Menez praises Gasperini's Roma: 'This year is Scudetto material. He's a genius'

Former Roma forward Jeremy Menez has backed the club to challenge for the Serie A title this season and hailed head coach Gian Piero Gasperini as a tactical genius. Speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport, Menez reflected on his time in the Giallorossi shirt and offered his assessment of Roma's current trajectory under Gasperini's leadership. Menez, who arrived at Roma as a generational talent under the Sensi regime, spoke fondly of his spell at the club. "I had a blast," he said. "It wasn't easy arriving at such an important squad, but for me it was home. I only have good memories. This year Roma is title material: Gasp is a genius." On his playing days, Menez acknowledged the difficulty of stepping into an established dressing room but emphasised the emotional connection he felt to the club throughout his time there. When asked which clubs he would see himself at today, Menez named Como and Roma. "They play very well and have strong identities," he explained. "Fabregas, then, is one of the most talented coaches." Menez also reflected on his relationship with former Roma manager Spalletti, saying: "He valued me a lot, but he was tough on me. He knew my character and sometimes made me do exercises for half an hour at the end of training." He also commented on the broader state of attacking football, noting that creative players are increasingly rare in modern football and singling out Milan under Amorim as lacking imagination.

Fabrizio Lucchesi, former general director of Roma's 2000–01 Serie A champions, has spoken about Francesco Totti's relationship with the club and drawn comparisons between current head coach Gian Piero Gasperini and Fabio Capello's management style. Lucchesi revealed he has recently encountered Totti at a social event and subsequently at lunch. "I had the privilege of working with him, an extraordinary champion and a man of absolute values, a wonderful person who suffers terribly from this separation from the club, which came certainly by his own choice but he has an extraordinary passion for Roma, he has giallorosso blood not red," Lucchesi said. He believes Totti would bring exceptional value to Roma in an official capacity and suggested finding him a role that allows him to apply his vast experience and vision rather than a purely representational one. "Seeing a Roma without Totti is inconceivable," Lucchesi stated. On Gasperini and Capello, Lucchesi identified similarities in their daily management approach. Both coaches operate their Roma sides with total autonomy, he explained. "Gasperini perhaps is more applied on the pitch, Capello delegated more to his collaborators, but in daily management Fabio controlled everything—he even changed the doormats at Trigoria. They both have this need for everything to revolve around them." Lucchesi praised Gasperini's demands on the squad and noted the group responds well, but expressed concern about the limited size of the playing squad, describing it as his greatest worry. He credited Gasperini's football for Roma's current league position. Lucchesi also reflected on a regretted transfer window from the summer following Roma's 2000–01 title. He revealed that Roma had agreed deals with Parma for Gianluigi Buffon and Fabio Cannavaro, with negotiations concluded in Milan involving Parma executives. However, Juventus intervened following dealings between the Tanzi and Agnelli families, forcing Parma to renege on the agreement. "The regret I still have is that with these signings we would have had the strongest squad in the championship for 4–5 years," Lucchesi said.

Roma's radio stations aired a wide-ranging discussion on the club's direction under owner Dan Friedkin, the recent signing of midfielder Marten de Roon and the decision to prevent Paulo Dybala and Nahuel Molina from joining Argentina's national team during the international break. David Rossi from Rete Sport criticised Friedkin's limited public engagement, saying: "The boss made quite an illuminating statement: 'Between the stadium and first place, it's really a beautiful period…' incredible, eh! I hadn't thought of it, but now that the lieutenant Dan has told me. It doesn't seem to me that he's made statements that have broadened our minds. Now everything is fine, we're top of the table, but that doesn't make us forget that at corporate level there have been other moves—the man in question likes to go to the ECA to play the big shot as Roma's president, but he hasn't set foot here for a year and a half now." Mario Corsi of Tele Radio Stereo defended the ownership, contrasting them with previous regimes: "Those before were a bunch of con artists, the Friedkins aren't con artists. These ones are building a stadium, they're putting money in, and it will be a beautiful stadium. This one doesn't take bribes, he doesn't take Roman rubbish. Galactic is a gentleman, speaks perfect Italian, and he's in love with Roma." Alessio Nardo of Tele Radio Stereo noted a change in direction: "It seems that, fortunately, the course at Roma has changed. From Gasperini's arrival onward, the choices made on Ranieri, on the sporting director, on the stadium question, and also this strong stance on Dybala and Molina—the Friedkins have suddenly shown they've learned something. They're more present, more attentive, or maybe they have someone advising them better than they did a few years ago." Roberto Pruzzo of Radio Radio praised the De Roon signing: "In a midfield department where you're short on numbers, De Roon is important because otherwise you'd be thin. At Bergamo they even burned his shirt over his departure. It seems there was a technical evaluation that led Roma to make an operation like this." Francesca Ferrazza stressed the need to maintain critical thinking: "We joke and play with predictions, but the Friedkins are serious people. We like the stadium, but critical spirit should never be set aside—it should always be maintained. Many newspapers have completely lost that critical spirit from other years. Critical spirit is constructive; if you say 'But are there car parks?', that doesn't mean you don't want the stadium, but you ask the question."