De Rossi and the high cost of breakfast. The new docuseries “Radici”

“Whilst editing, I felt embarrassed listening to myself. I speak with too strong a Roman accent. But it brings out the most authentic part of me – that of a lad from Ostia who speaks fluently.” How could the Roman accent be missing from Daniele De Rossi’s story? Indeed, from his “Radici”, the title of the docuseries due to be released on 19 November on Sky Primafila and Now. Seven episodes that trace the former Roma captain’s first year and a half as owner of Ostiamare, the club where he took his first steps as a footballer before embracing the great love of his life. It is no coincidence that this return to his roots came after the sudden break-up with that great love he has never renounced: “I’ve always dreamt of buying Ostiamare and had been approached several times in the past,” he said during the presentation of the series, produced by DDR Media and Damocle in collaboration with Sky. “I’d been sacked by Roma in September (2024, ed.) and the first contacts were made in November. I knew I wouldn’t be approached straight away by another Serie A team; I had time to devote to the project and, without realising it, I was seeking another dream after the end of the first one.”

It begins with the risk of failure – “Ostiamare is finished” is one of the phrases heard at the start of the trailer – and ends with promotion from Serie D to Serie C. This isn’t a spoiler because, as they say in these cases, the beauty lies in the journey. It lies in watching a former footballer and a budding coach go on to become president as well. “Alongside the dream lies responsibility,” is the testimony of someone who found himself waiting for new changing rooms, designing the shirts for the following season, consoling, reprimanding and motivating the players, and cutting unnecessary costs. “At first I thought I’d recreate what I’d experienced during my career at Roma and with the national team, but there are costs involved. I’ve rediscovered the world of my childhood – the beauty of the straightforward, no-frills football played by amateurs, its more intimate nature and its closeness to the people.” A fundamental concept of the documentary: “You go back to the essence of football,” De Rossi tells his team during a barbecue at the training ground. In another scene—one of the funniest—De Rossi and his right-hand man, Luca Beccaceci, discuss the impact of breakfasts on the budget. “Having to think like an owner is an advantage,” the Genoa manager tells journalists at the Sky Campus, “because it allows you to engage with every area of the club, starting with those who manage the figures. You understand the dynamics and where the difficulties arise – the same ones faced by Serie A clubs, despite the figures being completely different.”

Dan Sucu, the Rossoblù chairman, will be pleased to have such an understanding counterpart. Relations are already good: “Sooner or later, everyone gets sacked. Genoa have bucked the trend so far; they didn’t sack me when it would have been madness not to,” he said, referring to the many managerial changes in the first 11 matchdays of Serie A. De Rossi has already experienced the precarious nature of the manager’s job, yet “I’m almost having more fun now than when I was playing”. His priorities are clear: “My commitment to Ostiamare won’t influence my future decisions, not even if I were torn between an offer from abroad and one in Italy. There are aeroplanes and video calls, and I make no secret of the fact that one of my goals is precisely to manage in a foreign league.” Management as a vocation. “The only thing that might hold me back is being away from my family. But we’ve made a pact amongst ourselves and sooner or later we’ll be back together as a family. Not always being close by is emotionally draining.”

Finding himself behind the cameras for the first time, it was inevitable that he would face the judgment of his wife, the actress Sarah Felberbaum: “When she saw the first two episodes, she tore them to shreds. But then she was very happy with the final result and with how my personality came across.” A person who has decided to reveal himself for the first time from a different perspective: “I’ve never been afraid of the spotlight on the pitch, but I have been a bit wary of the one off the pitch. I’ve never been interested in telling my story through autobiographies; there, you tend to show only the best side of yourself. Here, the protagonist is Ostia.” The neighbourhood that gives Rome access to the sea, a city within a city, a place which, like so many others, needs to safeguard and restore the spaces where a community thrives. Starting with the football pitch. “It’s true that today’s youngsters are very different from us. Even I, had I been born in recent years, would probably have spent more hours in front of a screen and fewer in the pine forest where I used to play. When you play sport, however, there’s a sort of return to one’s roots. We have more modern balls and boots, but the spirit is the same as it was fifty years ago – ‘old-fashioned’ in the most positive sense of the word.” There are still young people who cry over a lost regional final in Ladispoli or get angry about a penalty the coach wouldn’t let them take. That’s why the advice of those who experienced these situations until just a few years ago is still valid: “With the lads, whilst emphasising respect for roles, I never put any distance between us; I didn’t let my own experience weigh on them.” There’s another thing he didn’t do, reveals someone who worked with him on the documentary: take to the pitch with them. “We were waiting for him to be tempted to kick a ball, but he held back whenever one came near him.” “I don’t feel like playing any more; since I retired, I’ve only played one match because of sponsorship commitments. I’d misread the contract.” He’s joking, but not entirely: “I’ve always seen football as a competitive sport; it’s awful to see yourself with a paunch at matches between former stars.”

It is more appropriate to manage Genoa and focus on Ostiamare, without ever stopping loving Roma: “I don’t have to hide anything; it would be silly to do so. The things I do aren’t at odds with one another; I love my life as it is now and I don’t regret the past.” Not least because the future is full of dreams to fulfil: “At my first away match at Seravezza-Pozzi (Lucca), there were three supporters. I’d like a lad from Ostia, 30 years from now, to call himself an Ostiamare supporter and talk about the outpouring of love for this team.”