Roma boss demanding lots of ‘passion, heart and belief’

Eusebio Di Francesco has urged his Roma players to give their all as they attempt to “do the unthinkable” and eliminate the Barcelona “machine” from the Champions League.

Edin Dzeko’s late away goal in a 4-1 first-leg defeat at the Nou Camp could prove key as the Serie A club vie to reach the semi-finals at the expense of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and company.

Their preparation for tonight’s showdown at the Stadio Olimpico was not ideal as they lost 2-0 at home to Fiorentina at the weekend, but head coach Di Francesco did manage to rest some key players.

Ahead of the return leg he also teased the return to contention of several wild card options, including Cengiz Under, the young Turk whose scoring streak was interrupted by an injury last month.

Whoever plays, Di Francesco is demanding Barca are faced down with “passion, heart and belief ”.

He said at a pre-match press conference: “We must always play at our best for this shirt, even more so in this game since we have to overturn the scoreline from the first leg. The crowd will be our 12th man, but it’s up to us to get them going.

“We’ll play our strongest line-up against Barcelona. We must play with passion, heart and belief right up until the final whistle if we want to do the unthinkable. We have a duty to give it everything.”

A 3-0 triumph would suffice for the Giallorossi, and they have already subjected a European giant to that treatment this season – thumping Chelsea 3-0 back in October.