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Chris Smalling has revealed he will strongly consider staying at Roma if his loan spell from Manchester United is a success.
Smalling arrived at Roma on a dry loan towards the end of the transfer window, after the club's pursuits of Toby Alderweireld, Dejan Lovren and Daniele Rugani hit dead ends. In doing so, the 29-year-old became just the second Englishman to ever play for Roma, following on from Ashley Cole's ill-fated spell four years ago. At his unveiling press conference today, Smalling outlined his reasons for coming to Roma, revealing what he wants to achieve with the club. “I think Serie A has always been a goal of mine to play in one day, because as a defender if you get the chance to experience Serie A you want to do it,” he said. “I think I’ve played a lot in the Premier League and now I can bring my qualities that I’ve learned to Italy, and that is something I am looking forward to.” Smalling was chosen because of his suitability to Paulo Fonseca's preference for a high line, and the coach has made a positive first impression on his new centre-back. “I spoke to him before I came to the club and he told me his goals, what he wanted from me. It was something that we totally agreed on. “Coming in and having my first sessions, this week, I can see it is a team that wants to press, that wants to be aggressive. “He wants a defender that is aggressive and can cope with the runs in behind and, yes, I think it is a perfect fit. It’s been a great first week of training and I am looking forward to getting stuck in. “There is a lot of responsibility on the defence as a whole and the centre-backs too, but that is something I enjoy. “I like to push up high, play high up the pitch, and the manager wants us to be high. I am a defender that likes to defend on the front foot, so I think this is the perfect type of football for me and hopefully it allows me to show my real qualities.” After playing in the Champions League last season, both Roma and Smalling are returning to the Europa League this year. It's a tournament he has already won with United, and like fellow new arrival Henrikh Mkhitaryan, the former Fulham man is confident his new club can also go all the way in the competition. “I think this club definitely has a chance. We will be one of the favourites in the competition, obviously there are a few other clubs too, but Roma will be among the favourites. “It has been great to have won it previously, but it would be even greater to win it here in Italy.” While his move was arranged quite hastily, Smalling has no regrets about accepting the offer, and hopes that he can experience Italian football for more than just this season. “I think this is an opportunity that came to me that I was very interested in, and I was very eager to come. It happened very quickly. “I am very focused on the next game, getting up to speed with training and learning the manager’s methods. And then hopefully I want to have a very good season. “After that we will see. To have a chance at a big club, if it prolongs and the club is happy and I am happy, then I can definitely see a longer-term future in Italy. “I am not a young player who has to prove himself, but I like new challenges. I had a great time in Manchester, but the opportunity to experience a new league and with a new club like Roma… “I don’t like to live my life with my regrets, and this was a big opportunity. At Manchester we had high expectations, but here in Rome there are high expectations too. And that’s not easy, but it’s also a great challenge. “It’s motivating, and now I have the chance to prove that the club was right to put their faith in me. “The club has been great with me, helpful with everything I need from house-hunting to everything else, and that has immediately put me at ease. “So, I had no doubts at all. I’ve heard great things about Italy, and Rome itself, and it is something I was always looking forward to and will definitely savour. “In England we don’t have many players who do go abroad, but I’ve always had a desire deep down to experience this and to have the opportunity to go to a big club with big aspirations, like I said before, is something I look forward to. “I like to live my life with no regrets, so I am looking forward to build on this journey and make the most of it. “And these two weeks of the international break have been the perfect opportunity for me to get to know the players, to get to know the style of play the manager wants to have, and to be ready for when Serie A games start again.” Smalling will be hoping to make his debut when Roma return from the international break, with a home match against Sassuolo on 15th September potentially giving him the opportunity to make his Stadio Olimpico bow.
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Roma to face Monchengladbach, Basaksehir and Wolfsberger in Europa League as group stage draw made30/8/2019 Roma will play Borussia Monchengladbach, Istanbul Basaksehir and Wolfsberger in the Europa League group stages after the draw was made today.
Roma take their place in Group J for the tournament, which will begin on 19th September - in between Serie A games against Sassuolo and Bologna. The remaining dates for the group stage games are 3rd and 24th October (in between Lecce and Cagliari, and Sampdoria and AC Milan respectively), 7th and 28th November (between Napoli and Parma, and Brescia and Verona) and 12th December (between Inter and SPAL). Borussia Monchengladbach came fifth in the Bundesliga last season, and in the summer signed Breel Embolo from Schalke, while selling Thorgan Hazard to Borussia Dortmund. Istanbul Basaksehir will represent a homecoming for Roma winger Cengiz Under, who signed from the Turkish club in 2017. They came second in the Super Lig last season, but lost their Champions League third qualifying round tie with Olympiacos Finally, Wolfsberger are competing in the group stages of a European competition for the first time after placing third in the Austrian Bundesliga last season. Roma were top seeds for the group thanks to their impressive UEFA coefficient, having qualified for the competition after finishing sixth in Serie A. Initially scheduled to begin competing in the second qualifying round, Roma took Milan's place in the group stage after they were expelled from the competition. With Torino, who took Roma's place in the qualifiers, knocked out by Wolves on Thursday, it means there will only be two Italian teams in the group stages - the other being Roma's great rivals and next league opponents Lazio, who qualified by virtue of winning the Coppa Italia, and will face Celtic, Rennes and Cluj. Roma are competing in the Europa League for the first time since 2017, when they dropped into the group stages after losing to Porto in a Champions League play-off. That season, Luciano Spalletti's side reached the Round of 16, losing to Lyon over two legs. This year's final will take place in Gdansk, Poland, on 27th May 2020. Roma will enter the 2019-20 Europa League in the group stages after AC Milan's withdrawal from the competition was confirmed.
Roma had been scheduled to play either Debrecen or Kukesi in the second qualifying round in early July, but Milan's agreement with UEFA means that the Giallorossi will take their place in the group stages instead - with Torino replacing Roma in the qualifiers. Milan have found themselves in breach of Financial Fair Play rules in recent seasons, which led to this decision. On Wednesday, Roma announced the cancellation of their pre-season training camp at Pinzolo, which fuelled speculation that they would be entering at a later stage of the competition. Roma will be a top seed for the groups, along with the likes of Sevilla and Manchester United, due to their strong UEFA coefficient. Roma will face the winners of Debrecen v Kukesi in the Europa League second qualifying round.
The draw was made at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland today. It's the first time Roma have ever entered at this stage of the competition, after finishing a disappointing sixth last season. There is still the chance that Roma may not have to play this fixture if AC Milan pull out of the group stage due to Financial Fair Play, but at least some form of preparations can begin. Debrecen came third in the Hungarian league last season, while FK Kukesi were the runners up in the Albanian top flight. Kukesi have never reached the group stages of the competition, while Debrecen's last appearance in the groups came in 2010-11. The first qualifying round matches take place on 11th July, with the return leg coming a week later on the 18th - after which Roma will know for definite who they will be playing. The second qualifying round first leg takes place on 25th July, and the second leg will be played on 1st August - nearly a whole month before the Serie A season is scheduled to begin. If Roma get through their second qualifying round tie, they will advance to the third qualifying round, in which victory will seal their place in the play-off round to determine if they will make it to the competition proper. The last time Roma competed in the Europa League, they were eliminated in the Round of 16 by Lyon in 2016-17. That was the furthest they have ever reached since the competition rebranded from the UEFA Cup - a tournament in which they reached the final in 1990-91. |
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