INTERVIEW | Gaetano with the media

Rossoblu midfielder Gianluca Gaetano met with the media following the open-door training session held this afternoon at the CRAI Sport Center. He said:

ALL TOGETHER FOR THE GOAL
I’m fine, I feel 100%, like I haven’t felt in a long time: the break has certainly helped everyone, me and the team, both mentally and physically. We’ve recovered some players who were injured, with the possibility of perhaps having them back with us. This is certainly a very important aspect: in this crucial phase of the season, the more we have, the better. Recovering those who were out means, for example, bringing more experience and more solutions to this very young group, both from the start and during the match. Now we must all go together and fight, suffer, to achieve what we want most of all.

HUNGER AND COURAGE
The team is doing well, we’re fired up. We have eight more games ahead of us, and we’ll have to tackle them at our best, with all our strength. We’ve earned thirty points in thirty games: that means we’re on average within the relegation zone, but we’ve also had some difficulties along the way. We haven’t won in seven games: the injury situation shouldn’t be an excuse, but there were at least three games where we were really outnumbered. We messed up in some games: I’m thinking of Lecce and Pisa. Overall, though, this team has always given everything. Now we need to do something more to get the points we need to stay up: we’ll need more hunger, even more courage.

THE MATCH IN REGGIO EMILIA
“We have some important matches coming up, crucial for our progress, I’d say. First Sassuolo, then Cremonese. We have a tough match in Reggio Emilia on Saturday: they’re having a great season. To take home some points, we’ll have to put in a great performance and give it our all. I hope to have some chances to score, maybe even from outside the box; I did well in training today. I’ll have to be ready.”

GAETANO AS A PLAYMAKER
I feel great as a point guard; it’s the role I’ve always wanted to play. Having only recently started in that position, I know I need to improve. I’m working on it day after day: it’s slowly getting better. It’s a position that has its own unique challenges, both technically and athletically: being constantly in the thick of the action forces you to run a lot, both defensively and offensively. From a technical perspective, you have additional responsibilities: when you’re looking for a play, danger is always around the corner; losing the ball in that area of ​​the pitch exposes the team to a pass.

THE NATIONAL TEAM
“I watched the national team’s match against Bosnia: there’s a lot of disappointment. We won’t see Italy at the World Cup for the third time in a row, it’s truly disappointing. I think the team gave everything yesterday; it wouldn’t be fair to say otherwise. Then there were the incidents on the pitch: the sending off, the penalties, which are always a lottery. Let’s look ahead; Italy’s time will come again.”