AS Roma Plays 18 Minutes, Coach Daniele De Rossi Is Confused About Preparing Strategy

JAKARTA - AS Roma coach Daniele De Rossi admitted that he was confused about preparing a game strategy that only lasted 18 minutes. He finally only ordered his players to play attacking in the Italian Serie A continued match against Udinese at the Friuli Stadium, Friday, April 26, 2024 in the morning WIB.

Udinese's match against Roma, which was held on April 14, 2024, was stopped and then decided to be postponed in the 72nd minute. The referee decided to stop during Roma defender Evan Ndicka's collapse in the middle of the match.

He felt pain in his chest and then fell. The match was immediately stopped and he was undergoing treatment in the middle of the field. Ndicka was then rushed to the hospital for further treatment.

Ats the incident, both teams finally both refused to continue the match when the score was 1-1.

Udinese's goal was produced by Roberto Pereyra. Meanwhile, striker Romelu Lukaku scored for Roma. The referee later stated the match was postponed.

The match then continued to complete the last 18 minutes. De Rossi himself admitted that he was confused about how to deal with this match.

"I joked with the players and said, 'I actually don't know what to do. I never prepared a match that lasted 20 minutes.' I also asked the players to attack immediately," said De Rossi.

"We also need to make changes to make the team more balanced. All players keep warming up even though some of them don't play. I also field Stephan (El-Shaarawy) because it makes the team play more offensively," he said.

The match was indeed a draw and was predicted not to be scored until midfielder Bryan Cristante finally broke into Udinese's goal in injury time. He completed Paulo Dybala's assist in the 90+5 minute.

The goal was welcomed by the joy of the Roma camp. Even De Rossi couldn't contain his emotions and vented it with the players while celebrating the goal.

"I actually tried to remain calm. But it turned out that I couldn't calm down. I'm sorry for doing it in the match against Udinese, a club that is actually very friendly and respectful. What I did has nothing to do with them," said De Rossi.

De Rossi still respects Udinese. Moreover, the opposing team is handled by his colleagues in the Italian national team, Fabio Cannavaro. Both of them brought Gli Azzurri to win the 2006 World Pala.

"I saw him look full of joy. We met in last season's game. His team beat us. I wish him success and he is a great coach," he said.

Roma's victory over Udinese means a lot. They are getting closer to the Champions League zone after pocketing 58 points.

Now, the Giallorossi are only four points adrift of Bologna, who is ranked fourth.

On the other hand, Udinese is struggling at the bottom and is in danger of being relegated after suffering the defeat.

Udinese is ranked 17th with 28 points. Or one strip above Frosinone which is in the relegation zone.