Rafa Benitez: “Roma are incredibly strong.” | OneFootball

Roma’s Europa League Phase concludes tomorrow evening in Athens against Panathinaikos.

Gian Piero Gasperini’s men will take to the field at the Stadio Olimpico Spyros Louis to try to secure direct qualification to the round of 16.

To do so, they will need at least a draw against the hosts.

Their coach, Rafael Benitez, is a longtime fixture in Italian football and spoke at a press conference: “When you have a strong team, a city behind it, and a coach with experience and the ability to manage, little by little you get where you need to be. The team is very strong, the players are good.”

Benitez then revealed that Roma had approached him in the past: “I really like Italy, especially these strong teams. Everything there is very interesting for any coach. I was very happy at Inter and Napoli, but I was pleased with Roma’s interest.”

The Greek coach then discussed his team’s condition: “We’ve been here for three months and are playing two games a week. Every coach knows you can’t work like that on many aspects. Here, they want to win, but they know it’s not mandatory to do so every week. We need to improve and be prepared, especially for the future.”

Regarding Gasperini, Benitez had this to say: “I hope I can wish him luck, but after the match.”