Florenzi full of praise for Garcia

Roma midfielder Alessandro Florenzi has hailed the contribution of new manager Rudi Garcia ahead of the new Serie A season.

Garcia replaced ex-interim manager Aurelio Andreazzoli at the Stadio Olimpico last month and has already recruited Kevin Strootman and Maicon.

And 22-year-old Florenzi, who has been with the club since 2010, believes the new coach is the man to get the best from the players and improve on their sixth-place league finish last season.

“He’s a really good coach. He talks a lot with the team and wants a lot from us on the pitch,” he told Sky Sport.

“Compared to last year, he wants less directness and more ball possession. He wants a lot of interchange (between midfielders), passes on the ground and, when possible, balls up towards the strikers.

“He’s a hard taskmaster when necessary, but he’s also the first to laugh.”

Florezi went on to explain he is determined to build on his performances in 2012-13, which saw him score three goals in 36 appearances.

“(My aim) is to play as many games as possible, but always by deserving it as the final verdict always comes from the pitch.

“(We want to) do better than last year after a failed season. We can’t pretend to ourselves (that it was not), as both we and the fans suffered a lot last year”.

Roma continue their preparations for next season with friendlies against Kansas City, Boston, Toronto and Washington DC on a tour of the United States, with the first of these games set to take place on July 31.