PRESS ROOM | Coach Pisacane before Sassuolo

On the eve of Sassuolo-Cagliari, Rossoblù coach Fabio Pisacane presented the match from the CRAI Sport Center before leaving for Reggio Emilia, analyzing the team’s current form, the opponent, and possible lineup choices.

FIGHTING FOR RETENTION AND OPPONENT
“I don’t draw tables, as I’ve always said. I don’t focus on numbers or projections, but on getting back to scoring and possibly winning. After 31 games, we all have to fight together for survival, without making calculations. Sassuolo? I expect a quality, carefree team, with excellent performances, especially from midfield onwards, where they have little to envy of many teams on the left side of the table. They know how to hurt you in transition, with a low center of gravity to maximize offensive runs. We’ll have to be very careful, especially in the final third of the pitch. We’re facing a strong team, with excellent players. It will be a delicate and important match where we’ll have to be ready to play our cards. The first leg? I rewatched everything; it must be said that before Laurienté’s free kick, it was a balanced match. We had a goal disallowed for a millimeter offside, and we had created the conditions to score. We tried to sting in the final third, perhaps more out of inertia than actual skill. structured way, but if I have to look at the path, the first leg is not the one I see as one of the most negative for my Cagliari”.

APPROACH ISSUE
“Sassuolo conceded more goals than us in the first 15 minutes, but they’re still a team with a strong standing. We definitely need to improve our approach: we need concentration and cunning. We have a lot of young players, but even they, after thirty games, need to be adults and ready. We on the staff are also working hard to limit certain critical issues. Absences? Those who have played have never been undeserving. In a team like ours, everyone needs to feel important. At this point in the season, talking about absentees and presenters makes little sense, and we would be inconsistent with what we’ve been saying in recent months. Let’s focus on giving our all to achieve our goal.”

PLAYERS
Everyone who gets on the plane can help, from the start or during the match. Belotti is coming with us but still has to complete his recovery. Mendy is a resource, he has great potential, he must continue to work and believe he can make a difference even from the start. Hugging Deiola again before he came on to the pitch against Napoli was emotional, he represents this land, he is an example for everyone along with his teammates, he hasn’t played 90 minutes yet but he can start. Mina has worked well in the last two weeks, he is one of those who can lead the team and shift the balance. Kılıçsoy and Obert? We met them again yesterday, we will make the final assessments with the staff this evening, if they are ready to start we will see them from the start otherwise we will make other choices. Palestra and Caprile? The mood wasn’t the best, it’s easy to imagine, not for those who watched from home. We think of them as part of that group and that experience; they returned with the desire to react for their club where the situation is certainly not optimal given the latest news. defeats but there is still a way to change things unlike the Italian situation in view of the World Cup”.

ITALIAN NATIONAL TEAM OUT OF THE WORLD CUP AND ITALIAN FOOTBALL CRISIS
We’re all sad and disheartened by what happened on Tuesday. I believe we need to stand together to change things, uniting as individual components of the football system. Italy is a strong country that will bounce back and return to its footballing glory, but we can only do so if we all pull together. I was twenty when Italy won the last World Cup, and less than thirty when they last participated, in 2014. I think of my children who have never seen the national team at the World Cup, and it makes me uneasy. We all need to work together to improve things and get back to what we were: a role model for everyone.