De Rossi: "Leverkusen is going at 200 per hour"

Rome (Italy), May 2 (EFE).- Daniele De Rossi, coach of Roma, surrendered to the Bayer Leverkusen of the Spanish Xabi Alonso, of whom it said that they play at "200 per hour."

CAMERA: DANIEL CÁCERES

Statements by Daniele de Rossi, Roma coach:

"Some things didn't work because otherwise we would have won. When a few things don't work they are enough not to win the match against such a strong team. We should have played the perfect game. Obviously that was not the case. But I think we played the right game. We won back a lot of balls in the first half, we were aggressive in the right way and we conceded a few chances. Thanks to their best qualities, definitely their speed and the great strength they have up top.

No, it didn't look like that to me. It's very banal to talk about attributes, when you then talk about a team that has great quality, great speed, strength. Attributes are also shown by going to take others to take their half of the field as we did. It's obvious that you have to be perfect. You have to concede nothing and if possible you have to score when you get the chance. So many games we won by getting them unstuck straight away in the first half with a bit of luck or grace. Maybe some inaccuracy on the part of the opponents. Today it was the opposite, I wouldn't say that my players didn't have any attributes on the field.

Not everywhere in Europe they have players like that. There are players of great quality, as we have, and then there are players who go at 200 km/hour and that allows you to play both between the lines and in the build-up. But it also allows you to go hard behind the two opponents, it gives you an extra solution, it allows you to stay low, as they did in the meantime, defending even in 6 because then the counterattack is a weapon that you can use thanks to your physical qualities. I like that Bayer Leverkusen team, so many players, so much quality, the great coach who makes them play well, but also a physicality that for me to build a team is almost essential.