Dovbik: Uric tactics are something we can t achieve. Ranieri did a lot of psychological work

May 23rd Roma striker Dovbik talked about his decision to join Rome, Roma's three coaches this season, and his performance in Serie A.

You won the La Liga Golden Boot last season and transferred to Rome last summer I don't regret it, that's my decision. I had the chance to play in the Champions League this season, but they had other important players who had transferred and left, and they gave me 11 assists, so I had doubts about staying in Girona. After a season like that, I need to continue to make a leap. Girona also negotiated with Atletico Madrid, but it didn't go well. I don't think someone in Atletico Madrid club really wants me. West Ham is also contacting me and I have talked to their coach. There are also some Saudi teams who are interested in me, but I want to stay in Europe to play football, despite the very high salary in Saudi Arabia. So, I had three choices at that time: Atletico Madrid, West Ham, and Rome.

How did you adapt after coming to Rome?

is very difficult at first. It was De Rossi who made me choose Rome, and we have the same offensive football philosophy. But De Rossi was dismissed after four league rounds. At that time, there were rumors that the team and De Rossi had conflicts, but this was not the case. Coach Uric, who later took office, had a completely different football style. He was very similar to Gasperini, but Atlanta is a project that has been built for several years. Uric proposed a football tactic that our physical condition was completely unavailable. In the game against Fiorentina, the team was 50 to 60 meters away from the striker, and we lost that game 1-5. At that time I understood that if you want to play that type of football, you must be fully prepared. After

Ranieri took office, he did a lot of psychological work, because we lost the attitude game at that time and were almost falling into the relegation zone. But Ranieri made some changes well and told us a lot of small details that gave the team a different performance. We won a lot of important games after that, but it was really difficult when you switched three coaches in a season. For strikers, the most important thing is to understand what kind of football the team wants to play.

What kind of coach is Ranieri?

He is an experienced, smart and very detailed coach. Before the game against Milan, he showed us a video where Lazio forward Castellanos deliberately annoyed Calulu in the game against Juventus, resulting in Calulu being sent off with a red card. In the game against Milan, a similar situation occurred between Mancini and S-Jimenez, who was also sent off. This detail makes everything different. We remained unbeaten in 19 rounds of the league, which completely changed our season.

What is the difference between Serie A and La Liga?

I think Serie A is the strongest defensive league, and it pays great attention to tactics and is difficult to deal with. For example, in Spain, your opponent will leave you with more space. And when I came to Italy, I didn't expect to encounter such a big difference at first, and the defenders here will always follow you to defend closely. Juventus' Bremer and Gatti impressed me. Fortunately, I have VAR now, but every time I finish the game, I have a lot of scratches on my body. Italy's defender is not stronger, but more focused.

But you still scored 17 goals for Roma in various competitions this season

I always pay attention to the best forwards in the league, such as Lautaro, Turam Jr., and Lukaku. Whether their goals are about the same as mine, whether their performance this season is bad…it’s not just goals that determine it all. Of course, after winning the La Liga Golden Boot last season, people expected me very much. This season, I gradually adapted to the Serie A, accumulated experience, and got used to playing games at different stadiums that I was not used to in the past. It is different to play in front of 70,000 fans every weekend, and the pressure is also different. Overall this season is very good. I scored 12 Serie A goals in my first season at Roma, and I hope to score more goals in the future.