Roma assistant coach Guillermo Giacomazzi weighs in on the new signings

Roma continue their series dedicated to members of De Rossi’s staff with an in-depth interview with Guillermo Giacomazzi.

Giacomazzi, De Rossi’s closest collaborator, was in fact interviewed for Roma’s official website.

“Daniele and I met through our work in football, and it was immediately apparent that we shared different visions as coaches,” he said.

“Every time I take a walk through the streets of the capital I feel how much people live for football. However, I don’t get to visit Rome very often because we spend most of our time in Trigoria, preparing and planning our work.”

“We spend a lot of time on the training pitch. We deal with various matters – we review videos, we talk about what’s going well and what needs to be improved. We’re together until at least 8 pm, having met up in the morning, trying to leave no stone unturned. We have long meetings – sometimes they even last three hours – but it’s all a pleasure. After all, it’s football, we’re happy to be together, and it’s our passion.”

“This is the first time we’ve been able to work on the team from the beginning of the season, as last season we were brought in in January. The team has done a lot of work up to now. They’ve pushed really hard on the fitness side of things.

“When it comes to tactics, we’ve progressed gradually, considering that we didn’t have the whole group available. But we’re happy. Now we’ve got a big chunk of our players back, we can take care of some coaching aspects at our training camp in England.”

“Our method of working – at least at this stage – is that all of the staff prepare and work on the same things, as equals. Each of us have different characteristics, but there are no hierarchies. Daniele involves everyone. He listens attentively and then makes his assessments on what we should do.”

“I think it’s crucial to also focus on the psychological side of things, especially to earn the lads’ trust. I’ve been a footballer. All of the staff have been involved in this world in some way or another and at different levels, but it doesn’t change. Football has the same principles everywhere. We know how important it is to involve and talk to those who get less playing time. We also know how important it is to support the players when we lose a match.

“Daniele is very good in that respect. He’s got a backbone. He’s skilled not just tactically, but also in communication. As his staff, we need to approach certain situations with the right sensitivity to be able to understand them. We need to be able to give our two cents where needed, to raise our voice when necessary so we’ve got a cohesive group. It’s important that everyone’s heading in the same direction.”

“The new arrivals are settling in very well. Beyond the unquestionable technical talent they have, they are all great lads from a human point of view too. That’s essential. They’re available, humble, and got down to work straight away. They’ve got talent and they want to learn.”

“Daniel Passarella was my mentor when he was coaching Uruguay. He brought with him his experience of being a star of the Argentina national team and his charisma. He managed to keep a tough group together, a group with lots of complex personalities. He was also great on the pitch, making the most out of his partnership with Alejandro Sabella. He’s a great man. You could compare Daniele De Rossi to him today.”