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Paulo Fonseca announces Roma’s new captain after tussle with Dzeko

SS Lazio v AS Roma - Serie A
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AS Roma’s manager Paulo Fonseca has confirmed which player will take over for Edin Dzeko as the club’s captain.

The Giallorossi have been knee-deep in controversy in the past few weeks and we have the latest developments. If you haven’t heard by now, Roma’s manager Paulo Fonseca and Edin Dzeko recently had a falling out in the middle of a training session. The Bosnian striker led some unhappy players as they complained about the sacking of another team manager. Consequently, Dzeko missed out on several group sessions and was left out of the club’s latest fixtures.

Moreover, Tiago Pinto confirmed this Thursday that Edin Dzeko had been stripped of his captaincy. In fact, the club’s general manager even hinted that the 34-year-old striker had broken some of Roma’s rules.

At Roma’s pre-match press conference, Paulo Fonseca decided to shed some light on the matter. The Portuguese manager confirmed Tiago Pinto’s statement and even told journalists who would captain the Giallorossi against Juventus.

“I can’t say more about Dzeko than what Tiago said,” Fonseca stated. “He trained well. But Cristante will be the captain tomorrow. What reinforces the group are the wins and the work in training.”

Borja Mayoral has been an efficient replacement.

Real Madrid’s loanee Borja Mayoral has been in the starting XI for both fixtures that Dzeko didn’t feature in. In fact, the Spanish striker has scored three times on those occasions. Therefore, it’s only natural that Paulo Fonseca should count on Mayoral to repeat the deed against Juventus.

“I know what he can do, he has quality and he is playing well. El Shaarawy will not be there. Pedro played good games at the beginning, but then he got injured. He’s an important player for the team, I like him a lot.”

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