PRESS CONFERENCE | Ranieri after Cagliari-Atalanta
Claudio Ranieri applauds his boys and the red-blue crowd after the 2-1 win at Atalanta that gives Cagliari a boost in the salvation race. His words in the belly of Unipol Domus.
THE MATCH
“It’s not an exaggeration to say that we played the perfect game: we started badly, Atalanta know themselves and we knew they would push on the accelerator immediately. We didn’t give up, we squared up and understood how we could obscure their playmakers. The crowd pushed the team, it’s the victory of the people and the boys, all together. Let’s go on like this, we didn’t do anything, a victory that gives us awareness and makes us realise that without giving up we will get to the bottom, but there is still a long way to go”.
RIGHT ATTITUDE
“Atalanta asks you for three times the effort, we played a great game. I asked the boys to put in intensity and desire to fight, that’s the only way we could play against such a great team. I’m satisfied, now let’s erase today’s performance and push again, then the results are the result of many episodes. Emergency up front? Salvation passes through the group, it cemented itself in the initial difficulties where we often lost, it worked hard, never dark faces when someone was on the bench, we are collecting the work of the whole year, the data do not lie, everyone is important from the start or in the match, a sign of a healthy group”.
SMALL STEPS
“I have always told the boys, ever since we came out of the limbo of the last few squares, that destiny is in our hands. After this success we cannot feel satiated. Everyone is fighting and we must have constancy, the salvation fight is beautiful and intense but it is not over yet. These are three very important points, in the first round we had scored 15 and with seven games to go we have equalled that tally. This was a great victory made with a great battle spirit against a very intense and quality team. However, the ship is still not in port. Now we celebrate, but from Tuesday I want my people’s minds already on Inter. And at the San Siro I want to see the same fight. Against Verona there had been the same spirit but we had suffered more. Instead against Atalanta we were able to show our desire”.
CHOICES AND INDIVIDUALS
“I have many choices at the moment, but I have always said that I have a wonderful group of players. Nobody makes a frowny face at my choices. Everyone struggles and everyone strives. As subs, we are the second team after AC Milan in terms of goals scored. I don’t have any goleaders, as everyone got injured at some point in the season, but I have a team that wants its goal and proves it with these tests of those coming in from the bench.”
THE TACTICS
“To win against Gasperini, who is the king of battle spirit, and to win through intensity makes me proud. We did not let ourselves be subdued and responded blow by blow against Atalanta, who are masters at pushing with quality. I am very satisfied. Why the module change? I wanted to attack straight away in the middle and instead they were putting us in too much trouble on the left, so I rearranged things.
THE STRENGTH OF THE PEOPLE
It was the victory of the 16,000 at the Unipol Domus, Atalanta was facing them all. Our people are pushing and blowing at us all the time, they are amazing, home and away, but here in our stadium we have an extra gear and our path proves it.
INDIVIDUALS
“Shomurodov is fine, and he was also fine against Verona, but I took him off for tactical reasons. I have to manage Lapadula, who has some pain in his patellar tendon in particular, we’re also waiting for Pavoletti, Mancosu and Petagna. Shomurodov has leg and attacks space, he, Gaetano and Oristanio did a great job. Augello? At the start with the four-man defence he had to attack and exchange with Gaetano, then with the five-man team he had more freedom to attack and responded very well”.
