It’s hard finding the right words when you’ve been swept aside as comprehensively as AS Roma in the contest with FC Bayern two weeks ago. As a result, the Italians’ boss Rudi Garcia and his players Miralem Pjanic and Seydou Keita came across as modest but certainly likeable in the pre-match press conference at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday evening. Roma’s Bosnian playmaker Pjanic, even answered a few questions in near-perfect German. fcbayern.de reports the most significant statements from the media event.
Head coach Rudi Garcia:
“Our chances of winning are maybe one in ten. How we present ourselves is more important. The first leg was an accident.”
“How many teams have come away from the Allianz Arena this season with so much as a single point? None! But we’ll still give it a go. We have to show much more confidence and aggression.”
“We believe in our way of playing football, so we’re not going to abandon it all now. But we mustn’t be stupid. When you play a team as strong as this, you have to be wary.”
“Six Bayern players have been nominated for the Ballon d’Or – and you have Ribéry on top. We know how good they are, and that’s why I’m saying it’ll be difficult. But this is football. If we’re courageous, maybe we can get something”
“Arjen Robben is one of the world’s best. He does things only a champion can. Obviously, it would be better if he was on our side.”
Miralem Pjanic:
“We’ve learned from the first leg. We’ll try and make up for the result. What happened to us at home won’t happen again. We want to prove that the difference between the teams from the home leg isn’t the reality. That wasn’t the real Roma. Nearly everything that could go wrong did go wrong.”
“Bayern play wonderful football with incredible quality.
“We need to defend well and keep it tight. We mustn’t give them any space. We’re up against one of the strongest teams in Europe.”
Seydou Keita:
“It’ll be different compared to two weeks ago. Games like that happen sometimes, as Bayern themselves found out against Real Madrid.”
“We’d like to go home feeling happy this time. We’ll give it everything we’ve got.”
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