AS Roma Reshuffle, De Rossi Wants Paulo Dybala To Be 'Freer' Like Francesco Totti

US forward Roma Paulo Dybala. (X/@OfficialASRoma

JAKARTA - US forward Roma Paulo Dybala will get a new role. Coach Daniele De Rossi wants Dybala to be'more free' like Francesco Totti.

The new role of Dybala was prepared by De Rossi when he faced Cagliari in the Italian Serie A match at the Stadio Olimpico, Tuesday, February 6, 2024 in the morning WIB.

Dybala is not actually stuck in front. This Argentine national team player often goes down and takes on the role of a central midfielder to build a Giallorossi attack.

Now, De Rossi wants to maximize Dybala by occupying the position behind the striker but can also go down and then go up to become a forward. Totti's 'freedom' role during his time in Rome.

"There are talented players who need more freedom," said De Rossi.

"This can happen when he decides to move freely. But the important thing is that there are other players who close the vacant space left [Dybala]. Our target is to fill the empty space well. Thus, we can press the opponent and play closer in the penalty area," he said again.

"He just needs to do what he wants and the decision was right when he did it. I played with Totti for almost 20 years. Nobody said he had to play in what position. Dybala has that talent and we have to be able to maximize it," said De Rossi.

De Rossi made an impressive start to replace Jose Mourinho. Roma won their first two games with De Rossi.

More than that, the team is also more complete with the recovery of midfielder Renato Sanches and defender Chris Smalling. Even Smalling was injured which took a long time to recover. This season, the former Manchester United defender has only played three times.

However, De Rossi did not want to rush into playing Smalling. He is most likely still not played against Cagliari.

"Sanches' condition is better than Smalling. He has undergone full training with the team so he can be fielded. But Sanches is not a starter. On the other hand, Chris has not been able to undergo heavy training. He will only come back when facing Inter Milan or Feyenoord [in the Europa League]," he said.

Roma is facing Cagliari handled by Claudio Ranieri. This is a reunion for De Rossi who was handled by Ranieri in Rome.

"We have a close relationship. With him, I have had extraordinary moments. We have won league titles with him," said De Rossi.

"I have great respect for him. But I also want to beat him," he said further.

Currently, Roma are in sixth place with 35. If they win against Cagliari who is in the relegation zone, Roma has the opportunity to break into the top four.