Mario Hermoso, who left this summer, has surprisingly become a pillar of Gian Piero Gasperini’s Roma side.

The Grugliasco-born coach placed his faith in him, and the Spanish defender has repaid his faith with performances brimming with leadership.

The former Atlético Madrid player, who arrived last season on a free transfer, has played 30 games, scoring three goals and one assist. These numbers reflect the consistency he failed to find a year ago between Roma and Bayer Leverkusen.

Mario Hermoso, on the sidelines of the Elvis Lives event at La Rinascente, spoke about the final days of the championship with a hint of bitterness regarding the current sixth-place finish: “We’re in the final sprint, we’d like to achieve a better position like the one we’ve enjoyed for much of the season.”

The Roma defender, however, doesn’t want to surrender to fate and hopes to return to fourth place: “As long as there are games and points to be had, we’ll try until the end.”