1.45pm – In a few minutes from the press room of the Niccolò Galli Technical Center, Thiago Motta will present his team’s away match Bologna on Saturday at 6pm at Diego Armando Maradona against the Naples of Francesco Calzone. Follow here TUTTOmercatoWEB.com the live text of the press conference of the Italian-Brazilian coach in view of the match that awaits his team.
2.00 pm – The press conference begins.
If there is a combination of results this weekend there could be a. Champions match points..
“Yes, why not?! since we have already written the history of this club there is the possibility of going to the Champions League. It is as important as all the other matches because it is the next one, we have prepared very well to face a strong team in our championship From last year, all but one change remained at Napoli, we will face a strong team, we will have to use the ball very well.”
How do you get to kilometer 40? Do you include the athletic trainers among the MVPs of the season?
“Yes, we arrive with a clear head and fresh legs, the boys, regardless of how it ends, have had a fantastic season, if there is pressure it is for the other teams, not for us. We will try to put in a great performance also in Naples against a team strong”.
Is Ndoye just lacking the confidence to score?
“The more we think about it, the more we put pressure on him, the more difficult it will be (the goal – ed.). He helps a lot in the defensive and offensive phase, he was decisive even without scoring a goal, then in the Italian Cup with Inter he gave a great performance. Not nothing has to change, confidence in himself, he will help until the end of the season, I hope he can score and score goals, but without forgetting all the other things.”
Has Soumaoro mentally recovered from the injury?
“YES, he is gradually returning to his teammates, he is a great professional, very serious and focused, he will slowly return to the team, I hope he can return to his level as soon as possible.”
What did you say to Spalletti yesterday?
“Many things, we talked about the boys here who can go to the national team one day, we talked a lot about football, I listened a lot, he is a great coach who has been at a high level for a long time, I am very happy that he has come to us, I hope that he too was happy to come and talk above all about football.”
What didn’t work for Napoli this year?
“I have no idea, I think about how to deal with it, from the outside I see that it is a strong team.”
How important is the closeness of the fans even after the trip to Turin, with the fans who encouraged the team?
“Our fans have always conveyed this energy, my boys are always angry when they don’t win, but always with their heads held high, it’s bad for them if they have their heads down because if they have their heads down I’ll take it back, because they don’t want to win but in Turin we had a good performance, I’m not going to talk about the games they played at home, the goals they conceded… the boys were angry for not having won but at the same time happy for having been on the pitch until the end, playing football, with our identity. Our fans help by giving us extra energy, the boys have done something historic this year, I thank them and others.”
Napoli is the only team with greater ball possession than Bologna
“It’s ball possession that creates opportunities, a strong team. We will have to be connected on the pitch to understand the moments to press or not to go too far… because when you don’t have the ball you can get into difficulty, we will have to use the ball well, it’s a good challenge for us.”
Bologna has only 5 defeats in the championship compared to its competitors
“It is a fact that greatly enhances our work. Because we play to win but if we fail to score there is the risk of not doing the defensive phase well. We were also good in Turin at defending ourselves so as not to let them take the lead, It also happened in other matches where we understood the moment well.”
