Roma goalkeeper Mile Svilar spoke to UEFA in an interview aired on the Europa League & Conference League Preview Show. Here are his words.
About Father Ratko.
“I know he was a great goalkeeper, he spent a long time at Antwerp, at the time he played in the UEFA Cup. Today is very important, he helps me, he sees things that I don’t realize I’m doing and he tells me. 80% of what I learned comes from him, he has always been involved in my life and still is today.”
On the role of goalkeeper.
“There are emotions and thoughts that are difficult to experience, for example, in midfield. For a goalkeeper the mental aspect is very important, the more you grow the more you fall in love with the role, because you also grow from a psychological point of view. When you play for a big team, the action is sometimes far away, but in these cases the goalkeeper must maintain high concentration and must not be caught unprepared.”
On penalties against Feyenoord.
“I still have goosebumps. When something like this happens you understand why you worked hard for so many years and why it was worth it. They are fantastic moments, no one will ever be able to take them away from me, I will remember them forever. They leave me wanting something more, I want to do more.”
On De Rossi.
“He still has a great fire burning inside him, which must be why he can talk to us so easily. It’s like when he played football, and this is a great advantage for him and for us. I was really impressed with how prepared he and his staff were. From day one his intentions were very clear. He was born to be a footballer, but also to be a coach and that’s truly impressive.”
