Marash Kumbulla has had an impressive season with Espanyol in La Liga. The Albanian national team defender gave an interview to Corriere dello Sport, where he opened up about his future and reflected on his past experiences with coaches José Mourinho and Daniele De Rossi during his time at Roma.
As his loan spell at Espanyol comes to an end this season, Kumbulla admits that his next steps are still uncertain:
“My future? I honestly don’t know. I have no idea. I’m here on loan until the end of the season and I’m really happy. The clubs will decide.”
Speaking about his former club Roma, he added:
“I want to make it clear that I’m very satisfied with how the team and my teammates have found calm and results under Ranieri. Right now, though, my priority is Espanyol. Saving ourselves and staying united with the fans is all I think about. I don’t know exactly what happened in Rome—maybe it was a mix of things—but leaving was something I had to do. I didn’t expect to find myself again in this way, doing well.”
Kumbulla also had words of praise for Mourinho and De Rossi:
“Mourinho is extraordinary, very direct. He can be tough, but he always looks you in the eye and tells you the truth. That helped me grow a lot. I didn’t work with De Rossi for very long, but I like his ideas and his approach. He’s warm when needed and very serious when necessary. A bit like Manolo González—he doesn’t play favorites.”
When asked about Ivan Jurić, his former coach at Hellas Verona, he replied:
“I didn’t expect things to go that way at Roma, because for me Jurić is a good coach and a good person. I have a lot of respect for him. We don’t talk often, but we write to each other from time to time if something important comes up.”
Reflecting on his time in Spain:
“Do I feel different after a year outside Italy? I feel more grown-up, rather than different. It’s an experience I’d recommend to everyone,” concluded the 25-year-old.