After his rebirth with Hamrun Spartans, Ante Coric goes back in time to recount the dark years in Rome, where he arrived as a great talent, but left quietly and with deep wounds. In an interview with "Gazzetta dello sport", he talks about the lack of opportunities, the exclusion from the team, and the clashes with former sporting director, Tiago Pinto.
Ante, how did your move to Roma happen?
"I chose Roma after speaking personally with Monchi in Zagreb. The club paid 7 million euros for Dinamo and I signed a five-year contract. I was very happy. Just three years ago, Dinamo had rejected an offer of 17 million euros from Liverpool, because they wanted 50 million. I was only 18 years old and I came to the Olimpico with a crazy desire to show who I was. But everything went wrong," said Çorić.
You only played 51 minutes in total with Roma. Why did this happen?
"I ask myself this question too. If I had played ten games and they said to me: 'Ante, you're not for this level', then I would accept it. But I never had a real chance. I trained well, I was injury-free. Di Francesco spoke well of me at first, but then he left me out all the time. I went and asked him: 'Is it that I don't defend enough?' He just kept repeating: 'You're a good player.' But nothing changed. Although I admit that maybe I didn't always give my best in training, I think I deserved a real chance," said the Croatian midfielder.
You mentioned “depression.” Was the situation really that serious?
"Yes, you could call it depression. It was a terrible period. I was kicked out of the team without Mourinho ever speaking to me and only after a single meeting with Tiago Pinto. I trained alone, entering from a side entrance, on a field where children under 10 were running in front of me. It was a terribly lonely feeling. At one point I even thought about leaving football, especially after the recent knee injury in Croatia," said the former Roma player.
Why are you so angry at Tiago Pinto?
"I only spoke to him once, in 2022. I had just won the title with Zurich and returned to Rome with enthusiasm. I was ready to start a new stage. A French team wanted me and I asked them to find a solution. He said he would sell me, but he wanted a lot of money. From that day on, I didn't speak to him anymore. I wrote to him for a year, but there was always an excuse. He wouldn't let me leave. I still don't understand why. It's not true that I stayed for the money. I was willing to accept a pay cut just to play," said the Croatian national team player.
How do you feel today, looking back in time?
"It's painful, but also part of life. I suffered a lot as a young man. At the age of 12 I was training with Chelsea, but I refused to go to London alone. At the age of 16 I came first in the trials with Bayern, but it was too early. Then Dinamo took me, where I felt like one of the best in the world. Arsenal, Liverpool, Sarri's Napoli were looking for me. At that time I felt like Yamal today, with the conviction that I could do anything," said Çorić.
Do you still believe you can reach the top?
"Yes, I believe. I'm only 28 years old. In my head, I still see myself playing for Barcelona. Everything is possible," he concluded.
