Very hot playoff eve at home Carrarese: against the Benevento the Apuans are looking for the first promotion final in their history, dreaming of Serie B. The coach at the press conference Antonio Calabro presented the challenge of “Vigorito” against the Witch, scheduled for Sunday 2 June:
PERFORMANCE – “I expect the same attitude from both teams as in the first leg. Here too Benevento proved to be a strong team, our performance takes on even more value because we had a strong team, made up of important players. If we don’t want to look at those who were on the pitch, just look at those on the bench. Carrarese gave a performance like that and this gives value to these guys for what they are doing.”
PLAYOFFS – “As a group we are calm and focused on the objective, we do not get involved from the point of view of external experts. We feel as if we have snuck into a gala dinner without being invited, where the strongest teams had to participate and we are there, without invitation. We have the pleasure of being part of it, of making our impression and continuing to be the loose cannon.”
REFEREE – “On the refereeing, I think the ones in the playoffs, beyond the environment and the places where you play, I think they were sufficient, good in these matches. They could be helped even more by VAR, in the first leg there were sanctions not implemented against the opponents that in my opinion VAR could have helped. But he only enters in extreme situations, he lets the referees calmly referee and manage them and continue with their continuity of the match. The referees want to make a good impression, they will not be judged positively or negatively if they decide in favor of whoever has the most spectators in the stadium. Their professionalism will ensure that everyone will want to play the perfect match.”
PREPARATION – “I have no difficulty preparing for the match with these guys, they are very prepared and concentrated. I see them serene and convinced of what they are doing and can do. At a tactical level they can face any opponent’s solution and reading of the ongoing match. They are all difficult matches, this one will be equally difficult and the team will have to be good at reading the moments. We will try not to upset our characteristics, regardless of the importance of the match and the opponent we will face.”
CHARACTERISTICS – “We have these characteristics that we have been carrying forward for some time and if we are here it is because we bring intensity, organization and the technical skills of the boys. If we want to succumb to the names and qualities of Benevento we cannot do it without putting in the right physical intensity. If we then drop, we lower the prerogative then the qualities of the opponent will come out, regardless of whether they are called Benevento or Juventus, and we cannot afford that.”
HAIR – “Five days will pass from Tuesday, for us five days are important. If before it was at 10% now we can say that it is at 50-60% and that additional percentage that we will find on Sunday will be useful for the team to try to bring home the result”.
PRESSURE – “I’m enjoying it great, I’m calm, serene. The work we are doing, the company makes me feel calm. I think this serenity of mine is also reaching the team. Revenge? I only had one exemption in Catanzaro, then I always had very positive years. Our job is like a carousel, sometimes you go up, sometimes you go down. Negative moments sometimes serve as a spring. I’m happy for the club and for the fans, I’m calm because I know what we’re putting on the pitch.”
PLAYOFF EXPERIENCE – “Experience is always useful, even if the cases are very different. With Francavilla we came away with two draws against Livorno, with a team that started from Eccellenza. With Catanzaro they were anomalous playoffs, we came second in the Covid period, we were stopped for 40-50 days. These playoffs were different, we faced them in crescendo. We enjoy it, me as well as the players.”
