(by Davide De Santis*) – Nedo Sonnets starts from I walk anything but smooth season (here is the film of the season): “Certainly after a championship victory we can’t speak in a negative way even if to achieve the objective we went through various vicissitudes both in the team in terms of results and in many other things. Throughout the course of that year there were delicate moments where we had to resolve certain situations both from a technical and behavioral point of view and other moments when the boys understood what they had to do and carried out their task with great intelligence and availability. . I must say that in the end it was a great satisfaction to have brought Lecce back to Serie A.”
There was no shortage of them protests by some of the fans. Sonetti responds like this: “You have to ask the person protesting the reasons for the protest, surely there must have been some particular reason that I don’t know and I don’t even want to know. I was interested in continuing to do my job, which was to bring Lecce back to Serie A, and the results were coming.”
On the other hand, there was unity between the technician and the company: “I have never had any kind of problem with the managers, on the other hand they had called me to obtain a result and, as already said, through various vicissitudes, we were achieving it so I don’t think they wanted something different. Then we need to know what they think about it now and what they thought at the time. However I was doing my job and I was getting the results.”
The management of Jean Pierre Cyprien it was the first problem of the season: “Have I influenced the choice of his reinstatement? I have always made an evaluation from a technical point of view. Of course, from a behavioral point of view there were different situations but everything had to be channeled towards the effectiveness of the team. When I realized that Cyprien could be useful for the team, he came back even though some particular things had happened, which were then resolved, which I didn’t like and Cyprien knows perfectly well what I’m talking about. Which are quite natural vicissitudes in a football team where there are a group of players, coaches, managers who stay together for a long time and you certainly can’t think that everything will go smoothly. The important thing is that when there is negativity we know how to comply with it with intelligence and sensitivity.”
During the championship the relay between Margiotta and Stellone took place. Up front there were various adjustments: “There are always variations from a tactical point of view during the football year. We started having a certain type of discussion which then changed a little. I remember that on the outside I had Sesa on the right and Casale on the left with Margiotta as center forward. But for what I thought we needed to do I needed another type of player and Stellone was the one who had more functionality for my game than Margiotta so it was just a question of momentary choices. Margiotta and Stellone were two attackers with different characteristics and I preferred the latter because it gave me more opportunities to express my game.”
In midfield, Sonetti’s Lecce was protected by the so-called “Chinese Infantry”formed by Conticchio and Piangerelli to protect the creativity of Prince Giannini: “That nickname was for Conticchio and Piangerelli because they were two extraordinary guys from a technical point of view but above all from a dynamic point of view. Naturally their height made me think of Chinese infantry but in any case they were all expressions that remained between us without any kind of problem. I remember these guys with so much affection. For example, Conticchio had great determination, a hard worker, he ran like crazy and Piangerelli did the same. Then in midfield I had Giannini, who was and is an intelligent boy, who made himself completely available, trying to give together with his teammates that intelligent dynamic that led us to have excellent results. Casale was also there, another exceptional guy with whom we also spoke about tactical situations with extreme serenity. He was someone who understood football, he understood what his function was and in fact he was one of the absolute determinants of that year.”
Finally, the greeting passionate: “I want to say that I thank you for the phone call and I sincerely want to congratulate the city of Lecce and all the people who helped me achieve those results!”
*Founder of the Lecce Amarcord page
