In Cagliari he obtained a promotion from Serie B and, the following year, a quiet salvation in Serie A. His adventure on the rossoblù bench ended a few months later, not without some doubts and some regrets.
Massimo Rastelli still follows the fate of the island team with affection, to which he remains particularly attached. Like any fan, he hopes that the current tormented season ends with the long-awaited salvation.
Massimo, after the brilliant Atalanta-Inter-Juventus trio, Cagliari took not one, but three steps backwards against Genoa, Lecce and Milan. How do you explain the drastic drop in performance of Ranieri’s men in the latest championship matches?
“It is difficult from the outside to hypothesize what could have happened. The team had probably spent a lot of energy in the three games against the big teams, even going beyond their limits. And the good results obtained in that triptych induced the players to relax, in light of the fact that at that moment there were very few points missing for arithmetic salvation. It’s an unconscious mechanism that can sometimes trigger in players’ heads. To this we also add the absences that have affected Cagliari in recent outings: we have seen for example that every time Jerry Mina is missing the defense loses something in terms of security and reliability.
I would say that in Genoa the rossoblù were never in the game, while against Lecce Gaetano’s expulsion played a decisive role in directing the match: if they had remained with eleven men, Nandez and his teammates in all probability would have brought home the victory victory. A bad and unexpected defeat came against Milan, at least in terms of proportions. Having said that, in the next two matches Cagliari will have the chance to collect those two or three points they lack to certify the achievement of the objective. The survival quota, in my opinion, stands at 36 points. Maybe even at 35.”
Ranieri said, before the match against Milan, that the match at San Siro was a sort of “wild card match”: winning or losing it wouldn’t have changed anything. Don’t you think it’s an anomalous exit from a coach who has historically been very good at motivating his players? Cagliari then interpreted the match with disconcerting softness and timidity…
“Honestly, examining Cagliari’s season as a whole I would say that Ranieri managed to convey to the team the desire to always fight and never give up. Combined with the awareness of the fact that every match is vital and must be played until the ninetieth minute and beyond. So I don’t think that a simple phrase from the coach could have destabilized or demotivated the environment. The problem, if anything, lies with the players, who are unable to find continuity of performance and alternate very positive moments with much less brilliant ones. After all, this was the leitmotif of the first round. In the second round things improved a little. In any case, I would like to underline that for us coaches all matches count and are important: we always try to encourage the team regardless of the name of the opponent, because on all pitches we must try to score points without thinking about the next match, perhaps considering it easier when, in practice, it is not.
I repeat that Ranieri’s message was absolutely not intended to be demotivating, on the contrary. Perhaps it was misinterpreted by his boys, who after the exploits against Atalanta, Inter and Juventus thought they were already safe and gave up for a moment. Now they have to wake up and complete the work in the last two days.”
Massimo, let’s analyze the match at the Mapei Stadium against Sassuolo. How would you interpret it? This year, every time Cagliari has opted for a wait-and-see and submissive strategy, they have punctually returned home empty-handed.
“These are races that rely heavily on the mental aspect. The stakes are very high. Sassuolo has only one result available and very little to lose, since they are almost doomed, while Ranieri knows perfectly well that he must leave Mapei with at least one point in his pocket. To achieve this, it will be essential to limit the predictable and vehement offensive outbursts of the neroverdi, but also to try not to suffer excessively from the initiative of Laurientè and his companions. So Cagliari’s idea will have to be to hurt their opponents, responding blow for blow and scoring at least one goal. A goal from the Sardinians could bring a decisive turning point to the match from a psychological point of view. On the other hand, Ballardini’s team has suffered a lot in the defensive phase this year: if the rossoblù repeat the performances offered against Atalanta, Inter and Juventus will achieve their goal.”
