Torino comes back from two goals against Inter and holds Chivu’s team to a 2-2 draw. At the end of the match the Granata coach Roberto D’Aversa commented on the match directly to the broadcasters’ microphones. He will subsequently appear in the Conference Room at the Grande Torino Olympic Stadium to answer the questions of the accredited journalists following the two teams.
8.30pm – We are live from the Conference Room. We await the arrival of D’Aversa for the start of the conference
8.40pm – Here’s D’Aversa.
He wanted a brave Bull and he got it. “In the first half we made mistakes against a very strong team. Then in the second we entered with a different attitude. We achieved an important result with an important performance both for the change in attitude and for the contribution of the substitutes, which were important for us to equalise. In numbers there was Inter’s possession, but in terms of danger we performed above the future Italian champions. I’m happy and I would have been happy anyway even with a negative result with this performance.”
This equal gives meaning to the last two months… “In the final we have prestigious matches in which to give ourselves satisfaction. In this sport there must be pride, the desire to compete with those who are stronger on paper. I asked the boys for courage and in the second half we defeated a team that will win the championship. We wear a glorious shirt and we have to make sure it is in the highest position possible at the end of the game. I was convinced that we would perform, I say this because every day in training I see self-sacrifice, a sense of belonging. Zapata is the example: out for 24 days not only because he trains at 200 per hour but because he takes care of every aspect.”
What did you have that was missing with Napoli and Milan? “A positive result. We could have also achieved it with Milan and Napoli but we didn’t manage to do so. Today we scored a point despite facing the strongest team in the championship to date. We must be proud”
He is demonstrating how much desire he had to coach a team with this history. How sorry are you not to see the Marathon? “That was the disappointment during the warm-up when I saw most of the Inter fans in the stands, I would have liked to see the opposite situation. But we must do everything we can to make the situation change. We all know the value of the Granata typhus, their presence is important”
How much do you want to open a cycle in your heart? “The moment I was called up I did it to achieve an objective, I am tied by contract until the end of the championship. My only thought is to think day by day. I knew that when it came to the ranking position it wasn’t easy but I knew that I only had offensive potential like that of Torino in Parma with important players. This pushed me to come to achieve a goal. I really think about Turin, I think about the Turin environment which is more important than my contractual situation. I care about the fact that the boys follow me until the end of the championship, my pride is that they are doing it. The results are a consequence. I’m interested in attitude, professionalism during training, now they come to the camp with the desire to have fun which wasn’t there before. The credit goes to the boys”
A joke. More satisfied with the changes or more disappointed with some initial choices? “I had the initial lineup wrong, luckily we fixed it. Coco? Since I had made a mistake in the initial choice, I then made up for it…” (ironically, ed.)
Do you have any regrets that the company is keeping quiet about your future despite your incredible work? “When I arrived, not everyone was thrilled with my arrival. The reasoning was that I had been chosen because there was nothing better around. Not everyone was thrilled with the company’s choice. The only objective I have set myself is to try to show that I can be a Toro coach and achieve the objective that the club has asked of me. Now my contract is not the priority”
