Daniele De Rossi was “proud” of Roma after their extra time Champions League exit to Porto, but admits he doesn’t know what it means for Coach Eusebio Di Francesco.
The Giallorossi had won the first leg 2-1 and lost here by the same result, but were beaten in extra time by a penalty for Alessandro Florenzi’s shirt tug.
“It’s tough, the result has to be accepted for what it is. It’s hard to accept, as we are a team with these ups and downs,” De Rossi told Sky Sport Italia.
“It wasn’t the perfect game, but I saw a team of real men who cared and it would’ve been better to go to penalties than lose in these circumstances.
“We should’ve had a better result in the first leg, Porto did better in the second leg. On the bench, they told us it could’ve been a penalty on Patrik Schick, so at least he should’ve gone to look at it on VAR.
“I am very proud of this group. We can be caught napping at times, but we kept the concentration levels high today. I thought over the two legs, we deserved to go through.”
What does this exit mean for Di Francesco’s future?
“I don’t change my opinion. I don’t know what will happen, but nobody can take away from him that he reached the semi-finals last season and was 30 seconds away from reaching penalties here.
“It’s up to the club to decide, not us to make these debates.”
De Rossi limped off just before half-time with a muscular issue and he confessed it’s probably serious.
“I think it’s a calf strain. It’s a pity, as I felt in good shape.”