PRESS ROOM | Palestra’s words

At the end of the match against Atalanta, Rossoblu full-back Marco Palestra spoke to the media. These are his words:

CONSTANT IMPROVEMENT
“Lookman was definitely a tough call today. We worked well as a team. I’m trying to improve both defensively and on the counterattack, and I have to thank the coach and my teammates for that. The coach always has kind words for me, which I think is a positive thing. I’m focused on Cagliari and on doing well in this jersey. Praise is nice. I’m not thinking about the future, just about my daily work in this jersey.”

RETURN TO BERGAMO
“I thank everyone for the welcome and the compliments. It’s disappointing not to have earned any points; we deserved it. I grew and improved in Bergamo last year, even though I didn’t play much in my first year. I’m delighted to be at Cagliari because it’s going very well. I’m playing, and I sincerely thank the entire team for how I’ve felt since day one. Let’s start again with our performance, with the ideas we’re implementing, and with a consistently positive and proactive attitude. Today, we showed once again that we can secure the points needed to avoid relegation anywhere, which is our main objective and something we hope to achieve as soon as possible.”

CAGLIARI ALIVE
“We always fight, even against high-level opponents. We know how to suffer and stay in the game. We work hard, and our spirit is the foundation for our daily work and for the journey to the end of the season and the achievement of our goal. There’s a lot of disappointment in the locker room; we always want to get points. We’re sad, but we’re also aware that we’ve once again proven our worth.”

SPECIAL FANS
“We have an extraordinary crowd, the stadium is always full: today there were so many, there’s unceasing support at home and away, so we have to work to make them happy.”

REGRET AND A DESIRE TO REACT
“There’s always room for improvement, even when you win, especially if you fail to pick up points. We must also look at the many positives and have faith in the future, starting with Sunday’s match against Pisa.”

PERSONAL JOURNEY
I’m enjoying consistency. Last year I didn’t have it, but the conditions were different—obviously—in an Atalanta team that was at the top of the league and had so many great players. I’m gaining experience, and I’m capitalizing on last season and these past months in Cagliari. I’m pleased to have received a positive reception from the Atalanta fans today. It was certainly unusual to face Bernasconi as an opponent. I hope we can both continue to grow and carve out our own paths in top-level football. The Under-23s definitely help you grow. I was fortunate to have a coach like Modesto, who is excellent and gave me confidence right away. I think Serie C can be a very useful step in a young player’s development because you immediately compete at a top level, with high levels of competition and against young and experienced players.