PRESS ROOM | Coach Nicola before Cagliari-Lazio
On the eve of the match against Lazio, coach Davide Nicola spoke at a press conference, analyzing the game and addressing various topics, including the transfer market and the team’s condition.
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THE CHALLENGE AGAINST MARCO BARONI
“We were teammates as well, and I believe Marco is the epitome of all coaches who earn their career through ideas and results. I have a great deal of respect for him and wish him the best. They’ve given him this opportunity now, and I’m happy for him, but of course, we will try to make our qualities count.
THE OPPONENT
“Undoubtedly, we are facing a team that is fighting for the top positions. I expect that those who usually play the most will return for this match. It’s a team with great quality and a lot of dynamism, they know how to attack the width well and play with chain movements. It’s a team that plays, so there’s a chance they will leave some space for us. In the first leg, we played a great match, and we have full confidence in our ideas. I don’t have any particular acronym to present for this game (referring to P.E.P.E. and F.A.M.E. used in previous weeks, ed.), we just need to apply the concepts we’ve discussed before to be efficient and productive.”
TRANSFER MARKET CLOSING
“These are assessments the Club will make: four players have left and one has come in, in a squad that had 26 players at the start of the season. In some positions, we have excellent alternatives, in others, less so. We need to understand how to invest our resources, and I have complete trust in the Director and the Club. If they were to propose a player I’ve already coached, I wouldn’t hesitate because you have everything in front of you and can form a clear idea about the objectives. But I want to emphasize that I trust my director blindly, who knows very well what we need, taking into account the resources available to the club. The fact remains that I’m convinced the working group already has great moral and technical quality.”
LUVUMBO AND MARIN
“Luvumbo has started doing some technical work with the ball, and that’s a good sign. I’m not sure how much longer it will take, but I hope to have him back within a couple of weeks. However, we must consider that someone who’s been out for so long needs time to train and get back to peak form. It wasn’t a serious injury, but it wasn’t trivial either when it comes to an ankle sprain like his. Marin joined the group today; he had a fever, but I will bring him with us.
THE CHALLENGE IN TURIN
“There have been moments during the season when the lack of energy didn’t last the whole game, but there were also times when we weren’t able to express ourselves the way we want. For example, against Udinese, we weren’t able to be sharp, but throughout the whole season, these kinds of matches happen. We are fully aware of what we can do; the challenge is to achieve four consecutive positive results. The key always lies in the balance with which you approach things: over these ten days, we’ve worked a lot on ourselves, also trying new playing solutions. Lazio comes at the right time to assess where we stand. The goal is to always have the right energy and enthusiasm. Fatigue? I’m talking about energy, not kilometers run. Because a team that doesn’t move the right way often ends up running more, but in vain. We’ve spent a lot of energy in the matches leading up to Torino. This is also a challenge for us: we need to be able to stay in the game and get the most out of it, even if we’re not at 100% sharpness. Although, of course, we always prefer to have maximum intensity. In Turin, it’s clear we weren’t able to find the right energy to change the game. When you’re not at your best, you always have to try to get as much as possible from the situation.”
THE DEPARTURES
“I want to publicly thank Lapadula, Azzi, and Wieteska: they gave a lot to the group and to me, even on a personal level. I wish them all the best because they are three real men with whom we shared part of the project. I will always have great memories of them.”
FANS AS PROTAGONISTS
The press conference ended with a question from Filippo Cardinale, a Cagliari fan who signed up for the “Islanders” membership program. The program aims to put fans more at the heart of the Club’s activities, offering them the chance to experience exclusive opportunities. One of these includes attending the press conference alongside journalists and asking a question to the coach or the player of the moment, through the Cagliari Calcio media office. A few weeks ago, Claudio Ranieri made this statement: “My job is beautiful, if only it weren’t for the Sunday match.” Do you feel the same way, or do you look forward to the match as an extra motivation for your work? “Personally, I believe we all live for the match. In life, we generally live for those peak moments: a game, an exam, a challenge you’ve prepared for. We live off adrenaline, and it’s exciting to constantly put ourselves to the test, to challenge ourselves. So, the match is definitely a strong motivation for the work we do every day.
