Michele Criscitiello, director of Sportitalia, spoke with extreme frankness about the fight for survival, exposing scenarios that no one has the courage to hypothesize publicly, but which often occur at the end of the championship. TuttoCagliari.net summarized his speech from SportitaliaMercato:
“The fight for survival is the most fun, because there is great chaos. If Sassuolo doesn’t score points with Inter, I think we can now say goodbye to them. And for the first time in many years, Udinese, who have 29 points, at the moment he would be in Serie B, he has to play against Napoli and then he has three direct clashes, Lecce, Empoli and Frosinone. The referee of salvation is Inter, because if Inter wins, Inter takes away points at Sassuolo, at Frosinone and at Verona. Sassuolo is almost done for. On the final day, they face Lecce who could almost be safe. Napoli, a historically friendly club, have done a lot of business together always in Italy. De Laurentiis has bought more players from Udinese than around the world, so I believe that the good relations with four matchdays to go have always been there… If Lecce gets a point in Cagliari, then c ‘It’s Lecce-Udinese and the relationships are good there too. Napoli is much stronger than Udinese, it seems quite clear to me, however… In recent years compared to many years have more positively surprising games? Because there are many more foreigners in Italy and they don’t understand these things. Sassuolo is a bad team, without Berardi they are a Serie B team. For me, Cagliari-Lecce is a written draw. A 0-0 must be a 1-1, not because we are talking about combined matches, but it is obvious, it serves me and it serves you. Cagliari and Lecce can pseudo-save themselves with a 0-0 or 1-1. Cagliari has Lecce, Milan, Sassuolo and Fiorentina, come on….Milan finished, Sassuolo finished second to last and Fiorentina finished last. This is Cagliari’s championship.
Cagliari-Lecce X sure, Under or no-goal. He scores 1 point against Lecce, then we’ll see what happens with Milan, with Sassuolo he scores 3 and with Fiorentina he scores 1/3. Cagliari-Lecce is played after Sassuolo-Inter, so they already know what the result in Reggio Emilia will be.
If Sassuolo-Inter tomorrow is 1, let’s go back to my main reasoning. I repeat: if Sassuolo doesn’t win against Inter, Cagliari-Lecce – and there’s nothing sensational about it – is a written draw. But not because they don’t have to play, because it’s a clear interest. Cagliari scores 1 very precious point and Lecce is finished at that point.
With four days to go, a different championship is being played, the reasoning championship is also being played. There’s nothing wrong, if I have to take stock and you have to take stock, it doesn’t mean combine football, what a shame, what disgusting. It’s simple, I have to gamble my footballing life, you’re gambling your life, why do we have to kill ourselves? We have to go to war for what if we have to save ourselves? If they are 1-1, in the end they start not attacking and playing a different game, ball to one side, back, on the wing and I don’t even get close. Good faith is a given.
The calendar was crazy, it put all these teams in the fight for survival, Inter who won the Scudetto in the derby against Milan and Sassuolo who can be relegated, not mathematically but in fact, against Inter , with Carnevali being the best man at Marotta’s wedding – or vice versa – they are brothers, and Marotta has to send Carnevali to Serie B, we are in total madness. We know that Beppe and Giovanni are brothers, let’s not joke. We’re not saying anything bad, we all have friendships and we all have professional situations. But who doesn’t know that Marotta and Carnevali are brothers, in football and otherwise? We all know it. Marotta, despite himself, as the reigning Italian Champion, must send his brother to Serie B.”
