Rui Patricio says he is honoured to have become a Roma player and is excited to work under Jose Mourinho.
Patricio became Roma’s first signing of the summer recently after joining from Wolves. He has replaced Pau Lopez, who left for Marseille after two inconsistent years with the club.
The Portuguese goalkeeper will be hoping his experience can help him fare better in what has been something of a problem position for Roma in recent years.
After helping Wolves into Europe in his first season there, the former Sporting CP custodian has now taken a step back up to continental level – and is delighted to have done so.
At his introductory press conference, he said: “I am very proud to have got the call from Roma, everyone knows what a great club this is.
“It’s a real honour to represent the club. I am here to do my best and help the side to achieve all its targets.”
Patricio will now face fresh pressures at Roma, where many good goalkeepers have struggled. There is a general feeling that he will solve the problem, although those expectations in turn mean he will be under scrutiny from his first appearance.
However, the 33-year-old is calm and does not feel under the spotlight too much.
“All players, not just the goalkeepers, go to a new club with expectations and a desire to make sure they live up to those expectations. I come here with the same mindset I had when I joined Wolves; I want to work hard and make sure I improve each day in training.
“Beyond that, I’ve only just joined up with the rest of the squad but I’m settling in well, getting to grips with the way of working here. I feel good physically and I can’t wait to help the team.”
Embed from Getty ImagesPatricio was one of first the targets Mourinho wanted to lure to the club and the pursuit was successful – leaving the goalkeeper excited to work under his compatriot.
“For me it’s an honour to have chosen this club and to have a coach like Mourinho to work with […] I will work as hard as I can to adjust to Italian football as quickly as possible.”
To do so, he will have to get to grips with the Italian language – a process that is already underway.
“Communication between the goalkeeper and the other defenders is obviously vital, of course. I’m already learning all the key words so I can strike up that understanding with the defence and help us all to do our best.”
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