Monchi and Federico Fazio have been reunited. The Argentine defender previously played for the sporting director in Sevilla starting in 2007, this is what he told Roma's official site about his experiences with him:
The first time I met Monchi I was 19 years old. It was one of the last days of the January transfer window in 2007 and I had just landed in Sevilla. It would prove to be the turning point in my career.
Until that moment I was just a young guy who had only played in the second division in Argentina, and a couple of times with Argentina’s different age groups. Now I was joining a big Spanish club.
He came and met me at the airport. I remember he explained why there was a palpable feeling of tension around the city, because the next day there was going to be the derby against Real Betis in the Copa del Rey.
After I’d landed and arrived at the club, I sat down with him properly and we signed all the contracts. Monchi explained to me that he had discovered me thanks to one of his scouts, who had watched me playing with Argentina’s Under-20 side.
I got to know him well over time. He was always very present around the training ground. Every day he would come out to the training pitch and watch the squad out there working.
With the players he always had a great relationship. He did not speak a lot with the group in the dressing room, he preferred to have individual relationships and discussions with his players, to keep in touch on a personal level.
After my transfer to England [with Tottenham] we kept in touch, and he also came to London to discuss my return to Andulucia a few years later, where I played another six months for Sevilla.
I think he did an extraordinary job in the 17 years he was sporting director. It’s far from easy to improve and develop a club like Sevilla, especially in the way he managed to do it. He is a great professional, a tireless operator, and his hard work was absolutely fundamental to the five European trophies, two when it was called the UEFA Cup and three more recently as the Europa League.
I have no doubt he will help to make Roma an even bigger and stronger club than it already is. I think he will be ready for the culture of the city and the atmosphere around the club, as the way of the living in Italy, and the way of looking at football, is very similar to how it is in Spain.
He will also be used to the pressure and expectations of fans, because at Sevilla as well the fans always expected to win. I hope he will help us to win a number of trophies.
