PRESS ROOM | Nereo Bonato at the press conference
The sports director of Cagliari, Nereo Bonato, met with the media at the Unipol Domus to take stock after the winter transfer market and to discuss the current situation of the team. The declared goal? To streamline the squad, maintain continuity in the technical project, and build the Cagliari of the future. “We’re here to comment on this transfer session. We tried to address some issues and reduce the number of players in the squad.”
PRATI AND THE YOUNG PLAYERS
“Matteo started as a starter, then he had an injury—somewhat similar to Luvumbo’s—and in the meantime, some things changed, like the formation. Also, the player who took his place performed well. But I see Matteo very focused, and I’m confident that he will do well going forward. If important financial or technical offers had come in, we would have evaluated them, but that wasn’t the case. Prati remains one of our assets, and we are working with him in-house.”
THE DEFENSE AND OFFERS FROM OTHERS
“We knew where we needed to make moves: in goal and in attack. There were no negotiations for the defense, and we didn’t receive any offers for departures. I thank the players who had some ‘market talk,’ but they decided to stay here. This is a strong point for the Club and for the group, as it means there is unity of purpose, a desire to stay here, and to build the Rossoblù’s future.”
THE SEASON SO FAR
“I expected this position for Cagliari, although I thought we would have a few more points, and perhaps we deserved them. We’ve made a few too many mistakes, which in Serie A, you pay dearly for. At this moment, the difference will be made by humility and the desire to stay united, as we did last season and during our promotion to Serie A. The fans are crucial: survival is just one step in our gradual growth, and with our people behind us, it will be easier to achieve.”
MOVEMENTS IN ATTACK
“Nordas? We had been following him for some time, but another club offered double the amount, and after evaluating all aspects, we decided not to make the investment. Instead, we are focusing on Pavoletti and Kingstone. The captain is very important to us, he’s in great shape, and he will definitely help us as always. King is one of our own, and it’s right to work with him because, even last year, when called upon, he was ready. In defense, we’ve chosen to trust the young players Cogoni and Soldati by integrating them into the group. For the rest of the department, we have various solutions and a lot of versatility. The Caprile-Scuffet situation had been planned for a while, considering the technical needs. We needed to recover financial margins to reinforce our attack while staying within the parameters. We’ve always acted consistently, despite limited resources. At the club level, we aim to operate calmly, coherently, and rationally, ensuring continuity in our project.”
HERE IS FLORINEL COMAN
“All the scouts had him in their files. We seized the opportunity as soon as it appeared. With the liquidity ratio frozen, we first needed to free up space, as we did with the sale of Scuffet and the transfer of Lapadula. We needed an attacking winger to complete the department, adding a player who can play in various positions. We’ve always discussed everything with the coach, and there is great cohesion. We made rational moves and believe that this squad is capable of fighting for survival. The second half of the season will tell us what our goals and horizons will be. Right now, it’s difficult to predict everything, but the idea is to build a solid foundation without any major revolutions, showing that we’ve planned gradually based on the resources available. As for free agents? Absolutely not. Rog? He’s had a lot of bad luck in his career, and at Cagliari. Now he’s recovering well at Dinamo Zagreb, and at the end of the season, we’ll evaluate his future. He’s regaining consistency, although he’s not playing regularly, but the important thing is that he’s back in action. Going back to the current squad, we have a quality team to face the second half of the season with confidence. We are building the Cagliari of the future.”
