Roma Coach Paulo Fonseca has remarked that Gambian Ebrima Darboe is the catalyst to the Italian Serie A side’s strong finish to the season.
Since making his debut in a 2-0 defeat at Samporia with an eight-minute cameo, Darboe, 19, replaced the injured Chris Smalling on the half-hour mark in a 3-2 defeat of Manchester United in the semifinals of the UEFA Europa League. The Gambian, who arrived in Italy as an unaccompanied migrant in 2015, never looked back and started the last three consecutive matches for the Giallorossi.
After playing 80 minutes on his full debut in a 5-0 annihilation of Crotone, the youngster was given another 88 minutes against champions Inter Milan and on his first Rome derby at home to Lazio, the Bakoteh-born holding midfielder lasted the whole game for the very first time in a 2-0 win at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday night. In the five matches he has been involved in, the Roman soldiers won three and lost two.
And speaking in a post-match interview following the 2-0 Derby della Capitale win, Fonseca, who would be replaced by his compatriot Jose Mourinho in the Roma dugout next season, described Darboe as a rare talent who at his young age is so confident and calm on the ball.
“I think we improved with the arrival of Darboe. He is young, with such courage, always looking forward and he helped the whole team to improve by changing the balance. The system change made a difference, but to be perfectly honest, this young lad made the difference too. It’s rare to find someone so young who is so confident and calm on the ball,” Fonseca was quoted by DAZN as reported on Football Italia.
“With an extra man in midfield, the team feels more comfortable and Darboe provides some defensive protection. We were also focused throughout and made no errors. We obviously wish we’d had that focus throughout the season, but this is not the time for regret.”
Roma have transformed beyond recognition since that Europa League win over the Red Devils by abandoning their more usual three-man defense for a 4-2-3-1 after Darboe replaced the English defender. He’s the youngest Gambian to ever play in a European Cup match and is expected to cap up a rollercoaster season with a fairytale ending when he finally makes his much-awaited Scorpion’s derby at a two-week training camp in Antalya, Turkey next month.
Roma fans also chipped in and one social media user Dler Roma said he didn’t want to hype Darboe in the first couple of games but said playing the derby is such maturity is unbelievable, adding that Mourinho can turn the Gambian into the next Michael Essien.
“Darboe made me think of a mixture of Essien and Makelele tonight. What a game. Let’s hope he keeps improving under Mourinho,” another Yvan Mulone added. “Darboe is truly a late discovery. He changed our midfield 180 degrees. Mourinho is very lucky because that’s a new signing for him,” Mahmoud Ali added.