«It will be a thrilling 90 minutes» headlines the Lega B website, presenting the matches that will close the regular season of the cadet tournament this evening, simultaneously everywhere at 8.30pm. Thrilling yes, but not in all fields.
Not at the Zini Stadium, for example, where host Cremonese is already sure of their fourth place, while Cittadella will at most be able to climb up to ninth, still remaining excluded from the playoffs. On the one hand, therefore, Stroppa will avoid risking those who, like Majer and Vazquez, are within a booking and, with a warning, would be disqualified in the playoff semi-finals. On the other hand, Gorini could think of a team in “Italian Cup mode”, not completely distorted but in which those who have had little up to now can find space, perhaps during the course of the work, without prejudice to the fact that injuries do not leave too much room for maneuver (Carissoni, Negro and Frare do not recover and they are joined by Pandolfi, who, explains the coach, “has a shoulder problem”, but Maniero, still not at his best, will not be at risk either).
«We certainly won’t go to Cremona for a picnic», clarifies “Goro”. «We want to end well a season which, for more than half, we spent in the playoff zone. It’s different to finish in ninth place compared to fourteenth, and since there is a possibility of doing so, we will try to win at Zini. I will field a balanced and competitive team, to play a tough match, but I would also like to give space to those who have had less: I already made Saggionetto debut with Bari, we will see how the match will evolve.”
What has this year taught you?
«Not to take anything for granted. Nobody would have expected the championship to take this turn after the victory over Palermo. It means that, even in good moments, you always have to find a way to stimulate the team. And then we included some tactical innovations in our baggage, and this is also useful.”
The regret remains for the bad return round.
«Results in hand, the balance is positive, because we have achieved the main objective, but it is clear that there remains some regret after the 33 points in the first round. We did well to right the ship after those eight defeats in a row, which gave rise to a certain insecurity. But the last three games have been the reflection of the season: two of us, with Feralpi and Como, conceded a goal in the 94th minute, while against Bari we could have won. With those five more points today we would be talking about other objectives.”
Is there any news about his future?
“Let’s think about finishing the championship well, then there will be plenty of time to stop and think together with the director.”
In the event of a confirmation, will he start from the three-man defence?
«It depends on the market. Now we have the right men, then we’ll see who will arrive, even at the front. The person who has lost the most since the adoption of the 3-5-2 is probably Cassano, but a player must be good at adapting, because football is going in this direction, with ongoing changes in the game system.”
On the subject of budgets, but looking at the others, who has impressed you the most this season?
«On the negative side, those who are lower in the rankings. Let’s think of Bari, who mentally paid for the aftermath of the playoff final lost at the last minute, and of Spezia himself, who had built a squad with the potential to immediately climb back to Serie A. On the positive side, Catanzaro, which is the team that brought me impressed more from the expressed football point of view. However, we played it with them.” —
