Simone Perrotta knows what it’s like to play in front of a passionate AS Roma crowd. It’s no surprise then that the former midfielder, who spent the best part of a decade wearing the Giallorossi jersey between 2004-2013, is as excited as anyone to hear about the club’s Stadio della Roma plans.

Perrotta, now vice president of the FIGC youth and schools sector, spoke exclusively to asroma.it about his memories of playing at the Stadio Olimpico and his impressions and hopes for the Stadio della Roma.

“The Olimpico has always been and still is our home,” claimed Perrotta. “We experienced joy and disappointment there. Sadly I wasn’t able to win a league title but we still enjoyed our fair share of success. If you want to be a really top-level club though, you need your own home and this new stadium is a crucial step forward in terms of growth for a club with as much ambition as Roma.”

You’ve played in lots of stadiums around the world with Roma and Italy. How important is it to have a modern arena with the fans up close to the pitch?
“When you travel abroad the first thing you notice is the stadium facilities are better than ours. Unfortunately we haven’t moved on since Italia ’90 and in the meantime football has progressed. The Stadio della Roma is a fantastic project and I don’t mean just the ground itself. I’ve been really impressed by everything around it – the green areas, the areas dedicated to the club’s history and so on.”

The club will have a new Trigoria right next to the Stadio della Roma. How important is it to have a top-class training facility just a stone’s throw from the stadium itself?
“Trigoria is already very good and we never lacked anything really in terms of comfort. But having the training pitch so close to where you play at the weekend gives the players an enhanced sense of belonging. When you see your home ground every day you familiarize with it more easily. Not that you didn’t feel an association with the Olimpico, but when you don’t see it day in day out it doesn’t feel completely ‘yours’, especially as you share it with your rivals.”

Is there a game in which you felt the fans’ support more than on any other occasion?
“There are lots of home derbies I could mention but if I had to choose one I’d say the first leg of the Coppa Italia final in 2006-07 when we beat Inter. That day the fans really egged us on from the very first minute and we just knew we were going to win. The Curva Sud helped us so many times: I can only begin to imagine what effect playing with it right up close will have in the new Stadio della Roma.”