The Final Word: Kevin Strootman on the season in 10 key moments

Eager for a consistent run of football as the season began, Strootman went on to be an almost an ever-present as Roma ultimately secured second position in Serie A – and at the end of campaign his return to prominence was confirmed as he signed a new five-year contract with the Giallorossi.

Having played in 45 of the club’s 54 games, here Strootman gives his assessment of 10 key moments from the year that was…

1. The season starts with an early setback

“The loss to Porto was really disappointing for us. You work the whole year – even though I didn’t play too much in 2015-16 – to get third place, to get the Champions League, and then to give it away in that way, with three red cards in two games…

“In the first half in Porto we should have been 2-0 or 3-0 ahead, but we ended up 1-0 up at half-time with only 10 players. It was a really big disappointment to go out, maybe the biggest of the season.

“In the dressing room afterwards, we just had to move on. We still had the Europa League, it’s still a big competition. If you win you have to look forward, to the next challenge, so it’s the same also if you lose.

“Personally, I started well at the beginning of the season. But after that it was also difficult for me. Physically I felt good, and I think I was in form physically, but to play games is a different thing. If you don’t really play for two years then you have to play a lot games to get to the level that you want.

“For the team, but for me especially, I needed time to find a rhythm. Look at the Cagliari game: At that moment when I scored the goal it was a great feeling, because we went 2-0 ahead, but in the end we gave it away … it was not good from our side.”

2. The team kicks into gear with big wins over rivals

“The wins over Inter and Napoli were important, but I think really that [spirit] had all started the previous season. Because we had a great series of games where we did good results, in the big games as well. After the game against Cagliari we talked together and we said, ‘It cannot be like this anymore. We cannot draw a game like that.’ And that caused a little bit of a change.

“So last year it started, and this year we wanted to continue and even improve. And of course if you are winning against Inter and Napoli, two big teams, it gives you a good feeling and shows you are growing.

“This season we changed the system a lot for different games, with five defenders or four defenders, but the way to think about the game, to approach it, that didn’t change. And that really started last year.

“We knew it was going to be a difficult game [at Napoli], but if you have that confidence and you stay calm and you reach your level then we knew we can beat them. They are a really strong team, but we didn’t have to be scared.”

3. Strootman decides the first derby

“That was a really great moment. I think I read somewhere that it was over 900 days since I had last scored at the Stadio Olimpico, after the injuries, so for me and the team it was really good. Some of our fans were away, so one stand was empty, but the other part was full and to celebrate with them was an unbelievable feeling.

“When I scored, I really didn’t know what I was doing. It’s overwhelming. I don’t score so many goals, so I can’t really think like, ‘If I score, I’m going to do this!' But with that goal, and because the game had been so tight, I was straight to the fans. We were a little bit better but we didn’t really play good, we didn’t really create a lot of chances. And then to score a goal out of nothing, it gives you are really good feeling.

“Then we followed up with a 1-0 win over AC Milan. If you have that confidence, if you know you are not going to concede a goal, then you just think, ‘Okay, we are definitely going to make a goal because we have so many players who can do that.’ And that is the confidence you need in big games.

“But obviously, for that game, you have to give big credit to [Wojciech] Szczesny. When you save a penalty and win 1-0, for a goalkeeper that is really important. He was great for us. But also you have to give credit to Alisson, they are two great goalkeepers. In the Europa League he did a great job, and they are both goalkeepers who, because they are so good, they pushed each other to become even better.

“For me they are two world-class goalkeepers and they both had a great season.”

4. A setback at Juventus before Christmas

“That game, we didn’t even play that badly but they had one chance and they made a goal. That is their quality. Of course we had our chances, we had a few moments from corner kicks, but they are a really strong team. It was 1-0 until the end … it was not a good game but there was a lot of tension also on the pitch.

“If we had been a bit more lucky maybe it could have been 1-1, and that changes things [in the table], but of course it’s a disappointment if you lose 1-0 there and they didn’t even create a lot of chances.”

5. New Year, new Roma. The team head to Spain in the Europa League

“We weren’t a lot better than them [Roma won 4-0], but at the right moment we scored the goals. Edin had a great game: he scored three goals and he had maybe four chances in the game. As a team we did good, because in attack they are really good and we didn’t concede a goal, which is important in a cup game. But the score was perhaps a little bit too much.

“Edin knew, even last year, that he was important – but I think he knew he could bring even more to the team this term. He is always a real professional, he is always in the gym doing his exercises to improve himself. After training he stays to practice with the coaches, he is shooting from 5 or 10 yards and we are looking at him like, ‘This is easy, you can do this already!’ but he just wants to improve, to get even more precise.

“And you see this year, also with how he plays but particularly with his goals how important he is to the team. With any team, if we don’t play so good and then he can suddenly score a goal, that can help you so much.

