As the Italian media makes a big coverage of AS Roma’s clash with Brighton & Hove Albion in the Europa League, outlet CalcioMercato.it now features a story with a player from the Seagulls.
The website managed to speak to Joel Veltman, who claims to be very excited about the clash.
According to the full-back, since Brighton have been worried about their busy scheduled in England, it was at the start of this week that they actually started preparing for the match against Roma.
“We have focused on the Premier and FA Cup matches, but we have been studying Roma since Monday. We have analysed their tactics and what we can do to bring home qualification,” Veltman told CalcioMercato.it.
He explained some of the coach’s preparations for the match against Roma, even giving away the Seagulls’ plan a little.
“We try to dominate possession in every match, that’s Roberto’s mentality regardless of the opponent. We know, however, that we will have to be ready in the non-possession phase, because Roma can be very dangerous.”
Veltman also had some compliments towards De Zerbi, claiming the manager is good at pretty much everything he does.
“He is a great coach to work with. He pays attention to every detail and is demanding with the players: the expectations he has of each of us are incredibly high. Beyond the professional side, I also admire him as a person: he is sociable and empathetic with everyone in the squad. A flaw? He has no flaws!”
Roma and Brighton are playing the first leg of the Europa League’s round-of-16 tomorrow night in Italy, with the decisive game taking place in England a week later.
