Gourna-Douath on his first impressions after joining Roma | OneFootball

Lucas Gourna-Douath, Roma’s new signing, gave his first interview to the club’s official website.

“Nothing so far has surprised me because I already knew this team, I already knew its greatness, so I’m not surprised by my teammates, the city or the sports center.”

“Here we are at the top, for me it’s an environment that gives you no excuses, because there is everything, the pitch, the facilities, the locker rooms, the staff… We have everything we need to win.”

“I chose Roma above all because two years ago I had played against them when I was at Salzburg, losing; then when we played them away in the return leg of the Europa League the first 20 minutes were the worst initial 20 minutes of my life, because of the stadium, the fans, their chants and how they supported their team, and I was really surprised.”

“Then when my agent called me to tell me that Ranieri wanted to speak to us I immediately said yes and I would like to thank Roma for giving me this opportunity. I also thank the Friedkin family and the sporting director Ghisolfi, I am really happy to be here.”

“I can’t wait to play in front of all the fans, because now I’m a Roma player and I hope they will support me like they did with my opponents when I played against them.”

“The first person I spoke to was William Vainqueur, he played for Roma I think 5 or 6 years ago. He is a bit like my older brother, and so we talk to each other every day. He explained to me a bit about how they work here, how to relate to the fans, what to do in this club and how important this is.”

“And then I went to Manu Koné and asked him to tell me something about the club, his teammates, everything, and he said: “Yes, come!”. I like Manu because he is my friend from Paris, we played together in the national team. He spoke very highly of Roma and then I said: “Good, that’s enough, let’s go to Rome straight away.”

“We all know how big Serie A is. I watched it since I was a child, and often on FIFA I put myself in the team with Dybala and El Shaarawy. And when I spoke to many people who have played in Serie A they all told me that it is a very tactical league and that I would learn a lot.”

“So yes, I am happy to play in Serie A and I hope to be able to make my debut soon. I think this league will help me a lot in tactical intelligence, but also technically and in acquiring a winning mentality. I think it is the best place for me to continue my growth.”

“I’m not Pogba or Kante, because they are fantastic players who have done a lot, and I’m just Lucas, a guy who likes to have the ball, who likes to make the team play, I’m not physical like Manu Koné but I’m a physical player who likes to fight for the shirt.”

“I’m just a guy who likes to play, who likes to win games fighting for the shirt and for the team. That’s how I describe myself.”

“I started at 17 at Saint-Etienne and I felt at home there because I came out of their youth team. My home was there and I played there for two years.”

“And then I wanted to grow, that’s why I went to Salzburg, which is a good club for a player who wants to grow. I played there for two years, I gained a lot of experience there and in the last three months I started to think about taking another step forward, and so I said to myself “ok, let’s go to Roma!”, because here you play with a lot of pressure, and when that happens, you can show the best version of yourself. So, I wanted to take another step forward and I think Roma is the best club to grow further.”

“I already knew Claudio Ranieri because he coached in France. I watched his games, and now he coaches me. He knows how to work with young people, he knows how to make them grow in general, he did a lot of things at Inter, at Nantes, wherever he went.”

“So I think that for me, the fact that I can talk to him and share some moments with him is something important for me, because he is one of the best coaches in the world, and when you work with the best in the world you just learn, and that’s what I want to do, learn from him.”

“A message to the fans? Thank you for the opportunity to play for AS Roma. We know it is a great club and I would like to tell the fans that I am very happy to be here. I will fight for the shirt and I hope we will do great things, a good season. You can trust me because I just want to fight for the shirt and show what I am worth together with my teammates.”