“De Rossi is the perfect replacement after Mourinho’s departure.”

Former Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic discussed the appointment of Daniele De Rossi as Roma’s long-term head coach.

In a recent interview with Corriere dello SportPjanic said this about his former club: “Roma will always remain in my heart.”

“De Rossi? I had no doubt that he would do very well. I spent five years with him and I expected to find him on the bench one day. I’m happy, he’s a friend and I love him. He is showing his football and I am happy with the extension.”

“Now comes the difficult part: maintaining this level. He always repeats it: this job is fantastic, but you have to study and you are constantly under pressure. Daniele knows the team and the environment, he knows how to manage the environment well and also the press. I enjoy listening to his press conferences. He knows what he’s doing.”

“As a teammate, he was always the first to protect you from criticism. If there was someone who spoke badly about you, he was always ready to protect you. As a leader. And he was the first to raise his voice and he does that as a coach. He always finds the right words. He knows how to earn the respect of the locker room.”

“I had two champions at Roma: Totti was the technical leader, he was magic on the pitch, De Rossi was the political leader, that’s how I define him. He also supported me in a complicated moment at Roma with Zeman.”

“He prepared the round against Milan tactically and mentally impeccably. This is because he is intelligent, serious and prepared. But also because he has worked with several good coaches during his career. He borrowed something from them and developed his own football.”

‘Mourinho’s dismissal? Also because Roma won a trophy and a European final went as we know. And the fans loved him. But this is football, you forget everything and the club has made a decision. De Rossi was the perfect replacement, but Mou has nevertheless done an excellent job in terms of building mentality.”