used by Serie A football coaches. And it is actually a trait that in the environment and in the media it was also noticed, as De Rossi says, by Post. In the press conference, however, he said that if this is the way in which his words are reported, then he could also abandon this approach: «I come here and say “Yes, good match, we are happy, let’s look to the future” [alcuni esempi di tipiche frasi fatte che utilizzano giocatori e allenatori, ndr]. Because I’m not stupid.”
“I respect your work like this, giving you many answers, occasionally talking about tactics,” he added. “But then if you write something else afterwards I don’t like it, because it’s not done that way, it’s not correct.”
– Read also: Daniele De Rossi doesn’t speak like other coaches
Tags: angry doesnt talk anymore
