Lorenzo Pellegrini talks captain’s armband, recalls Mourinho dismissal | OneFootball

Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini gave a lengthy interview to Corriere dello Sport where, among other things, he recalled Jose Mourinho’s sacking.

“It was our day off, January 16th a year ago, and they sent Mourinho away. It was a shock, because no one imagined it. For us it was not a good moment.”

“At the end of November 2023 there were rumors of his dismissal. We read that they wanted to kick him out, we went to Tiago Pinto to ask if it was true and we explained to him that there was no need to kick him out. We wanted to continue with him.”

“Pinto said that the media had made it all up,” he added.

“With José I experienced the best years of my career. Immediately after the dismissal other ridiculous rumors, we spoke on the phone because I wanted to clarify my position and he understood.”

“Mou is captivating. We used to say that if before every game he had asked us to bang our heads against a tree we would all have done it…”

“The captain’s armband? I was given it after the defeat with Spezia, 4-2 in the Coppa Italia, the game of the six substitutions, the irregularity. We ended up playing nine against eleven. There was an argument and Dzeko, who was the captain, paid with the armband. Edin knows well how it went, I myself tried to explain to the club that the decision was wrong.”

“The armband weighs, but it hasn’t changed me one iota, nor has it made me more responsible. Because I’ve always taken Roma very seriously.”

“I’m now in my eighth year, but I’ve been training in Trigoria, which is home, since I was nine years old. I’ve always tried to make my teammates understand what it meant to play for Roma, which is not just any team.”

“The whistles against me? The results have worsened the climate in general. And then a mountain of nonsense, lies spread to provide people with one or more guilty parties. But guilty of what? Guilty of bad results, that’s about it.”

“De Rossi’s sacking? Naturally, I immediately asked the management why I hadn’t been called before the decision was taken, and they replied that they knew very well what I thought, that I was totally on Daniele’s side.”

“I never ran away, I always took my responsibilities,” he added. “I was wrong, I should have told the fans earlier what had actually happened.”

“My contract expiring in 2026? It’s a thought I avoid. I let the pitch decide. I’m very fatalistic and I always try to be positive. I assure you that as long as I have the chance to wear the shirt of my Roma I will do it giving my all, or even more, as I have always done.”

“For me it is important to be able to look at yourself in the mirror and be happy with the man even before the footballer. I don’t need to declare my love for Roma, it’s so obvious.”

“At the moment I’m training well. When I step onto the pitch I want to break the world for Roma, sometimes I realize that I can’t give everything I want.”

“Ranieri? I trust him blindly, with Ranieri the road is clear, he has swept away all the shadows.”

“I’m not a particularly extroverted type, I don’t yell at my teammates on the pitch, but I know what needs to be done to help the team.”

“Have I ever been jealous of Dybala? Never. Paulo is a player I respect a lot, and he is the first to know it. There is one in ten million like him. If he is well, he can decide the matches by himself.”

“I found the whistles against Bryan [Cristante] to be unjust. I don’t leave a companion in the open sea, in the storm.”