Antoine Makoumbou with Il Corriere dello Sport

“The first leg match against Frosinone? The most beautiful day since I’ve been in Serie A. Scoring that goal was a bit like realizing a dream I had since I was a child: reaching such an important league and being able to score. Then Pavoletti took care of giving us the victory: that comeback represented a great sign of maturity for the team.” Cagliari midfielder Antoine Makoumbou shared his thoughts with Il Corriere dello Sport, in newsstands today. Here’s an excerpt from his words:

THE STRENGTH OF THE FANS
“Our fans always manage to give us that extra strength, both physically and mentally, that helps you on the field. Victories like the one against Frosinone are our way of thanking them, making those who are always close to us happy and never lacking in their support.”

COACH’S ADVICE
“I feel like an important player in this group, but I know I still have a lot to grow, I want to improve in many aspects: I need to play more vertically and speed up the game, predict what the opponent intends to do so as to anticipate their moves, shoot more often. I’m working on it thanks to the coach’s advice. Everything he tells me is important to me, and I try to put it into practice. I admire his calmness, the ability to be a father figure for all of us.”

SAFETY OBJECTIVE
“Staying in Serie A with Cagliari is the primary goal. I would like to achieve it by helping the team with plays and assists, maybe even for my friend Luvumbo. We miss him here, but I wish him to go as far as possible with Angola in the Africa Cup.”

AWARENESS AND CONFIDENCE
“Sunday in Frosinone will be a very complicated match. We are preparing for it in the best way, and we should face it with the right attitude. They play excellent football, have fast and agile players. They run a lot and develop the action vertically. But we have the great confidence that the victory against Bologna has given us.”