By Anna Italia
Follow me in Twitter @ItalianSerieA
Here are the declarations of AS Roma coach Rudi Garcia after defeating Juventus in the Coppa Italia Quarterfinal on Tuesday 21 January 2014 at the Olimpico di Roma Stadium. AS Roma 1 – 0 Juventus
Garcia saying, “Tonight the team that tried hardest to advance reaped the rewards. We
played against a great team. They have a quality squad, but we played a
great game this evening and kept the ball in the first half. Then in the
second half we waited for them and used quick counters to exploit the
space they left behind them.
“Miralem Pjanic the second half? He played a great ball to Strootman
before his cross found Gervinho at the near post. This evening I had
fantastic options on the bench. The plan was to let the team battle for
an hour and then send in Miralem, and thanks to his technique he
provided a lot of attacking quality to the team. He’s an essential
player for us, for the second half of the season, and also for next
year.
“Are we favorites to win the Coppa Italia? No, there are still many
strong teams and two tough semi-finals to be played both home and away.
If I had to choose an opponent between Napoli and Lazio? It’s all the
same to us. But we already have to start focusing on the Verona match.
We’ll go there looking to win.
“Today’s was a Coppa Italia game, but one between the top two teams in
the league. That means the game mattered for all of Italy. We saw a Roma
side with personality and one that was assertive right away, as we had
already seen in Turin. We were intelligent tonight and struck at the
right moment.
“In the league we lost on three dead-ball situations. That means that,
when it comes to our play on the field, we did well in the end. My team
always has a strategy and tries to move forward with it, but it’s not
always so simple. Tonight it worked really well.
“The transfer market? This isn’t the moment to discuss it. Let’s focus
on the great game we played tonight, which our fans and the entire
country had been waiting for. Best of all, we saw a full Stadio
Olimpico. This is football, when you see great games in an atmosphere
like this one. We want to thank our fans who gave their all out there
cheering for their team. I think they must be proud of their boys
tonight.
“Did I expect to see Roma like this at the beginning of the season?
We’ve done our work well, because we see how competitive we are.
Juventus are a great team. They won the Scudetto the last two seasons,
but I didn’t expect to see them with 55 points after 20 matches. Our
path has been exceptional and we have 47 points, but they’re doing
things even better. This evening we showed we have the talent and the
possibility to win against one of the best teams in Italy. We can’t let
up now. Will I remain here for next season too? I’m a Romanista 100%.”
Photo asroma.it