VERONA AND NAPLES – “Verona doesn’t deserve to be where they are, they didn’t deserve to lose against Roma, in 75 minutes against Cagliari they played a great game. They are a very dangerous team, my eyes see what the table doesn’t say. To make Parma’s point good we have to win. Verona have clear ideas, they have continuity with the coach, I like what I see. We have to be good at managing the game and the moments, when we are dominant and when we are not. Come on he will be able to play a bit, Jesus will return from suspension, Diao felt good in 45 minutes, Kuhn too. We’re going slowly, only Sergi Roberto and Dossena are missing.”
CHANGES – “I have a lot of faith in my players, I think they have shown me that everyone can play, maybe we will bring freshness and alternatives, but little by little we are returning to being a complete team, with all the players available.”
NICO PAZ – “If he doesn’t shine, we don’t win? I already answered last week. I’m not saying yes or no, Nico is an important player, he’s growing, he’s very hungry. The more you play and do in the attacking part, you can be involved in an action. Obviously he makes the difference, that’s why he’s here. While for me he will always be an important player. Kane scored 102 goals in 100 games, what does Kompany say? I played with Messi and he scored 90 goals in a year, what do I tell him? ‘Did you make me win?’. Yes, but no. Nico is a very good player, we need him, but he must continue with the same way of doing things. Goals will continue to be scored, perhaps with another player. Can you live with Mastantuono? It’s not my job right now, it’s Real Madrid’s problem. I spoke with Xabi Alonso, he is very happy with Ramon and Nico, with how they are doing things. Real Madrid has great players in that role, top world players, but Nico is on that path and has made a good step. Now Nico has to grow more, against Parma he wasn’t very clear and there he has to say that every 3 days he has to be the best on the pitch. This is the mentality he wants to have.”
JANUARY MARKET – “True, it helped a lot, it was noticed. We did it because we thought it was the right thing, but this is not just the process. Valle, Douvikas, Smolcic have already been here for 8-10 months, they are in the game dynamics, ours, this culture that we have… they are all inside. They don’t always talk to me but they say that they have never done certain things, it’s just the beginning. Kempf 1.5 million, Butez ditto, Cavlina 0, Diego Carlos at 0, none of this is ever talked about. Between 10 players we spent 15-20 million. Not just the result, we are creating a style, an identity, young people who in 5 years will play in the World Cup with their national teams. This goes beyond the 0-0, we are very calm.”
TUDOR – “I don’t like talking about Tudor, it’s an unfair world for many coaches. Niko Kovac left me out of the squad in a match against Marseille and I almost cried, but I could see that it was difficult for him to stay out. He told me: ‘I hope that one day you will be a coach to see how difficult it is to be one’.”
GOLDANIGA – “Edoardo, like Strefezza, like Da Cunha and Gabrielloni… there’s never anything negative to say. I feel sorry for him, he’s an incredible boy. I’ll see him at dinner with me one day when we leave here. Obviously he wants to play, there’s a level now in his position, he has to continue and he played in the Cup match. It’s complicated, but he always has to be what he is: a professional. Fighting for the team.”
HELL FROM THE START – “Yes and no, it’s a doubt I have because I have everyone at my disposal.”
ADDAI – “I don’t think it will start tomorrow.”
REFEREES – “Talking about referees is difficult. A very complicated world. Lucas Da Cunha’s against Parma seemed like a penalty to me, from my point of view I didn’t see it. From the images he was at the very limit. It’s very difficult, but now I see that the VAR referees more than the referee. This takes away responsibility from the referee. Before there was more pressure, if you made a mistake, you made a mistake. I feel that when you play in the Champions League the management of the referee is different based on the countries of origin. If we could find uniformity… I always prefer to talk, but every society has its own way of interpreting and managing things.”
VAN DER BREMPT – “All the matches played by Smolcic have been of a very important level, Posch is very experienced and understands well when to enter and exit with a superior offensive projection, he is very intelligent and can also score goals. We have used Vojvoda more as a high winger in these last few matches, Van der Brempt on the other hand has everything to become a top player. Unfortunately he had another injury, more than once we had to change him in the first half and he penalizes us. But he must continue to play work, even to get settled. Little by little he has to find himself, I also have to regain trust in him on a physical level. And now there is more competition in his place, he will have to fight until the end.”
DOSSENA – “We are happy that he was with us last week. He spent 5 months recovering outside. Now there will be the last individual part with us, then day after day he will return to the group with us. Sergi Roberto took a test today, he will be back after the November break.”
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