In the press room after the home win Vibonese also captain Barilla who comments on the team’s performance thus:
“It was the match we prepared this week. We knew that Vibonese is a very strong and technical team, which spins the ball well and therefore we tried to raise the pace to put them in difficulty from the first minute. We hoped to be able to hold on until the end and so it was, we only suffered a little at the end but on more than one occasion we could have rounded off the result. The credit goes to us, to the sacrifices we made, to the run up we made in the championship. Today we conceded very little to Vibonese. I have to say, the guys didn’t give up an inch. Now another match awaits us, the final and we will prepare for that too.”
Reggio Calabria hungrier than Vibonese? “It wasn’t hunger, it was more of a desire to prove something. We suffered a little in the championship, the top three in the class especially suffered, against these teams we had a little difficulty mostly due to the result. What we said to each other during the week was that we wanted a rematch and the right opportunity arose. We have to be good at continuing now and not giving up for the last game.”
On the next match against Syracuse “I spoke to my teammates during the week and told them that the play-offs are a championship in themselves. They will be a championship where there will be no more chasing to do. What we suffered the most this year was chasing others because when you chase you can’t stop, you can never fall. We were good at always keeping the level high and in these play-offs we are trying to raise the bar to get some satisfaction that we lacked in the championship”
Once again it is the captain who decides… “Maybe it’s my age but I don’t think about mine anymore, I think more about the collective. I’m interested in Reggina getting back to where they deserve, after which if I score a goal and the goalkeeper scores it’s the same for me. The important thing is to be able to carry this dream forward”
