PRESS ROOM | Nicola after Cagliari-Lecce
These are the words of Davide Nicola, coach of Cagliari, speaking to the media after the home win against Lecce. These are his words.
ANALYSIS
” Lecce is very well-organized, the first half was like a chess game. We could have capitalized earlier, but then we lost focus and they were good at taking advantage. We didn’t lose our conviction and came back, even with the substitutions, but everyone who comes in is a starter in every sense. We didn’t overdo it with fancy play, just passing the ball without excess. I don’t think we need to get slapped in the face to react; sometimes an incident can have an impact, but at times we went ahead and were then caught up. In short, what matters is to persevere without getting too carried away or too down. At halftime, we said it to ourselves, and we knew we had to be quicker, playing wider.”
THE MATCH
“Credit to Lecce for the first half, where they sometimes put us in difficulty. They pressed with the right timing, didn’t give us space, and we created opportunities to score, but after the disallowed goal, we lost intensity and concentration for five minutes and were punished. In the second half, I’m particularly happy because we came back to an equal footing, then, of course, it became easier with the numerical advantage. We didn’t overdo it with fancy play, we fought and pushed, doing the right things. The players were great.”
EVERYONE IS IMPORTANT
“He’s considered important by all of us from the first day he stepped foot here. Some already knew him, I had never coached him before, but it’s not that I don’t like talking about individual players, it’s just that we have 20 valid players, and today it was evident with the substitutions. We are a team that doesn’t rely on just 11 players, but on 18-20 players. These are the starters of Cagliari.”
NO EXUBERANCE
“Basically, at the halfway point we analyzed and saw that in some games we conceded more due to our own mistakes than because of the opponents’ merits. The opponents are already good, but if we gift them opportunities, it becomes very difficult. We’ve focused on this, on improving certain flaws, working every day. When you win, everything seems perfect and improved, but we’ve faced big teams before Monza, so we have to keep our heads down and keep working because the road is long and must be approached without getting too carried away or getting down.”
THE GROUP
“Gaetano? When someone does well or scores, people always think it’s something special, but in reality, we are a well-rounded group where everyone is important. The group celebration for Gianluca? This is always very important for all teams because it’s through this empathy that results are built. I think of Pavoletti, who, when he was called to come on, was concerned that Piccoli would be taken off because he wanted him to score. But we already knew that Zortea, who was booked, would be the one to come off. These kinds of attitudes are often more important than a training session.”
INDIVIDUALS AND ATTITUDE
“My words from yesterday about the fans? I knew they would give us a huge boost, just like we knew we could put Lecce in difficulty and that we might have to suffer at times. The substitutions? We needed something different at a certain point, and we’re happy with what everyone is contributing. With substitutions, the post-match analysis is always tricky because if you win, everything seems to be spot on, or the opposite if you lose, but that’s how it works. Luperto? An exemplary professional, I knew him and he gives us a lot. But many others are also giving a lot, I think of Zappa, who like Luperto, plays almost every game, or other players like Obert and Felici, who have been playing consecutively for several matches. We move forward with confidence, the standings are very tight and compact, so today it’s important to stay focused in a particularly challenging league like never before.”
