Radja Nainggolan returned back to his native Belgium for the first time in his professional club playing career, having spent virtually all his life plying his trade in Italy for Piacenza, Cagliari, Roma and Inter.
The energetic and versatile central midfielder, who now plays at Royal Antwerp, has disclosed in an exclusive interview with La Reppublica about the fact that he misses life in Italy, along with the coach who he believes helped him most to grow as a player, and several other topics.
“I miss Italy, my friends, the restaurants, the people. The level of Serie A is different from here. Also at San Siro. Once there you would find Pirlo, Seedorf, Thiago Silva, if you conceded three goals you would go home with a smile,” he started.
Nainggolan shed light on the Roma of today, led by the enigmatic Jose Mourinho, all the while comparing it to the players who held the ranks during his days at the club.
“Zaniolo is a great player, but when the team does not play well against the big clubs, and in the last few years Roma have won only a handful of them, even he does not make a difference. We had players with personality, an infinity of them: Dzeko, Totti, De Rossi, Strootman, Salah, Alisson. The regret is having set the record of points and not having won anything.”
“I think Mourinho’s a great person, his players told me he can win you over just by talking. And he says direct things. Sometimes he has outings that can hurt the players: some you can slaughter if you say they are not up to par. With others, like me, it works.” he continued.
He also revealed which manager had the most impact on him as a player.
“Spalletti. With him, I had the best year of my career, both as a team and as an individual,” he revealed.
Nainggolan won the Scudetto last season with Inter, although he played just four league games under Antonio Conte during the 2020/21 season. He recalled the time in 2016 when the now Tottenham Hotspur manager visited the Italian capital to lure him away from the Giallorossi.
“It was 2016, he came to Rome to talk to me, he said “Look, I want to play like this, like this and I need you for it.” He already said he wanted Lukaku. But they thought I was earning less: no offer could possibly make me want to leave Roma,” he disclosed.
One can read the full interview here.