Roma attacking midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo has praised Inter centre-back Milan Skriniar and suggested that he amongst the best defenders he has faced so far in his career.
The Italian international, who joined Roma from Inter in 2018, is currently working his way back to fitness after missing the entire season with a serious knee injury, ruling him out of Euro 2020.
In an interview published in yesterday’s magazine edition of Sportweek, Zaniolo discussed the most challenging players he had come up against and named Skriniar as a particularly difficult opponent.
“I have faced the strongest central defenders in the world, like [Virgil] Van Dijk, [Giorgio] Chiellini, Sergio Ramos and Skriniar, who is the most annoying. I suffered a lot against him, he’s quick, tough and doesn’t give anything up,” the 21-year-old declared.
Roma are set to welcome former Inter coach Jose Mourinho to the Stadio Olimpico next season and Zaniolo admitted that he couldn’t wait to get started under the Portuguese, whilst also praising predecessor Paulo Fonseca.
“We are thrilled, Mourinho is a great coach, he has won a lot and has great personality. I can’t wait to start. Though we must give credit to Fonseca, he was always professional.
“I think like Mourinho. You always have to aim for the maximum, nobody likes to lose. He will be able to manage the crucial challenges, and that is what we have been missing this year.”
Zaniolo has developed a reputation for his behaviour off the pitch over the past few seasons but felt he was maturing and could only learn from his errors.
“I’m still a boy and there are people smarter than me and sometimes I fall into temptation. To become a mature person, you have to make mistakes. But I’ll try to improve,” he concluded.
Since arriving at Roma as part of a deal that saw Radja Nainggolan move to Inter in 2018, Zaniolo has scored 14 goals in 69 appearances, but has seen his career hampered by two serious knee injuries since January of last year.