“Emerson scored the other goal. For us there was no surprise about his season. Even last year, in training, he was like something unbelievable. He could do things with the ball that no-one could do; how he dribbled, how he controlled the ball. He is like an attacker who can defend. Also last year in training he had that, and he played one or two games and didn’t really show that. So we were like, ‘What’s the problem here? Is he a little bit nervous?’ But this year he changed things, maybe the mentality, and on the pitch he was really good.”

6. Double cup disappointment dims spirits

“We watched the video from that second half [against Lyon in France] a lot of times, to analyse it, and it was really unbelievable that it went that way. Because the first half, we played good, and we could be two goals ahead. It was 2-1, after being 1-0 down, and that’s pretty good in an away European game – especially for an Italian team, where usually you just expect it to be defence. After 2-2, maybe there was that feeling that we were so strong in the first half that we can go back and win this game. And maybe we spent too much energy on making the goal to go back and defend … and we just let it go a little bit.

“That was something that was unacceptable for us as professional players of Roma. To play a first half like that, and then let it get away like that in the second half, the difference was too big. Of course they are a great team with quality, but still.

“Before the second leg against Lyon, we knew we could do it. We knew we could concede a goal and still we could go through, so we had confidence. But with Lazio, because it was 2-0, it is a difficult thing with the away goals. You need to be patient but on the pitch you have that feeling that you have to score, you have to score early, and we gave a lot of space [as a result]. And after they scored we knew it was almost impossible to do it. If you lose against Lazio in the semi-final as a Roma player it’s really not a nice feeling.”

7. Stunning Inter win sparks big run

“Radja scored twice there. He played other really great games, but when you score two goals like that, really important goals, in San Siro, it’s great. You know you can put him everywhere and he will have a great game. He is really important for us.

“At half-time I had to do the TV interview and the guy asked me, ‘Radja, he scored a great goal…’ and I said, ‘Yeah, I hope he does another great one in the second half!’ and he did! It’s just quality. He shows it in training, he shows it in games. I think it was his record amount of goals in a season, and I think he could score even more with his quality.

“Later we came back to beat AC Milan there too. They were both also fighting around the top four for a long period, and at the time we beat them it was still important. They both beat Juve at home, so to beat them was big.

“Daniele scored the final goal against Milan. For me he has always been great. I played with him a little bit [before the injury] and now I have been playing with him since. He is a great player. He is one of the captains, in the dressing room and on the pitch, and he helps everybody.

“He is so smart on the pitch, and he has so much passion: he and Totti were two of the reasons I wanted to come to Rome, because they are idols and examples to everyone. It’s great to play alongside him.

“Then there’s Leo Paredes. We know everyone in our squad can play, can really play. He showed that last year, at Empoli, he made some great improvements and this year he has moved on again. I am happy for Leo that he got the international invite, he really deserves it.”

8. Monchi arrives at Roma

“Of course Monchi’s decision to come is a good thing. Because he could have gone to a lot of other clubs, but he chose to come to Rome. So Roma also managed to convince him to come here. That is good, that shows ambition from everyone. It shows the club wants to improve and is doing that, and we know he wants to win.

“He talked with all the players when he arrived. Of course he went in front of the group, and he said something about himself and he told us what he wanted to do. I think he is going to be really important for the club. The way he talks and the things he has achieved – the trophies he was won and the players he has bought – that is a good record.

“In interviews he has made it clear he wants to win, and that’s good to hear.”

9. Revenge over Juventus helps clinch second

“And they didn’t become champions at our home! That’s something you think about as well, and perhaps something that gives you a little bit more motivation – although against Juve you don’t need much more. And we stayed ahead of Napoli too.

“We went behind, so it could have been exactly the same as the away match after that. But it was a great team performance, I think it was one of the best of the season – even though I didn’t play! – and really, really important. Of course, people say they were maybe thinking about the cup final or the Champions League … but we made the most of that if so.

“The stadium was full for that game. It helps you, for sure: 1-0 behind with a full stadium, you cannot give up! You want a stadium like that every week. It makes such a difference.”

10. A final day farewell to a legend

“If you go somewhere, it’s always, ‘Totti, Totti, Totti.’ If you speak to someone about Roma it’s always about Totti. He created that. 25 years – and, what, 19 years as captain? - it’s something unbelievable. To still be playing shows what a professional he is. If you think of Rome, you think of Totti. To train with him, to play with him, to be in the dressing room with him, he’s an idol for everybody.

“Every day, people write and people talk about him but he deserves it. He has done great things for 25 years. Some do well to play eight or 10 years!

“Everybody wanted to come to the stadium for that game, which shows you his impact. Everyone was texting me, calling me, wanting a ticket. Just for this game, just for him. It shows what he did for Rome, and everything he deserves as a result of that.

“It’s something special. It’s a story I’ll be proud to tell in future.”

The full interview with Kevin Strootman can be read on Roma's official Medium account.