The Belgian commented: “I believe it has been a very strange year. Juric failed to shift gears with the team.”

Radja Nainggolan has given an exclusive interview to “Amore Giallorosso” (T9, Channel 17 on digital terrestrial television), in which he discussed his tenure at Roma, but also addressed the current situation at the club. Here are his statements:

What idea have you formed of Roma’s season, Radja?

“I think it’s been a very strange season, conditioned by the dismissal of De Rossi, who is a dear friend and former teammate. He did very well last year, if we look at the results, he even did better than Mourinho: first they had him sign a three-year contract and then after four rounds they decided to change the coach, bringing in Juri?, who didn’t cause the team to shift gears. In my opinion, they could have easily continued with Daniele. I always follow Rome with affection, it’s somewhat recovering, but it’s not yet the Rome we were used to seeing.”

Can you tell us about the magic of your Rome, the team that reached a Champions League semi-final?

“Yes, but not only was that team strong: for four, five seasons we were at the top, we had some great players. When I arrived, we had Benatia, Pjanic, and Strootman; we played with professionals like Gervinho and Salah, and after them, many other champions came along. In goal, we had Szcz?sny, who was later replaced by Alisson, and we had a strong director, Sabatini.

During those years, Roma had some problems, not economic ones, but there was a balance that needed to be maintained nonetheless. “There was always the need to sell in order to buy again, but the players were always replaced superbly! In my opinion, this is exactly what the current Roma team lacks, I think there are good players in the squad, but few are truly extraordinary.”

When I say that perhaps only Dybala would have played in your Roma from today’s team, am I wrong or would you agree?

“From this Roma team, aside from Dybala, there’s also Angelino who I appreciate, he has a significant footwork. Then there’s Paredes and Pellegrini who were young but already played with us. Playing against Roma was tough because we were a hardened, resilient team, and we rarely left anything behind: paradoxically, it was more likely that we would lose a few points to lesser teams, but when we faced the big ones, we almost always won. We would go on the road to Milan, and I recall that we would win against both AC Milan and Inter. In recent years, however, Roma has been struggling to beat the big teams. We had players like Totti, who embodied Rome, or De Rossi, who inspired great energy; there was Kolarov, who was a pretty tough player, and also Džeko: charismatic players who always pushed you to give your maximum and with them, you always managed to go beyond.”

“Your relationship with Roma fans has always been excellent. Even today, after so many years, people still cherish you.”

“Absolutely yes, I still feel their affection and it will be so forever. I departed in quite an unusual manner, which was indeed my choice, but only because there was a director who was not fair to me. A director who made me feel significant but who during the summer, signed warrants, on behalf of Roma, to sell me to Turkey. At that point, I told him, okay, if you want me to leave but I choose where I need to go.