Mario Hermoso discusses Roma’s Europa League campaign start

Roma defender Mario Hermoso discussed the team’s start in this year’s Europa League campaign.

Hermoso attended today’s pre-match press conference in Trigoria on the eve of the game with Athletic Club scheduled for Thursday night.

“My fitness level? I’m trying to recover 100%, but everything is going as planned,” assured the Spaniard. “Little by little I’m trying to find my best physical condition and adapt to this new type of football.”

“We must impose a very high level of demands on ourselves. We have to fight and improve the team mentality, the goal is to always be competitive.”

“I’m here thanks to De Rossi and I will never stop thanking him,” he added.

“I chose Roma because I was convinced by the project, the high-level players and the way they conducted their transfer business. I hope to transmit a certain mentality to the group to compete at high levels.”

“Yes, De Rossi was also among the reasons for this choice, and I thank him. And for the great passion of our fans, I thank them too.”

“I played against Athletic many times. It’s a team that knows each other well, that always works in the same way. It’s the classic Basque team that fights until the last minute.”

“They don’t do many rotations and the philosophy is the same regardless of who coaches it. We also have to fight for every ball and make sure that our talent in attack gives us the victory.”

“We have enormous potential and great players in the team. It will be important to get used to the idea of ​​competing every two-three days at a very high level in order to then be able to appreciate a competition like the Champions League.”

“De Rossi’s sacking? I’ve only been here for a short time and I don’t yet know well who works around the team. Nobody asked me for my opinion on the decision to sack De Rossi. It’s a question to ask the two captains.”

“Serie A? The Italian league seems to me to have a different physical level than the Spanish one. I see two different philosophies and a bigger need to stay focused at all times here.”