Many Romans think their tough-guy midfielder is more important to them than Totti. Sir Alex agrees...
The heir to Totti’s role as Roma bandiera (literally, ‘flag’), native boy De Rossi is the engine room of the midfield, always at the centre of things, whether it’s in attack or providing an extra layer of defensive cover. He tends to concentrate on the former, where he likes to influence the tempo and flow of play, even if it’s all done sometimes from quite deep.
“He’s Roma’s key man,” Sir Alex Ferguson once claimed and you can see why. Excellent passing ability, strong-running, long-range shooting and power in the air mean he’s not your classic Latin midfielder – he even keeps his hair cropped short – but if he was in a United shirt then Paul Scholes could retire now. Though he probably doesn’t score quite as many goals as he should.
Hailed as a future star by Fabio Capello when he made his club debut in October 2001, De Rossi is arguably now more influential than Totti, not least because he seems to have finally got control of the explosive temperament which saw him red-carded at World Cup 2006 for elbowing Brian McBride.
Suspended for four matches, he returned in the final against France and scored one of the penalties that made Italy champions. Hungry for further honours, only the Reds who could tempt him away from the Eternal City.
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