Coppa Italia, Mister Pisacane ahead of Cagliari-Hellas Verona

Rossoblù head coach Fabio Pisacane spoke to the Club’s official channels ahead of the Coppa Italia Round of 32 clash against Hellas Verona, scheduled for Thursday 3 September at the Unipol Domus (kick-off 9pm). His words:

SACRIFICE AND PERSONALITY
“What does the match against Inter leave us with? A defeat, so we cannot be satisfied. At the same time, though, there were also some positive indications: the team stayed in the game until the very end, facing a top-level opponent with organisation, sacrifice and personality. We must build on this attitude, while improving the quality of our decision-making and our ability to be more incisive when we win the ball back. Good performances must turn into results.”

ON THE TRANSFER MARKET
“The transfer window is now closed, and all our energy must be focused on the pitch. Sugawara and Nzola complete the squad with qualities we needed: the former gives us quality, pace and experience on the flank; the latter adds strength, runs in behind and an attacking presence. I am happy with the players at my disposal: now it is up to us to become a team as quickly as possible. There are no longer any new players or old players: there is only Cagliari.”

THE MATCH AT THE UNIPOL DOMUS
“I expect a real, intense game against an organised and aggressive team. The Coppa Italia does not give you the chance to make up for mistakes: we must take to the pitch with focus, hunger and the desire to impose our identity. We are playing at home and we want to earn our place in the next round through our performance.”

HELLAS VERONA AND ZAPPA
“Verona are a vertical team, physical, capable of playing with intensity and attacking space well. Baroni is an experienced coach and we know a tough game awaits us. It will be a pleasure to see Gabriele again; we had said we would see each other again after just a few days. He represented Cagliari for many years and left his mark here. From kick-off, however, everyone will defend their own shirt and we will focus exclusively on the game.”

CHOICES AND SOLUTIONS
“Three games in eight days require careful management, but I don’t like talking about rotation: I prefer to talk about opportunities and a squad in which everyone must feel important. There will be some changes, without completely reshaping the team, because the objective is to progress to the next round. We will also assess the new players, taking into account their fitness levels and the short time they have spent with us. Whoever plays has my full confidence. Radunovic will start in goal. As for the absentees, Mina is almost back to full fitness, but he will not be involved in this game; Borrelli is following an individual programme and is being assessed on a daily basis. Kevin Carlos has been granted permission and is in Spain for family reasons. At the moment, we will not be able to field Sugawara as we are still waiting to receive his visa.”