“Rinse your mouth before talking about Motta” – Flashback to De Rossi’s outburst in 2016 | OneFootball

This evening, Thiago Motta and Daniele De Rossi will cross paths on the sidelines when Juventus and Roma lock horns at the Allianz Stadium.

The two men are among the youngest managers in Serie A. They were also teammates in the Italian national team a few years back.

Their time together at the Azzurri included an infamous incident where De Rossi staunchly defended the then-Paris Saint-Germain midfielder against critics in the media.

This dates back to 2016 when Motta was handed the Azzurri’s iconic Number 10 jersey.

“Whoever enjoys ridiculing Thiago on the web should come and play with him, then rinse his mouth,” thundered De Rossi at the time, recalls La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“He is someone who has won everything, who has absolute experience at the international level. On a technical standpoint, no one here deserves the number 10 more than him.

“Of course, in terms of characteristics, he is not a Totti,  a Baggio or a Del Piero, but everyone must be themselves.

“Shirt numbers are important when you are young, they are frivolous things, then there is superstition.

“I also had the number 10 in the national team, I took it, without wanting it, for a geopolitical reason.

“Thiago did not choose this shirt, he accepted it, because he is made like me, it certainly was not his dream, but he accepted it because he is someone who never creates problems.”

Motta didn’t forget the Roman’s stance, alluding to it in yesterday’s pre-match press conference.

“Daniele is someone who knows how to go against popular opinion, as it happened when they gave me the number 10 in the national team, and he, going against everyone, gave a different opinion.

“He could have avoided it, but instead he did it and I am grateful to him both for the teammate he was and because he defended me in a difficult moment.

“This is Daniele, this is why he is in a great club like Roma. So I thank him once again.”

Motta was born and raised in Brazil, but eventually declared for Italy on the senior level. He made his Azzurri debut in 2011, and went on to garner 30 caps.