Rudiger: We need leaders

Rudiger got Roma off to a dream start with a goal in the fourth minute but despite controlling the first-half, it was a completely different story after the break.

Quizzed after the game at what the issue is, Rudiger struggled for answers.

“First of all, for sure, there’s a communication thing,” claimed the German international. “I think we have to speak more in the team. But it’s not like we don’t speak, we speak, but we need leaders and players who go on. I think this is what we need. And it’s great that the captain was back and you can see in the last minutes he came inside and he always wanted the ball. Everyone needs to be like this. He’s a good example.”

Did you enjoy your goal?

“For me it was a great moment but I’m a team player and I want to win and, yes, it’s sad. It’s a pity we cannot win at home.”

As soon as Roma gets the goal, it breaks down…

“Yes, you’re right. I can not understand this. We scored the goal and then we had also a second chance but then we stopped playing. What I can say is the first half it was okay, but the second half, I have no answers for this. I can just say sorry for the second half, it’s not acceptable.”

How is it possible that you can’t understand what’s happening in the club?

“To be honest, I cannot explain what happened in the second half. Sorry, I don’t have answers for this. Each player needs to do 100 percent more and this cannot be our target. We all need to do more, definitely. The thing is we don’t need to say it’s the coaches fault or something else, we play as a team. I think every player needs to show personality and I think this is what’s not good at the moment. But still, we have to keep going because there are a lot of matches to play.

“For me, it’s not that we are scared, we don’t have confidence at the moment and it’s a difficult situation, but everyone needs to do more - together we can achieve more. Every player has to do more, that’s most important.”