Primavera coach Alberto De Rossi believes that patience will be the key to tomorrow’s UEFA Youth League match against BATE Borisov in Belarus. The game, which is part of the second round of matches in Group E, will be played at 15:00 CEST (16:00 local time).
Speaking to Roma TV in an exclusive interview ahead of the squad’s departure for Belarus, the Giallorossi boss ran the rule over tomorrow’s opponents. Here’s what he had to say…
The UEFA Youth League returns tomorrow. How is the team approaching the match with BATE after drawing with Barcelona last time out?
“Our opening-day draw against Barcelona was full of positives – going toe-to-toe with such a strong team gives us confidence for this competition and our domestic season. It will be a completely different match in Belarus. Unlike Barcelona, BATE are a side that hang back and look to sting you on the counter.”
Is there a risk of underestimating the opposition in these matches?
“The guys know that if we want to qualify from the group these are the matches we need to be trying to win, even though we’re aware of the difficulties awaiting us. BATE are a very robust, solid side that makes sure there’s not much space for you to play. We need to show patience and make the most of what little space we manage to make for ourselves.”
Your side has done brilliantly so far this season. Were you expecting such a positive start to the year?
“We have to thank the club for the pre-season they organized for us, especially the tour of Canada, as this has enabled us to get off to the best possible start. The guys got to know each other in Toronto, they formed a tight-knit group and we were able to start implementing the new system, which we’re getting more and more used to. We’ve won a lot of points so far but we know there are still areas we can improve on, such as our work without the ball. That said, we’re aware that we have bags of potential.”
Source asroma.it