Nicolo Zaniolo believes Roma can end their 14 years of trophy drought this season with silverware from the Europa Conference League.
Zaniolo in his statement according to UEFA media, noted that Leicester City, who the Giallorossi tackled in Thursday’s semifinal of the Europa Conference League, can be displaced to proceed to the final The Trumpet gathered.
Leicester host Roma in the first leg of the semifinal of the Europa Conference League at the King Power Stadium and Zaniolo full of praises for Roma coach Jose Mourinho is confident Giallorossi can end the ‘Classically English’ surge to the finals.
Preceding the semifinal tie, Zaniolo’s hat-trick against Norwegian side Bodo Glimt helped the Italian side to proceed to book the semifinal clash with Leicester.
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The player had experienced a goal drought since January 23 after the clash against fellow Italian side Empoli and ended it with a spree of goals to remedy the goal hiccup against Bodo Glimt.
Zaniolo said, “Mourinho is one of the best coaches in the world! He drilled into everyone the art of never giving up, always being on your toes, and uniting as one to bring home results. We hope to win something with him. With a coach who knows how to win, I think we’ve got a better chance.
“Winning the Conference League would make us very proud, but it’d be a starting point and not a conclusion. I will admit, 14 years without a trophy is too long.
“The Roma fans have always been by my side, perhaps, even more, when I am not playing, so I can only thank them and say they will always be in my heart,” he added.
According to the player, he is not bordered by the number of goals scored in a particular match but by his commitment to his team.
Despite the player’s claim of not being interested in the goals scored, Zaniola admitted that the hat-trick he scored in a 65000 capacity in a European quarterfinal tournament was more like a dream.
He continued: “Scoring goals has never been an obsession for me, as I prefer to just put in a great performance and win the game, even if I am not on the scoresheet.
“I have to admit, I could only dream of my first hat-trick being in a packed stadium with 65,000 people and the quarter-final of a European tournament. It was tough to imagine it could happen, but I had dreamed of it like that.
“The most significant nights of my career were the debut at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid, the brace past Porto, and this hat-trick with Bodo/Glimt,” he said.
The striker, describing Roma as a team that can take on any contending opponent, agreed that Leicester’s contest will be tough following the physical nature of the English side.
