De Rossi hits out at impatient Roma presidents

AS Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi on Wednesday hit out at Italian football presidents for being impatient following the sacking of Roberto Donadoni on Tuesday.

De Rossi, who is preparing with the Italy squad for Saturday’s crunch World Cup qualifier against Ireland in Dublin, spoke out against the trend in Italian football to fire coaches as soon as things don’t go well.

Former Italy coach Donadoni was given the boot only seven matches into the season and after just 18 games in the Napoli hot-seat after beginning this campaign with four defeats and two wins from seven encounters.

He was the second coach to lose his job already in Serie A following Angelo Gregucci whom Atalanta fired only four games into the season, and indeed his career, with the club.

“I’m disappointed about his sacking,” De Rossi said of Donadoni. “Our football doesn’t know how to wait.

“There’s very little patience and I’m not just talking about him. It’s not like this in other countries.

“Unfortunately no-one has a magic wand, four weeks isn’t enough to judge a coach, you need to give him two or three years.”

Donadoni was actually the third change of coach this season as De Rossi’s club coach Luciano Spalletti left his job after two straight defeats at the start of the season.

De Rossi also weighed in on the ongoing Antonio Cassano debate, which seems to dominate proceedings at most national team press conferences.

Cassano’s Sampdoria are level on points with Inter Milan at the top of the table but the wayward talent has once again been overlooked in coach Marcello Lippi’s squad.

Lippi told the press on Tuesday he was fed up with their questions about Cassano but De Rossi was happy to share his thoughts.

“He’s the most talented and fun to watch of all the Italian forwards but if you look at goals, those already in the squad score more than he does, as do others who aren’t even here,” said De Rossi.