De Roon's revival gives Gasperini's Roma the control he demands
Reunited with Gian Piero Gasperini at Roma, Marten de Roon is becoming central to a midfield stretched by injury and a system built on relentless tempo.
Marten de Roon says he is "on the right path" to winning over Roma's supporters, and his growing importance in midfield explains why that matters now more than at any point since he joined the club.
The Dutch midfielder spoke alongside Gian Piero Gasperini in Manchester on Sunday, previewing Tuesday's Champions League trip to face Manchester United, in comments carried by Football Italia via the Corriere dello Sport.
De Roon and Gasperini spent nine years together at Atalanta, winning the Europa League in 2024, before reuniting in Rome this season. The familiarity shows in how De Roon describes the coach's methods.
"The coach is unique. His way of training us tactically is above everyone else's," De Roon said. "I hold him in huge esteem. It's fast football, made to score lots of goals and play with enormous intensity."
Why injuries have pushed De Roon into the centre of things
Roma are without Manu Koné and Lorenzo Pellegrini, both injured, which has thinned the options in central midfield precisely when Gasperini's approach asks most of that unit.
Gasperini's teams are built on pressing triggers and quick transitions rather than patient circulation, which places a premium on a holding midfielder who can both break up play and start attacks immediately. That is De Roon's role, and it is one that becomes harder to rotate out when the squad behind him is short.
De Roon addressed his own fitness directly, saying the early weeks after his move were about rebuilding sharpness. "I'm fine. Since I arrived I needed to get my rhythm and physical condition back, and we sorted that out during the international break," he said.
The timing matters. A double pivot or single holding midfielder operating within a high-intensity, high-press framework cannot afford to be undercooked physically, because the system depends on covering ground quickly in both directions rather than conserving energy in a settled low block.
Reading his answer on the fans as evidence, not sentiment
Asked whether he was winning over Roma's support, De Roon kept his answer grounded in results rather than emotion. "I'm on the right path," he said, adding that results on the pitch are what ultimately count. He noted that the ovation he received coming off against Cagliari had pleased him, and said that, in the end, "facts always show what you're worth."
That framing is consistent with how Gasperini's football tends to be judged. A team committed to attacking verticality and goalscoring intensity invites scrutiny of individual contributions in real time, and De Roon's answer suggests he understands that the crowd's patience will track results and visible effort rather than reputation.
What the Atalanta comparison reveals about Roma's current stage
De Roon drew a direct line between his years in Bergamo and the project now under way in Rome. "At Atalanta we went on a fantastic journey. It seemed like all that mattered was winning trophies," he said. "Roma are playing well, and the first year in the Champions League makes you play high-level games. We want to give continuity to our performances, including in a magical stadium like tomorrow's."
He was candid about the limits of that growth so far, pointing to the earlier Champions League meeting with Real Madrid. "Against Real Madrid we weren't mature enough, but we're growing," he said. "The way we approach teams and play brings entertainment. We always try to score and not sit back."
That last point is the clearest statement of footballing identity in the whole exchange. A team that refuses to sit back is choosing to live with the transitional risk that comes from committing numbers forward, trusting that its press and its intensity in possession will win more exchanges than they lose. It is the same bet Gasperini made across nearly a decade at Atalanta, and De Roon has effectively volunteered as its on-pitch guarantor.
The context around Tuesday's fixture
Roma head into the match having beaten Udinese 5-2 on Saturday, a result that leaves them occupying third place in Serie A with just a single point separating them from the summit. The Champions League trip follows a league phase that has already tested Roma against elite opposition, including the earlier game against Real Madrid at the Stadio Olimpico, where De Roon scored.
Kick-off against Manchester United is at 21:00 CET, 20:00 GMT. With Koné and Pellegrini still unavailable, De Roon's form and fitness will again shape how much control Roma can exert in midfield against a side playing in front of its own crowd.