Luciano Spalletti, the new Giallorossi manager, talks exclusively to asroma.com about what it means to return to the club he loves…



Welcome back to Roma, Luciano…

“Thanks. I've never forgotten my time here and Roma has never left my heart.”

Can you describe how you're feeling at the moment?

“I'm excited because I know what the merits of this city, this club and this team are. It's exciting to work with such worthy people.”

Did you ever think this opportunity might come around for you again?

“I've seen things happen in football that I thought would never come to pass. I always had that hope because Rome is a fantastic place to be.”

There were lots of rumours about you possibly returning to Roma. When did you start to take them seriously?

“When I got the phone call from Walter Sabatini.”

How did your meeting with James Pallotta go? What did you talk about most?

“I found him to be a man of exceptional enthusiasm who, despite being physically distant, has the best interests of our team, our city and our club at heart. He clearly has plans for the future and I think that's the most important thing to say about our president. People often think that if you live far away, you see something like this as a pastime but Roma really matters to him. That's the most important thing.”