PRESS ROOM | Zappa’s words

Rossoblu winger Gabriele Zappa met the media after this evening’s Unipol Domus match against Lecce. These are his statements:

FORWARD WITHOUT EXCUSES
“We were missing some key players, the absences weigh heavily, but this shouldn’t be an excuse: each of us goes out on the pitch to give our all, and we’re all up to the task. Too much frenzy? Yes, when you play against a team within your reach, you want to try to win, to score: at times we were too frenetic, which is a shame. We need to get going again immediately.”

FORWARD WITHOUT EXCUSES
“We were missing some key players, the absences weigh heavily, but this shouldn’t be an excuse: each of us goes on the pitch to give our all, and we’re all up to the task. Too much frenzy? Yes, when you play against a team within your reach, you want to try to win, to score: at times we were too frenetic, which is a shame. We need to get going again immediately.”
It’s a tough defeat. Losing is never fun, especially at home against a direct rival. We wanted to win. In the first half, we had a few chances to take the lead, like mine. Perhaps I could have done better, though rewatching it wasn’t that easy. I hit the ball when it was still a bit high. Football is made up of incidents: if we had scored, the game would have taken a different turn. We showed that when we’re ahead, we’re solid; it’s difficult to concede. Instead, they scored, taking advantage of a dead-ball situation. At that point, we weren’t very good at reacting; we dropped off a bit.

LAZIO AT UNIPOL DOMUS
“The schedule immediately presents us with another challenge. On Saturday, we’ll be here again, in front of our fans. We need to rediscover the confidence that accompanied us in that trio of victories against Fiorentina, Juventus, and Hellas Verona, and build on those feelings. Lazio is coming, and three points are up for grabs again. We’ll have to be ready.”

REACTING NOW
We were riding high, but now we’ve had two setbacks, one against a strong team like Roma. There are still a lot of games left, and we certainly can’t give up. We have to take it game by game, obviously without making calculations. At the start of the year, we would all have signed for this position; we’ve picked up 28 points in 25 games. So, no, I’m not worried. Of course, we could have extended our lead today, but it’s a shame, it hurts. But it can happen that we have an off day. I also told my teammates at the end of the game: let’s get our heads up straight away and react. I’ve been here for six years, and I’ve seen a lot. This team, even in the most difficult moments, has always responded, and we will do the same.

ALWAYS THE BEST
“I had a small injury before the match against Juve, fortunately nothing serious, and I was able to recover immediately. Physically, I’m fine. I’ve always played a lot in recent years, but recently a little less. I spoke to the coach about it; in his place, I would have made the same decisions right now. I always try to give my best in training and be ready when called upon. The transfer market? I’ve heard the rumors, too; I’m happy to have stayed here.”