Former Roma midfielder and new SPAL manager Daniele De Rossi earned his first victory since being appointed as the Serie B side’s new coach earlier this month.
The 39 year-old replaced Roberto Venturato after SPAL were defeated by Frosinone three weeks ago. After rejecting several offers throughout the past year, De Rossi accepted the proposal from SPAL president Joe Tacopina, marking his first head coaching role.
In his first match in charge, De Rossi’s men drew 0-0 versus Cittadella and were narrowly eliminated in the Coppa Italia by Genoa, who won thanks to an extra time penalty in the first half.
However, third time was the charm for De Rossi today as his men ran riot over Cosenza, winning 5-0 thanks to two quick goals inside the opening half hour.
“We played really well today,” he told the media at full-time. “Our attitude in these first three games has been the same, but today we played with more clarity,”
“I didn’t tell the team anything in particular. I simply asked them to go out there and play with the same joy you have when you’re playing football with your friends.”
“Move the ball forward quickly and try to get into scoring positions as often as possible. I’ve been here 9 days and I’m asking them to play differently than they previously.”
He continued, “The season is very long and we’ve got a lot of work to do. Today’s performance was very well rounded and gives us confidence moving forward.”
“The atmosphere within the stadium was phenomenal. We must maintain this enthusiasm because results will come if we keep playing like this in front of this crowd.”
