Post-match press conference for Claudio Ranieri at the end of the match between Sassuolo And Cagliari played at Mapei Stadium and won by the Sardinians 2-0. Here are his words quoted by our correspondent: “Let me enjoy this evening, don’t stress me from now on. I put Cagliari before everything and the last emotion is always the strongest. I have a short memory, I’m not old yet, if you remember 50 years ago: yes I remember because the elderly remember old things. I’m not like that, I remember that we did very well last year and this year too, the emotion in Bari was beautiful beautiful in Reggio Emilia. Thirty years ago Cagliari was saved on May 19th in Bologna: Emilia brings good luck to the Cagliari family: the chef, the waiters, everyone who works at Assemini, everyone tries to provide the coach and players who are comfortable, this is the group you see on the pitch. You said that the team in Milan was tired, no, they ran like horses. The team had run well and gave me confidence. ‘it’s like Bari’. I remember Gigi Riva, he called me, and said: tell the boys that there are no fans but an island behind them that will push them. And I repeated those words. The boys worked hard, especially those who didn’t play much.”
So you still have to think about it?
“Let me enjoy again.”
A few months ago he was about to leave…
“I had given up! But not because I didn’t believe in the kids. I always said: ‘the way you train you play’ and I thought they needed another coach, I thought they needed an electric shock. Normally when a coach says these things everyone is with their heads down and no one says anything. Instead they said to me: ‘no no, there’s no way she’s leaving now, she stays here with me and we all fight together’. And I replied: ‘let me see it’ Done”.
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How do you evaluate this salvation?
“It’s the consequence of the work, there wasn’t a single tuft of grass rowing on the other side. And the fans too. The home crowd boos you when you make a mistake, it makes you feel, we had support, a love, the boys played at home feeling at home: this is thanks to the fans and they should be thanked.”
Can we say that Ranieri only got one thing wrong? He had said that the team would be saved on the last day, but instead they were saved on the penultimate. How important was this signal that he gave to the group?
“It was important for the boys and also for the fans who understood that what I was saying was the truth. I was reminded of Pavoletti’s goal in Bari, it was consequential to say this.”
Among the things I’ve done, where does this one rank?
“The last one always remains, I put Cagliari in first place, it’s what gave me the opportunity to become a coach. Three promotions and two salvations: Cagliari is in first place for me.”
You put those who are usually in last place in the front row, but you didn’t talk about your merits for this salvation: with another coach it probably wouldn’t have happened…
“I deserve the fact of having channeled all my forces in a single direction, this is the credit I take. All the forces I mentioned and I put them in yours too (laughs, ed.) because you were good and good because I was there, because I warned you at the beginning, when we played those three games with the big teams I said that the boat wasn’t in port, you also followed me. I was the one who said things in advance that would have happened.”
Going back under the curve with President Giulini; does he tell me about this thing?
“They brought the players to me under the curve sideways, I told them to turn around. I know players (laughs, ed.). It was wonderful. It seemed right to me to come with the president because he was called. The shy president? I said let’s go, they are calling us. The fans’ chorus was: ‘We will rise again because Claudio Ranieri said so’, I told the players in Serie C.”
