PRESS ROOM | Mister Pisacane with the media

Cagliari Head Coach Fabio Pisacane met the media for the first time ahead of the new season. Speaking in the press room at the CRAI Sport Center in Assemini, at the end of the first phase of the club’s 2026/27 pre-season training camp, the Rossoblù coach reflected on the opening days of preparation and looked ahead to the weeks to come. Starting tomorrow, following the morning training session, the team will continue its pre-season work with a ten-day camp in Pontedilegno.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE NEW PRE-SEASON CAMP
“We’re starting from a very different place compared to a year ago, when we had to build and instil shared ideas and working methods within the group. Today we already have a work ethic and a mentality that have been developed over time. My job isn’t to defend what we achieved last season, but to build Cagliari’s future. In football, what matters is what you do today, and that’s what has to keep us alive, motivated and ready to restart with even greater conviction and quality. At the beginning there’s always a certain amount of scepticism, both towards me and every coach starting a new season. You always have to prove yourself again and strive to improve. That’s the beauty of football, and of life in general.”

A TEAM BUILT ON SOLID FOUNDATIONS
“I’m very pleased with this first phase of pre-season. We quickly replaced the players we lost in areas that had been weakened. We said goodbye to important players such as Mazzitelli and Folorunsho, who weren’t owned by the club, as well as Gaetano, but we’ve brought in players who satisfy me and who have the quality to carry on their legacy. This team isn’t starting from scratch. It has developed an important work ethic and mentality. Over these days in Assemini, despite the intense heat, the players have been outstanding. They’ve approached every training session with commitment, enthusiasm and without a single complaint. That’s an important sign of their determination to achieve new objectives.”

THE SEASON’S OBJECTIVES
“Our primary objective remains securing our Serie A status, but we want to raise the bar. I won’t make promises about where we’ll finish in the table because that would be the wrong approach. The priority is to take Cagliari as high as possible. I’m convinced that this season Cagliari won’t simply be one of the league’s surprises, but a team that every opponent will have to prepare for with great care. Last season we showed that we could cause problems for anyone, and we want to keep growing.”

THE MENTALITY REMAINS THE SAME
“I can’t live off what we achieved last season. If last year was successful, it was because certain qualities within us compensated for other difficulties. The biggest risk would be believing we’ve suddenly become a better team. When a player starts thinking that way, it creates both individual and collective dangers. If four or five players adopt that mentality, things become very complicated. This team still has to keep digging deep. We must continue pushing ourselves to the limit to reach our goals. Hunger will make the difference.”

THE TRANSFER MARKET AND WORKING WITH THE CLUB
“The club and I are perfectly aligned, just as we were last season. This year we have a different plan, and the Sporting Director has done an excellent job. As soon as some players left, he moved quickly to complete important signings, bringing in players who fit our requirements and our way of working right from the start. I’ve heard many names linked with Cagliari. I suggested a few to the Sporting Director myself. In midfield we’ve almost completely achieved what we wanted. Up front we’re evaluating several profiles, but I don’t want to mention names until they’re officially our players. We’ve done what we wanted to do so far, and we’ll complete what we still want to do. The transfer window is still long, and there’s no need to rush into filling every position immediately. The important thing is making the right choices. We know exactly which roles may still need strengthening. Football and the transfer market are constantly evolving, and I want to assess everyone, including players who today might appear likely to leave.”

THE STRIKER STILL TO COME
“We’re looking for a forward with different characteristics from the ones we already have in the squad. I’d like a complete striker, someone capable of linking play while also being a clinical finisher inside the penalty area. That’s the final piece I’d like to add to our attacking department. The club knows that, as do the Sporting Director and the scouting department, who are doing everything possible to make it happen. We’re not in a hurry. We also have several players we want to develop: Kingstone did very well in Austria, Mendy and Trepy impressed in their first appearances, and Borrelli scored five goals in his first Serie A season. The club knows we’ll need to strengthen that department, but it’s right to evaluate everything carefully.”

THE SQUAD AND INDIVIDUAL PLAYERS
“We’re waiting for Mina to return. In defence, Deiola can also be a reliable option in that role. We’ll continue evaluating players such as Raterink and Grandu, whom I know very well and who particularly intrigue me. Mattia Felici deserves football to give something back after everything that happened to him at the best moment of his career, and he can become a very important weapon for us. Di Paolo is one of those young players who could convince me to keep him in the first-team squad. He has quality and excellent technical ability, but every assessment has to be made carefully and objectively. As for Idrissi, we’re waiting for him to return. He should be back training with the group around the middle of August. I’m convinced that both he and Felici will come back even hungrier.”

CAPRILE, A LEADER FOR CAGLIARI
“Elia has come back with a smile on his face. For me he’s a charismatic leader as well as a top-class goalkeeper. Today he’s a Cagliari player, and I hope to start the league season with him between the posts.”

FAREWELL TO BELOTTI
“I’m truly sorry for Andrea, first of all as a person and then as a footballer. I sincerely hope he can return soon to doing what he loves. As for the transfer market, all the players know how I think: everyone is important, but no one is indispensable. The Cagliari badge always comes first. That’s a principle I would have regardless of which team I was coaching. It applies to Belotti just as it does to Gaetano, whom I greatly appreciated both as a person and as a player. If a player feels it’s time to take the next step in his career and believes that journey has to continue away from Cagliari, then it’s right that he follows his own path. The club and I can do everything possible to keep a player if we believe he’s important to our project, but only up to a certain point if the player has decided to make a different choice.”

PALESTRA’S LEGACY AND TACTICAL EVOLUTION
“What we built with Palestra is a tactical framework that we can always return to in the future. Football is dynamic and fluid, and that structure remains an option. Today, however, after a full year of work, I have a much clearer understanding of the squad at my disposal. We have a well-defined mentality and players with great quality, especially in midfield. I’ve always said that I’m willing to adapt to the characteristics of the squad. In the end, though, it’s always the results that determine the true value of what we produce on the pitch.”