PRESS ROOM | Mister Nicola before Cagliari-Lecce
On the eve of Cagliari-Lecce, coach Nicola addressed the media in the press room of the CRAI Sport Center to preview the match. Here are his comments.
THE UNIPOL DOMUS PUSH
“It will be an important match because both teams are fighting for the same goal. We will play to take all three points, and that’s how it should be. We’ll need to have F.A.M.E, which for me stands for strength to attack, but with a lot of balance. Tomorrow, our people, our fans, can give us a huge boost. We will need strength and energy, but without succumbing to hysteria or haste. Matches like these are made of key moments: at any point, either team can make the right play. We need to be united with our fans, who should give us the strength and confidence to express our qualities to the fullest. We need to be good at putting ourselves in their shoes.”
LEAVE IT ALL ON THE FIELD
“The draw at San Siro changes nothing; the standings show that we are second to last. We know very well that this is a moment where we need to push and stay calm: we take it one game at a time. It’s important to give value to every match without focusing too much on the individual result or the standings right now. We’ll think about that in April. For now, we just need to give our all with all our strength.”
A RESILIENT LECCE
“The Lecce team has always shown to be solid, with balance and quality players. Since Giampaolo arrived, a coach I highly appreciate and respect for his ideas, they’ve achieved some important results. We remember the first-leg match, where we felt we deserved more, but it also made us realize that we needed to improve on certain aspects. Lecce under Gotti had different tactical choices, mainly playing with two strikers in a 4-4-2, but this has now changed, and the team often plays with a 4-3-3, which creates intensity in the midfield. The personnel has also changed, for example, on the right flank. It’s a team that focuses on vertical play, with three key attacking players up front.”
INDIVIDUALS
“Jankto, like everyone else, can be called up or not, can play or not. Sometimes these are technical decisions, other times I want to send messages to the players to make them understand that they need to give more. Mina? He’s had some minor injuries, but he’s always been present. He didn’t play against Milan because he needed to recover from an ankle knock, but he trained regularly with the team this week. Felici made an impression? We already knew him. His was a gradual integration process, and now he has the chance to seize the opportunities to play as a starter. This means facing new challenges, including maintaining consistency and meeting expectations. He’ll need to take another step forward, but I’m confident that if he keeps this mindset, he can stand out even more.”
“DESIRE TO IMPROVE
“Among the players we have available, I really like their great ability to improve, their desire to push past their limits. It’s important that they maintain this drive and enthusiasm. We have reliable players who are perfectly complementary in their respective roles. I don’t speak of dualisms, because for me, everyone has the same importance. Augello and Obert have played together multiple times, and both will be equally useful from now until the end of the season. I believe Gaetano is on the verge of breaking through, he just needs to stay calm—emotionally, I already see a difference in him.”
