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Federico Fazio has set his sights on playing for Roma for the rest of his career, while claiming that compatriot Javier Pastore is in his best shape since joining the club.
Fazio has been one of Roma's most-used defenders so far this season, at the start of his fourth full campaign with the club. The Argentine could add to his five league starts of 2019-20 on Sunday, when Roma travel to face Sampdoria - who have recently appointed former Giallorossi manager Claudio Ranieri, a coach under whom Fazio's form vastly improved last season. "Ranieri is a good manager with a lot of experience in football," Fazio told Sky Sport. "He’s arriving at a club who are going through a tough period, but given his experience, he can give them the motivation they need. We wish him well but we’ll greet him after the match: we want to win." Fazio is one of three Argentines in the squad, with the others, Diego Perotti and Javier Pastore, often having to combat fitness problems. But their teammate says both of the attacking midfielders are nearly ready to contribute again. "Diego returned to training last week, little by little he is picking up the pace to get back into the best shape possible. Pastore is always training hard, this is the best shape I’ve seen him in since he arrived." Another player with ties to Roma currently in Argentina is legendary former captain Daniele De Rossi, who is now playing for Boca Juniors. But when asked if he would follow his old teammate to the Argentine club, Fazio, 32, responded by pledging his future to Roma - with whom he signed a contract extension over the summer. "He’s doing well there and we hope they win against River Plate. I don’t know if I’ll finish my career there, I think I’ll finish it at Roma." Should Fazio start on Sunday, he will partner either Gianluca Mancini or Chris Smalling, with Paulo Fonseca yet to finalise his strongest centre-back partnership. However, Fazio says he is happy to play alongside either of them. "Playing right, left, with one player or another makes no difference. Smalling comes from the Premier League, which is different, Mancini is young and still has a lot ahead of him. I get along well with both." After the Sampdoria game, Roma will face Borussia Monchengladbach in the Europa League, a competition which fans have every right to be optimistic about the team's chances in. However, Fazio knows that, if they are to conquer the competition, Roma must take things one step at a time. "It’s a good competition - you can’t underestimate it. There’s already strong teams in it and then you’ll also have teams from the Champions League join. We have to continue calmly and slowly, let’s worry about winning the group first.
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